By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

If you’ve been strolling through Central New York’s parks lately, you may have stumbled upon a brightly painted rock or two — or three, or dozens.

This summer, variations on the “Kindness Rocks Project” have popped up across the nation. Here in CNY, people are decorating rocks — often including an inspiring phrase — and hiding them in parks, near local businesses and even at the Great New York State Fair.

Donna Romano of Syracuse started the “CNY Rocks” Facebook group after spotting her first rock on a visit to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

“It was in those stress-filled days that we spent there that I came across the rock,” she recalled. “It was a little polka dotted rock and I thought, ‘That is so cute. … What a great idea to take people out of their worried mindsets.’”

Upon returning home, Romano painted a few rocks to send back to the Cleveland Clinic. Then she began leaving some around CNY, affixing a sticker to the back asking the finder to post a picture to the CNY Rocks page and re-hide the rock. The group now has more than 1,400 members who post their creations and finds.

Other rocks groups are cropping up on Facebook: Fulton NY Rocks, CNY Rotary Rocks, Oswego Rocks New York, 315 Rocks. Lysander Park’s summer playground program participants recently hid rocks around the park, and Romano said Vineyard Church in Lakeland has a group of children that meet each Friday to paint and distribute rocks.

“They’re popping up all over,” Romano said. “Kids love to find them. It’s like a treasure hunt.”

While the rocks groups are developing independently throughout the country, the Kindness Rocks Project dates back to 2015. Megan Murphy, a life coach from Cape Cod, began painting and distributing rocks with encouraging messages: “You are enough,” “Keep it kind,” “Your presence is a unique gift to the world.”

CNY Rocks is spreading its kindness all the way to Kuwait.

“We got word that a soldier was asking for rocks to make a colorful rock garden in Kuwait because everything there is sandy and brown and camouflaged,” Romano said.

The group members amassed a 60-pound box of rocks to send to that soldier.

“We need more love in this world,” Romano said. “We could do it by something so simple as a little rock, some cheap paints, have some fun while we’re doing it.”

How to paint a ‘kindness’ rock

1. Find it: “All you have to do is just dig a little in the garden,” Romano said. “They might not be the perfect smooth ones that you find up on Lake Ontario, but they’re definitely paintable.” If you can’t find a suitable rock outside, craft and home improvement stores sell rocks.

2. Paint it: There’s no shortage of ways to decorate your rock: Acrylic paint, oil-based paint pens, permanent markers, nail polish, glitter and stickers are all options.

3. Seal it: Protect your rock from the elements — and protect the environment from your paint — with a coat of Mod Podge or another non-toxic, clear sealant.

4. Hide it: Place your rock in a park, trail, playground or plaza. Make sure it’s in a spot where no one will trip over it, and be sure you won’t get in trouble for putting rocks there. Painted rocks are not allowed at state parks and forests, and you should avoid private property.