By Heather Chapman

Spring is right around the corner so ‘tis the season for beautifying your lawn, planting flower gardens, and updating your to-do list!

As the busy season approaches, it seems fitting to highlight the hard work it takes maintaining our town park systems and all the things our Parks Division does behind the scenes, it is so much more than just mowing grass.

The Parks and Recreation Department’s Parks Staff Division works hard to keep our parks safe, clean, and operating smoothly. They maintain the town’s public spaces, assist in community events, tournaments, and so much more! To hold a position within the Town Parks Division you are sometimes known as a jack of all trades.

Currently, the Kernersville Parks and Recreation’s Park staff consist of 13 full-time and 5 seasonal positions, and are divided into three divisions: Facilities, Grounds, and Horticulture. Just to give you a rundown of the area they cover, Kernersville currently has 15 parks and/or facilities in its system, ranging from mini parks to larger community parks and a regional sports complex. In total there are 402 acres of park and recreation area managed by the Department. Kernersville maintains 7 playgrounds, 11 rectangular fields, 11 racquet courts, 4 diamond fields, a cross-country course, 5 basketball courts, 2 lakes, and a recreation center.

Our Grounds crews go above and beyond, facing all of mother nature’s elements to keep our parks aesthetically pleasing and safe for visitors. If you visit the park frequently, it is not uncommon for our friendly staff to say hello to park goers and their beloved pets!

Currently, this crew is responsible for the upkeep of the park’s outdoor spaces, including mowing lawns, trimming trees and shrubs, removing debris, cleaning picnic areas, and the overall cleanliness and appearance of the park. Not only do they maintain turf being synthetic and natural and field prep, but locations outside of the park system fall under their scope of task which includes Town Hall, greenways, rights-of-way, and traffic circles.

Our Facilities crew handles tasks big and small from repairing our playground structures to patching a hole in the wall. They ensure the safety of our structures within the parks system, play sets, shelters, buildings, fencing, netting, and field prep. During the warm weather months, you may also see them prepping ballfields for weekend tournaments and lining fields for our lacrosse or soccer leagues. They are also our technically skilled behind-the-scenes work crew that performs plumbing, electrical, and carpentry, while making everything work more efficiently. They do all the background work and prep so that your experience in the park is enjoyable, simple, and fun!

The Horticulture crew handles the overall landscaping of the Town to ensure the parks and other sites’ greenery remains healthy and aesthetically pleasing. This includes anything that grows above ground outside of grass: beds and trees. There area expands outside of the park system and includes Town Hall, welcome signs, and the flower pots throughout downtown.

It takes time hand watering, mulching, weeding, pruning, and planting our beds around town. Their expertise is employed to protect ecosystems from degradation and waterways from harmful erosion and pollution.

During the holiday season, this crew is responsible for engineering the structure of our Town Christmas tree, decorating all the welcome signs, and placing the silhouettes you see around town as you drive through the main stretch. They assist in transforming Kernersville into a Christmas wonderland of excitement!

Outside of their daily job duties, the Parks Division assists with community events that are put on by the Department. The Recreation and Park staff work together diligently to make sure every event is well executed, and that the community has a great time. It is definitely a team effort, and it requires all hands-on deck. We are truly grateful for their support when it comes to everyone pulling together and the satisfaction of a successful event.

As we welcome the warmer months, take a moment to appreciate the dedication and effort that goes into maintaining our parks and public spaces. The Parks Division is more than just a park crew, they are the backbone of our town’s outdoor beauty and recreational opportunities. Whether you are enjoying a peaceful walk, a family picnic, or a competitive game, know that behind the scenes, a hardworking team is ensuring Kernersville remains a vibrant, safe, and beautiful place for all. The next time you visit a park, be sure to give a friendly wave or a simple “thank you” to the team that makes it all possible!