When it comes to recreation, people have very different interests – and the Peterborough Recreation Department wants to know what they are. 

“I hear a desire for more youth sports,” said Recreation Committee Chair Zoë Wroten-Heinzmann. In her second year heading the committee, Wroten-Heinzmann is intent on finding out what people in town want, especially in terms of what is not currently available in terms of activities and spaces. 

“What can we provide in terms of programs and facilities?” is one of the questions she wants answers to. To get them, the committee is sending out a survey via email and social media. The survey is also available at peterboroughrec.com.

“I don’t think there’s been a survey done since COVID,” Wroten-Heinzmann said.

Peterborough’s facilities include Adams Playground, Cunningham Pond, the Community Center and tennis and pickleball courts. Even though the town’s master plan adopted by the Planning Board in 2023 notes a need for more recreation fields, Wroten-Heinzmann understands that “obviously the fire station and safety complex come first.”

Even before the surveys come in, Wroten-Heinzmann sees various program areas in need of attention.

“Right now, young people can try out for an intense middle school team in their sport, and maybe make it, or there’s nothing,” she said. 

She said the department needs to provide for younger ones as well.

“At the preschool level, we have to keep trying to find something right; hopefully the survey will identify what parents think,” she said.

It’s not just about young people, though.

“Senior trips didn’t happen during COVID, but we have vans for them,” she said, recalling a recent excursion to Boston where seniors took in “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” at the Strand Theatre.

Wroten-Heinzmann also mentioned some programs that some residents might not be aware of, including women’s pickup basketball, adult futsal – indoor soccer with a denser ball, for those over 21 and another bracket for those 35 years and up – and Puzzle Palooza later this month in which teams race to complete 500-piece puzzles.

Wroten-Heinzmann recently had a thought of clearing off some of Cunningham Pond for ice skating.

“Craig (Fraley, director of recreation) beat me to it and was already on it,” she said.

Come the warmer months, she is optimistic about having employees on hand to cover existing and new programs that might emerge. Asked about the sandwich board seeking summer staff that has been a staple outside the Recreation Department office on Union Street during previous summers, Wroten-Heinzmann said that last summer there were no staffing problems.

“Craig was able to jump right in (as director) with a ton of experience,“ Wroten-Heinzmann said of Fraley, who came to the department from Amherst. 

The public event where information from the survey will be shared is scheduled for March 5 at 7 p.m. at the Peterborough Community Center.

“I hope that anybody who lives in Peterborough or uses the facilities will respond to the survey,” Wroten-Heinzmann said.