Bayou Country Sports Park Beats the Heat with New Additions

Bayou Country Sports Park recently completed a project that brought ten new blue cantilever shade structures and the first Solaware UV Unit in the state of Louisiana.

Ask anyone in South Louisiana and they will say the sun and heat in the south are brutal. UV exposure can cause premature aging and cause damage such as liver spots, actinic keratosis, and solar elastosis. Exposure can cause eye damage, sunburn, wrinkles, leathery skin, and lead to skin cancer. There are simple ways to help protect against sun damage; however, families that attend ball games that do not have the proper coverage in the middle of summer in Louisiana can find it hard to keep up with proper sun protection protocols. The Solaware unit simplifies sun safety by providing tools to promote UV awareness, education, and protection. The unit index converts the standard UV index into the number of minutes until skin damage can be expected under local conditions without protection. 

Lauren Knight and her father Michael Parody have spent countless hours on playground builds together over the last 30 years. Knight recalled being a “tester” in her childhood for playgrounds her father would be working on. She never would have dreamed she would be in the same industry, but her teaching career led her to love recreation. The daughter-father duo has recently launched a recreation company in Louisiana and Mississippi called Pelican Playgrounds with the goal to unite communities on common ground—the playground. Pelican Playgrounds headed the project at the Bayou Country Sports Park, located at 4374 LA-311 in Houma, where Knight said she was excited to bring options to families that attend games at the park. She is passionate about bringing health and wellness to the community and a large part of that, she said, is taking care of your skin. 

Bayou Country Sports Park Director Dean Schouest says the addition of the unit will help those who are enjoying the ballpark. Since it is at the forefront of the park, Schouest said it is a great reminder to attendees to keep up with recommended protocols. Since it is the first unit to be placed in Louisiana, he is also hoping that it sets precedent for the technology across the state. Along with the new additions, the park looks forward to upcoming projects that include completing five baseball fields, adding two soccer fields along with lighting, which Schouest said will bring the facility to the next level. These projects are estimated to be completed within the next year.

Schouest concluded, “I just want to encourage everyone to come out and check the place out. We have these fields, but it’s also a full-fledged recreation facility for all ages. When you drive through, they have a beach, splash pad, fishing dock, and have so much more to offer. These really add to the quality of life for our area.”