Sunday 1 September saw the official opening of the first Pep Park in Sweden. 100 meter Pep is a park featuring apparatus and equipment for play, movement and daily fitness for children, young people and adults to use together. A park with a difference.

100 meter Pep is the first of the three activity parks, or Pep Parks, that are to be built in Solna. In addition to the one in Huvudsta there are parks planned for Arenastaden and one in Hagaparken. The purpose of the parks is to provide a place for children, young people and adults in Solna to get active in a setting that encourages both play and physical fitness.

The park includes apparatus and equipment that is adapted to different ages and abilities, and encourages both spontaneous and planned activity. The idea is for the range of equipment to develop movement, coordination and other physical skills, while the layout encourages play and recreation. For example, the park includes a trampoline, a balance beam, running track, outdoor stage and planted areas with edible fruit and berries. The park also functions as an outdoor gym for adults.

Solna’s Pep Parks are a collaboration between the City of Solna, Fabege and Generation Pep – an organisation created on the initiative of the Crown Princess. The parks are a pilot project aimed at developing a model for partnerships between municipalities and local business, which can be rolled out to other parts of the country.