Parks & Recreation May 2018

M AY 2 0 1 8 W W W. N R PA . O R G

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contents may 2018

DrAfter123

volume 53 | number 5 | www.parksandrecreation.org sandrecreat ndrecreati rea ion org o

FEATURES

50 Leadership Is More Than a Noun Every individual is, at times, stymied by their perceived limitations. However, there are leaders who possess qualities and characteristics that motivate individuals to move past those perceptions. These leaders not only allow individuals to be innovative and take greater ownership in their work and projects, but they also encourage them to do so. Lori A. Hoffner writes about leadership, the subject of a session she will present at the NRPA 2018 Annual Conference September 25–27.

Lori A. Hoffner

4

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56 A New Vision for Atlanta The city of Atlanta will break ground on approximately 20 projects in 2018 and beyond.

With a combination of public and private funding, Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation provides insight on how these entities can and are working together to create parks and develop public lands that can, ultimately, transform Atlanta and the lives of its residents.

Vitisia Paynich

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contents may

columns 8

departments

Parks Really Do Build Community Barbara Tulipane, CAE

10 Editor’s Letter Leadership Through Encouragement Gina Mullins-Cohen

14 Research NRPA Facility Market Reports Melissa May

30 Advocacy Invite Your Members of Congress to Kids to Parks Day Jayni Rasmussen

18 Park Pulse Community Gardens

20 Community Center

34 Law Review Standing to Challenge Removal of Confederate Park Monuments James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

Is Community Participation Enough for Park Planning?

Jon Kohl

24 Member to Member

40 Future Leaders Mentoring: Invaluable to Success John W. Stutzman, CPRP

Developing and Expanding Learning Through Play Paula Jacoby-Garrett

62 NRPA Update f Get Ready for #NRPAFamilyFitDay 2018 62 f Persuade Your Boss, Like a Boss 64 f Navigating the Leadership Learning Track 65 f 2018 Directors School 66 f NRPA Exhibits at STEM Festival 67 f Connect Hot Topics 68 f Member Benefit: Recommended Guidelines for Credentialing Volunteers 68 f Member Spotlight: Todd Johnson 69 f Parks & Recreation Crossword 70 f Professional Development Calendar 72

42 Conservation The Bats of Mecklenburg County Chris Matthews

44 Health and Wellness Promoting Physical Activity with Temporary Street Closures Keshia Pollack Porter, M. Renée Umstattd Meyer and Amanda Walker

48 Social Equity Bridging the Digital Divide — Free Wi-Fi in Parks Mark Saferstein

Page 30

74 Operations

82 Park Essentials 87 Advertiser Index 88 Park Bench Life-Saving Trail Markers Suzanne Nathan

Cover Image: istockphoto.com/mihtiander 6

Parks & Recreation

| M AY 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Photo courtesy of the National Park Trust

f Skateboarding Popularity Is Growing – Get Ahead of the Curve 74 Suzanne Nathan f Cutting-Edge Innovations to Improve Mower Safety 76 Antony Alexander f A Solar Lighting System for Layritz Park 78 Sonia Myrick

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P E R S P E C T I V E S A M E S S A G E F R O M N R PA’ S L E A D E R S

Parks Really Do Build Community Not long ago, I was visiting a recreation center in an underserved community when what was supposed to be a routine visit turned into a life-changing event for me. We talk about our Social Equity Pillar with great sincerity, but the truth is, we are somewhat removed from the realities of it. This changed for me when, as we were leaving the center, a young man — a boy, really — stumbled into the center looking for help. We rushed to help him and while a staff member called for an ambulance, we learned that he had been stabbed at his home during an altercation with an intruder. We later learned that his injuries were not life-threatening, and while he will not suffer long-term physical damage, I can’t speak to the mental trauma he suffered. I suspect, however, that it will affect him long after his physical wounds are healed.

I have vivid memories and reflections from this event, but perhaps the most touching memory was watching teenage boys switch from being hip young men playing foosball just seconds before to being sensitive young men comforting a scared little boy. I was also struck by the fact that of all the places this young boy could have gone, he came to the center as a place of safety and a place where he could get help.

We frequently talk about how “parks build community” but to witness “community” in action was truly remarkable. I was also in awe of the center’s young manager who took charge and brought order out of chaos. Her poise and skills under pressure speak volumes to the professionalism and dedication that park and recreation staff have and which they display every day.

In my role, I have had the privilege of seeing some spectacular park and recreation centers and, without exception, park directors have always been generous in sharing their knowledge with me. While I enjoy these visits and enjoy seeing beautiful parks, it’s the centers in underserved communities where I learn the most. Perhaps it’s because these centers are so important, even essential, to the people who live in these communities. I remain grateful to the director who had the courage to show me a center that was not her best or newest facility but, rather, a center that provides its residents with a refuge from the conflicts plaguing many communities today.

Some weeks later, when I shared my experience with the NRPA Board of Directors, a board member, who runs a very large urban agency, made a startling comment. He said that in his city, the police are armed “to the teeth” when they go into communities with high-crime rates, yet his employees who work in these same communities carry nothing more than a whistle!

It’s frustrating to see and difficult to understand how park and recreation professionals, who provide services that go way beyond just recreation programs, fail to receive acknowledgement or pay that is equivalent to public safety personnel. There are no parades for the park and recreation professionals, and there are no public awards. Park and recreation professionals simply do it for the love of kids who are surviving under conditions that very few of us will ever know.

BAR BAR A T ULIPAN E, C AE President and CEO 8

Parks & Recreation

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22377 Belmont Ridge Rd. | Ashburn, VA 20148 703.858.0784 | www.nrpa.org

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SHIPPING SUPPLY SPECIALISTS

NRPA’S MISSION: To advance parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair of the Board of Directors Leon T. Andrews, Jr. National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Chair-Elect Jack Kardys Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department Miami, Florida

Past Chair Stephen Eckelberry Bartlett Park District Bartlett, Illinois

Treasurer Michael Kelly Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

Secretary Jesús Aguirre Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation Seattle, Washington

President and CEO Barbara Tulipane, CAE National Recreation and Park Association Ashburn, Virginia

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael Abbaté, FASLA City of Portland Parks and Recreation Portland, Oregon

Jesús Aguirre Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation Seattle, Washington

Leon T. Andrews, Jr. National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Neelay Bhatt PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

Hayden Brooks American Realty Corporation Austin, Texas

Kong Chang City of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Saint Paul, Minnesota

Kevin Coyle

Roslyn Johnson

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

Jack Kardys

Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department Miami, Florida

Michael Kelly

Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

Karen Bates Kress Park Advocate Emigrant, Montana

Herman Parker

City of San Diego, California, Park and Recreation Department San Diego, California

Ian Proud

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PlayPower Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Molly Stevens

Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Austin, Texas

Nonet T. Sykes

The Annie E. Casey Foundation Baltimore, Maryland

Xavier Urrutia

City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation San Antonio, Texas

Dr. Howell Wechsler

Alliance for a Healthier Generation New York, New York

LIFE TRUSTEES Beverly D. Chrisman

Lexington, South Carolina

Anne S. Close

Fort Mill, South Carolina

James H. Evans

New York, New York

Rosemary Hall Evans

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Earl T. Groves

Gastonia, North Carolina

Charles E. Hartsoe, Ph.D. Richmond, Virginia

Harry G. Haskell

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

National Wildlife Federation Washington, D.C.

Kathryn A. Porter

Stephen Eckelberry

Perry J. Segura

Bartlett Park District Carol Stream, Illinois

New Iberia, Louisiana

R. Dean Tice

Richard Gulley

Round Hill, Virginia

Balboa Park Conservancy San Diego, California

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Mendham, New Jersey

Eugene A. Young, CPRP

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | M AY 2 0 1 8 |

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EDITOR’S LET TER

Leadership Through Encouragement Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.

— Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers head coach I have had the pleasure of meeting incredible people in the field of parks and recreation, who have risen up the ranks to earn a leadership role in their respective agencies. In many cases, these are individuals who, from a very early age, had a passion for community service and a sincere desire to make a difference in people’s lives. As leaders, they’ve made sacrifices and worked hard to reach their goals, but they also acknowledge that they cannot be truly effective if they fail to teach, nurture and motivate their staffers to achieve their own success.

Writer Lori A. Hoffner explores this subject further in this month’s cover story, “Leadership Is More Than a Noun,” on page 50. Hoffner points out that leaders not only promote creative and innovative thinking among individuals, but they also encourage them to take greater ownership in their work and projects. What’s more, she offers insight into the two main types of leaders: Transformational and Transactional.

In the feature, “A New Vision for Atlanta” on page 56, contributor Vitisia Paynich provides an in-depth look at how Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation is using public and private funding to create parks and develop public lands that can transform the city and enhance the lives of its residents.

Contributor Paula Jacoby-Garrett explains why play is vital to children’s physical and emotional well-being in “Developing and Expanding Learning Through Play” on page 24. She also discusses how this year’s NRPA Parks Build Community Project, Sandorf Park, in Indianapolis, Indiana, is addressing the importance of play head on.

May 19 is Kids to Parks Day, a national day of play, connecting kids and families with their local, state and national parks. The National Park Trust started this initiative in 2011, and it takes place annually on the third Saturday of May. For more information about hosting your own Kids to Parks Day event, check out the Advocacy column on page 30, “Invite Your Members of Congress to Kids to Parks Day,” by NRPA’s Jayni Rasmussen.

Echoing the sentiments of Coach Lombardi: leaders are made, not born — and that’s where you can make a difference. You are a mentor who has the power to create tomorrow’s leaders by motivating your staff to think outside the box and develop their own projects. After all, offering your team the encouragement and support needed for their success, ultimately, makes your organization that much stronger.

GINA MULLINS-COHEN Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Publishing Editorial Director 10

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PRESIDENT AND CEO Barbara Tulipane, CAE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLISHING, AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR Sonia Myrick smyrick@nrpa.org EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR Catrina Belt cbelt@nrpa.org Suzanne Nathan snathan@nrpa.org PUBLICATION DESIGN Creative By Design www.creativebydesign.net SENIOR SALES MANAGER EASTERN REGION AND EUROPE Kip Ongstad 703.858.2174 kongstad@nrpa.org SALES MANAGER WESTERN REGION AND ASIA Michelle Dellner 949.248.1057 mdellner@nrpa.org PHOTOGRAPHY Dreamstime.com (unless otherwise noted) MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Keith Anderson Gerald Brown Ernest Burkeen Brendan Daley Anthony-Paul Diaz Ryan Eaker Robert García Kathleen Gibi Sandra Gonzales Tim Herd Brian Johnson Todd Lehman Sam Mendelsohn Maria Nardi Lisa Paradis Gil Peñalosa Vic Richard Dr. Kevin Riley Karla Rivera Paula Sliefert Anne-Marie Spencer Stephen Springs Randy Wiger

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Research NRPA Facility Market Reports Providing tailored insights about your facility and community

By Melissa May

W

hich local population group is growing quickly — older residents, children or both? How able and willing are your residents to pay registration fees?

What is the potential reach of a proposed pocket park? Being able to answer these questions means you know your residents, their needs and desires. And, knowing your residents leads to providing even better service. One place where your agency can answer these questions is with an NRPA Facility Market Report (FMR).

What Is an NRPA Facility Market Report?

Facility Market Reports (www.nrpa.org/ publications-research/fmr) offer key data and insights about the residents served by your agency’s facilities with information from the U.S. Census Bureau and market research firms. FMRs give park and recreation professionals a greater un-

14

Parks & Recreation

derstanding of the residents served by a park, aquatic center, recreation center or any other facility, using data that focus on residents’ behaviors, habits and interests.

Since launching this resource as a Premier member benefit in late 2015, the NRPA Research team has produced more than 500 FMRs for agencies big and small, contrac-

| M AY 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

tors, planners and other key stakeholders.

As we have seen over these past few years, these reports assist with programming and planning decisions, justification of need to local leaders, and allow park and recreation agencies to gain a greater understanding of the residents within a specific location.

Each FMR is unique, with the analysis based on both the actual location and reach you define. You select the area for analysis, with choices that include a 10-minute walk or drive times of 10, 15 or 30 minutes from the address you designate.

Which distance you may want to use can differ by site. For example, an agency

Each FMR is unique, with wanting to evaluate its program offerings at a local recreation center may need a better understanding of local population trends. If an FMR based on a 10-minute drive from the recreation center highlights a burgeoning older adult population in the community, the agency can make an informed decision to expand older adult-focused programming.

In the case of a proposed playground in a currently vacant lot, you would likely request an FMR with a smaller distance.

A report based on a 10-minute walk from this proposed location might show a high concentration of young families with children, highlighting an opportunity to place certain play equipment.

Three Different FMRs Available to You We have three types of Facility Market Reports to choose from: Community

the analysis based on both the actual location and reach you define.

Profile, Health and Wellness, and Older Adults. Each report covers overall population, age trends and median income within the designated distance parameters. In addition, each report includes a map detailing the area of analysis. A more focused level of detail exists, depending on the report you request.

Community Profile FMRs provide an overview of demographic and marketing data in your targeted area. Specific information, such as the median age of the target area combined with forecasted age

trends, allows you to customize your offerings to reflect the needs of young families or older adults. Suppose an FMR tells you that 3 in 5 residents in the target area exercise only 1 to 3 hours per week and that the median income in the area is low, relative to national levels. These findings may suggest a need within the community for low-cost/no-cost fitness offerings at the local recreation center.

Within the Community Profile Facility Market Report, you will also find social media usage to better communicate with your residents and recreation spending habits to assist you in determining feebased offerings.

Health and Wellness FMRs provide a snapshot of overall health within a targeted area and includes not only age, income and ethnicity information, but also data on exercise habits. The number of

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W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | M AY 2 0 1 8 |

Parks & Recreation

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Research

An NRPA FMR for Peter Kirk Community Center in Kirkland, Washington

I

n Washington state, the city of Kirkland was trying to determine how to best to serve citizens near the Peter Kirk Community Center. The center had mainly been focused on serving senior residents, but employees were hearing there was a need to provide more programming for younger families. Before investing time and dedicating budget dollars, the Parks & Community Services director, Lynn Zwaagstra, wanted to get a sense of the actual numbers.

“Early in 2017, we reached out to NRPA to have a Community Profile Report done within a 15-minute drive-time radius of the community center. It took about five business days to get the results we needed,” says Zwaagstra. “We learned that many young families had moved into the area over the past 10 years, and there was a need for an afterschool program. We launched the program in fall of 2017, and it filled up immediately. We held registration for the 2018–2019 school year, and we are already filled to capacity.”

Programming for the community center now includes senior activities between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., an afterschool program from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and adult classes from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“Our programming lull used to be between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Having the afterschool program was the perfect addition for our residents and our community center,” says Zwaagstra.

To learn more about how an FMR could help meet your agency’s needs, visit www.nrpa. org/FMR.

hours spent exercising, percent of residents that exercise at home versus at a club or gym weekly, even what type of fitness equipment these residents own, all assist park and recreation agencies with making informed decisions. An FMR showing that 1 in 3 residents with16

Parks & Recreation

in a 10-minute walk of a facility went swimming within the last 12 months but that there are no nearby pools could inform a conversation about adding a community pool. Fitness and exercise data is only one part of health and wellness.

Also included are data on doctor visits;

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prescription drug usage for such conditions as arthritis, blood pressure and diabetes; and dietary restrictions. Lastly, this report includes data on obesity, diabetes and smoking rates at both the county and state levels.

Older Adult FMRs specifically target residents aged 50 and over in your community. The report is like the Community Profile, in that it presents the total population for the targeted area, but breaks down the data further to show the number of older adults living in the area. The median income of the older adults in that area helps to paint a picture of lifestyle, needs and potential park and recreation service opportunities for this growing population. Lastly, this report gives an overview of insurance coverage for residents 65 and older. Creating programs that are fee-based, free or fee-based but reimbursable through insurance carriers can have a significant impact on older adult participation at your park and recreation facilities.

How Do You Get FMRs? The NRPA FMRs are an NRPA Premier member benefit. Staff at these agencies have access to a set number of free FMRs each year. If you need FMRs beyond your agency’s annual allotment, additional reports are available for a modest fee. A park and recreation agency that is not a Premier member can still request an FMR for a small fee. (Better yet, discover the many benefits Premier membership provides to your agency and its staff at www.nrpa.org/membership/premier).

Get started today. Whether you need a single report focused on a park or would like a custom report produced for each of your agency’s recreation centers, parks or open land set aside for future use, place your request by visiting www.nrpa.org/FMR. Melissa May is NRPA’s Senior Research Manager (mmay@nrpa.org).

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Each month, through a poll of Americans that is focused on park and recreation issues, NRPA Park Pulse will help to tell the park and recreation story. Questions span from the serious to the more lighthearted, and with this month’s poll, we asked Americans:

NRPA Park Pulse How valuable, if at all, would it be for children to have access to community gardens, where they can learn more about where food comes from?

Children’s Access to Community Gardens Important 92% of Americans think it’s valuable for children to have access to community gardens where they can learn more about where food comes from.

The strongest supporters include:

Millennials

81% African-Americans

80% Women

80% More than 3 in 4 Americans think children’s access to community gardens is very or extremely valuable.

Parents

80%

The National Recreation and Park Association Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,004 nationally representative Americans adults ages 18+, between March 19th and March 23rd, 2018, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18 and older.

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Parks & Recreation

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Where Nature Meets the Built Environment NU-edge

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For years, playground trends have flip-flopped between ultra modern, urban design and a more natural/rustic aesthetic. But there are benefits and beauty in both. Why view the opportunity in black and white? It’s time to meet in the middle.

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Community Center Is Community Participation Enough for Park Planning?

By Jon Kohl

C

ommunity participation in park planning is all the rage: it’s in our legislation, our policies and our thoughts as a cornerstone to modern park management.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Protected Area Governance and Management publication states: “Participation has become a basic principle of protected area planning, since it has been recognized that without participation by the beneficiaries of the plan, implementation and outcomes will often fail.” what about uncountable other parks around the world? In 2010, one well-cited management effectiveness study showed that 30 percent of protected natural areas worldwide suffer from poor management, for which one major factor is unimplemented plans.

Since “participation” can mean so many things, if planners and participants don’t jointly define what they mean by it, they can end up being dissatisfied with the out-

Photo by Jon Kohl

Yet, even with community participation, implementation often fails. For example, since 1990, the staff at Yellowstone has written seven consecutive winter-use plans, following all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules for public participation. This participation, however, has resulted in lawsuit after lawsuit, relegating those plans to gathering dust on the office shelf. If that can happen to the eminent Yellowstone,

Students participate in the “collaborate” portion on the Public Participation Spectrum, where community members work with planners to make decisions, in this case, on interpretive themes.

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come. Stacie Smith, senior mediator at the Consensus Building Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has facilitated planning and conflict management processes at numerous parks and heritage areas, and says that just following NEPA participation rules does not ensure meaningful public or stakeholder engagement in decision making. She recommends tools, several of which circulate on the internet, that define participation; for example, the International Association for Public Participation’s Public Participation Spectrum, which defines levels of participation. These tools clearly show that participation varies widely in form, from only telling the community what planners will do, to relinquishing control to the community to make decisions, and everything in between.

But even if planners define participation and align their expectations with those of participants, that still falls short of what planning demands for success in a dynamic, impossible to completely understand, complex, and ever-changing (DICE) world. Steve McCool, emeritus professor of wildlands management and planning at the University of Montana, says, “Decades ago, parks held both the legal power to plan and political power to implement their plans. Today, they retain the power to plan, but political power to implement is now held outside the agency.” The DICE world is marked by reduced budgets, greater diversity of public demands and more complex, messy problems. It requires that parks plan adaptively as their conditions continuously change and more holistically to consider parts of reality that before they

may have ignored. To achieve this, they also need a new measure of plan success.

Measuring Plan Success In many parks, managers measure park planning success by the percentage of planned tasks completed. In Costa Rica, for example, park managers are still partially evaluated based on this number.

Since the 1960s, planning academics have decried measuring “conformance,” the degree to which implementation conforms to planned tasks as outmoded in a world that changes rapidly. What we plan in January may not be what we intend to do by, say, September. In 1997, two researchers (Hans Mastop at Radboud University and Andreas Faludi from Delft University of Technology, both in The Netherlands) proposed to measure plan “performance,” which includes the following:

• Conformance (percentage of planned tasks completed) • Plan quality (degree to which plans contain sections, like zoning, consistent with expert recommendations) • Planned achievements (objectives met) • Unplanned achievements (other significant but unplanned achievements that emerge from the planning process, such as the creation of a new community organization) • Plan influence on decision making (degree to which decision makers refer to the plan, even if they do not follow planned tasks specifically) • Plan contribution to planning practice (degree to which subsequent planning processes adopt lessons from a previous process).

Director of Recreation for USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region Francis-

co Valenzuela cites the Prescott National Forest in Arizona as a model for public lands management, in which the Forest Service collaborates deeply with local governments. For example, the service works with the Verde Front community to protect and enhance the Verde River, which flows through the forest, but often not within the formal national forest boundaries. Recognizing that the Verde River and its tributaries will benefit from a regional approach to recreation, the service participates in a broadly supported, regional collaborative coordination, planning and implementation process across the Verde Valley. The community feels such ownership that it considers the recreation plan to be its plan rather than the service’s. The community contributes more than one-third of the money and labor needed to manage the program.

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Community Center IAP2’s Public Participation Spectrum

Promise to the public

Public participation goal

Increasing impact on the decision Inform

Consult

Involve

Collaborate

Empower

To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problem, alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions.

To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions.

To work directly with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered.

To partner with the public in each aspect of the decision, including the development of alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution.

To place final decision making in the hands of the public.

We will keep you informed.

We will keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge concerns and aspirations, and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision. We will see your feedback on drafts and proposals.

We will work with you to ensure that your concerns and aspirations are directly reflected in the alternatives developed and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision.

We will work together with you to formulate solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

We will implement what you decide.

Building Community Capacity to Plan and Implement Building a community’s capacity to plan and implement that plan also requires building community social capital and resilience, qualities that are farther along the participation spectrum. Working across organizations, interest groups, ethnicities and political stripes does not come naturally. To collaborate requires that the park community first have a minimal level of trust in the stakeholders at the table, and they must have minimal competence to dialogue together to create a shared vision and manage conflict.

Conflict is inherent in most planning decisions — not just conflict between parks and stakeholders (for example, over proposed management policies), but often conflict within park staff as well. According to Smith, “There’s often internal conflict within parks that is not being addressed or managed and contributes to challenges in a park achieving its goals and objectives or even aligning its goals and objectives across its own divisions.” Since internal relationships can directly affect implementation of any plan, Smith says, “It is frequently helpful, if not necessary, to surface points of conflict. Some of those points 22

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might be addressed within the planning process, while others may require additional work. But either way, we need to acknowledge that conflict. Ignoring it and pretending it’s not there is a recipe for plans that cannot be implemented.”

Beyond public participation, successful adaptive planning in a DICE world calls for: 1. Creating a management plan of reasonable technical quality co-owned by the community 2. Building the park community’s social capital, trust, motivation and ability to work together on an on-going basis 3. Establishing conditions for adaptive and continuous planning, such as the plan format itself Rise of Holistic Planning Holistic planning considers the interior dimension of people (psychology) and groups (culture), as well as exterior aspects of plan quality, strategies and skills.

It is an approach to planning that • Recognizes emerging phenomena and interprets them through interior and exterior perspectives • Redistributes political power by integrating different forms of knowledge and implementing democratic reforms

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Once planners become familiar with a spectrum like this by the International Association for Public Participation, they can never again simply say “participatory process” without qualifying where on the spectrum the process lies.

• Transforms constituency visions into reality through authentic conversation that defines many facets of visitation • Cultivates constituent communities and strengthens their social capital, cohesion and trust to learn from and implement management decisions, with sufficient adaptability to protect heritage value and share them with the wider public over the long term Public participation cannot be limited just to public hearings and 30-day comment periods. People only protect what they care about. Francisco’s voice rises in intensity, “When you have a public meeting and people are emotional and excited, that is a good sign. They care. We may not agree with them as land managers, but their showing up means that they care. The worst possible thing is to hold a public meeting and no one shows up at all.” But hey, at least they offered the public a chance to participate, right?

Jon Kohl is Executive Director of the PUP Global Heritage Consortium (jon@pupconsortium.net).

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Member to Member Developing and Expanding Learning Through Play

By Paula Jacoby-Garrett

I

t’s something every child engages in — regardless of race, family income or geographical location. It can involve expensive, complicated toys or none at all. Experts around the world know that play is a crucial component to a physically and emotionally healthy child, yet the amount of time children are allowed to play continues to be on the decline and the broader benefits of play are often overlooked.

Play goes beyond sheer entertainment: it provides a framework for developing and expanding a child’s learning.

Play offers the opportunity for children to use their imagination, to problem solve, and work through a variety of challenges. Through play, children de-

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velop the fine and gross motor skills that help them with developmental tasks, and they increase their social skills when working with others.

According to AnneMarie Spencer, corporate vice president of marketing at PlayCore, “Researchers, educators

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and child experts have emphasized the interrelatedness and interdependence of developmental domains and processes as being linked, not only with each other, but also with factors such as physical health, social relationships, mental health and brain function.”

An architectural rendering of the refurbished Sandorf Park playground.

It’s no surprise, then, that researchers and educators have found a correlation between play and learning. Academic studies have shown that following an unstructured play break, students are more attentive to their schoolwork. It is suggested that play, mainly pretend play, provides an opportunity to develop reasoning skills. Other studies have shown a link between free play and higher cognitive and linguistic abilities.

Designing Playgrounds to Enrich Youth The sign of a thriving playground environment is its continual use and relevance over time. To achieve this, proper planning, stakeholder input and creative design must be used to meet the needs of the end users.

“Play variety is important, specifically, having different challenge levels that meet children where they are and challenge them to grow,” says Brian D. Johnson, chief marketing officer for BCI Burke. “Having these spaces allow all children to play together. Also, it is important to design with play events that

aid in different types of development — physical, cognitive, social, emotional and imaginative. Learning is inherent in play, and play environments should be designed to facilitate learning and help children find the best of themselves through play.”

It is also important to understand that children are not the only users of a playground. The majority of the time, those children are visiting the park with a caregiver. Providing amenities for these adults can allow for more extended play times.

Johnson adds: “Having spaces for parents and caregivers to socialize and be comfortable AND that are integrated into the play environment, instead of on the outside, helps children have more time at the playground and enriches the experience by facilitating intergenerational engagement.”

This year’s NRPA Parks Build Community Project, Sandorf Park in Indianapolis, Indiana, will provide enhanced recreation and play facilities for the local community as well as for the adjacent magnet school, SUPER (Students Understanding through Powerful and Ener-

This aerial view of a portion of Sandorf Park shows some of the park’s other amenities.

getic Routines) School 19. Through generous donations from several vendors, this project will incorporate the following features into this play space: Adventure: Adding adventure into a play environment is not only engaging, but also results in children developing complex ideas and using their imagination. “Adventure play gives children the opportunity to take age-appropriate risk and learn to fail, in a safer environment and then to get up and keep trying, explains Johnson. “It teaches resiliency and initiative on their own terms.

Climbing, a huge component of adventure play, expands children’s minds by integrating problem-solving and cognitive planning into play.”

Music: We have all heard about the benefits of music to the mind and the links between learning and use of a musical instrument.

Music appeals to all ages and all abilities and has been shown to lower stress and anxiety,

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Integrating adventure and play allows children to use their imagination.

reduce depression and other physical and mental disorders, while providing a mechanism for self-expression. These benefits can extend beyond the classroom into the outdoor environment using outdoor instruments, such as Freenotes Harmony Park.

These outdoor musical instruments are fun for all ages and encourage activity in a variety of ways. They help people feel successful when playing an instrument, and people can participate by dancing along, singing or simply observing,” says Playcore’s Spencer. “Children can learn cooperative behavior and turn taking, as well as how to work as a team to create fun, collaborative music and rhythms,” she says.

Inclusivity: Providing the most successful playground environment possible requires designing and constructing for all ages and abilities. Many industry experts believe that active play is just as important (perhaps more) for children with disabilities. Often, these children are isolated from their peer group and do not have access to engaging physical activities in a social environment.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation: “Twelve percent of the U.S. population has a severe disability that affects at least one function of daily living. This group of people does not live in a vacuum. They have children, parents, siblings and grandparents who are involved in their daily lives. Therefore, 36 percent of the population, or 1 in 3 people, is touched by severe disability.”

“The overall aim [of an inclusive playground],” as stated by Inclusive Play by The Sensory Trust, “is to ensure that all children have access to an equal quality of experience. It is important to note that this doesn’t mean that every bit has to be accessible to everyone, but it does mean that it all needs to add up to a great experience for everyone.”

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Action-Based Learning

T

he chairs have been replaced with stability balls and, along with the iconic student desks, every classroom at SUPER School 19 in Indianapolis, Indiana, has an elliptical or exercise bike, a standing desk and room for kids to do a few jumping jacks if they need a brain break. How does this not dissolve into chaos you may wonder? Well, SUPER School 19 is a kinesthetic magnet school, meaning that movement is incorporated into every class — kindergarten through eighth grade. As Principal John McClure says, “We believe that exercise builds brain cells, so the more movement we can incorporate into our classrooms is going to correlate into higher learning, which will lead to higher achievement.”

Research shows when students are allowed to move in learning environments, they experience improved blood flow, which helps to deliver more oxygen to the brain and enables it to function at a higher level. At the kindergarten level, it is especially important to provide students with outlets for their extra energy. Doing so, McClure says, calms the students’ behaviors and minimizes classroom disruptions.

He states: “We encourage [students] to be open with our teachers to say, ‘Hey, I need to take a break.’ We’re like, ‘that’s OK.’ If they need that, we incorporate it into our day.”

McClure, a former PE teacher, is a passionate advocate for healthy, active lifestyles and for adding movement to our schools. He points to the importance of programs, like the NFL’s Play 60 campaign, which encourages kids to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. “We just weren’t seeing enough activity in our schools,” he explains. “IPS [Indianapolis Public Schools] is a leader nationally with innovative styles of education, and when the [SUPER] school was developed, it was developed on the idea that we need to have more movement.

We need to have action-based learning as part of our school, and it caught on. Students love it, the parents love it, and we’re in our fifth year of action-based learning.”

Sandorf Park, site of the 2018 Parks Build Community project, sits right next door to SUPER School 19. The school’s unique approach to learning, makes it the perfect neighbor to the park. “We’re really excited to have the partnership with the parks and really honored to have them build a park next to where we are because of our school and its uniqueness,” says McClure.

Before Indianapolis Parks approached the SUPER School with the idea of reinventing Sandorf Park, the playground was in disrepair. Principal McClure describes the playground equipment as “not necessarily safe. We definitely had to block off certain areas because either it was falling apart, it was rusted, it was broken — and it becomes a safety issue. Any time our students are at recess, safety is the No. 1 priority.”

A reinvented Sandorf Park will not only be welcomed by the SUPER School 19 students, but also by the surrounding community.

Come September when the park officially opens during the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference, the students will once again use it every day during recess, and, McClure believes, they’ll want to come back after school and bring their families. “Parks bring people together,” he says, “and having the opportunity to add fitness, to add wellness and a social component to this community is going to make everything better. It’s going to reunite this community in a way that it hasn’t had for many years. And, it fits in perfectly with our model of movement. The more our students and our community can move, the more healthy, active lifestyles we’re going to have.”

Stability balls, shown on students’ desk below, have replaced chairs in all SUPER School 19 classrooms.

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NRPA’s 2018 Parks Build Community Donors Sandorf Park, Indianapolis American Ramp Company http://americanrampcompany.com BCI Burke www.bciburke.com Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf www.bdmd.com CHA www.chacompanies.com Dero www.dero.com DOGIPOT www.dogipot.com Dumor www.dumor.com Epic Outdoor Cinema www.epicoutdoorcinema.com Freenotes Harmony Park - https://freenotesharmonypark.com GameTime www.gametime.com Gared www.garedsports.com Greenfields Outdoor Fitness http://gfoutdoorfitness.com IMC Outdoor Living/NuPlay - http://imcoutdoorliving.com iZone www.izoneimaging.com Jr. NBA https://jr.nba.com Kompan www.kompan.com Mayer- Najem www.meyer-najem.com Most Dependable Fountains, Inc. www.mostdependable.com Musco Lighting www.musco.com Pilot Rock www.pilotrock.com PlayCore www.playcore.com PlayWorld https://playworld.com/playground-equipment Schneider schneidercorp.com Shade Systems Inc. http://shadesystemsinc.com sofSURFACES - www.sofsurfaces.com Synlawn www.synlawn.com

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“Designing play environments that promote inclusivity and reduce barriers for everyone to play together are hugely important in enriching the lives of everyone at the playground. These spaces teach us about everyone’s abilities and teach children to respect and understand differences and similarities of all participants,” adds BCI Burke’s Johnson.

“Over the last 10 years, we have developed a database that identifies the child development-related factors for each piece of PlayWorld equipment,” says Ian Proud, market research and inclusive play manager for PlayWorld.

Sandorf Park Redesign Sandorf Park, created in the late 1950s, is a 6-acre park located on Indy’s near Southside. It serves the recreational needs of the surrounding neighborhood, as well as of SUPER School 19.

Ryan P. Cambridge, planning practice leader at Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf, explains: “Universal accessibility was a critical redesign component, not just ADA accessibility, as the existing park space provided very little of either. [The] goal was to make Sandorf Park exciting, engaging and accessible for the largest population of the community possible, regardless of age or ability. All the main play structures have ADA-transfer points and incorporate additional accessible features. “[The redesign] also incorporates multiple sensory-based amenities, including a Freenotes Harmony Park music plaza, nature play area and a Cozy Cocoon that is ‘fun for all children, but specially designed for those with autism spectrum disorders,’” he adds.

The Sandorf Park grand reopening will take place during the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference this fall. For more information on how you can be involved, email Gina Cohen at gcohen@ nrpa.org.

Paula Jacoby-Garrett is a Freelance Writer based in Las Vegas, Nevada (paula.jacoby.garrett@gmail.com).

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Photos courtesy of the National Park Trust.

ADVOCACY

Invite Your Members of Congress to Kids to Parks Day

The Buddy Bison™ program, established in 2009 by the National Park Trust, helps elementary and middle school-age kids in underserved communities develop that special bond with nature.

By Jayni Rasmussen

O

n April 16, the United States Senate passed a bipartisan resolution, with unanimous consent, that designates May 19, 2018, as “National Kids to Parks Day.” This bipartisan resolution was co-sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (OR), Rob Portman (OH), Lamar Alexander (TN), Martin Heinrich (NM), Mazie K. Hirono (HI) and Cory Booker (NJ). In addition, more than 354 mayors and town councils, representing all 50 states, have signed proclamations in support of Kids to Parks Day (see full list at www.parktrust.org/kids-to-parks-day/mayoral-procla mations). Kids to Parks Day is an annual initiative organized by the National Park Trust (NPT) to connect kids of all ages to parks. Naturally, NRPA is all-in on this great idea!

With children increasingly spending more time indoors and in front of screens, this day is an essential part of the movement to connect youth to nature. NRPA is proud to partner with the National Park Trust on Kids to Parks Day for the second year in a row, with the aim of connecting not only youth to parks, but also members of Congress.

This partnership is based on NRPA’s Park Champion initiative, which em-

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powers NRPA members and community advocates to invite their members of Congress to ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings, program kickoffs and special events, like Kids to Parks Day. Together with NPT, NRPA developed tools and resources, including a special step-bystep guide, for inviting local, state and federal elected officials to a Kids to Parks Day event. This is a perfect opportunity to show elected officials, especially mem-

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bers of Congress, firsthand how important it is to invest in parks and recreation — and to have an amazing time at one of thousands of Kids to Parks Day events!

Public funding for parks is essential to creating and maintaining quality open spaces at all levels of government. However, often there’s a strong disconnect between federal funding and the parks that are made possible by it. Federal funding not only directly funds park projects, but also leverages local, state and private funding to build and maintain our nation’s open spaces. Without federal funding for parks, families across America would be without access to parks. That’s why it’s so important to include members of Congress on elected-official invitation lists for events like Kids to Parks Day. By including them, agencies can create a powerful, memorable experience that demonstrates

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ADVOCACY Kids to Parks Day also offers children opportunities to enjoy STEM activities and learn about history (at right and below).

exactly how important federal funding is to connecting kids to nature.

In the current political climate where every cause seems to be vying for attention and funding, it’s important to remember how essential it is to give kids the chance to participate in free play in nature. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, each day, kids ages 8–18 spend an average of 7.5 hours in front of a screen. Over a year, that adds up to 114 full days watching a screen for fun – and that doesn’t include the time spent on a computer during the school day or at home for homework.

Studies show that kids who do get ample outdoor time are healthier, smarter, more focused and care more about the environment. Kids to Parks Day is so critical, because it gives kids an opportunity to discover (or rediscover) the joy of spending a day outside in a park.

Beyond the benefits of connecting children to nature, the return on investment for public funding for parks is staggering.

The recently released Economic Impact of Parks study, conducted by George Mason University, found that local parks generate more than $154 billion in U.S. economic activity and support more than 1.1 million jobs every year!

You can help ensure that future generations have access to parks by hosting a Kids to Parks Day event and turning it into a Park Champion event. Here are some easy steps:

STEP ONE: Plan your event and then go online to www.nrpa.org/ktp to access the Kids to Parks Day Advocacy Toolkit.

There, you can also register your kid-friendly park event at www.kidstoparksday.org.

STEP TWO: Customize the draft invitation included in the toolkit, copy and paste it into the body of an email, and hit send to invite your Congress members.

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STEP THREE:

Promote the event using the National Park Trust’s media kit (included in the Kids to Parks Day Advocacy Toolkit), and ask the mayor or local elected officials to sign a Kids to Parks Day proclamation.

STEP FOUR: On Kids to Parks Day (Saturday, May 19), share photos and videos during the event, tagging attending members of Congress and using the hashtags #KidstoParks and #ParkChampion.

STEP FIVE: Tell us about the event at www.nrpa.org/ktp and enter to win some great prizes!

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PARK CHAMP TIP: If a member of Congress can’t attend, invite his or her staff members.

For assistance with planning a Kids to Parks Day event, contact NPT at kidstoparksday@parktrust.org. To turn your event into a Park Champion event by inviting your members of Congress, contact NRPA Advocacy and Outreach Manager Jayni Rasmussen at jrasmussen @nrpa.org or 703.858.4731. We can’t wait to see your Kids to Parks Day event!

Jayni Rasmussen is NRPA’s Advocacy and Outreach Manager (jrasmussen@nrpa.org).

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L AW R E V I E W

Standing to Challenge Removal of Confederate Park Monuments

By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

I

herein, a plaintiff seeking judicial review of actions by local governments must first establish “standing”; i.e., a particularized injury to a vested individual’s legal right or interest.

Removal of Confederate monuments and statutes from parks and public spaces has generated much public debate and controversy. (See “Content-Based Park Permit Decisions Unconstitutional” — http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/jkozlows/la warts/10OCT17.pdf.)

In addition to demonstrations and protests, individuals and groups, in particular the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV),

Confederate Monument Removal In the case of Patterson v. Rawlings, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19873 (N.D. Tex. 2/7/2018), the federal district court had to determine whether an individual taxpayer and an organization could challenge the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee from city property in Dallas, Texas.

In 2017, the city’s mayor and the City Council of Dallas adopted a resolution (“Resolution”), directing the city manager to immediately remove the Alexander Phimster Proctor monument of Robert E. Lee at Lee Park, located on city property, and safely store it until a mayoral

n general, the jurisdiction of federal courts is limited to hearing cases or controversies involving real legal injury or loss to individuals or groups based in federal law or the Constitution. Accordingly, the limited role of the federal courts will not provide legal redress for every social grievance. Political and policy grievances of a generalized nature are better left for consideration by the legislative branch, not the federal judiciary. As a result, many cases involving generalized public policy grievances are dismissed by a federal court without any consideration of the merits of a particular claim. In so doing, a federal court finds the parties bringing the claim lack the requisite individualized injury to establish the necessary legal “standing” to bring the lawsuit in the first place.

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have sought legal redress in the federal courts to block the removal of these Confederate statues and monuments from public parks and spaces. In so doing, however, these individuals and groups must overcome a very substantial procedural hurdle before a federal court will even consider the merits of their claims to block the actions of their local government. As illustrated by the case described

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task force could make recommendations concerning the statue’s disposition. The Resolution authorized the city manager to transfer funds or appropriate funds from excess revenue to remove the Lee statue and to take appropriate actions to seek private funding to reimburse the expenses associated with this action.

In addition to removing the Lee statue, the city was also planning to remove the Confederate War Memorial in Pioneer Park Cemetery, the Confederate Memorial in Confederate Cemetery and the Confederate public art in Fair Park.

Plaintiffs Hiram Patterson and Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. (hereinafter referred to collectively as “SCV�) filed a lawsuit against the mayor and city council, in their official capacities (City), alleging violations of SCV’s constitutional rights to free speech and due process and seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO), preventing the removal of the Lee statue and proposed removal of other Confederate monuments from public parks and spaces in Dallas.

The court temporarily restrained the removal of the Lee statue. However, after a hearing held the following day, the court concluded that SCV had failed to show that they were entitled to a restraining order and dissolved the TRO. A few days after the court dissolved the TRO, the city removed the Lee statue and placed it in storage.

SCV alleged violation of their First Amendment free speech rights. In addition, SCV claimed the city had violated alleged SCV’s property interest in the Lee statue. SCV sought damages from the city and an injunction against the city’s actions.

In response, the city brought a motion to dismiss all the claims based on the plaintiffs’ lack of “standing.�

Standing to Bring Lawsuit As noted by the federal district court,

“the irreducible constitutional minimum of standing contains three elements�: (1) an injury-in-fact that is concrete and actual or imminent, not hypothetical; (2) a fairly traceable causal link

between the injury and the defendant’s actions; and (3) that the injury will likely be redressed by a favorable decision.

Moreover, in considering whether a plaintiff has legal standing to bring a

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particular claim, the court would consider the following: whether a plaintiff ’s grievance arguably falls within the zone of interests protected by the statutory provision invoked in the suit, whether the complaint raises abstract questions or a generalized grievance more properly addressed by the legislative branch, and whether the plaintiff is asserting his or her own legal rights and interests rather than the legal rights and interests of third parties.

In this instance, SCV claimed legal “standing” because the city’s removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee had produced an “injury in fact” to their “legal rights and interests” under the First Amendment, copyright law and title to land.

membership is limited in number and restricted to males who can prove descent from, and blood kinship with, Confederate veterans.” In addition, SCV claimed to be “uniquely injured because they have a dissenting political viewpoint that was communicated by the Lee Statue.” Further, SCV claimed the city had “imputed repugnant (and erroneous) political viewpoints onto the Lee Statue” and removal of this and other Confederate monuments from Dallas parks would constitute “an impairment of viewpoint and denial of free speech” for SCV and its members.

The city, however, maintained “removal of the Lee Statue and other Confederate monuments is government speech to which the First Amendment Free Speech

...SCV claimed legal “standing” because the city’s removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee had produced an “injury in fact” to their “legal rights and interests” under the First Amendment, copyright law and title to land.

First Amendment Claim The city argued that SCV lacked standing to bring a First Amendment claim, because SCV had not alleged “any concrete and particularized or actual or imminent injury that has occurred or will occur to them caused by moving the Lee Statue.”

On the contrary, the city argued SCV had failed to allege “their injuries are different or distinct from the general public’s.”

In response, SCV claimed “a concrete injury-in-fact” sufficient to establish standing under the First Amendment, because the city’s removal of the Lee Statue from Lee Park and the planned removal of the Confederate War Memorial in Pioneer Park infringed on their “political viewpoint communicated by the monuments.” Moreover, SCV claimed the alleged injury is particularized and distinct from the general public, because “SCV 36

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Clause does not apply.” (See “Government Controls Donated Park Monument Message” — http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/ jkozlows/lawarts/06JUN09.pdf.)

Moreover, the city argued SCV lacked standing to bring a First Amendment claim, because no possible infringement of free speech or possible harm had been alleged. According to the city, SCV and its members had not been “restricted in any way from exercising their First Amendment rights.” Further, the city characterized SCV’s “claim of harm is only a generalized grievance since plaintiffs do not assert that they have ever visited or ever saw any of the City’s Confederate symbols.” A generalized public grievance, as opposed to a unique particularized injury suffered by an individual plaintiff, would be insufficient to establish legal standing to pursue a claim in federal court.

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Political Viewpoint Injury As characterized by the federal district court, SCV and Patterson claimed the removal of Confederate monuments from city property would somehow injure those who hold and communicate a particular political viewpoint; i.e., “the men who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War deserve our respect.”

SCV had argued that their organizational purpose was to “protect Confederate-American memorials, images, symbols, monuments, and gravesites for the communication of the political viewpoint that Confederate-American heroes sacrificed for a noble cause that the victors in the war have almost uniformly whitewashed from history.” Further, according to the plaintiffs, Patterson, the SCV and all SCV members “have made public affirmations of the values of the military service of their ancestors in the Civil War and in the restoration and reconciliation of the nation subsequently.”

According to SCV, the city’s removal of Confederate monuments and statues would effectively suppress and unconstitutionally injure their long-protected and political viewpoint communicated in the Lee statue.

The federal district court acknowledged the following: “the loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury” sufficient to satisfy the standing requirement. However, in this instance, the federal district court found no suggestion that Patterson and the SCV had been “deprived of any First Amendment freedom for any period of time.” On the contrary, in the opinion of the federal district court, “the removal of Confederate monuments from City-owned property” would in no way “prevent Patterson from expressing his political viewpoint,” viz., “the men who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War deserve our respect.”

In the opinion of the federal district court, the city’s removal of Confederate monuments from Pioneer Park was merely “lim-

ited to an exercise of discretion with respect to the display of its own property� and in no way encroached on Patterson’s and SCV’s “right to communicate� their individual political viewpoint. As a result, the court concluded that Patterson and SCV had “failed to plausibly allege that the City’s removal of the Lee Statue and forthcoming removal of other Confederate monuments infringes Patterson’s First Amendment free speech rights.� Absent a credible claim that the city’s message somehow infringed on Patterson’s or SCV’s speech, the federal district court concluded plaintiffs lacked legal standing to pursue a First Amendment claim.

Copyright Claim Regarding the Alexander Phimster Proc-

tor monument of Robert E. Lee at Lee Park, SCV had further alleged the city had “intentionally and with gross negligence destroyed and mutilated an artistic work of recognized international stature, thereby, infringing the sculptor’s estate’s copyright.� Moreover, SCV claimed the “Proctor Estate� had orally agreed to the assignment of title to the Lee statue to SCV, as well as “negotiating a written assignment of the Estate’s copyright interest to the SCV.� Accordingly, when the city “separated the pedestal from the bronze monument that had been one integral design of the sculptor and had been intended to remain in perpetuity,�

SCV alleged the city had violated SCV’s rights under federal copyright law.

In response, the city claimed SCV did not have “even a potential interest in the copyright to the Lee Statue.� In so doing, the city provided evidence that the Proctor Foundation had not agreed to be a party to SCV’s lawsuit and was “not involved with any legal complaint against the City of Dallas.� Having failed to rebut this evidence, or produce any evidence of an assignment of copyright, the city claimed SCV had no interest or even potential interest in the copyright to the Lee statue. Since SCV had failed to show it had “suffered any injury-in-fact as a result of any alleged copyright violation,� the city contended SCV lacked legal standing on the copyright claim.

As noted by the federal district court,

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YouTube videos for Pioneer Park Cemetary and removal of Confederate monuments in Dallas, Texas

Crane Arrives to Remove Robert E. Lee Statue at Lee Park in Dallas

Pioneer Park Cemetery – Dallas, Texas

Dallas Confederate Monuments Removal to Cost $1.8 Million

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=KO8Cfotx0nE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG4nJtI8kkg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=04qx0XJm_78

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVYZIN_PhE8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3i_aYUuPC0

“only two types of claimants have standing to sue for copyright infringement under the Copyright Act: (1) owners of copyrights, and (2) persons who have been granted exclusive licenses by owners of copyrights.”

(See “Author Generally Owns Copyright Unless Employee Or ‘Work For Hire’ — http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/jkozlows/ lawarts/04APR01.pdf) In this instance, the federal district court found that “the undisputed evidence shows that plaintiffs do not own the copyright to the Lee Statue, have not been granted an exclusive license by the copyright owner, and are not in the process of negotiating any such ownership or license rights.”

As a result, the federal district court granted the city’s motion to dismiss SCV’s copyright claim based on a lack of legal standing to bring such a claim.

Land Title Claim SCV also claimed the city had “breached the reversionary term in the grant of title in the Pioneer Park Cemetery.” According to SCV, the City took title to Pioneer Park Cemetery from Tannehill Lodge No. 52 and Dallas Lodge No. 44 (the “Lodges”), with the understanding that the city 38

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would “use and maintain the property” as “Memorial Cemetery Park.”

By “publicly announcing that it would remove the Confederate War Memorial in Pioneer Park Cemetery,” SCV alleged the city had “refused and failed to use the memorial park for the purpose mandated in the transfer of title to the City.” As a result, SCV contended that the “title must revert to the Lodges.” Moreover, SCV asked the court to “enter judgment that quiets [i.e., confirms] title to Pioneer Century Park” in favor of SCV. In response, the city argued SCV had no supporting evidence to show “any of the Lodges’ interests or rights was ever transferred” to SCV. The city noted, “Dallas Lodge No. 44 expressly denies conveying any interest” in the land to SCV. Further, the city noted SCV had not alleged “the Confederate monument is located on the property previously owned by the Lodges and SCV had not produced any documents indicating the Confederate monument was placed on the local Lodges’ former property.” As a result, the city argued SCV lacked “standing for any claimed interest in Pioneer Cemetery Park.”

The federal district court agreed with

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the city. In so doing, the court found SCV had “neither pleaded nor introduced any evidence showing that they have any interest in Pioneer Cemetery Park.” The federal district court, therefore, granted the city’s motion to dismiss based on SCV’s lack of standing on the title to land claim.

Quiet Title to Land In addition to claiming an interest in Pioneer Cemetery Park from the Lodges, SCV had also claimed an interest in the Confederate Cemetery as a successor to another association. According to SCV, “the Sterling Price Camp of the United Confederate Veterans — to which SCV is the successor association — gave the Confederate Cemetery to the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department in 1936.” SCV claimed “no record exists of conveyance of title” to the city. As a result, SCV argued that the “title still resides with the grantor”; i.e., SCV as the successor association. SCV, therefore, requested the court to “enter judgment quieting [i.e., confirming] title to the Confederate Cemetery in their favor.”

In response, the city produced evidence indicating that the property was indeed

“conveyed to the City on November 17, 1936, and the warranty deed was recorded in the Dallas County land records.” Further, the city had “performed the mowing, maintenance, and litter removal at the cemetery and has not authorized or approved anyone else taking such action at the Confederate Cemetery.” Moreover, the city maintained Sterling Price Camp Number 31, a unit of United Confederate Veterans, became inactive in 1917 and SCV was not formed until 2001. As a result, based on their corporate filings, SCV was not “a successor to Sterling Price Camp Number 31.”

As a result, the federal district court found SCV had “failed to introduce any evidence that they have an interest in the Confederate Cemetery.” The court, therefore, granted the city’s motion to dismiss because SCV lacked standing to bring a claim based on an alleged interest in the land.

Association Standing SCV had also alleged they had “associational standing” through Patterson and their members. As described by the federal district court, an association has standing to bring a suit on behalf of its members, if and only if: (1) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (2) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (3) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members.

In this instance, the federal district court found “SCV has failed to show representational standing because the only member it identifies is Patterson, who does not have standing to bring this suit.” Moreover, in the absence of a credible First Amendment claim, the court

held SCV had also failed to adequately plead that SCV had standing on their own behalf based on their organizational purpose.

Dismiss for Lack of Standing Having found no legal basis for SCV’s copyright, title to land, and First Amendment claims to challenge “the City’s removal of the Lee Statue or the forthcoming removal of other Confederate monuments,” the federal district court granted the City’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing to bring this lawsuit.

James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., is an Attorney and Associate Professor in the School of Recreation, Health and Tourism at George Mason University (jkozlows@gmu.edu). Webpage with link to law review articles archive (1982 to present): http://mason.gmu.edu/~jkozlows.

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FUTURE LEADERS

Mentoring: Invaluable to Success

By John W. Stutzman, CPRP

M

ost park and recreation professionals share a passion for the outdoors, athletics and living an active lifestyle. These interests are likely the reason many of us pursued our first job in parks and recreation, and why we chose a career that serves others and their desire to experience recreation. Creating opportunities that inspire people and improve their quality of life is why we do what we do!

As rewarding and enjoyable as our profession is, however, it is not for the faint of heart. Recent graduates committed to earning their way into the field are fighting to survive in an overly competitive job market. Talented young professionals, dedicated to elevating themselves, are engulfed by oversized applicant pools in their quest to obtain the field’s coveted management positions. Those who have achieved success in our field, surely possess a strong work ethic, talent and determination. All admirable and desirable traits, but are they enough to provide people with a competitive edge?

For those motivated to obtain their big break, it is important to remember that our

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opportunity to inspire and improve the lives of others is not limited to just our constituents and program participants. It also applies to us as professionals as well. There are many factors that contribute to the success of young professionals, but having a mentor — someone who takes an interest in a young professional’s development, inspires and encourages him or her, introduces new opportunities by “opening doors,” and provides guidance to help them reach their full potential — is a very important factor.

Mentorship is defined as “a learning partnership developed for the purpose of sharing technical information, institutional knowledge and insight with respect to a particular occupation, profession or

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organization.” More precisely, it is a relationship in which a professional inspires a mentee to explore new ideas, take risks and never stop learning. A mentor invests time and energy to support an individual, encourages professional development, and speaks honestly in critical situations, saying what needs to be heard instead of what the mentee wants to hear.

The mentor/mentee relationship must be a two-way street built on a foundation of trust and open and honest communication. Even with the best intentions, if someone is not interested in being mentored, it cannot be forced. The relationship requires a mutual commitment.

Mentees should be committed to accepting advice, feedback and suggestions, as well as to showing a desire to be challenged and to work outside of their comfort zone. A mentor commits to sharing institutional knowledge, coaching to effectively use strengths and inspiring a

strong work ethic. A successful mentor/ mentee relationship may begin by chance, but it endures because of a strong foundation and a desire for self-improvement and the betterment of the profession.

Like top-tier athletes, great mentors adapt to each unique relationship and tailor a mentorship to each individual. Encouraging the pursuit of specific leadership opportunities can provide mentees with a chance to build comprehensive résumés, improve decision-making abilities and provide circumstances to learn “what not to do.” Sharing career miscues will highlight personal experiences and serve as teachable moments to help them avoid similar situations. When young professionals find themselves struggling at low points, it is essential to be supportive and provide reassurance. Remember, plans in our profession rarely happen exactly as envisioned.

Mistakes are a part of being a professional,

the important lesson is how we respond to those mistakes. Equally as important as learning from mistakes is to celebrate together when successes are achieved.

As we grow and mature in our careers, younger professionals will begin to look to us for leadership; thus, creating an opportunity to fill the role as a mentor and to “pay it forward.” Aiding the growth of another professional is a commendable, rewarding experience. These relationships are rejuvenating. They can instigate passion and help redefine career goals. They develop partnerships to share ideas and breed enthusiasm for our work. Most importantly, your guidance has an impact on a young person’s life! This influence creates a level of satisfaction and pride, which is often overlooked, as the mentee grows into an accomplished employee who ensures the continued success of our industry.

Most recreation professionals can cer-

tainly recognize a superb individual, or several, who took an interest in their development, providing guidance, motivation and support that has influenced successful careers. These professionals inspired, reassured and shared their professional networks with us, helping us to develop not only professionally but personally. Reflecting on the impact these relationships have, it’s hard to deny that mentors are often more than teachers, supporters and confidants. They become role models and friends. I, for one, recognize how fortunate I am to have had mentors who cared and nurtured my development as a young professional.

As my career evolves, they continue to support and encourage me. Quite simply, their mentorship has been invaluable.

John W. Stutzman, CPRP, is the Recreation Supervisor, City of Golden Valley, Minnesota (jstutzman@goldenvalleymn.gov).

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The Bats of Mecklenburg County Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation monitors bat populations in its urban park/nature preserve system

By Chris Matthews

T

he Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department (MCPR) is typical of most park and recreation departments nationwide in that we provide high-quality leisure facilities and programming for the residents of Charlotte, North Carolina. However, MCPR is also one of the leading municipal park agencies to focus on natural-resource stewardship by having an entire division dedicated to natural resource protection, nature preserve land management, and facility operations and environmental education.

Why Bats?

Currently, one of our focus areas is understanding the dynamics of bat populations in our urban park/nature preserve system. Why bats? Well, Bat Conservation International notes: “Earth without bats would be a very different and much poorer place. More than 1,300 species of bats around the world are playing ecological roles that are vital to the health of natural ecosystems and human economies.

Bat species consume vast amounts of insects, including some of the most damaging agricultural pests. Others pollinate many valuable plants, ensuring the pro-

Photo courtesy of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation 42

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Mecklenburg County Division of Nature Preserves and Natural Resources’ mission is to “protect the region’s biodiversity and natural heritage for its inherent value and for the benefit of future generations by promoting open-space preservation, conserving natural communities, and fostering awareness and stewardship through environmental education and outdoor recreation.” MCPR nature preserves protect and enhance air and water quality; contribute to the public understanding of natural systems and native species; provide sites for educational activities, outdoor recreation, wildlife observation and nature appreciation; and preserve the unique features and natural beauty of Mecklenburg County. Our dedicated natural resources staff collects and analyzes scientific data used for land management, planning and in the land use decision-making process.

Staff identify, inventory and monitor natural areas; maintain the largest wildlife database in the region; manage for rare, threatened and federally endangered species; and provide technical assistance to government agencies, outside organizations and the public.

Natural Resources staff members get help installing their first bat monitoring site at Reedy Creek Nature Preserve. | M AY 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

duction of fruits that support local economies, as well as diverse animal populations. Bats are often considered “keystone species� that are essential to some tropical and desert ecosystems. Without bats’ pollination and seed-dispersing services, local ecosystems could gradually collapse, as plants fail to provide food and cover for wildlife species near the base of the food chain.

Despite not being in a tropical or desert setting, bat species found in North Carolina are a critical part of our native ecosystem. And, as in many parts of the world, our bat species face challenges, not only from habitat loss but also to disease. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) indicates that:“Pesticides, persecution, and human disturbance of hibernacula (winter habitat) and maternity colonies may have contributed to this decline. Furthermore, an emergent fungal disease, called white-nose syndrome (WNS), has killed more than 5.7 million bats since its discovery in New York in 2006.

This disease spread to North Carolina in 2011, and continues to spread to new states each winter. It is now found in 30 states. “To determine bat distribution and hibernation sites in North Carolina, track the spread of WNS, and estimate population trends for certain species, the NCWRC conducts monitoring across the state.

Through a variety of methods (including mist netting, trapping, banding, acoustic recording, roost monitoring and radio telemetry), NCWRC biologists, in cooperation with several partners, have surveyed and banded thousands of bats in North Carolina. All this work helps to inform management.�

How MCPR Is Helping MCPR, in support of this effort, teamed up with Dr. Han Li, a post-doctoral fellow and research scientist at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro, who studies bats and their sounds. As they fly, bats make high-frequency sounds that they use as sonar. Those sounds travel through the air until they bounce off an object and return to the bat as an echo. Bats calculate the distance to the object by processing the time required for the sound to return and, thus, determine the shape, size and texture of objects and its surroundings.

Essentially, bats create a digital picture of their environment in their brain as they fly around. Each bat species has a specific sonar “voice� or signal, so, by recording bat calls at night and analyzing them with a computer and software, researchers can determine which bat species live around Charlotte and their geographic distribution in our area.

Beginning in the summer of 2016, the Natural Resources Section began collecting its first round of data, identifying the bats that occur in Mecklenburg County. Staff used a series of Anabat SD2 echolocators and directional microphones in the nature preserve to collect and record bat calls. Once collected, the sound files were analyzed using a computer program, called Analook, which com-

pared the recorded bat pulses with a call library of known bat calls.

For four nights in July 2016, staff monitored bat calls at Reedy Creek Nature Preserve and was surprised to learn that there were seven distinct species, including the Big Brown Bat, Evening Bat, Hoary Bat, Red Bat, Silver-haired Bat and Tricolored Bat and that the preserve is one of the northernmost roosting locations for the Mexican Freetail Bat. Then, in the spring of 2017, our recorders picked up an eighth species in Reedy Creek, the federally endangered Gray Bat. This recording is quite unusual as the Gray Bat is a cave-dwelling species from the Midwest. Now we have a real mystery on our hands — isn’t science cool?!

In addition to trying to learn more about the possible occurrence of the Gray Bat, our next major effort is to see what bat species exist in our urban core. As we move to the Uptown Charlotte area, we’re hoping to learn if bats use highly urbanized habitat different from natural habitat and if we will see the same species. Stay tuned to this frequency for more information on the bats of Mecklenburg County!

Chris Matthews is the Division Director, Nature Preserves and Natural Resources for Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation (christopher.matthews@ mecklenburgcountync.gov).

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Promoting Physical Activity with Temporary Street Closures

Inflatables are one of the most popular pieces of equipment in temporary play spaces.

By Keshia Pollack Porter, M. Renée Umstattd Meyer and Amanda Walker

P

arks and playgrounds are a good source of physical activity for kids, but not all kids have access to safe and well-maintained facilities. In fact, lower-income communities and communities of color tend to have less access to quality park and recreation facilities. Research shows that Latinos, African-Americans and lower-income individuals are more likely to live in areas that have fewer park acres per person compared to whites and individuals in higher-income communities. Traffic and crime are also barriers to safe outdoor play and activity in some communities.

The concept of “Play Streets” has emerged as a way to promote outdoor play and physical activity for children in neighborhoods without access to safe, well-maintained parks and playgrounds.

Play Streets are temporary street closures that, for a specified time, create safe play spaces. These closures can be recurring or episodic and offer a safe place for children to be physically active without traffic-safety concerns. Banning vehicles from the streets also has the added bene-

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fit of improving air quality, as well as enhancing neighborhoods by building partnerships and increasing social cohesion.

Thus, Play Streets not only provide places for safe play, but also advance health equity. Play Streets have primarily been implemented in urban areas, so there is a lack of examples and resources for rural communities to use.

Play Streets Case Study With support from the Physical Activi-

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ty Research Center (PARC), we selected four rural communities — in Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas — each with a history of hosting community events, to organize and host Play Streets during summer 2017. PARC (https://pa researchcenter.org/) is a collaboration of internationally recognized faculty from five leading universities — University of California - San Diego, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Baylor University — with backgrounds in public health, city planning, behavioral science, and parks and recreation. It is funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of a larger effort to build an inclusive Culture of Health across America to ensure that all children have opportunities to grow up at a healthy weight.

Photos courtesy of Physical Activity Research Center

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

For rural residents, combining Play Streets opportunities with other community activities can help to make them more accessible.

The communities received mini-grants to use to purchase equipment for free play, rent equipment and purchase snacks (we encouraged healthy snacks) for four Play Streets during the summer months. We studied (https://tinyurl. com/yax6bsrh) how each community implemented the Play Streets, including how they were advertised, available activities and when they were held. We used a popular and valid tool for observing physical activity, called SOPARC (System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities), and pedometers to measure how active kids and adults were at the Play Streets. We also completed a systematic review of the peer-reviewed and “grey” literature to document what we know about Play Streets and their impacts on play for children, physical activity levels and communities.

The concept of “Play Streets” has emerged as a way to promote outdoor play and physical activity for children in neighborhoods without access to safe, well-maintained parks and playgrounds.

The literature review evaluated hundreds of documents, and, based on 13 peer-reviewed articles and 36 reports/documents that met our inclusion criteria, we found the following: • Play Streets have mainly been implemented in cities and suburban areas.

• Play Streets were described as safe places for children to play because of reduced traffic and increased supervision.

• Only a few studies measured physical activity as an outcome.

• Play Streets strengthen communities and increase social interactions.

• Some residents complained about traffic detours and noise on the days that Play Streets were held.

• Some organizations that hosted Play Streets hope they can decrease crime and violence among adolescents.

Preliminary Findings While we are still in the early stages of analyzing the data from the four communities, our preliminary findings are that Play Streets are a good way to get kids active in rural communities.

Each of the Play Streets included a variety of activities using

Recreation Management Software

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HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Play Streets in rural areas might be more accessible in other public spaces, like fields and/or parking lots, since streets in these areas often are major thoroughfares.

temporary play spaces and equipment, with inflatables being the most popular activity and where children seemed to be most active. We also found that in rural communities, streets are not always the most accessible places for Play Streets to be implemented, considering that there are fewer streets and those streets often are major thoroughfares through town (hence, they cannot be closed to traffic!).

Play Streets in rural areas might actually be more accessible in other public spaces, like fields and/or parking lots.

For instance, one community collaborated with its local park and recreation department to identify a location for the Play Streets, which ended up occurring on sections of an underutilized public park, including the parking lot.

We are also learning how each community implemented Play Streets, including the partners they are working with and how limited resources are being creatively combined within these organizations. For example, one com46

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munity partnered with a summer meals program and hosted the Play Streets at a time that overlapped with when children were picked up for their summer meal. The intentional “coupling” of Play Streets with other community or organization events was consistent across the four communities. This approach allowed organizations not only to capitalize on shared resources, but also to reduce the burden and barrier of suburban sprawl faced by rural residents, who often had to travel via car to attend the Play Streets. We look forward to learning more about the impacts of Play Streets on children and families, in addition to important lessons regarding how communities should organize and run them.

Conclusion For individuals interested in this method of intervention to promote outdoor play, it is important to know that Play Streets offer an opportunity for safe outdoor

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play for children, especially in communities that lack safe parks and playgrounds, and/or available and affordable programming opportunities. They are relatively low cost and carry many potential benefits for host organizations, the children who participate and the broader community. Play Streets are a promising intervention strategy that can help communities close gaps in availability of and access to safe places to play and enhance health equity while doing so, especially in areas that have fewer resources and greater challenges to supporting and promoting physical activity and play.

The practicality and low costs of Play Streets also provide a “reachable” solution to address challenges around access and availability of safe play spaces that can simultaneously bring communities together in a meaningful manner not only to support their children, but also to improve community connectedness and capacity, potentially increasing social networks within the community and collective efficacy. In many rural areas, public resources are limited, and the idea of advocating for new parks or even renovating parks or other play areas can be daunting and often unrealistic as an immediate or even long-term solution.

Working with communities to understand how to advocate for some of these larger environmental changes remains important; however, Play Streets offer a more attainable, immediate and likely sustainable solution, with potential for broader social impacts and reach.

Note: To find out more about PARC, go online to https://paresearchcenter.org/.

Keshia Pollack Porter is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (kpollac1@jhu.edu). M. Renée Umstattd Meyer is an Associate Professor of Public Health at Baylor University (renee_umstattd@baylor.edu).

Amanda Walker is a Research Associate for Active Living Research and the Physical Activity Research Center at the University of California San Diego (amandawilson@ucsd.edu).

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New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

SOCIAL EQUITY

Children enjoy the spray pad area at Roberto Clemente State Park.

Bridging the Digital Divide — Free Wi-Fi in Parks Popular State Park Connects a Bronx Community

By Mark Saferstein

…quality education plays a decisive role in development.

[We] call upon all States to promote digital literacy and to facilitate access to information on the Internet…

— Resolution 32/13 from The Human Rights Council of the United Nations In America, we’ve come to expect certain things. Clean water from faucets, paved roads and lights after dark.

Perhaps you think of internet access in the same vein, that it’s there whenever you turn on your smartphone or laptop.

These days, we’re all virtually tethered to electronic devices: 95 percent of Americans* own a cellphone, the majority of which are the smart variety. Wi-Fi is no longer considered an amenity, but rather a public utility, like electricity, highways and running water. If you don’t believe 48

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it, just ask any millennial or the parent of a young child.

For most of the inhabitants of our planet, access to the internet, much like access to clean water, safe roads and reliable electricity, isn’t a given. So much so that, in 2016, The Human Rights Council of the United Nations passed a resolution, declaring connectivity to the internet to be a basic human right.

They cite the relationship between connectivity and education, and the degree to which education can lift people out of

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poverty. More than 70 nations endorsed this resolution. Several countries, including Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, opposed the measure.

Access for Everyone?

Here in the United States, for millennials between the ages of 18 and 29, smartphone ownership is almost 95 percent.* Not surprisingly, low-income or older adults are less likely to own a smartphone. The same holds true if you’re Hispanic or African-American.

Home internet access follows a similar pattern.

Since public parks typically are free and easily accessible, they represent a great means of bridging the digital divide. However, once the costs of staffing, maintenance, infrastructure and visitor programs are factored in, most park

departments don’t have extra dollars in their budget to fund connectivity. This is where public/private partnerships can really make a difference.

When New York State Parks decided to take a leadership role in offering free Wi-Fi in parks, it was a creative partnership that made the service, Oh, Ranger! Wi-Fi™, possible. State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey explains, “We’re grateful for our continued partnership with Toyota and American Park Network, whose generous support has allowed us to enhance our parks by adding this much sought-after service.” This year, as the program expands, free public Wi-Fi will be available in parks that account for nearly 40 percent of the system’s total visitation!

Wi-Fi at Roberto Clemente State Park One great example is Roberto Clemente State Park, the first and oldest state park in New York City, which welcomes 1.3 million visitors each year. It’s located on the Harlem River in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx, one of the city’s lowest income neighborhoods. Two public schools, PS 274 (elementary) and PS 229 (middle school), stand adjacent to the park and, because of limited resources, the schools use the park as an extension of their facilities: for recess, gym classes and afterschool programs.

The park, which is undergoing a major renovation following the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy, is truly a sanctuary for the community. When completed, it will feature a beautiful new esplanade along the river, with a shared pedestrian/bicycle pathway, river overlook, boat launch, performance area and a scenic intertidal area that will absorb heavy rainfall and provide a natural habitat for plant and animal life. These improvements will provide safe access to the Harlem River (which was historically

istockphoto.com/ harleebob

A child takes advantage of the Wi-Fi connection in his local park.

walled off) and spur unique environmental education opportunities.

Safety and educational opportunities are key benefits for families in the neighborhood. Jennifer Zeno, a single mom who regularly brings her three girls — Christin, Kalyn and Alexandria — to the park, says, “The park is a place to escape, where children can play safely!”

She thinks the addition of free Wi-Fi is “amazing!” and quickly adds, “The internet is a luxury. It’s too expensive for most people.”

Statistics on access to the internet support Zeno’s contention. While the majority of Americans have smartphones, internet access at home isn’t ubiquitous.

In fact, a growing share of Americans now use smartphones as their primary means of online access, and many have had to cancel or periodically shut off their service because the cost is a financial hardship. So, in a low-income neighborhood, like Morris Heights, the internet really is a luxury.

These sentiments were echoed by Jordan Colomer, the gym teacher for Zeno’s daughter, Christin. Colomer brings her classes to the park daily. “I don’t know what we’d do without the

park,” she says. “Internet access in the school is iffy and most of the kids don’t have it at home. Having internet access at Roberto Clemente is great! It means children can read e-books and study. If they see something interesting in nature, they can take and share pictures and then look it up. It’s instant learning in the outdoors!”

In addition to providing free connectivity to help attract and educate millions of visitors, public Wi-Fi is a digital information portal that can identify park visitation patterns, generate awareness of upcoming events, serve as an operations management tool and promote park nonprofit partners.

So, while the debate continues about whether access to the internet is a basic human right, it will certainly make a difference to families visiting Roberto Clemente State Park, the hub of a Bronx community, as well as a growing list of parks nationwide. *Statistics on internet access and cellphone ownership from Pew Research Center.

Mark Saferstein is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief for American Park Network (mark@americanparknetwork.com).

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LEADER CONNECT

By Lori A. Hoffner

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SHIP

IS MORE THAN A NOUN

W

hat leaders, past or present, can you think of who encourage individuals to go above and beyond? For me, they are leaders who exhibit the very traits they expect of their followers. Every individual is, at times, stymied by their perceived limitations. However, there are leaders who possess qualities and characteristics that motivate individuals to move past those perceptions. These leaders not only allow individuals to be innovative and take greater ownership in their work and projects, but they also encourage them to do so. Ultimately, we feel trust, loyalty and respect for these types of leaders because we, in turn, feel trust, loyalty and respect from them.

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LEADERSHIP

These traits can be found in individuals who embrace the principles of transformational leadership. According to biographer James MacGregor Burns, “Transformational leaders are able to inspire followers to change expectations, perceptions and motivations to work toward common goals.� Transformational leaders are those who stimulate and inspire followers to both achieve extraordinary outcomes and, in the process, develop their own leadership capacity. In fact, transformational leadership has the potential to result in performance beyond expectations.

Transactional and Transformational Leadership Trait Comparison

Transactional Leadership

Transformational Leadership

Leadership that employs rewards and punishments for motivating followers

Leadership in which the leaders employ charisma, passion and enthusiasm to inspire their followers

Only one leadership ideal Emphasis on following rules

Multiple leadership ideals

VS.

Authenticity

Focus on policies and procedures Reward-penalty system

Inspirational

Structured routines

Adaptability

Focus on the status quo of an organization

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Self-awareness

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An understanding of interdependence

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Transformational vs.

Transactional Leadership The juxtaposition of transformational leadership is transactional leadership.

In the book Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations, Bernard Bass contrasts transactional forms of leadership with forms of transformational leadership, in which leaders clarify expectations and reward followers for fulfilling them. A transactional leader is someone who values order and structure. He or she appreciates the rules and regulations to complete objectives on time or move people and assets in an organized way.

Transactional leaders are not a good fit for places where creativity and innovative ideas are valued.

These are just a handful of traits that compare the two leadership styles.

However, it provides a solid example of the difference between the two. Understanding the power between these leadership qualities and the impact they will have within a department and organization is the responsibility of people in a leadership role. It is imperative that you ask yourself about your own leadership style. Do you continue leading out of passion and a desire to support your staff or because there is an expectation of structure and routine? Along with knowing your staff and their abilities, and knowing your own personality,

consider the leadership style that best fits you, your work and your overall objective.

Although these leadership styles differ considerably, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive in a work environment. In fact, there are times in every industry that call for transactional leadership. For example, rarely does the completion, presentation and approval of a budget allow for a time of innovation and vision. However, the conversations leading up to a completed budget should do exactly that. They should allow for creative exploration of possible projects and programs that could enhance the budget and for thinking beyond the individual department or program and working toward the benefit of the team, organization and/or community.

Although these leadership styles [transactional vs. transformational] differ considerably, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive in a work environment.

Four I’s of Transformational Leadership IDEALIZED INFLUENCE (II) – the leader serves as an ideal role model for followers; the leader “walks the talk” and is admired for this.

INSPIRATIONAL MOTIVATION (IM) – transformational leaders can inspire and motivate followers. Combined, the first two I’s are what constitute the transformational leader’s charisma.

INDIVIDUALIZED CONSIDERATION (IC) – transformational leaders demonstrate genuine concern for the needs and feelings of followers. This personal attention to each follower is a key element in bringing out their very best efforts.

INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION (IS) – the transformational leader challenges followers to be innovative and creative. A common misunderstanding is that transformational leaders are “soft,” but the truth is that they constantly challenge followers to higher levels of performance.

Career Fulfillment In the ever-changing landscape of employment, it’s time that leadership styles are seriously assessed to determine if they are meeting the needs of the organization. Does a leadership style encourage staff retention? According to Harvard Business Review, 66 percent of the millennial workforce says they want a career that is fulfilling and inspires them. Being inspired by the work done on a day-to-day basis is an intrinsic motivation. For many, it takes years to find that internal incentive. However, having a leader who inspires and encourages them to go beyond their perceived potential gets employees closer to that fulfillment.

Further research related to the powerhouse millennial generation states that being able to provide input is a highly desired workplace value. Transformational leaders urge that very mindset because it generates ownership of projects that will benefit not only the individual, but also the entire organization. This leadership style increases retention of staff and, in particular, millennial staff, through the important belief of fulfillment.

Transactional leadership and research surrounding this leadership style have not been proven to be a successful approach to meet the need of career fulfillment. Transactional leadership depends on self-motivated people who work well in a structured, directed environment. By contrast, transformational leadership seeks to motivate and inspire workers, choosing to influence rather than direct others. Rarely does transactional leadership influence followers to work collecW W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | M AY 2 0 1 8 |

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LEADERSHIP

In the ever-changing landscape of employment, it’s time that leadership styles are seriously assessed to determine if they are meeting the needs of the organization. tively to achieve one vision. Rather, it is an existing knowledge-based approach that is directed from a supervisor level.

It does not encourage a collaborative environment and, therefore, lacks a level of creativity. It is within this creativity that followers say they feel inspired and find fulfillment.

Personality and Leadership Traits Using the four I’s, we can engage in a bit of self-reflection on our personality and leadership traits. There is immense strength in transformational leadership: the willingness to take the time and be 54

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aware of your staff members and know what motivates them; the genuine actions of showing concern for staff members — concern that is not just about them as a member of your team but as an individual who contributes valuable information to your team. Finally, there is the idea of integrity: being a leader who inspires with creative ideas and insight is important. In addition, being a leader who inspires through consistent actions as a role model is a step above.

This kind of transformational leadership demonstrates the positive expectations you can have for your staff because you “walk the talk.”

Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic and passionate.

They can be described as concerned and involved in process, and they also focus on helping every member of the group succeed. Another key tenant of transformational leadership is the Pygmalion effect, also known as the Rosenthal effect, a phenomenon whereby higher expectation leads to an increase in performance.

Essentially, “if you set the bar high, individuals will rise to meet it.” Because transformational leaders can change expectations and perceptions of their staff,

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they consistently set the bar high.

Have leaders in your life challenged you by setting the bar high? How was your life, career and personal perception transformed by meeting that expectation? You, too, can be that kind of leader, one who has high expectations but also provides the motivation, stimulation and consideration for a successful outcome. And, that outcome not only benefits the individuals you lead, but the organization you work for and the community you serve.

In an industry that has had to be adaptable to budgets, trends and community needs, how is your leadership transforming staff ? Can you inspire them to go above and beyond through creativity and innovation? Leadership is meant to set things in motion and to accompany others. It’s about movement — movement into the future and movement that supports new leaders and encourages new ideas. How are you moving your staff and your projects into the future in a way that challenges the status quo and alters the culture of your organization to support a new level and idea of success?

Join Hoffner at the 2018 NRPA Conference and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she will be presenting a session titled, “Moving into the Future: The Power of Transformational Leadership.” Visit www.nrpa.org/conference for more conference information.

Lori A. Hoffner is a Professional Speaker, Trainer and Consultant for Supporting CommUnity, Inc. (lori@supportingcommunity.com).

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A New

Vision

for Atlanta

How Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation and community partners are transforming the city, one park at a time

By Vitisia Paynich

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles about parks transforming cities, towns and communities that will appear in future issues.

T

he city of Atlanta, Georgia, with a population of more than 472,000 people, will be breaking ground on approximately 20 projects throughout the city in 2018 and beyond.

With a combination of public and private funding, Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) aims to illustrate how these entities can work together to create parks and develop public lands that can, ultimately, transform Atlanta and the lives of its citizens.

The impetus behind these multiple projects throughout Atlanta stems from its own mission statement:

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We are committed to building strong communities and a vibrant economy by providing safe and exceptional parks, facilities and programs through effective leadership, collaboration and innovative thinking.

What’s more, DPR along with its community stakeholders pledge to transform Atlanta’s green spaces into a world-class parks system, emphasizing social equity and conservation best practices in the city’s master plan design.

Community Partnerships Before any projects can move forward, however, the city relies on the support of multiple entities — including nonprofits, advocacy groups, park volunteers, conservancies and the community at large — to provide input and financial backing. For example, Park

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Pride, a nonprofit with an operating budget of $1.4 million has a matching grant program that provides about $1 million to communities for park improvement projects within its current service areas. “We work from a bottoms-up approach,” says Michael Halicki, executive director.

Through Park Pride’s Park Visioning program, “we go into the communities and listen to what it is they would like to see in terms of their parks, and then help to give ideas and provide choices to those communities on how they might meet those needs,” Halicki explains. In addition, the nonprofit helps to bridge potential communication gaps.

“Our advocacy efforts are more on the broader macro level — things like park maintenance and park access,” Halicki

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Design renderings produced by HGOR, Atlanta

Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry will include a water reservoir and scenic trails and paths, connecting to the Proctor Creek Greenway.

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says. “We will look at things that are more system-wide for our advocacy efforts, but when it comes down to the local level, we try to give the community the platform to advocate for [its] own interests.”

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is another nonprofit that works toward building public parks and green spaces, while helping to create healthy, livable communities for future generations. It accomplishes this by partnering with other organizations, as well as with the city of Atlanta. In fact, NRPA, TPL and the Urban Land Institute are leading a nationwide movement to ensure there’s a great park within a 10-minute walk of every person, in every neighborhood, in every city across America.

Photo courtesy of Park Pride

The Master Plan About 10 years ago, DPR was besieged by deep cuts to its rec programs, forcing all 33 recreation centers to close. When Kasim Reed first ran for Atlanta mayor in 2009, he pledged to transform abandoned neighborhood recreation centers into safe havens for children and their communities. And less than a year after

taking office, Mayor Reed made good on that promise by reopening all 33 recreation centers. This laid the groundwork for the next phase of the plan: converting these facilities into Centers of Hope — state-of-the-art learning centers featuring comprehensive programming, enhanced facilities and expertly trained staff.

DPR has also concentrated on augmenting its public spaces by transforming them into a best-in-class parks system to create life-enriching cultural experiences for Atlanta’s residents and visitors alike.

“I think our department has been gaining strength at least in the last four years,” says Amy Phuong, Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation commissioner, who stepped into the role in January 2015 and is tasked with ensuring community stakeholders, including community leaders, council members and citizens, that “everything we said we were doing, we’re doing as best as we [can] in meeting performance metrics.” She adds that when she came onboard, part of her responsibilities included restructuring DPR and bringing it back on track — from keeping

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key projects on time and on budget to establishing best-in-class youth programs.

“Based on the true [merit] of our performance, it really gave all of our stakeholders the confidence that we were ready for these types of project investments,” she explains. Other funding sources, according to the commissioner, became available through transportation tax revenue, as well as from Renew Atlanta — an infrastructure bond program — and because DPR achieved healthier fiscal reserves, the department leveraged more funding specific to parks.

However, “it didn’t come without a lot of convincing and showing that we had been planning these types of projects for many years, and we were ready to take on that responsibility,” Commissioner Phuong points out, “and actually, we are now getting the funding of what will be a multiyear implementation phase for these types of projects.” For example, $48 million will go toward the first phase of the Grant Park Gateway Project, while $26.5 million will fund Phase One of the Westside Park Project.

In January 2018, the city of Atlanta welcomed a new administration led by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Among the mayor’s chief priorities is driving conversation around social equity across all city departments. What’s more, she was elected with a campaign goal of raising $1 billion in funding through both public and private sources to support affordable housing efforts and smart development.

According to the commissioner, “Any new park space and existing programming that we are doing will have that in mind as we move forward.” That also includes a commitment towards making sure every resident is within a 10-minute or half-a-mile walk to a public-space park.

An Atlanta community member participates in Park Pride’s Park Visioning program. | M AY 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

producedbybySmith HGOR, Atlanta Design renderings rendering provided Dalia Architects and Winter Johnson Group

The Grant Park Gateway Project will comprise a 1,000-space parking deck with rooftop green space.

Following are some of Atlanta’s projects that are under construction or in the planning phase.

Grant Park Gateway Project The parking deck project at Grant Park serves as a testament to eco-friendly, smart design. This $48 million project will comprise a 1,000-space parking structure, resembling more of a rooftop green space than a typical concrete edifice. Inspired by the aesthetic look of Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, Atlanta’s parking deck will be partially embedded into a hillside. Its design will boast a green roof and a restaurant offering picturesque views of Atlanta’s downtown skyline, while the inside of the deck will house bicycle parking, as well as a rainwater harvesting system for green-space irrigation. The parking structure will also become LEED/Park Smart Certified.

According to Commissioner Phuong, the project was dubbed, the Grant Park Gateway Project, “because we felt it would be the new, transformative way to enter both the Zoo Atlanta facility and Grant Park, which is our oldest traditional park.” The pathway will expand further into the park, guiding visitors to a new plaza and neoclassical building that once featured the Cyclorama — a cylindrical panoramic painting depicting the 1864 Civil War Battle of Atlanta. The Grant Park Gateway Project is slated for completion sometime in 2019.

What’s more, DPR has joined forces with Zoo Atlanta, along with other county and philanthropic partners, to transform the Cyclorama building into a multifunctional facility for hosting special events, as well as to enhance the zoo’s amenities and introduce a new safari exhibit. Atlanta magazine reports that the Robert Woodruff Foundation has awarded Zoo Atlanta a $20 million grant for the renovation efforts, matching the zoo’s own $20 million investment.

Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry In September 2016, engineers began tunneling between the Chattahoochee River and Hemphill Water Treatment Plant in an effort to transform Bellwood Quarry into a 2-billion-gallon water reservoir. This $300 million project, according to Curbed Atlanta, will provide the city with a 30-day emergency water supply — an upgrade from its current three-day reserve. The city purchased the 100-year-old quarry back in 2006 and then the Trust for Public Land preserved a 10-acre property right at the entrance as an add-on to the site in December 2006.

However, the reservoir is just one of many projects in development along the Atlanta BeltLine, a 22-mile corridor of parks, trails and transit surrounding downtown. In January 2017, the city revealed plans for Phase One of Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry — a $26.5 million project that will feature scenic trails and pathways, connecting pedestrians to the Proctor Creek Greenway.

Commissioner Phuong says the entire park development will be done in phases that will take at least 10 years to complete.

However, once Westside Park is finished, she contends it will “be the game changer for the city in our parks system.” Its planned 300-acre green space will surpass Piedmont Park. “That’s going to be our largest park once it’s brought on line,” she says.

Boone Park West Also on Atlanta’s Westside, completion is within reach on the Boone Park West project, a collaborative project between

Park Pride, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the Conservation Fund. It will feature green infrastructure constructed to collect, clean and infiltrate about 37,500 cubic feet of stormwater runoff from the nearby streets, while creating a beautifully designed park for the community. In 2016, NRPA awarded Park Pride a Great Urban Parks Campaign grant, totaling $437,500, for the Boone Park West project. Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Sustainability have also played a pivotal role in the project.

Andrew White, director of Park Visioning at Park Pride, says the project was conceived from the Proctor Creek North Avenue Study for Green Infrastructure (PNA Study) conducted in 2010. Park Pride “came into a historically underserved community on Atlanta’s Westside with the idea of building a park, but then heard from residents that they’re really interested in jobs and relief from this chronic flooding that has been plaguing the neighborhood, leading to further disinvestment and health issues in the community. And rather than move forward with plans to just build a park, we rolled up our sleeves and really took a hard look at what role we could play in addressing the challenges identified by the community,” White explains.

Cook Park Another project identified in the PNA Study is Cook Park, which TPL is leading. Located on Atlanta’s Westside, “Cook Park is a 16-acre site where in

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Design rendering produced by HGOR, Atlanta

Boone Park West will feature green infrastructure, designed to manage stormwater runoff to combat neighborhood flooding.

2002, 160 families were flooded out of their homes — and the land basically sat vacant after the city helped relocate those families,” explains George Dusenbury, Georgia state director for TPL. Flooding remains a persistent problem for this community, which is also dealing with polluted runoff and sewer overflows.

In early 2018, TPL broke ground on the site where those homes once stood.

The park design includes a playground, splashpad and basketball courts. Crews will also construct a 1.5-acre pond, which will, in combination with other sustainable elements, collect up to 10million gallons of stormwater.

Dusenbury adds, “This is a collaboration between the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Watershed Management, the Trust for Public Land and a nonprofit called, the National Monuments Foundation.” What’s more, the National Monuments Foundation will honor Civil Rights icons by adding statues and monuments of those individuals who lived or worked in the neighborhood.

“And what this park is going to do is it’s going to help reduce and eliminate the flooding in that community by creating green infrastructure and incorporat60

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ing that into the park,” he says.

For the project, TPL raised $13 million, Atlanta’s Department of Parks and Recreation put in $1 million, and the Department of Watershed Management pledged $22 million. “Our goal is to complete Phase One before the Super Bowl in February of 2019,” Dusenbury notes.

Has the Cook Park project led to displacement of residents? “Thirty years ago, there were 50,000 people living in those communities around Cook Park.

Today, there are 15,000 and so our goal is to retain those 15,000 people, who are already living there,” says Dusenbury.

He adds that TPL is addressing concerns about displacement by working with the Westside Future Fund, an organization that helps to revitalize communities by making investments that improve public safety, public schools and public spaces.

Piedmont Park Considered the “crown jewel” of Atlanta’s parks system, Piedmont Park is currently the city’s largest park and is supported by Piedmont Park Conservancy, a private-public partnership.

Mark Banta, CEO and president of Piedmont Park Conservancy, says the

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organization raises approximately $3.2 million a year that goes toward maintenance and general upkeep of and programming in the park. Since 1989, “we have raised and invested $66 million in capital and physical improvements to the park and, basically, renovating all the existing structures in the park,” he adds.

“I think both the Conservancy and the city recognize the importance of good, regular communications and interface so that we make the city look good for what they do in relationship to maintaining and taking care of this beautiful park,” says Banta.

In December 2017, the city announced a $100 million expansion of Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, which includes the purchase of property located at the corner of Piedmont Road and Monroe Drive.

According to a statement by DPL: “The expansion project will include a connection to the Atlanta BeltLine, improved pedestrian trails and access to Piedmont Park, additional open green space and forested land.”

Parks Make All the Difference With all the projects concurrently underway throughout the city of Atlanta, it’s clear that the Department of Parks and Recreation, community leaders, nonprofit partners and Atlantans have an important stake in all of it. Atlanta is creating a broad blueprint for how park development and revitalization can transform the city as a whole and make a dramatic impact on the lives of its inhabitants.

As Banta puts it: “I believe with every fiber in my being that parks and green space are the absolute keys to our survival as a society.”

Vitisia Paynich is a California-based Freelance Writer for Parks and Recreation magazine.

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NRPA Update Get Ready for #NRPAFamilyFitDay 2018

F

amily Health & Fitness Day, celebrated the second Saturday in June each year, will be held on June 9. This special day promotes the importance of parks and recreation in keeping communities healthy. Agencies everywhere are encouraged to participate by inviting families to get active at their local park or recreation center, or by hosting an event, such as a health fair or family fun run.

Members of the healthcare community are encouraged to participate, as well, even as sponsors.

To help you promote and support Family Health & Fitness Day in your community, we’ve created an outreach toolkit that’s available at www.nrpa.org/familyfitness.

In it, you’ll find a fact sheet, poster, press release template, media advisory template, social media materials, web and email copy, along with a “how-to” list of tips on promoting an event. Materials can be customized for your community. When using

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social media, please make sure you are tagging NRPA in your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts and using the hashtag #NRPAFamilyFitDay. We want to see your successes, too — send us photos and videos from your Family Health & Fitness Day events or show us the creative ways you have used the marketing materials!

If you have questions or need further

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assistance, contact the following NRPA staff members: • General Family Health & Fitness Day Toolkit or Media Questions – Heather Williams, Sr. Public Relations Manager, hwilliams@nrpa.org.

• Social Media or Email Questions/Submit Photos or News Coverage – Roxanne Sutton, Sr. Communications Manager, rsutton@nrpa.org, or Audrey Fox, Communications Specialist, afox@nrpa.org.

THANK YOU TO THE DONORS OF THE NRPA 2018 PARKS BUILD COMMUNITY PROJECT

NRPA Update

Persuade Your Boss, Like a Boss How to justify your trip to the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference

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ometimes travel budgets can be tight, and it might be hard to convince your employer that it is important to attend a national conference. Nonetheless, we want to see all of you at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference, so here are some tips on how to talk with your employer about the value of attending: Money Talks – Budget limitations are usually the top reason people can’t get approval to attend. Show your employer all the ways you can save money on attendance. NRPA members automatically get a discount. Register by the early-bird deadline (August 1) to save up to $270. NRPA Premier Member Agencies, who purchase four full-package registrations, receive the fifth registration for free.

Tack on Extra Education – In ad-

dition to the more than 200 education sessions, this year at the conference, you can get CPRP, CPRE, AFO or CPSI certified. You can also attend an NRPA Certificate Program focused on leadership, marketing or playground maintenance. These are great ways to show your commitment to bettering yourself and your agency.

Share Your Great Ideas – You are guaranteed to leave Indianapolis inspired and filled with great ideas, so

when discussing your attendance at the event, commit to a post-conference presentation for your team, town council, board, etc. Plan to highlight what you learned and tie your training to your organization’s challenges, goals and strategic plans.

To really help bolster your negotiating tactics, we’ve put together even more tips and a justification letter template you can complete and submit to your employer. To learn more, visit www.nrpa. org/conference/about/justification-tips.

Our field depends on enthusiastic people like you to continue to learn, innovate and lead us into a bright future.

Don’t miss this opportunity to attend the largest park and recreation conference in the world. For more information about the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference, visit www.nrpa.org/conference.

NRPA

Directors School

Preparing Park and Recreation Leaders For the Challenges of Tomorrow

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Navigating the Leadership Learning Track

By Tom Crosley

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he Leadership & Management learning track at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference is programmed to provide leaders with practical and applicable methods for transforming themselves and their agency. The more than 30 education session devoted to this topic, cover the latest in leadership principles that will take you and your agency to the next level. Whether you come from a large or small agency, the session line-up will prepare you to handle any decision that comes your way.

Below are some of the leadership sessions that await you at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis: • Being Successful in a Politically Charged Environment – The political process was created for consistency and the inherent resistance to change. Yet, virtually every politician runs on a platform of political change. This session will investigate the change process, political motivation, effective communication techniques and methods used to be a change agent. It focuses on the “what” and “why” of the political process. However, the road to success is based on “who” is involved in the process and the power they bring to the table. Knowing the political process is critical; making change is vital to leadership and success.

Speaker: Paul Romero • Embracing Millennials in the Workplace: Seasonal Employees, Interns and Beyond – Learn and understand how to create a work environment that will attract and retain millennials.

This interactive session will encourage

you to shift your existing thoughts about this generation and rethink how we have been told to manage them. Participants in this session will build an awareness of suitable experiences that allow millennials to understand the “why” behind their work and provide opportunities that allow them to see their impact within the profession. Attendees will also recognize the importance of reverse mentoring programs that enables millennials to help their supervisors better understand technology, social media and how existing work environments can suit their needs. Speaker: Julie Knapp • Leading for Change: Reframing Organizations to Maximize Potential – As organizations grow and change, so does the need to reframe or view how we operate from a different lens. Myopic leadership limits potential and often results in faulty thinking that can jeopardize the overall effectiveness and success of your organization. Reframing and continually examining your agency from a variety of perspective help with clarity, enhance creativity, and can result in new ideas and strategies that ultimately make a difference. This session will provide managers and leaders with the tools to maximize their agency’s potential by reframing and leading for change. Speaker: Ron Ramsing • Predicting Trends for an Unpredictable Future – As agencies continue to focus on NRPA’s three Pillars, this session will help them predict trends and plan

Conference attendees learn from each other, as well as from leading experts in the field.

for future shifts in an increasingly unpredictable time. Also, it will share insights for how to build an agency culture and mindset that can innovate and thrive in a changing landscape as park and recreation agencies look for changes in their communities, policies, park and facility designs, financial sustainability, marketing and communications, partnerships, program delivery and innovation in general. Speaker: Neelay Bhatt • Repositioning Public Parks & Recreation: Joining the Smart Revolution – Communities are changing, the economy is unpredictable, and technology and globalization are here to stay. Yet, the way we commonly think about public parks and recreation seems to be frozen in time. Is it possible that the day has come for us to transform our collective approach to the provision of park and recreation services? Are we really leading the productive and purposeful organizations that our communities need given today’s realities? Speakers: Alexandra Gauthier and Jamie Sabbach Visit www.nrpa.org/conference2018 for the full session line-up. On behalf of the Conference Program Committee, our speaker volunteers, NRPA staff and the Indy Local Host Committee, we hope to see you in Indianapolis!

— Tom Crosley, NRPA’s Senior Manager of Education, Conferences and Schools

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NRPA Update

2018 NRPA Directors School

By Kevin Roth, Ph.D.

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enior leaders in the park and recreation industry know that the only thing constant is change. Status quo is not an option because if you are not growing, you are sliding into mediocracy. These axioms hold true for professional development events as well, and because of that it was time we took a fresh look at the NRPA Directors School.

The NRPA Directors School is an exclusive two-year professional-development opportunity that prepares new and potential park and recreation directors to be effective leaders. The 2018 NRPA Directors School will feature an updated curriculum and will be held at a new location — the beautiful Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois. These changes, which were informed by current and former participants and NRPA members, ensure that students will receive the best possible education and experience.

The brand-new curriculum will feature cutting-edge content that is certain to leave students who complete the program with the knowledge and confidence to face emerging challenges, improve operations and maximize positive impact on their communities.

There will be elevated coursework on leadership, strategy, budget and finance, politics and meeting the needs of our ever-changing communities.

There will also be group work in the form of case studies, which will allow

teams to collaborate on solutions to pressing issues facing the industry.

Our new location at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois, will provide easy access for participants around the country to attend the event. Centrally located between Midway and O’Hare airports, the lodge is situated

The 2018 NRPA Directors School will feature an updated curriculum and will be held at a new location — the beautiful Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois.

on a serene, wooded campus. Hightech meeting rooms and ample gathering spaces will provide the perfect opportunity to collaborate with park and recreation leaders from across the country and to form a life-long network of industry peers.

If you are ready to take your leadership and park and recreation agency to the next level, consider joining us August 26–31 at the 2018 NRPA Directors School. You may find all the details, including information on the Toro® scholarship, on our website at www.nrpa.org/directors.

— Kevin Roth, Ph.D., NRPA’s Vice President of Research 66

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NRPA Exhibits at STEM Festival

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here can STEM take you?” The answer to this question was on full display at this year’s USA Science and Engineering Festival, the nation’s largest STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) show, which took place April 6–8 in Washington, D.C. From more than 3,000 exhibitors and through 30 stage shows, some 350,000 people got a look at the myriad ways science is applied to our lives.

The primary goal of the weekend was to inspire the thousands of children in attendance, who came from across the country. There were hundreds of hands-on activities, including playing games with robots, flight simulators, virtual reality space missions, and our personal favorite here at NRPA, designing your own dream park. Kids clearly love their parks and eagerly took to the opportunity to design their

own. Among the standard features of swings and slides, there were some creative designs that included friendly dragons, unicorns, even ice cream airplanes and an elevated park.

This was NRPA’s first year exhibiting at the STEM fest, which happens every two years, and our goal was to show festival goers that park and recreation centers are a great place for youth to engage in the variety of STEM programs that

are offered at many park and rec agencies across the country.

As park and recreation professionals, we are in a great position to offer programs and activities to inspire the next generation, get them active and keep their creativity and imaginations alive and well. Implementing STEM programs that are both fun and educational is a great start, and the rewards are priceless.

Visit https://usasciencefestival.org to learn more about the USA Science and Engineering Festival.

To listen to NRPA’s podcast about attending the STEM fest, visit www.nrpa. org/blog/what-do-dream-parks-looklike-to-kids-episode-018.

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NRPA Update

Recommended Guidelines for Credentialing Volunteers Hot Topics Got an idea or a burning question you wish you could get input on from your fellow park and rec professionals? On NRPA Connect, an online, real-time networking platform, you can do that with more than 60,000 of them.

Below are a few discussion topics: Shelter Reservations Weather Policy – As the summer months near, shelter reservations are starting to fill up.

NRPA members are sharing their agencies’ policies regarding rescheduling the reservations due to inclement weather. Is your policy rain or shine? Chime in today!

Medications and Youth Programming – More and more, park and recreation professionals are being asked by parents to administer medication to their children during youth programming activities. Your colleagues are looking for suggestions, guidelines and/or policies on how to handle this. Check out this discussion to see examples of permission forms.

Sports Equipment Vending Machines – Does your agency offer equipment rentals at your park facility? Many agencies do not offer rentals because of the extra staffing that would be needed.

One member is looking for a vending-type machine that contains sports equipment.

Does this kind of machine exist? Have you seen something similar or have an idea?

Professional Photography in Parks – This hot topic always comes up in the spring since photographers like to photograph families, couples and kids in local parks. So, do you require the photographer to purchase a permit? Is the photographer allowed to set up a “perimeter” around the photo shoot to keep park patrons out? Learn the various ways some agencies handle this situation.

Don’t be left out, visit www.nrpacon nect.org to start, join or simply learn from a conversation.

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olunteers are an important part of running your summer camps and programs, but are you screening them properly to make sure you’re keeping your community safe?

NRPA partnered with the Background Investigation Bureau (BIB) to help park and recreation agencies screen better.

NRPA members will gain immediate peace of mind knowing that your volunteers and employees are being well-vetted using some of the most powerful and advanced background checks available.

With the help of BIB, Southeast Security Consultants, TSS Photography and DMP Consulting, NRPA has put together some recommended guidelines for credentialing volunteers. The recommended guideline for comprehensive background screening or background check includes: • Address Trace • County Criminal Record Check • Criminal Record Database • National Sex Offender Registry • Timely Results • Complimentary Consultation A person should be disqualified and prohibited from serving as a volunteer

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if that person has been found guilty of the following crimes: • Sex offenses • Felonies • Misdemeanors BIB can help you implement a safe environment for the volunteer, your staff and your community. It offers a web-based, turnkey platform for screening volunteers. Volunteers enter their own data, removing paper forms from the process. Secure Volunteer manages who has been screened and when, facilitates the approval process, provides a professional-grade screen and supplies approved volunteers with ID cards. NRPA members receive exclusive pricing on BIB’s Secure Volunteer background screenings!

To read the entire Recommended Guidelines for Credentialing Volunteers and to learn more about taking advantage of your NRPA member discount through BIB, visit www.nrpa.org/BIB.

Member Spotlight: Todd Johnson

By Vitisia Paynich

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hen Todd Johnson arrived in New Orleans to speak at the October 2017 NRPA Annual Conference, his career in parks and recreation had come full circle. In the fall of 1987, Johnson was a recent college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in leisure studies. With his mother at the wheel, Johnson drove down from Illinois to attend his very first NRPA conference, which, ironically, took place in NOLA. It was at that conference where he came across an internship opportunity at the Fairfax County Park Authority in Virginia.

Johnson recalls walking up to a bulletin board where a handful of park and rec agencies had posted available internships. “What appealed to me about Fairfax County was that it was expanding from four recreation centers to eight that summer. So, I knew there would be lots of opportunities, and it would be my way to get my foot in the door,” he says. Three decades later, Johnson has not only reached the pinnacle of his career, serving as manager, Golf Enterprises, at Fairfax County Park Authority, but has also become an industry thought leader, presenting an education session at the place where it all began for him all those years ago.

Johnson recently shared with Parks & Recreation magazine why he wanted to work in parks and rec, the different leadership roles he’s earned over the past 30+ years, as well as some funny and unusual park stories.

Parks & Recreation: How did you become interested in parks and recreation?

Todd Johnson: My interest in the field started when I was really young. My father was a college athlete, who encouraged my sister and me to participate in lots of sports. And mostly, I ended up focusing on baseball, basketball and football, but when I turned about 9 years old, my dad taught me how to play golf. So, I just had a love of sports and the outdoors. When I started thinking about what I wanted to study in college, I knew I wanted to be in

public service, but careers, like a firefighter or police officer, just weren’t in my nature nor did they fit my personality. However, I knew I wanted to give back to the community and, if possible, be in an outdoor work environment. So, I attended the University of Illinois, majoring in what was called back then, Leisure Studies, with an emphasis in outdoor park management.

I didn’t know exactly what my focus was going to be. I just knew that I wanted to be in parks and recreation, and I knew that if I went to Fairfax County, I could probably delay that decision as long as possible and I could try everything. That’s sort of what I’ve done with my career.

P&R: What were some of the leadership roles you’ve held at Park Authority?

Johnson: In my 20s, I got a position as assistant program director for the recreation centers during the summer of 1988 — working my way up to program director. I did that for about eight years. Then, in my 30s, I served as park manager at Lake Accotink for a year. In 1997, I made a big step to park manager of Lake Fairfax, where I opened the county’s first waterpark called, the Water Mine. I served in that role for seven years. In 2004, I became the first general manager of the newly opened Laurel Hill Golf Club, an upscale public golf course. In my 40s, I was named division director of park operations and, for about 10 years, was tasked with directing all park maintenance, in-

cluding of buildings, grounds and athletic fields. About 15 months ago, I took a different position as manager of Golf Enterprises, where I supervise seven golf course managers. Our golf courses range from a little nine-hole, par 3 course all the way up to Laurel Hill. The Golf Enterprises group is about an $11 million business.

Although taking this position was a very slight demotion, 30 years into my career, I knew what job I really wanted!

P&R: Do you have any interesting stories during your time at Park Authority?

Johnson: Working for a Golf Medal-winning organization with more than 400 parks has provided me with plenty of park stories. As park manager of Lake Fairfax, I had an employee who literally left with the circus — The Big Apple Circus. The office manager met a boy in the circus, and when the circus left the park, she left with it. I was division director of park operations when Russian spy Robert Hanssen, who lived in Fairfax County, was making his drops of [classified] information or picking up money right in one of our parks. In fact, there was a 2007 movie, called “Breach,” starring Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe — and they filmed some scenes in that same park. So, I experienced it in real life when they caught Hanssen and then I experienced it when [Hollywood] filmed the movie. That was kind of cool.

— Vitisia Paynich, Freelance Writer for Parks & Recreation magazine

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©Myles Mellor

Parks & Recreation Crossword

Across 1 Wild and Scenic ____ Act 4 Low-lying wetland 8 Carry with difficulty 10 Audubon Society members 12 Thick mass of grass or bushes 13 Secluded area 15 Environmental science 19 Picturesque 22 Lumberjacking tool 23 The Appalachian Trail runs through this eastern shore state 24 Hawaiian tree 26 St. ___ River, one of the eight rivers originally protected under a 1968 Act (flows along the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin) 27 They may be National Scenic, Historic and Recreation 29 Member of a Native American people 30 Animated 31 Delicate color variations 32 It’s worn by swimmers or divers in cold weather, 2 words

Down 1 Springtime songbird 2 Olive-colored bird 3 Wetlands plant 5 Rainbow shape 6 Industrial ooze 7 Hive sound 9 Student score, abbr.

11 Draw liquid from 14 “The Lord of the Rings” beast 16 Growing in abundance 17 Walking in the countryside 18 Mass of glacial cover over a very large area, 2 words 20 Like some clay pots 21 Helmsman in a racing boat 25 Environment 28 Eat like a beaver 29 Gymnastics equipment

Check the answers to the crossword at www.nrpa.org/crossword. As an added bonus for completing the crossword, you can enter a drawing to receive a $25 Amazon gift card. The winner will be randomly selected and notified May 31, 2018.

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#DISCOVERJULY | WWW.NRPA.ORG/JULY

NRPA Update NRPA is dedicated to providing learning opportunities to advance the development of best practices and resources that make parks and recreation indispensable elements of American communities.

Find out more at www.nrpa.org/education.

SCHOOLS AND CONFERENCES CPSI ONLINE PREPARATION COURSES UPDATED! As you prepare for your CPSI certification or if you are looking for credits toward your CPRP renewal, NRPA Online Learning recently completed a redevelopment of the CPSI preparation courses. The previous four courses have been consolidated into a single course that follows the outline of competencies covered by the CPSI exam. This course covers the most recent ASTM standards and CPSC guidelines and includes increased interactivity. Updates have also been provided to the CPSI practice exam to provide further alignment and increase the number of practice questions. Find out more and register today at https://learning.nrpa.org.

November 5-8, 2018

www.nrpa.org/education

MAY

Fairbanks, Alaska Mason, Ohio South Kingston, Rhode Island Las Vegas, Nevada Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania Diamond Bar, California Davie, Florida

JUN

13-15 18-29

Hillsboro, Oregon Arlington, Texas

JUL

17-19 17-19

Hillsboro, Oregon San Mateo, California

AUG

Knoxville, Tennessee Ceres, California Jupiter, Florida Athens, Ohio Cedar Rapids, Iowa San Diego, California Seattle, Washington Milpitas, California Marathon, Florida

1-3 2-4 2-4 7-9 8-10 22-24 22-24

7-9 21-23 27-30

Irvine, California Livermore, California Wheat Ridge, Colorado

SEP

MAY

September 25-27, 2018, Indiana Convention Center

CPSI PROGRAM

AFO PROGRAM

1-2 3-4 3-4 7-8 8-9 10-11 15-16 17-18 17-18

August 26-31, 2018

12-14 17-19 19-21

Roanoke, Virginia Griffin, Georgia Dublin, Ohio

Note: No courses in June or July. www.nrpa.org/AFO 72

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www.nrpa.org/CPSI

Indianapolis SEPTEMBER 25–27, 2018

REGISTRATION OPENS MAY 14 WWW.NRPA.ORG/CONFERENCE

Operations Skateboarding Popularity Is Growing – Get Ahead of the Curve

By Suzanne Nathan

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2. Skateparks promote an active lifestyle, no matter the age.

3. Well-designed skateparks can provide an economic benefit.

A Safe Haven In a September 2013 article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, then-mayor of Richmond, Dwight C. Jones, is quoted as saying, “If your town doesn’t have a skatepark, it is one.”

Since the 1970s, skateboarding has

Tomentosaplaga / Alamy Stock Photo

kateboarding will make its debut at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. As a result, the sport is likely to see growth throughout the United States, so is your agency prepared? Here are three important points for park and recreation professionals to consider: 1. Skateparks are a win-win: they provide a safe space for skateboarders and help protect property of local government and businesses.

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been gaining in popularity, and municipalities have seen many benefits to providing safe, designated skateparks to protect skateboarders, as well as concrete surfaces and public property. Most skateboarding injuries/falls occur because of surface irregularities and collisions with motor vehicles or pedestrians. If no park is available, skateboarders tend to use whatever structures are available to them, even if there are “no skateboarding allowed” signs posted. Having

a designated space for skating activities not only provides a safer environment for skaters, but also is the best way to curb any unlawful activities or behavior. According to the Tony Hawk Foundation: “Nuisance skateboarding is simply a reflection of an unmet recreational need.”

Mark Cagle, Youth Center supervisor for the city of Cape Coral, Florida, manages Eagle Skate Park, where helmets and parental/legal guardian consent are required prior to admission. The park offers extreme fun for skateboards, scooters and bike enthusiasts. “Since renovating the park and reopening in December 2017, our attendance has more than doubled,” Cagle shares. “We have 50+ participants daily during the week and 100 (full capacity) on the weekends.” The park is now meeting the need of the community.

Promotes an Active Lifestyle At a time when youth are encouraged to get outside and be active, skateparks offer a fun and exciting destination. Whether participants are on skateboards, scooters or BMX bikes, skateparks provide a great cardio workout. But, skateboarding is not just for kids. Cagle says, “All ages are welcome. Our users include elementary, middle and high schoolers, as well as college students and adult skaters up into their 50s.”

Skateparks may conjure an image of a youth skating by doing dangerous tricks, but as freelance writer Jeff Ihaza points out in his recently published New York Times article, “Skateboarders Won,” “Aging Gen Xers grew up alongside skateboarding’s ascent in popular culture, from Bart Simpson plonking down onto the roof of the family car in the opening sequence of ‘The Simpsons’ to blockbuster video game franchises like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Skateboarding is no longer something people fear. The skate punk of the late 1980s is now a suburban dad.”

The mission of the Tony Hawk Foundation is to foster lasting improvements

in society with an emphasis on supporting youth in low-income communities through skateboarding programs and the creation of skateparks. On its website, it states: “Skateparks draw visitors of all ages, from all walks of life. The skatepark becomes a terrific place to find people with similar interests, and most lifelong skateboarders have great friends that they met while skateboarding. In skateparks we see parents skating with their kids, young people offering tips to older folks, poor folks skating with wealthy folks, and so on.

Skateparks are where people go to have fun and challenge themselves in a safe, appropriate environment…with their friends and within their community.”

An Economic Benefit Eagle Skate Park in Cape Coral, Florida, was built in 2005, and after 10 years, the annual maintenance cost grew to $30,000–$40,000. By 2017, it was time to renovate, so when the capital project funding became available, the city worked with the American Ramp Company (ARC) on the design and renovation. The park now features nearly 27,000 square feet of ramps, rails and pipes. “ARC provided the perfect product and did a great job,” Cagle says.

“They even came to meet with the community, including the kids, to get their input.” With the renovation, the park’s annual maintenance cost is expected to be down to an estimated $4,000.

When it comes to other economic benefits, the Tony Hawk Foundation states: “We do not have any specific studies on the economic impact of skateparks on communities, but from the feedback we receive from municipal skatepark managers, skateparks do seem to have a positive effect on businesses in the surrounding area. When a skatepark opens, it tends to draw folks from the outlying communities to come bring their kids to the skatepark, do some shopping, may-

be have lunch, buy some gas, etc. Skateparks attract patrons to local businesses who might not otherwise be in the area.

Skateboarders are tenacious and will go wherever the compelling terrain is.

While skateparks with high visibility and ample community interaction are healthier environments, skateparks in challenging locations can often serve to activate an otherwise underutilized space.

Their presence displaces less desirable elements that require privacy and can be a steady presence for other visitors that may be reluctant to visit a desolate area.”

Eagle Skate Park is supervised and costs $5 per six-hour session. The park hosts monthly competitions and summer camps and even has an afterschool program, where children can receive homework assistance and participate in group games.

Cagle says, “In addition to increased attendance, it is great to see the participants share skatepark etiquette. If a young child comes through on a scooter, older participants will give them their turn as they would any other more experienced skater.”

“Skateboarding requires bravery, discipline, learning strategies, goal-setting and grit, and skateparks are where that happens. What more would we want from a park?” says Peter Whitley, program director for the Tony Hawk Foundation.

Suzanne Nathan is NRPA’s Media Specialist (snathan@nrpa.org).

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Cutting-Edge Innovations to Improve Mower Safety

By Antony Alexander

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efore the sun rises and many of us begin our day, turf maintenance professionals around the United States have already arrived at work, adorned their personal protection equipment — safety glasses, hard hat, work gloves and safety shoes — and climbed into a piece of professional turf care equipment, buckling up to begin the meticulous task of maintaining their facilities. Without taking the proper precautions, it can be a dangerous endeavor, navigating uneven topography, inclines and obstacles to ensure every blade of grass receives the perfect cut. Wet turf affects traction, and trees with low-hanging branches can be abundant. Safety is always top of mind, not only for workers, but also for the manufacturers of mowing equipment.

Many models feature innovative technologies that offer increased stability and better visibility, and some models even have

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cutting reels that shift to safely handle tight turns and hard-to-reach areas without compromising quality of cut or productivity.

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A Better Cut Turf maintenance workers are often accustomed to driving a mower with a single, large cutting deck. A large cutting deck can accomplish the task more quickly, but often delivers a lower quality of cut. If an operator is using a mower on a contoured area with intricate landscaping, the operator will need to maneuver the cutting deck into the right position to avoid damaging the landscaping. This maneuver may result in the operator working at undesirable angles, losing stability and traction.

Stability Is Everything Some professional turf equipment now provides a wider wheel base, or a shorter overall height. The goal is to lower the center of gravity and disperse the equipment’s weight more effectively.

Mowers with a lower center of gravity help operators to feel more planted and stable on this mower, especially when operating the machine on a downhill slope.

Enhancing Ergonomics There is a direct correlation between safety, productivity and ergonomics. In general, ergonomics is aimed at making the operator more comfortable when performing a repetitive task, resulting in that person feeling more confident on the unit and helping them to be more productive.

Depending on the task, a grounds maintenance worker may operate a mower for several hours at one time. Most new products offer an ergonomically contoured seat. While this is certainly beneficial, consider a unit equipped with a mechanical suspension, which delivers a smoother ride and reduces fatigue. Evaluating the seat position is also key. Some designs are in a more reclined position. While comfortable, this approach may require the

Photo courtesy of Jacobsen

Technology now exists that enables operators to effortlessly shift all three cutting reels to either side of the mower, creating up to 18 inches of offset. This type of technology allows the operator to focus on mowing, rather than navigating around hazards and offers him or her the ability to cut every blade of grass before the mower drives over it, achieving a superior quality of cut. The technology allows operators to place the equipment further from an obstacle for increased safety, define where the reels are positioned, and ultimately increase productivity.

There is a direct correlation between safety, productivity and ergonomics.

worker to strain to reach the controls. The distance and angle of the steering column is also important. Is it easily adjusted?

Does the operator need to slide around the steering column to enter or exit the mower, or can he or she easily stand up to get off the platform?

Finally, a critical safety consideration is the “three points of contact” rule. It’s

important for the operator to always have three points of physical contact at all times. This can be achieved through a combination of properly positioned handles on the rollover protection system (ROPS), the steering column and steps.

When looking for safe mowers, evaluate where the step points and handles are located. Will a smaller operator struggle to reach a ROPS handle? Are the steps on the mower equipped with grips, and do those steps have a ribbed surface or a tread plate?

Technology plays an important role in engineering mowers that work harder for the operator. The innovation offered today allows the worker to focus on achieving the perfect cut while staying safe.

Antony Alexander is a Product Manager for Jacobsen (aalexander@textron.com).

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Operations

A Solar Lighting System for Layritz Park

By Sonia Myrick

A

pproximately a half mile of pathway at Layritz Park in the District of Saanich in British Columbia, Canada, required multiuse pathway lighting. This heavily used portion of the park’s trail is a primary link from the parking lot to the athletic fields and, ultimately, to the nearby Vancouver Island Tech Park.

The District of Saanich, the largest municipality on Vancouver Island, includes urban areas, many rural areas and farms, and is home to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, which until the 1960s, was one of the main astrophysical research centers in the world.

Saanich strives to provide its more than 114,000 residents with a harmonious balance with the environment, and, to that end, is committed to becoming a 100 percent renewable energy community and to reducing greenhouse gas

“This site at Layritz Park provided some challenges as it’s home to many trees, and shade lessens the ability for the panels to capture enough sun....”

emissions by 80 percent below 2007 levels by 2050. In keeping with its renewable energy goal, as well as its desire to cause minimal impact on the environment, the city researched the available solar lighting options and chose Urban Solar’s RMS Series lighting systems, which perform well in the challenging Pacific Northwest climate.

“This site at Layritz Park provided some challenges as it’s home to many trees, and shade lessens the ability for the panels to capture enough sun,” says Eben Lindsey, Urban Solar business development manager. “However, we were able to work closely with Saanich and found a solution by properly positioning the solar lighting systems.”

The company’s stand-alone systems

Photos courtesy of Urban Solar

One of the 14 solar-powered light fixtures installed at Layritz Park in the District of Saanich in British Columbia, Canada.

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Because of the park’s proximity to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, lower illumination fixtures were needed.

also meant that the lighting could be installed without the need to dig any trenches, limiting the environmental impact of installation.

“Solar proved to be more cost-efficient, in part because it is much simpler to install than conventional lighting systems,” says Becky Goodall, park planner and designer in the Parks Division of Saanich’s Parks and Recreation Department. Also, because of the park’s proximity to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, lower illumination fixtures were needed for the project. “Illumination levels had to comply with the Municipal Outdoor Lighting Standards for the Control of Light Pollution, including those that apply within 5 kilometers of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory,” Goodall explains.

“We’ve received positive feedback on the lights,” Goodall continues. “They give a soft, warm light, which does the job, without being glaring.”

According to Gary Darrah, Saanich’s manager of park planning, design and development, it took about a week to install the 14 solar-powered lights, at a total cost of $52,000. The Saanich Parks and Public Works department installed the cement bases for the poles and the fixtures, while Urban Solar provided expert guidance on the overall installation and final adjustments of the solar lights, which is key. It’s a system that requires very little maintenance with a free source of energy. However, it is necessary to change the batteries every four to five years, so it’s important to have a battery replacement/system maintenance plan in place to ensure the lighting systems continue to provide reliable and safe lighting.

Some Interesting Solar Power Facts: In the past decade, improvements in LED technology, as well as in panel efficiency, have allowed solar lighting to be more effective.

As the cost of electricity continues to climb, solar lighting is becoming an attractive alternative. In the past decade, improvements in LED technology, as well as in panel efficiency, have allowed solar lighting to be more effective. The lack of trenching to install wiring also makes solar lighting a good alternative in environmentally sensitive areas.

• Sunlight takes a little more than 8 minutes to reach Earth and a few seconds longer to make contact with your solar panels.

• In the United States, solar panels need to face south to capture optimal sunlight.

• Currently, the sun burns hydrogen. One day when all the hydrogen is gone [this is millions of years away], it will switch to helium — but that doesn’t matter for solar panels. They’ll continue to use the sun’s rays to create electricity.

• According to data from 2016, California generates the most solar power in America, followed by North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey and Utah.

• Burlington, Vermont, was the first city in America to achieve 100 percent sustainable energy production for its people.

Source: The Solar Power Authority www.solarpowerauthority.com/25-factsabout-solar-power.

Sonia Myrick is the Executive Editor for Parks and Recreation magazine (smyrick@nrpa.org).

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Products Tipi Carousel Research shows that spinning movement is one of the best ways to stimulate the vestibular system, aiding in the development of a person’s entire sense of balance and equilibrium. KOMPAN’s new Tipi Carousel is an exciting new addition to the spinning family! Available with a top brace to increase use and capacity, the Tipi Carousel is a spacious, inclusive spinner that invites multiple kids of all abilities to whirl while lying, sitting or standing. KOMPAN, 800.426.9788, WWW.KOMPAN.COM

Back and Backless Benches Paris Site Furnishings introduces the Premier series backed and backless benches, which provide comfortable seating with a contemporary look, while also providing trees or other site amenities with a decorative, protective buffer. Each steel, powder-coated bench features a vandal-resistant design and is available in standard and custom colors.

They are ideal for parks, streetscapes, green spaces, sports venues and wherever comfortable, durable seating is desired. PARIS SITE FURNISHINGS, 800.387.6318, WWW.PEML.COM

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New Aquatics Catalog Lincoln Aquatics now offers even more products at a great value! Here is how buying from Lincoln Aquatics can benefit YOU! • Since 1954, Lincoln has served commercial pool operators like you • Extensive inventory with access to more than 120,000 specific items and parts • Our knowledgeable staff is available to help guide you in proper product selection • Commercial inventory stocking locations strategically located across the country • Nationwide network of 270+ sales center locations Call or visit us today to request a new catalog. LINCOLN AQUATICS, 800.223.5450, WWW.LINCOLNAQUATICS.COM

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An industry leader in park and recreation management software, CivicRec provides an interface that is easy to use for both staff and citizens.

Our recreation software contains robust tools for managing activities, facilities and point-of-sale transactions with integrated functionality to manage memberships, instructors, sports leagues and ticketing. CivicRec is the complete solution needed to run any park and recreation department. Sign up for a free, self-guided demo at www.civicrec.com.

CIVICREC, WWW.CIVICREC.COM

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Wide-Area Mower The updated 1600 Series III mower FT4-compliant, liquid-cooled, four-cylinder engines have been optimized to maintain a high level of performance, efficiency and serviceability. Built with the operator in mind, the new, standard air-ride seat on the 1600 Series III mower maximizes comfort, featuring softer, body-contoured seat cushions, standard armrests and multiple color-coded, easy-to-use controls for quick seat adjustment. In addition, the new heavy-duty rear bumper is designed to easily swing out of the away to allow the hood to be opened for service without using tools. JOHN DEERE, WWW.DEERE.COM

This innovative lane line storage unit prevents tangles and clumping.

Using a proprietary lead-screw technology, the unit has a traversing guide block that slides side-to-side, keeping lane lines properly aligned while reeling. It features lightweight, rugged stainless steel with a 1-inch, easy-to-grip captains’ wheel at each end. Makes reeling and transporting “reel simple.” Ideal for any athletic aquatic facility.

PENTAIR, WWW.PEN TAIRCOMMERCIAL.COM

Pool Perimeter Grating New PolyGrate™ is a durable and versatile pool perimeter grating that is machined from single sheets of marine-grade HDPE and completely customizable. PolyGrate can be designed to fit any pool gutter and features a high-friction walking surface to prevent slipping and promote improved drainage. The remarkable strength of the PolyGrate also makes it ideal for new or renovated bulkheads. It’s custom engineered for each project to facilitate hassle-free installation. Ideal for repairing and renovating aquatic facilities. Made in USA. RENOSYS, 800.783.7005, WWW.RENOSYS. COM

Modular Splash Play Feature Massive Splash™ is an innovative, modular splash play feature designed for maximum inclusivity of all patrons. With a modern, architectural look, Massive Splash™ draws attention to parks and athletic facilities with a constant motion of water buckets, including four different spray effects that reduce user wait times. Water spray from uprights provides constant cooling, water chasing and a safer play experience. The modular design allows for a wide variety of configurations to fit every splash pad size and budget. WATER ODYSSEY, WWW.WATERODYSSEY.COM

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Little Tikes .....................................................................................................19 Mateflex .........................................................................................................37 Miracle ............................................................................................................23 Most Dependable...................................................................................... C2 Murdock Manufacturing ..........................................................................15 Musco Sports Lighting .............................................................................33 National Joint Powers Alliance .......................................................12, 13 Pentair ............................................................................................................47 Pilot Rock/RJ Thomas ................................................................................35 Playworld.......................................................................................................17 Polly Products ..............................................................................................85 Romtec, Inc. ..................................................................................................21 Salsbury Industries.....................................................................................53 Scoremaster Goals .....................................................................................86 Shade Systems............................................................................................... 1 Soccer Innovations ....................................................................................87 Synthetic Surfaces......................................................................................86 Toro.................................................................................................................... 7 Uline .................................................................................................................. 9 Vortex .............................................................................................................41 Waterloo Tent & Tarp ................................................................................... 9 Willoughby Industries...............................................................................86 Wood Carvers/Golden Teak ....................................................................86

advertiser index

American Ramp Company ......................................................................61 American Swing Products .......................................................................82 Amish Country Gazebos .........................................................................82 Aquatix by Landscape Structures ........................................................... 5 BCI Burke ................................................................................................55, 83 Brigadoon Fitness.......................................................................................82 Bright Idea Shop .........................................................................................83 Cemrock Landscapes, Inc. .......................................................................39 CivicPlus .........................................................................................................45 Daktronics .....................................................................................................43 Dock Blocks ..................................................................................................84 Dri-Dek ...........................................................................................................84 Easi-Set Building .........................................................................................83 Eco Chemical................................................................................................31 GameTime .................................................................................................... C4 Gared Sports ................................................................................................84 Go Ape............................................................................................................84 Gothic Arch Greenhouse .........................................................................85 Greenfields Outdoor Fitness.................................................................2, 3 Gym for Dogs ...............................................................................................85 Jacobsen ........................................................................................................29 John Deere ................................................................................................... C3 Kay Park Recreation ...................................................................................85 Landscape Structures, Inc. ......................................................................11

(ISSN 0031-2215) is published monthly by the National Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148, a service organization supported by membership dues and voluntary contributions. Copyright Š2018 by the National Recreation and Park Association. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of NRPA. Issued to members at the annual subscription price of $30, included in dues. Subscription: $46 a year in the U.S.; $56 elsewhere. Single copy price: $7. Library rate: $58 a year in the U.S.; $68 elsewhere. Periodical postage paid at Ashburn, Virginia, and at additional mailing offices. Editorial and advertising offices at 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148. 703.858.0784. Postmaster, send address changes to Parks & Recreation, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148.

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Park Bench

When heading out for a hike on a trail, how many of us think about the importance of being able to communicate our whereabouts along that trail, should an emergency arise? A few years ago, such an emergency occurred on a trail in Cold Spring Harbor State Park, in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York, when a man fainted while hiking with his wife. She called 911 but was unable to communicate their location on the trail.

Responders did reach the couple in time, but only after the fire department had dispatched two ambulances to enter at different points along the trail.

Suffolk County police officer James Garside, an advance medical technician who patrols the park, realized a more efficient way was needed to respond to such emergencies. He led an initiative to install 15 numbered markers along the 1.14mile trail, which covers challenging, unpaved terrain with steep inclines that can increase the chance for injury. “Each number is linked to the exact longitude/latitude coordinates. With the use of GIS mapping, we are able to pinpoint the caller’s location,” Garside explains. “Emergency staff did a walk-through to test the system and obtained permission to access the trail via residential property where needed.”

On October 15, 2017, the new system was put to the test when a 47-year-old man, hiking with his wife, experienced a heart attack halfway along the trail. This time, when they received the call, emergency responders could determine his exact location and use a predetermined point-of-entry to the trail, which was through a resident’s yard, to be at his side within minutes. Garside adds, “Responders were able to transmit cardiac data from the scene to hospital personnel, who were then able to call in the necessary medical staff to prepare for the ambulance’s arrival. The time saved was critical.”

Trail markers are small, unassuming and relatively inexpensive but can convey vital, life-saving information when time is of the essence.

Consider adding markers to park trails near you and be on the lookout during your next hike.

– Suzanne Nathan, NRPA’s Media Specialist

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Long Islander News/Janee Law

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