SANDWICH – With summer approaching and COVID vaccination rates rising, many businesses and services are anticipating a busy season, especially Heritage Museums and Gardens as residents look for outdoor activities amid the pandemic.
Director of Visitor Engagement Heather Mead said that many new members came to the museums just to enjoy the outdoors.
“We saw so much engagement with our outdoor spaces,” said Mead.
“There were folks that joined our membership just to be able to come and walk outdoors on our accessible paved pathways.”
Other outdoor services such as the nation’s national parks also saw a huge increase in popularity over 2020, with the Cape Cod National Seashore among the top ten most visited parks.
Mead said that residents’ desire for outdoor, nature-based activities will likely continue through this summer, including a growing interest in gardening.
“The feedback we’ve gotten from folks is that they’re enjoying expanding their time outdoors, whether that’s recreationally meeting up with folks for beautiful garden walks but also getting into or rekindling a love for or starting a new passion for gardening,” said Mead.
She said that many of the museum’s virtual offerings teaching gardening skills have increased in popularity ever since the beginning of the pandemic, and especially during the spring season.
Further relaxations of COVID restrictions on capacity has been an encouraging sign to Heritage Museums, which now is getting ready for a season forecasted by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce as a busy one.
Governor Charlie Baker has said that he is aiming to have all industries in Massachusetts fully reopened by August 1.
More information on Heritage Museums and Gardens, as well as upcoming events, can be found on their website.
For our fully Sunday Journal interview with Heather Mead, click here.
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