Adding to the enjoyment of a walk in city parks, StoryWalks are books turned into page-by-page stories, posted along the trails and walkways of city parks. In Hillsboro, the Library Foundation has installed one StoryWalk so far, at Hidden Creek Park, and we hope to install a permanent StoryWalk at Shute Park before the end of summer. For families with young children, these outdoor stories are a fun way to appreciate nature along with imaginative stories, as well as to punctuate walks with the experience of the “rewards” of each new page of an unfolding story.
When the Hidden Creek StoryWalk was being installed, a local nanny with two children followed the developments with excitement. She expressed that it was a great way to spend time with the children outdoors, learning physically, intellectually, and emotionally.
Stories will be rotated at each location every three months, allowing families to read new material periodically, even when walking the same trails. The stories that are chosen will be bilingual. Currently on display at Hidden Creek is A contar amabilidad: Diez formas de darles la bienvenida a niños refugiados / Counting Kindness: Ten Ways to Welcome Refugee Children.
The Library Foundation’s goal is to create and install two more StoryWalks, and to upgrade the wooden installation at Shute Park to metal.