South Carolina Recreation & Parks - Spring 2024

SOUTH CAROLINA RECREATION & PARKS ASSOCIATION

2024 Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE

President

Katherine Jones

Lancaster County

President Elect

Jon Woodsby

Spartanburg County

Vice President

Amy Evans

Summerville

Secretary

Ande Oliver

Charleston County

Treasurer

Michael Bradley

Charleston County

Past President

Jessica Campbell

City of Aiken

Central VP

Seth Holley

City of Aiken

BRANCHES

ELM Branch

Kim Moultrie

Spartanburg County

PRM Branch

Blake Center

Rock Hill PRT

Programming

Rebekah Parker

Spartanburg County

SCAP Branch

Justin Davis

Rock Hill PRT

Student Branch

Lawanda Curry

Clemson University

SCRPA EXECUTIVE STAFF

Executive Director

James E. Headley jim@scrpa.org

CHAIR

Alison Cribb

City of Aiken

VICE CHAIR

Megan Boisvert

North Charleston

CENTRAL REPS

Katie Gantt Aiken PRT

Eastern VP

Ryan Caputo

City of Myrtle Beach

Southern VP

Nicole Murray

Western VP

Tamika Pollard

SC PRT Representative

Matt Elswick

South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism

Membership Services Coordinator

Melissa Williams

EASTERN REPS

Erin Bowling Myrtle Beach

Lauren Wolf

Myrtle Beach

WESTERN REPS

Taylor Talbot

City of Greenville

SOUTHERN REPS

Pam Zanowski

South Carolina Recreation & Parks Association

P.O. Box 1046, Lexington, SC 29071 (p) 803-808-7753

www.scrpa.org • info@scrpa.org

To advertise in the magazine , contact Todd Pernsteiner: todd@pernsteiner.com or (952) 841-1111.

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once vital to transportation and agriculture in the South Carolina Lowcountry. After the decline of rice production in the mid century, the site was strip-mined for phosphates and then left to return to woodlands. At the turn of this century, abandoned during the 2008 downturn. The development would have been disastrous, however, as homeowners would have found their properties uninsurable against flood. Much of the site in a FEMA regulatory flooding upstream. citizen group advocated for the sale of land the county parks commission. Citizens saw an opportunity to create the could be made compatible with the ecological needs of region beset with flooding. That citizen effort led to daring public investment quality of life for the region. Today, the immensely popular park provides opportunities for free river access, for kayaking, canoeing, and amenities in the future. Since opening 2022, the park has hosted over 300,000 visitors and 10,000 dogs. Several new buildings support the park’s operations, but none are sited to dominate the landscape disrupt the floodway. The buildings also avoid 100’ easement metal. Structure delineated clearly with steel and timber, and connections between them are imbued with celebratory detail. Deep eaves protect the cypress siding and provide shade. The most public these structures an open-air event pavilion, weddings, birthday parties, family reunions, and community movie nights. The pavilion design adopts clear parti, careful orientation, simple materials, and curious distortion of its vernacular, agricultural precedents. adopts sly abstraction of vernacular form, through an curvatures. The geometry forces the perspective and plays with the observer’s perception of the pavilion’s dimensions. The result something playful, curious, unexpected, but not superficially garish distracting. On a more practical level, the midday shade at the covered picnic area. By Jay White, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Liollio Architecture ASHLEY RIVER PARK, DORCHESTER COUNTY PARKS GRASSROOTS EFFORT IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE ADVERTISER INDEX Aqua Management Partners ..................................................................... 4 Barrs Recreation ........................................................................ Back Cover Carolina Parks & Play ................................................................................ 12 Cunningham Recreation ............................................................................ 5 Gyms for Dogs ..................................................................................... 10-11 Most Dependable Fountains ..................................... Inside Front Cover Pilot Rock ................................................................................................... 12 Sport Court of Carolina ............................................................................. 7 On the cover: Photo by Aiken County

Katherine Jones JimHeadley

THE ASSOCIATION REPORT

By Katherine Jones, SCRPA President & Jim Headley, SCRPA Executive Director

The Year is Off to a Great Start!

Be sure to stay tuned to professional development opportunities offered each month.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I hope that you all had a delighted holiday season and have taken on 2024 with a refreshed vision. Speaking of vision, our Board of Directors retreat was held at the beginning of January, where we established goals for the year based on our recently adopted strategic plan.

The Association is off to a great start and as delivered outstanding education opportunities already. The Sports Management Institute, Parks Maintenance Institute and The Programming Summit continue to offer outstanding education opportunities specific to the interests of their branch members. We have reached over 180 members through these and our virtual professional development opportunities. We look forward to seeing many of you at the Southern Leisure Management and Trends Institute in Rock Hill supported by our Executive Level Management Branch.

We encourage you to take full advantage of the SCRPA professional development opportunities as they can be beneficial to you and your agency’s growth. Be sure to stay tuned to many other professional development opportunities offered each month. You can find these opportunities advertised in the SC Snapshots, the SCRAP paper and the SCRPA website.

On the legislative front, H-3121 the Recreational Trails Tax Credit Act has made its way on over to the senate and will be debated on the senate floor after making its way through the Senate Finance Committee. We also have been working with the House Ways and Means Committee to increase PARD and Trail funding for the state. South Carolina is the only state in the southeast without a dedicated trails fund for local governments. Our efforts failed to ensure guns be prohibit by state law on athletic fields. They exempted Youth and Colligate athletic contests

but not youth. Which means by virtue that they are legal.

This issue of the magazine focuses on “No Second Nature”. As parks and recreation professionals, we see the important role that our parks and programs play in ensuring we are protecting our natural resources and improving our communities through the implementation of sustainable practices. Inside this issue are some great highlights of what our members are doing to help protect the earth and conserve our resources.

I am thankful for everyone’s contributions to the Association and look forward to keeping 2024 going strong!

Best,

- Katherine Jones & Jim Headley

We encourage you to take full advantage of the SCRPA professional development opportunities as they can be beneficial to you and your agency’s growth.

Elevate Your Outdoor Space With Us

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# HeresWhatsHappening

Snapshots from SCRPA member agencies

Archery Excellence Continues in Aiken

Roger Pizio has been providing archery instruction to the Aiken community for almost 2 decades. At our Odell Weeks Activities Center, he hosts a Youth Archery League from January – March each year, three week-long summer camps, and provides instruction for our summer day camp attendees. He provides instruction on basic archery safety, technique, equipment, and mental concentration while shooting indoors at bullseye targets.

Smith Named to NRPA's 30 Under 30

On Nov. 2, 2023, Rock Hill Parks, Recreation and Tourism announced the development of a Pollinator Garden at Northside Recreation Center and accepted a check from the AARP Community Challenge Grant to assist with project funding. Once established, the Garden will provide volunteer opportunities for the community, including those taking garden-related classes through PRT’s Lifelong Learning @ Rock Hill program. And the Garden will help maintain our local ecosystem by providing food and shelter to bees, butterflies, and other pollinating animals.

Cameron Smith, CPRP, a Ph.D. student in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University was named one of the National Recreation & Park Association's (NRPA) magazine "30 Under 30" in the February 2024 issue.

As a scholar and practitioner, Cameron Smith has made profound contributions to the field, with a particular focus on racial equity. He has worked tirelessly to ensure underserved and marginalized communities have access to the benefits of parks and recreation. Professionally, he primarily has served as a community center director in lowincome areas across North Carolina. In this role, Smith strived to create accessible opportunities for his community members by providing affordable programs, developing nature-based curriculums tailored for his specific population, and advocating for greater social needs and well-being for those he serves. His commitment to fostering racial equity is evident in every project and program he leads.

AGENCIES: SUBMIT YOUR UPDATES!

Submit a brief for a future issue of SCRPA magazine. Send your text (70 words or less) plus up to three high resolution photos to: Alison Cribb at ACribb@CityofAikenSC.gov.

Rock Hill PRT Receives Grant for Pollinator Garden

BRING NEW LIFE TO YOUR SPORTS SURFACES

BEFORE AFTER

• Restore old, damaged courts to make them like-new again.

• Sport Courts offer a longer life/warranty than acrylic paint surfaces.

• Convert unused tennis courts into multi-sport courts to attract new users.

• Help keep residents safe - Sport Court technology absorbs shock, lessening impact and risk of injuries.

To learn more visit sportcourtcarolina.com or call 704-239-4900.

GREENING OUR PARKS

SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES BLOSSOM IN SOUTH CAROLINA RECREATION PROGRAMS

FREE OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES IN AIKEN COUNTY

KEEP AIKEN

By: Mark van der Linden, Aiken County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism

Aiken County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism and Aiken County Engineering/Stormwater have developed a collaborative relationship to provide free environmental and pollution prevention outreach opportunities to community members using Aiken County Parks as outdoor labs. To align with our specific departmental objectives, we successfully pooled resources to develop synergistic programs throughout the year, concurrently benefiting the residents of Aiken County. One example of this collaboration is Watershed Wednesdays, which was a partnership between Aiken County Stormwater and the

Aiken County Recreation Center’s Summer Day Camp. Watershed Wednesdays were dedicated to games, activities, and crafts to help campers 6-12 years of age understand the water cycle and importance of protecting water quality in Aiken County. Using the park-bordering Sand River as our lab space, campers were shown how the impact of our actions on land effect our neighbors downstream due to the connectivity of streams throughout Aiken County and beyond.

Aiken County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism partnered with the Stormwater division again for an Adopt-a-Stream Training. A local elementary school spent the day learning about native plants, macroinvertebrates, stormwater runoff, and the history of Langley Pond Park. Park staff used the opportunity to talk about the importance of Langley Pond to the community throughout the years, pond maintenance, the recent dam replacement and park reconstruction, the sport of rowing, and even brought out a slope mower for students to observe. Families, adults, and children of all ages tested water sampling equipment, learned about water quality, discussed the importance of pollution prevention, and how they can become citizen science volunteers here in Aiken County.

We’re pretty sure we have many future entomologists, biologists, scientists, and perhaps some PRT professionals in our program groups throughout the year! Kudos and a very special thanks to Lauren Alston, Jacob Nelson, and Tandra Cooks for making these programs possible and for showing how inter-departmental partnerships within a local municipality can be extremely beneficial and valuable to the citizens we serve. n

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS OPEN AT A CHARLESTON COUNTY PARK

By: Sarah Reynolds, Public Information Coordinator for Charleston County Parks

The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission (CCPRC) recently partnered with several other Charleston County agencies to open a charging station for electric vehicles at Caw Caw Interpretive Center.

Caw Caw Interpretive Center is located in the predominately rural area of Ravenel, SC, where there are limited opportunities for drivers to charge their electric vehicles in public places. Hopes are that this unique opportunity to charge in a rural area will bring new patrons to the park, while also being well-used by regular visitors to Caw Caw and CCPRC.

The chargers are free for drivers to use with their daily entrance fee to Caw Caw Interpretive Center, which is $2 per person.

In addition to the chargers installed at Caw Caw, Charleston County Government also installed three public electric vehicle chargers at their Public Service Building and at two Charleston County Public Library

locations. These installations are part of a pilot program that was partially grant funded, receiving a $10,000 grant from the US Department of Energy to help fund this $65,000 project.

According to the US Department of Energy, electric vehicles can help improve fuel economy, lower fuel costs and reduce emissions. Using more energy-efficient vehicles, like hybrid and electric vehicles, supports the US economy and helps diversify the US transportation fleet. Since they were installed as part of the program in May 2023, the six chargers throughout the county have been used over 450 times - an average of 91 times per month. According to stats provided by the company that operates the charging stations, this number of charges avoided 3,297 kg of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the approximate equivalent of planting 85 trees and letting them grow for 10 years.

CCPRC was proud to be a part of this county-wide program, which will improve the quality of life in Charleston County, aligning with our mission and supporting several of our core values, including stewardship. “We were excited to partner with Charleston County Government and the Charleston County Public Library on this project,” said Phi Macchia, CCPRC associate executive director. “We hope this pilot program is well received by the public and affords the opportunity to expand this service to the residents of and visitors to Charleston County in the future.” n

A LIVING SHORELINE IN NORTH MYRTLE BEACH

By: Erin Bowling North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation

The North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation department will be building a Living Shoreline to help protect against erosion at its Heritage Shores Nature Preserve.

To do so, North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation enlisted the aid of Keep North Myrtle Beach Beautiful (KNMBB) and its volunteer network for the construction of Manufactured Wire Reefs (MWR’s) or oyster baskets.

The MWR’s will be positioned in April when the water temperature warms. The intent is to provide a habitat favorable for oysters which, once established, will help capture water-borne sediment and assist in the creation of an erosion resistant natural shoreline.

Wildlife Biologist, Kevin Swain from the SCDNR South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement program (SCORE), was on-site on November 28 to provide tutorial guidance to a core group of volunteer leaders. These individuals worked closely with other volunteers to construct the MWR’s.

Recreation Leader Mary Heyd says, “It's incredible to see the community to come together to make the community more beautiful and connected through gardening. What's more rewarding is the chance to help the environment by reusing materials and reducing yard waste!"

The hope was to build 144 MWR’s over 12 days. Key KNMBB Volunteer, Bill Wishart, directed the volunteer effort. The group exceeded its goals by building 182 MWR’s in 8 days.

This project would not have been possible without the energy and enthusiasm of the volunteers who participated. n

DOG WASH TUBS

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WORK MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOU

Enhancing Community Engagement Through Social Media in Charleston County Parks

By: Nick Krueger, Charleston County Parks

In the ever-changing landscape of social media, Charleston County Parks has carved out a space, weaving a narrative that reflects the beauty and stories within our parks. Guided by a Marketing Content Coordinator, our team endeavors to create a visual experience on Facebook, Instagram, and X, formerly known as Twitter, that resonates authentically with our community.

At the heart of our approach is a dedication to capturing the essence of our parks through high-quality photography and drone footage, while also updating the public with need-to-know information, upcoming programs, as well as future festivals and events.

Human-centric storytelling takes the form of employee profiles, offering glimpses into the lives of the people who contribute to the parks' daily operations. These profiles serve as acknowledgments of the diverse talents within our organization, fostering connections through shared stories of passion and dedication.

A subtle touch of humor also finds its way into our posts when appropriate, creating

an atmosphere of shared enjoyment. Our intention fosters connection with our audience, allowing our platforms to serve as spaces for genuine interaction.

When it comes to technology, we use Hootsuite to schedule our content and Archive Social to maintain compliance with archiving our content. Canva also comes in handy when we need a quick graphic. We also use the Adobe Creative Suite to edit video or enhance photos.

Community engagement is approached as an unassuming dialogue. We actively respond to comments, questions, and concerns, recognizing that our social media platforms are not megaphones but an opportunity to foster meaningful connections with our citizens.

Facebook and Instagram remain the hub of our social media efforts, where we utilize a mix of paid and organic content. We set specific targeting parameters to reach

our audience with boosted posts, ensuring maximum engagement and participation in park-related activities. We also use the Facebook Events feature for key special events, providing detailed descriptions, inviting the community to participate, and boosting those events using our paid media budget to put the event in front of the most eyes possible. On Instagram, we leverage user-generated content to highlight the value of our parks and the people in them. Our goal by sharing the content created by park guests is to encourage more people to explore and appreciate the natural world around them.

In the evolving landscape of social media, Charleston County Parks remains at the forefront. The combination of visual storytelling, employee profiles, subtle humor, and community engagement creates a dynamic online presence with over 70,000 followers on Facebook and 35,000 on Instagram. With each post, we invite our audience to appreciate and celebrate the beauty and significance of Charleston County Parks.

FOR YOU

Let Them Win (and learn something too!)

By: Kristen Guilfoos, Spartanburg County Parks Department

Spartanburg County Parks Department has increased our social media presence drastically over the last few years, thanks in part to some consistent campaigns that really engage our followers and give them a chance to win prizes. They also are learning something about our people, parks and programs in the process, which makes for a win-win all around!

Here are a few examples of our most successful social media campaigns so far.

#MeetMeMonday

Every Monday (year-round) we feature a different staff member (both parttime and full-time), letting the public “meet” the people behind our parks and programs. Each employee’s photo is featured with the same template and they’re all asked the same questions. Those answers are then shared with our Facebook followers. Those questions are:

• What are your job duties and how long have you worked here?

• What do you like doing outside of work?

• Why do you love your job?

Not only does this allow for the public to see the faces of people who are working hard every day to make our parks and programs the best they can be, it also increases employee morale by shining a spotlight on individuals who are often behind-the-scenes.

#TriviaTuesday

Every Tuesday (Memorial Day—Labor Day), we post a fun fact about one of our parks or programs, then ask a trivia question to go along with it. We’ve done everything from the very basic “How many community centers do we have?” to “What is the historic name of the island at Cleveland Park?” to “What is the oldest park in our inventory?”.

Our Marketing Manager shoots a video of herself in whichever place pertains to that week’s trivia question and then on Tuesday mornings, that video is posted, asking our followers a multiple choice question. They leave their answer on that same Facebook post and then we randomly choose someone who answered correctly to win a parks prize pack, which includes swag and a family four pass to kayak or paddleboard. On Wednesdays, when we announce the winner, we also give the answer to the trivia questions, so everyone learns a fun fact about our parks!

SCRPA

#ClarkInThePark

This is a holiday spin on #WhereIsItWednesday. We take a photo each week (Thanksgiving – Christmas) of an Elf on the Shelf which we’ve named Clark, and followers have to guess where Clark is to win a prize. Each randomly selected winner gets a gingerbread house making kit and hot chocolate with peppermint marshmallows, setting them up for a fun family evening.

WORK

MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOU

#WhereIsItWednesday

This is the same concept as #TriviaTuesday, except for it’s on Wednesdays (Memorial Day – Labor Day). Each week, we post a photo of some parks department swag (we’ve done water bottles some years and sunglasses others) in a mystery location, asking people to guess where the photo was taken. The randomly selected winner also wins a parks prize pack and kayak/paddleboard pass.

#HeartsInThePark

We love our parks so much, we left our hearts there… literally! We set up groupings of heart signs in 8 parks across the county at the beginning of February. We then asked our followers to find the hearts in the park closest to them, take a photo with the hearts, then tag us on Facebook or Instagram for a chance to win a prize. We had hundreds of people take part in the weeklong contest leading up to Valentine’s Day! We randomly selected one photo submission from each park to win a Valentine’s Day themed hot cocoa bomb making kit.