64 | VIPPensacola.com
story by
Liesel Schmidt
| photos provided by
The City of Pensacola & Laura Bogan Photography
W
ith so much of our lives being
spent with faces buried in
a screen of some kind and
out of touch with the world
that’s all around us in real time, it can
sometimes be hard to see the forest for the
trees—literally. It’s an unfortunate pattern—
we go about our days without stopping to
take in and appreciate the beauty of nature,
dashing from place to place and swiping
out way from one mobile device to the next
and practically forgetting to breathe. We’re
stressed out and strung out—and one of
the best ways to fi x that isn’t downloading
another app. It’s powering down the devices
and getting away from the digital to fi nd an
escape in nature.
Even if you’re not really the type to get
all hashtag happy about trees and the idea
of camping makes you clutch your tablet
to your chest in fear, fi nding a way to get
outside in the fresh air and sunshine can
actually be a walk in the park—and, thanks
to Play Pensacola Parks and Recreation,
parks can be found in abundance.
Maintained and managed by Play Pensacola,
more than 600 acres of park areas and
outdoor spaces can be found all around the
city, beautiful places to enjoy and be active.
All it takes is a little stroll to discover that the
city of Pensacola is a community rich with
every type of scenery and activity, and each
of them offer an enriching experience and
a great way to connect—to yourself, to the
environment, and to the people around you.
“It’s amazing to see the effects that having
access to the city’s parks and its recreation
programs can have on a community as
a whole,” says Play Pensacola Director
Brian Cooper. “From an environmental
standpoint, it improves the quality of the
air and the water and provides a habitat
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