Four New Fitness Zones Funded For Miami-Dade Parks

Four Miami-Dade Parks will get new Fitness Zone® exercise areas, The Trust for Public Land announced today. Thanks to a $160,000 grant from the Health Foundation of South Florida, The Trust for Public Land will work in partnership with Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department to select the next four parks for installation of the Fitness Zone exercise areas.

“Research shows that parks – and Fitness Zones installations in particular— directly improve our health and wellness, and the grant from Health Foundation will help us address health disparities in high-need neighborhoods that lack safe, quality outdoor places for people to exercise,” said Brenda McClymonds, Senior Program Director with The Trust for Public Land. “The four new Fitness Zones exercise areas will have wheelchair accessible pieces of equipment, allowing us to bring outdoor exercise to everyone, no matter their ability.”

Fitness Zone installations are easy-to-use outdoor gyms consisting of durable, weather- and vandal- resistant exercise equipment for strength training and aerobic exercise, and, when installed in public settings, can provide new exercise opportunities to large numbers of people. The equipment is similar to that found in private gyms, but it is free and available for anyone to use.

The Trust for Public Land has installed 61 Fitness Zone exercise areas in cities across America and in these Miami-Dade parks: Leisure Lakes, MLK, Jr., Oak Grove, West Perrine, Marva Bannerman, Ives Estates, Concord, Blue Lakes, and Goulds. Four others have been installed in Lake Worth and St. Petersburg.

“Supporting essential programs, like those provided by The Trust for Public Land, advance our efforts to improve the health of underserved individuals and families,” said Health Foundation of South Florida Chairman Richard Laviña. “Through our working relationships and collaborative efforts, we strive to ensure that South Florida residents have access to quality health services and programs.”

Health Foundation of South Florida, a nonprofit grant making organization, is dedicated to improving health in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. By funding providers and supporting programs to promote health and prevent disease, the Foundation makes a measurable and sustainable impact in the health of individuals and families. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $100 million in grants and program support.

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year.