Paint the Parks

A group of people in matching t-shirts posing together on a baseball field.
A logo with a stylized green tree, paint splatters, and the text "PAINT THE PARKS - North Highlands Recreation & Park District".

Paint the Parks transformed our neighborhood parks through creativity, community, and a whole lot of color!

Over the course of this initiative, North Highlands Recreation & Park District brought community members together to transform local parks into more vibrant, welcoming, and engaging spaces. What started with a simple idea—using creativity to build pride in our parks—grew into a community-driven effort that made a lasting impact.

Through Paint the Parks, volunteers and community partners helped add colorful murals, interactive games, painted features, and playful upgrades throughout our parks. From hopscotch and four square to refreshed benches, decorated trash cans, and other creative touches, each project was designed to encourage play, connection, and a greater sense of ownership within our community.

But Paint the Parks was about more than paint. The initiative was created to help strengthen community pride, create safer and more welcoming public spaces, and discourage vandalism through positive community engagement. Together, our community demonstrated what can happen when neighbors, volunteers, and local partners come together with a shared vision.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered, donated, partnered with us, and helped bring these projects to life. Your creativity and commitment helped make our parks brighter—and our community stronger.

What’s Next?

Paint the Parks may be complete, but our commitment to improving and reimagining our parks continues. Stay tuned as we introduce our next community initiative and find new ways to make our parks places where everyone can play, connect, and belong.

If you would like to help out at our parks, please fill out the Volunteer Form.

Thank you to our sponsors: Visions Quality Coatings, Home Depot, American Logowear, Knight Watch Security and Lou's Burgers!

Orange square with "The Home Depot" logo in white stencil-like letters.
A logo with the word "Visions" and "Quality Coatings," featuring a blue and green brush stroke circle.
A logo with a red and blue diamond design, a white star, the text "American Logowear Since 1988."
A before-and-after comparison of a park path painted into a colorful rainbow.
Location: Karl Rosario Park
Before and after photos of park benches and a trash bin painted with colorful geometric designs.
Location: Planehaven Park
Before and after photos of a park pathway painting project, transforming a plain surface into a colorful, planet-themed walkway.
Location: Freedom Park
Before and after photos of a sports complex renovation project.
Location: Brock Park Sports Complex
A park path transformation at Larchmont Park, featuring colorful caterpillar and snake designs for the "Paint the Parks Project #5".
Location: Larchmont Park
Doors and basketball backboard before and after repainting at Capehart Gymnasium, part of "Paint the Parks Project #6".
Location: Capehart Gymnasium
Picnic tables at Strizek Park with musical and colorful designs, plus a sidewalk with positive words like "Kind" and "Powerful."
Location: Strizek Park
Painted park benches, trash cans, and a picnic table at Memorial Park with colorful designs including a bird and a treasure map.
Location: Memorial Park
Park project images: painted benches, a sign with "LUNGES EACH LEG," and a painted green trash bin.
Location: Chardonnay Park
Colorful painted bench and trash cans with flowers and a motivational quote at Ruth Inman Park.
Location: Ruth Inman Park
Paintbrushes in a glass jar and paint rollers on a table with people in the background, possibly at a community event.
Three people painting a fence, smiling, wearing gloves, and white shirts with green paint splotches.
A smiling woman is painting a wooden fence blue.
Two smiling individuals in paint-splattered clothing with rollers, standing by a fence, trees and a blue sky in the background.
Two people with paint rollers working on a blue paint project outdoors, smiling at the camera.
People with white T-shirts that say "PAINT THE PARKS" and list park names. Sponsor logos at the bottom.
Volunteers are painting a staircase blue under a clear sky.
A person kneeling and painting colorful circles on a pavement with stencils in an outdoor area.
Person painting a wall, standing on a ladder with a paint tray and brushes.
Person on a ladder painting a door frame blue with a brush.
A person in a Rotary hat paints a metal door blue with a roller, smiling, next to paint supplies.
Four people in matching shirts stand smiling outside a blue door.
Person painting a colorful abstract design on a panel outdoors, wearing a white "Paint the Parks" t-shirt and a cap.
A basketball hoop with a colorful backboard, set outdoors near a building and open sky.
A person smiling, crouched under an orange picnic table in a park, wearing sunglasses and a cap.
Three people painting colorful star designs on a bench outdoors.
Two people smiling near a painted park bench with leaf designs, wearing white shirts in a park setting.
Three people painting a green trash can at a park with playground equipment in the background.
People painting a blue trash bin with flowers, sitting on the ground wearing white shirts.
A before-and-after comparison of a park path painted into a colorful rainbow.
Before and after photos of park benches and a trash bin painted with colorful geometric designs.
Before and after photos of a park pathway painting project, transforming a plain surface into a colorful, planet-themed walkway.
Before and after photos of a sports complex renovation project.
A park path transformation at Larchmont Park, featuring colorful caterpillar and snake designs for the "Paint the Parks Project #5".
Doors and basketball backboard before and after repainting at Capehart Gymnasium, part of "Paint the Parks Project #6".
Picnic tables at Strizek Park with musical and colorful designs, plus a sidewalk with positive words like "Kind" and "Powerful."
Painted park benches, trash cans, and a picnic table at Memorial Park with colorful designs including a bird and a treasure map.
Park project images: painted benches, a sign with "LUNGES EACH LEG," and a painted green trash bin.
Colorful painted bench and trash cans with flowers and a motivational quote at Ruth Inman Park.
Paintbrushes in a glass jar and paint rollers on a table with people in the background, possibly at a community event.
Three people painting a fence, smiling, wearing gloves, and white shirts with green paint splotches.
A smiling woman is painting a wooden fence blue.
Two smiling individuals in paint-splattered clothing with rollers, standing by a fence, trees and a blue sky in the background.
Two people with paint rollers working on a blue paint project outdoors, smiling at the camera.
People with white T-shirts that say "PAINT THE PARKS" and list park names. Sponsor logos at the bottom.
Volunteers are painting a staircase blue under a clear sky.
A person kneeling and painting colorful circles on a pavement with stencils in an outdoor area.
Person painting a wall, standing on a ladder with a paint tray and brushes.
Person on a ladder painting a door frame blue with a brush.
A person in a Rotary hat paints a metal door blue with a roller, smiling, next to paint supplies.
Four people in matching shirts stand smiling outside a blue door.
Person painting a colorful abstract design on a panel outdoors, wearing a white "Paint the Parks" t-shirt and a cap.
A basketball hoop with a colorful backboard, set outdoors near a building and open sky.
A person smiling, crouched under an orange picnic table in a park, wearing sunglasses and a cap.
Three people painting colorful star designs on a bench outdoors.
Two people smiling near a painted park bench with leaf designs, wearing white shirts in a park setting.
Three people painting a green trash can at a park with playground equipment in the background.
People painting a blue trash bin with flowers, sitting on the ground wearing white shirts.
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