Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 03/12/2020

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It is essential to understand how population age changes in order to offer appropriate services. Age demographics provide both a dynamic and insightful lens of Ramsey residents. Within recreation, the Department seeks to offer programs that respond to residents. By looking at age an age breakdown, the Department offer relevant programming as well as anticipate future programming. An example of this can be noted with data above- while the proportion of families with children significantly decreased, the total number of children has actually increased.This is primarily due to the rising population. It is essential to look at various factors in the community when planning programs. If the Department just considered household dynamics overtime, it would appear that out -of -school time programming should be reduced. By combining that information with the population, we see the need for youth programs and more diverse households. Demographic Influences on Recreation Human development is ever -changing. From the point of birth, to the time of retirement, the things required to satisfy interests and wellbeing change. Programs are frequently classified by age groups to account for our changes in development overtime. Age categories can be broken down into the following: 1-5yrs, preschool; 6-12yrs, youth; 13-18yrs, teen; 19-54yrs adult; and 55+, senior. Each group has unique needs and receives different benefits from recreation. r r 1 Recreational play is a necessity in early childhood development. Playtime develops emotional, social, cognitive and physical aspects of life for children that stay with them throughout their life. Youth today tend to experience more structure and an exponential growth in screen -time, negatively impacting aspects of development. In Ramsey about 40% of households have children. Those under 5 makeup 7.12% of the total population from 2013- 2017. (ACS). Y011T1-1 Time spent outdoors in childhood is rapidly diminishing, as are the benefits children receive from it. Decreased time recreating in nature contributes to a more sedentary lifestyle that often follows youth through adulthood (Bento, Dias/ Porto Biomed Journal Cite). Biologist E.O.Wilson, notes that children are naturally "biophilic"- or drawn towards wildlife and to the outdoors. Children have a natural affinity for environmental education, making it an effective springboard for the inclusion of many other areas of study and the development of critical life skills (Mann & Hensley, 2002). Children between the ages of 5 and 14 represent 14.94% of Ramsey's population. Recreation opportunities for this proportion of the population can provide positive self-esteem, healthy lifestyles and development of skills for a successful adulthood. Page X will speak more on the impacts of recreation on the development of youth. PARK SYSTEM PLAN