Parks & Recreation June 2017

JUNE 2017 W W W. N R PA . O R G

THE HEALTH & WELLNESS ISSUE

Climate Change and Health | The Opioid Epidemic in Parks | Recreational Water Disinfection

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contents june 2017 volume 52 | number 6 | www.parksandrecreation.org

FEATURES

30 Climate Change, Parks and Health Record hot temperatures are part of a trend of ever-hotter weather patterns that are now starting to regularly affect U.S. communities nationwide. To deny that climate changes are happening or to minimize the significance of the changes that are taking place will not alter the fact that we must deal with these impacts now.

And, the most significant of climate change impacts are those that affect human health.

Rich Dolesh

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34 Confronting the Opioid Outbreak in Our Parks The opioid epidemic is steadily growing in the United States, and it is gaining prominence in local parks across the country. Park and recreation agencies are doing their part to maintain safe facilities and nature spaces for their communities, as well as help addicts who are seeking recovery and alternative, healthy activities.

Mareya S. Ibrahim and Cort Jones

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contents june

departments 12 Research Parks and Recreation: Meeting Community Fitness Needs at All Levels 12 Park Pulse: Millions of Americans Touched by Food Insecurity 14

16 Community Center How to Keep Citizens Informed About the Threat of Zika in Your Community Landon Schenck

38 NRPA Update Introducing the Health and Wellness Advisory Panel’s Newest Members 38 Meet Me at the Park — Play Spaces Grant Program 38 More Health and Wellness Sessions Offered at Conference This Year 40 NRPA Connect Hot Topics 42 Member Benefit: It’s Easier Than Ever to Get Involved with NRPA 42 Member Spotlight: Health and Wellness Youth Ambassadors 43 Parks & Recreation Crossword 44 Professional Development Calendar 45

46 Operations Recreational Water Disinfection 46 The Digital Imposter 48

50 Products 51 Marketplace 55 Advertiser Index 56 Park Bench Nomadic Nourishment in NorCal

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columns 8 Perspectives Activate Your Parks and Your People Barbara Tulipane, CAE

10 Editor’s Letter Think Healthy Across the Board Gina Mullins-Cohen

18 Advocacy Federal Budget Cuts Threaten Educational Funding Katie Sims

20 Law Review Criminal Background Checks for Youth Sport Coaches James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

26 Conservation Creating a Sustainable Community Garden Brittany Quale

28 Social Equity Promoting LGBT Inclusion and Awareness in Programs and Facilities Josephy Martin, M.S.

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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

Activate Your Parks and Your People I recently attended the American Planning Association’s annual conference in New York City, and I was alternately intrigued and exasperated. On one hand, I saw planners excited about the possibilities of utilizing parks in more innovative and creative ways in order to design more sustainable and resilient communities.

They talked about the creative commons, place making, privately owned public spaces and exciting new ideas about building partnerships between the public and the private sectors.

On the other hand, I was frustrated by the parochial view that some had concerning parks. For some, parks barely factored into their urban design strategies. These strategies were detailed and thoughtful about health, transportation, affordable housing, community revitalization and economic development, but parks were an afterthought or a placeholder for future development. Parks were what you put in the spaces that were left after taking care of every other need.

Fortunately, there were many who saw parks as integral and essential to highquality urban, suburban and rural design. One of the most interesting concepts I heard was the notion of “activating public spaces.” Activating public lands may not be a new concept to us, but for a number of planners and designers, it was a way to make livable and sustainable communities that are interesting and fun. For them, parks aren’t just what you have at the end of the block or in the center of the neighborhood. They are public places that can be transformed into exciting new spaces for recreation, enjoyment and thoughtful contemplation.

Active spaces are also proving to be a motivator for increased civic trust, civic engagement and informed local voting. The relationship between well-designed public spaces and increased public participation is being studied by the Center for Active Design (CfAD). This nonprofit organization promotes architecture and urban planning solutions to support healthy, engaged communities and is working to produce an evidenced-based resource guide for city leaders and designers. Perhaps this session resonated with me because I had recently reviewed the preliminary findings of an upcoming NRPA study that examines how elected and appointed local officials measure the importance of parks and recreation. These officials rated attracting and retaining business as their most important issue for their community. Unfortunately, they did not perceive parks as having a strong, positive impact to attract and retain businesses, even though they rated parks as a major contributor to a community’s quality of life!

We can activate public spaces for the benefit of people, which in turn, create greater civic engagement. However, we must use this increased engagement to our advantage by encouraging communities to push back on elected officials who continue to argue that park budgets are an easy cut. Let’s work to ensure that elected officials understand that their re-election rides on supporting a robust park system.

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

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2377 Belmont Ridge Rd. | Ashburn, VA 20148 2 703.858.0784 | www.nrpa.org

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

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jack Kardys

Chair of the Board of Directors Stephen Eckelberry

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

Bartlett Park District Bartlett, Illinois

Michael Kelly

Chair-Elect Leon T. Andrews

Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Karen Kress

Past Chair Susan Trautman, CPRP Great Rivers Greenway District St. Louis, Missouri

Treasurer Michael Kelly Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

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

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

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jesus Aguirre

Yellowstone Park Foundation Emigrant, Montana

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

Molly Stevens Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Austin, Texas

Susan Trautman, CPRP The Great Rivers Greenway District Saint Louis, Missouri

William “Joe” Turner Houston Parks and Recreation Houston, Texas

Dr. Howell Wechsler Alliance for a Healthier Generation New York, New York

LIFE TRUSTEES

Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation Seattle, Washington

Beverly D. Chrisman

Leon T. Andrews

Anne S. Close

National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Neelay Bhatt PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

Kevin Coyle

Lexington, South Carolina Fort Mill, South Carolina

James H. Evans New York, New York

Rosemary Hall Evans Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

National Wildlife Federation Washington, D.C.

Earl T. Groves

Stephen Eckelberry

Charles E. Hartsoe, Ph.D.

Bartlett Park District Carol Stream, Illinois

Richmond, Virginia

Harry G. Haskell

Robert García

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

The City Project Los Angeles, California

Kathryn A. Porter

Richard Gulley Balboa Park Conservancy San Diego, California

Roslyn Johnson Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

Gastonia, North Carolina

Mendham, New Jersey

Perry J. Segura New Iberia, Louisiana

R. Dean Tice Round Hill, Virginia

Eugene A. Young, CPRP Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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EDITOR’S LET TER

Think Healthy Across the Board As children throughout the country eagerly wait for the school year to draw to a close, park and rec agencies are busy preparing for the influx of patrons who will soon gravitate toward their respective community parks and facilities. Yet, while offering fun summer programs and activities are no doubt a priority, we mustn’t forget to promote the importance of good health and wellness — a topic both NRPA and Parks & Recreation magazine take to heart.

I strongly recommend checking out our research section on page 12, where NRPA’s vice president of research, Kevin Roth, shares compelling data from our Americans’ Engagement with Parks study. One key finding from the research shows on average, Americans visited local park and recreation facilities 29 times throughout 2016. The major driver of their visits: engaging in physical activity. Roth also highlights stats from our recent Park Pulse polls, which reveal that 83 percent of Americans agree that park and recreation centers should provide children with opportunities for physical activity outside of school grounds.

While we do emphasize the critical need for comprehensive health and wellness programs in our respective communities, it’s also imperative to stress how climate change can influence the overall health of our national, state and local parks, which in turn, can impact the general health of community members. In the feature titled “Climate Change, Parks and Health,” on page 30, NRPA’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Richard J. Dolesh interviews climate change experts to learn firsthand how global warming leads directly to weather-related challenges for today’s park and rec agencies along with their constituents. As an example, Surili Patel, senior program manager for Environmental Health in APHA’s Center for Public Health Policy, says, “Rising temperatures, which cause heat waves and urban heat island effects, vector-borne diseases — such as those carried by ticks and mosquitoes — diminished air quality, increased flooding and storms, food and water-related infections…can have significant impacts on physical and mental health.”

Next, on page 36, contributor Mareya S. Ibrahim and P&R Associate Editor Cort Jones take a closer look at the opioid epidemic and show what parks are doing to stay ahead of this evergrowing crisis. Given the fact that opioid use has sharply risen in public restrooms, many parks, for instance, execute a disposable needles protocol to ensure staff and visitor safety.

Although summertime is clearly the busiest season for park and recreation staff, I do hope you will take some time away from your active, and sometimes hectic, schedule to enjoy the great outdoors with your own family and friends. Remember, we need to think healthy across the board.

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

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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 MANAGING EDITOR Sonia Myrick smyrick@nrpa.org ASSOCIATE EDITOR Cort Jones cjones@nrpa.org ASSISTANT EDITOR Maureen Acquino macquino@nrpa.org EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR Catrina Belt cbelt@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 MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Mike Abbaté Keith Anderson Gerald Brown Ernest Burkeen Brendan Daley Anthony-Paul Diaz Ryan Eaker Mariela Fernandez Robert García Kathleen Gibi Tim Herd Mareya Ibrahim Edward Krafcik Todd Lehman Sam Mendelsohn Maria Nardi Lisa Paradis Gil Peñalosa Dr. Kevin Riley Matthew Rudnick Paula Sliefert Anne-Marie Spencer Stephen Springs Randy Wiger

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Research Parks and Recreation: Meeting Community Fitness Needs at All Levels

By Kevin Roth, Ph.D.

T

he focus of this issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is health and wellness.

Thousands of park and recreation agencies throughout the United States are leading the way to improve health outcomes, whether it is to tackle obesity and physical inactivity or to counter the impact of hunger and poor nutrition. A major reason parks and recreation is on the forefront of health solutions is the ubiquity of local park and recreation facilities in our communities. When people have quality park and recreation facilities near them, they are more likely to use these resources to improve their health.

In the NRPA study Americans’ Engagement with Parks, we learned that seven in 10 Americans frequent their local parks on a regular basis. In fact, on average, Americans visited local park and recreation facilities 29 times over the past year, and the desire to be more physically active was a major driver for their visit.

Better yet, three in five survey respondents told us that they had visited a local

12 Parks & Recreation

park or recreation facility at least once within a month of taking the survey.

Who are the most frequent users of local park and recreation facilities? The more frequent users include Millennials, people who identify themselves as Hispanic, and parents of younger children.

Having a quality park or recreation facility nearby is perhaps the most important factor in determining just how frequently

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someone uses these facilities. The good news is that 70 percent of respondents to the Engagement survey reported they had at least one park or recreation facility to which they could walk. The bad news is that means three in 10 Americans do not have a park within walking distance. This divide decreases the likelihood of these residents taking advantage of all that your agency has to offer for improved health.

Their ubiquity is not the only reason park and recreation agencies provide solutions for residents to be more active. It is also their general accessibility. Whereas local gyms and personal trainers may be intimidating for some people who now have a renewed interest in taking better care of themselves, the local park and recreation agency provides its residents with opportunities at all levels of fitness.

Fifty-six percent of agencies that participated in Park Metrics, the NRPA

benchmarking resource, report offering their residents at least one gym, while 37 percent have at least one fitness center in their offerings. Other fitness-oriented facilities widely available for residents include indoor and outdoor pools and tracks, sports fields of all types and ice rinks. Four in five agencies also offer their residents classes on fitness enhancement, health and wellness, and a variety of sports (including team sports, aquatics, tennis, golf and the martial arts).

But, perhaps the more accessible and widely embraced health benefit provided by local park and recreation agencies is the open space and trail networks that provide people with a place to walk, run or ride a bike. In the most recent NRPA Park Pulse poll result, 90 percent of Americans said they at least occasionally walk for leisure or pleasure. Their favorite places to walk include the beach, along a river, a local park, a local trail and at a gym or recreation center. As the majority of these resources are either free or available for very low costs, financial concerns do not keep anyone from taking advantage of them to become more physically fit.

Setting the Tone for Improved Community Wellness Providing quality facilities and services is not the only way park and recreation agencies improve the health of their community — it is also the broader actions they take that set the tone for improved wellness in the community. In turn, there is strong public support for park and recreation agencies to set the standard for better decisions. Recent NRPA Park Pulse polls revealed the following: • 79 percent of Americans support policies that prohibit the use of all tobacco products at public parks and recreation facilities.

• 67 percent of Americans believe it is important that vending machines and concession stands in their local parks and recreation facilities include healthy food and drink options.

• 83 percent of Americans agree that park and recreation centers should provide children with opportunities for physical activity outside of school grounds. This is critical as schools are shrinking the amount of time they dedicate in their curriculum for gym and outdoor time.

The data above provides park and recreation professionals with yet another opportunity to make the case for more stable and increased funding through the multiple ways they positively affect the community.

As important as your agency is to improving your community’s health, you can do even more to deliver on this promise.

That is where NRPA Facility Market Reports (FMRs) come into play. FMRs offer key data and insights about the market served by your agency’s facilities. With this data, your agency

gains a greater understanding of the residents served by a park, aquatic center, recreation center or any other facility. You give us an address and a radius to be analyzed (e.g., 10-minute walk, 15-minute drive) and we give you a wealth of data about the residents living near that facility. This helps ensure that the programming and capital investment decisions you make best serve the needs of the facility’s users.

There is a new version of the Facility Market Report that has a health and wellness focus, which explores the health characteristics of the residents living near the park or recreation facility you request to be studied. Data provided in these reports include weekly exercise habits, ownership rates of bicycles, participation in select recreation activities, prescription drug usage and dietary habits. If you are with an NRPA Premier Agency, you are eligible for complimentary Facility Market Reports annually. Learn more at www.nrpa.org/fmr.

Kevin Roth, Ph.D., is NRPA’s Vice President of Research (kroth@nrpa.org).

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NRPA Park Pulse 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 take a closer look at how many Americans experienced food insecurity over the past year.

Millions of Americans Touched by Food Insecurity A Park Pulse poll conducted by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) asked 1,003 Americans ages 18+ if they or someone they know has experienced food insecurity (i.e., not having regular access to food because of financial difficulties) over the past year.

Nearly 100 Million Americans say they’ve personally experienced and/or know someone who has experienced food insecurity over the past 12 months.

Of those personally affected, 27% are Millennials.

46% of Americans with children in the household are likely to have experienced or know someone who has experienced food insecurity, compared to 25% of Americans with no children in the household.

www.nrpa.org/Park-Pulse ©2017 National Recreation and Park Association The National Recreation and Park Association Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,003 nationally representative Americans, ages 18+, between March 6th and March 13th, 2017, 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. The margin of error for this study is +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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Community Center How to Keep Citizens Informed About the Threat of Zika in Your Community

By Landon Schenck

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Zika virus is now a nationally notifiable condition throughout the United States (https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/2017-case-counts.html).

Between January 1, 2015 and April 19, 2017, more than 5,000 cases of Zika were reported in the United States, and 223 of those cases were acquired through presumed local mosquito-borne transmissions in the states of Florida and Texas. As with any insect-related illness, the threat of the disease spreading at epidemic proportions has many Americans fearing for their communities and their families. In the Southern states, there is a particular fear of the disease spreading from Central and South American countries where diagnosed cases have so far been more prevalent.

Keep your citizens informed this summer about the threat of Zika in your community with an effective communication and education plan. By increasing

communitywide understanding of the Zika virus, its sources, risks, symptoms and treatments, your citizens will be best prepared to help prevent its spread, mitigate the potential impact to themselves and their families, and actively help safeguard their community from the risk of widespread infection. Following is a recommended communication plan to help you get started:

hyper-local. Your citizens want to hear the latest news from you as it pertains to your community.

• Ensure your communications leverage the latest, local, quantified data. Partner with local research resources to ensure your administration is constantly aware of any recent cases, or changes in local risk factors, so that such news can be communicated to citizens in a timely manner.

• Ensure all communications stress prevention techniques. The CDC offers in-depth prevention resources and guidance to inform your communications (https:// www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/).

• Conduct a communication channels assessment to determine trusted mass media and social media outlets that you plan to use as part of your preventive communication strategy and in the event of an escalation in known cases in

By increasing communitywide understanding of the Zika virus...citizens will be best prepared to help prevent its spread, mitigate the potential impact to themselves and their families, and actively help safeguard their community from the risk of widespread infection.

Communication Foundational Principles • Focus municipal communications specifically on the known threat in your community. Whether you are a county, city, village or township, any communications coming from your local government administration should be 16 Parks & Recreation

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your area. Plan to leverage all appropriate communication channels, including your local government’s social media accounts and website, trusted members of your local media and a mass notification system if one is already in use by your emergency response personnel.

• Partner with local experts to assist with

community education sessions, online content and informative handouts. Consider partnering with local physicians and epidemiologists to share insights relative to risk factors, trends and prevention methods. Also, partner with leaders of your local park and recreation department or public works department to address specific local concerns — such as areas of your community with standing water that could form breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

• Place a strong emphasis on educating women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant. Work closely with your local hospitals, clinics and OBGYNs to offer the educational support these women need to mitigate the heightened risks that Zika poses to pregnant women and their unborn children.

• Place signage reminding citizens to protect themselves from the threat of mosquito bites at public park and recreation areas.

• Emphasize educational efforts in areas of your community where women and other citizens may traditionally have poor access to health services, education and resources.

• Depending on the needs of your community, ensure all published communications are reproduced in multiple languages.

This will help maximize the reach of your communication efforts and ensure the equitable access to safety information for all residents.

• Customize your communications for various demographics based on risks factors. For example, create separate communications and prevention education pieces for women, families, the elderly and community groups.

• Stimulate two-way dialogue with citizens. Education and regular communications are essential to a successful prevention strategy, but so is listening to feedback and concerns from citizens and ensuring they have an avenue to ask questions of their local government leaders.

• Strengthen your efforts by aligning with national partners, technical groups, professional networks and nationwide re

searchers. Such partnerships will not only provide you with access to the latest national and global data, recommendations and prevention techniques if an outbreak does occur in your community, but will also give you immediate access to national emergency response resources.

• Include in your communications a reminder that citizens who have traveled to Zika-impacted areas should avoid mosquito bites in your community during the first week upon return, even if they are not exhibiting symptoms.

Most importantly, be consistent with your communications, reminders and the availability of educational materials, not just during the summer months, but all year long. Remind citizen travelers to be vigilant about protecting themselves outside of the country for the safety of their families and neighbors when they return home. By incorporating Zika education into your already robust park and recreation safety communications, the risks and preventive measures associated with this virus will remain top of mind all year long — helping to minimize the risk in your community.

Landon Schenck is the General Manager of CivicRec (schenck@civicplus. com).

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ADVOCACY

Federal Budget Cuts Threaten Educational Funding

By Kate Sims

A

s providers of educational and enrichment activities for children before and after school and over the summer months, park and recreation agencies are well positioned to receive federal grants administered by the U.S. Department of Education to support programming. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law by President Obama in December 2015, reauthorized the nation’s education law and included a reauthorization of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, among many other educational grant programs administered by the department. While the 21st CCLC program was reauthorized, it is subject to annual appropriations (funding) by Congress. As the new administration and Congress sets out to establish new spending goals for our nation, it is critical to protect the funding available for 21st CCLC and similar programs.

What is 21st CCLC and is my park and rec agency eligible?

The 21st CCLC program supports the establishment of local community-based educational programs for children in out-of-school time settings, particularly for low-income areas. Centers are encouraged to focus educational curriculum on math and science and to offer enrichment activities that add to the academic education children are receiving during the school day.

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Funding used by 21st CCLC programs also often helps to leverage other federal funding, such as the Summer Food Service Program and the Afterschool Nutrition Program. By offering programming along with meals, children are more likely to stay engaged and benefit from both the enrichment and nutrition offered at sites.

Park and recreation agencies are ideal organizations to receive this type of funding. Varying curriculums, such as nutri-

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tion education and the Wildlife Explorers program, already offered by park and recreation agencies are excellent examples of activities that would meet the eligibility requirements of the grant program. In addition, for those agencies serving summer and afterschool meals, 21st CCLC funding creates a significant platform on which to build out the meal programs.

Why is 21st CCLC now at risk of losing funding?

In March, President Trump released an outline of his administration’s budget for fiscal year 2018 (October 2017–September 2018) for non-defense discretionary programs. Included in this outline was a complete elimination of 21st CCLC, along with the elimination of other significant funding streams, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

Fortunately, since the release of the administration’s spending priorities, there

has been significant push back in the media about elimination of such funding.

Even more interesting, when the final budget agreement for fiscal year 2017 was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate in early May 2017 to fund the government through September and avoid a government shutdown, it included a $25 million increase to 21st CCLC. This signals that Congress may not be willing to match the administration’s spending priorities and that there is now an opportunity to support the development of a congressional budget for fiscal year 2018 that protects 21st CCLC. What can my agency do to help?

As the budget debate continues this summer, educating members of Congress on the use of these funds locally will be critical. If your agency is currently receiving this funding, or has in the past, we encourage you to demonstrate the impact these funds have had on the development of your programming.

For agencies that have not yet accessed these funds, showcasing the groundswell of support by increased interest and applications to receive the funding will greatly assist in making the case that the program must be continued.

To learn more about the work being done nationally to protect 21st CCLC, connect with our partners at the Afterschool Alliance

SPOTLIGHT AGENCY:

ry about your use of 21st CCLC funding with the team to be used in its upcoming advocacy around this issue. Send your story to our Government Affairs Manager, Kate Sims (ksims@nrpa.org).

Kate Sims is NRPA’s Government Affairs Manager (ksims@nrpa.org).

City of Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department (Michigan)

T.E.A.M. 21 is a phenomenal program that has transformed the lives of more than 7,700 youth and their families in our community. In addition to cultivating a love for learning and exploration, T.E.A.M. 21’s year-round programming helps students make and keep friends, improve their grades and learn new life skills. The city of Wyoming is proud to partner with four of our local school districts to make this program possible, and we wouldn’t be able to achieve such great success without 21st Century Community Learning Center funding. — Mayor Jack Poll, City of Wyoming, Michigan Since August 2004, the City of Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department (Michigan)

by visiting http://bit.ly/1iwNtl8. To find out who in your state is currently operating 21st CCLC, or how your agency can get involved, connect with your Statewide Afterschool Network by visiting http://bit.ly/2pOONby. The NRPA Public Policy Team encourages you to share your agency’s sto-

has partnered with several Wyoming-area school districts to run T.E.A.M. 21 (Teach, Enrich, Achieve and Move).

Wyoming Public Schools acts as fiduciary for funding; Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department oversees staffing and programming, which amounts to 75 percent of the overall funding being administered by the parks and recreation department.

Present annual grant funding received is approximately $2 million overall for the current 15 area schools, where the program operates with students ranging from kindergarten to ninth grade.

Two-thousand students across four school

districts were served by the program last year.

Summer and afterschool meals and snacks are served at all sites, and transportation is provided for students in the program.

Educational and enrichment activities emphasize a focus on academic instruction and enrichment, social and emotional growth, and health and wellness.

Consistent, caring adult staff plan and facilitate activities to engage and mentor students during afterschool and summer hours, when many students are in need of safe, supervised places to learn and grow.

For more information, visit https://www. wyomingmi.gov/team21.

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Criminal Background Checks for Youth Sport Coaches

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

I

n general, absent a “special relationship,” there is no legal duty to protect others from the conduct of third parties. A special relationship may exist when a plaintiff is particularly vulnerable and dependent on a defendant who, correspondingly, has some control over the plaintiff ’s welfare. In general, a greater degree of care is owed to children because of their lack of capacity to appreciate risks and avoid danger. Courts have frequently recognized a special relationship between children and their adult caregivers, giving rise to a legal duty to prevent harms caused by the intentional or criminal conduct of third parties.

In the case of Doe v. United States Youth Soccer Association, Inc., 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 148 (2/22/2017), the question before the court was whether a special relationship existed between youth sports organizations and a child participating on a youth soccer team. Specifically, the court considered whether youth sports organizations had a legal duty to “conduct criminal background checks of all adults who would have contact with children involved in their programs.” (Courts may allow the use of the “Jane Doe” pseudonym to pro-

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tect the privacy and actual identity of a plaintiff, in this case the victim of sexual childhood sexual abuse.)

Plaintiff Jane Doe, a minor, was sexually abused by her former soccer coach (Fabrizio). Fabrizio sexually abused the plaintiff from May 2011 until March 2012 when she was 12 years old. After Fabrizio pleaded no contest to continuous sexual abuse of a child and lewd and lascivious acts on a child under age 14, he was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

The trial court had held that the youth

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soccer league and association defendants (Association) owed no legal duty to protect the plaintiff from criminal conduct by a third party. Accordingly, on appeal, the issue was whether the Association had a legal duty to “conduct criminal background checks of all adults who would have contact with children involved in their programs.”

Defendant US Youth is a national youth soccer association. Defendant Cal North is US Youth’s designated state association; defendant West Valley is an affiliated league of Cal North.

Under US Youth’s bylaws, Cal North and West Valley were required to comply with US Youth’s rules for the operation of US Youth soccer programs.

Fabrizio was employed by West Valley and was a member of US Youth. The plaintiff participated in US Youth soccer programs and played for West Valley’s soccer teams.

As the plaintiff ’s coach, Fabrizio violated several of the US Youth safety guidelines by making “excessive and disproportionate physical contact with plaintiff,” including driving the plaintiff to and from practices and games alone. Fabrizio also helped the plaintiff “put away equipment after practices as the other players were leaving or had left, and they could not be seen from the field.”

Fabrizio had spent extensive time alone with the plaintiff on June 11 and 12, 2011. He drove her alone to and from a tournament in Santa Cruz, even though her parents attended 30 minutes of the final game. During the tournament, Fabrizio took the plaintiff alone for two walks.

After parents and girls speculated about whether there was romantic or

sexual activity between the plaintiff and Fabrizio, the plaintiff became upset by the girls’ comments and told the coaches and a team parent. The coaches later held two team meetings to discuss the comments and tried to get the girls to apologize to the plaintiff.

On November 12, 2011, Scott Hughes, a member of the West Valley Board of Directors was informed that there had been “rumors” about Fabrizio having “some bad intentions” toward some of the players on the team.

Later that day, Fabrizio was notified that he was suspended from coaching duties at West Valley.

Fabrizio’s suspension, in part, was based on his spending one-on-one time with players, including the plaintiff. West Valley subsequently notified team parents that Fabrizio had been suspended

from coaching, but provided no reasons for the suspension. West Valley never interviewed the plaintiff, other players or their parents about Fabrizio.

Following his suspension, it became more difficult for Fabrizio to have contact with the plaintiff, but he continued to do so. West Valley did not inform the plaintiff ’s parents that Fabrizio had been suspended due to inappropriate touching of the plaintiff and one-on-one contact with the plaintiff. Moreover, West Valley withheld information that would have put the plaintiff ’s parents on notice that they needed to be “extra vigilant” in keeping Fabrizio away from the plaintiff.

West Valley chose not to interview the plaintiff and her parents, because it did not want a scandal or lawsuit.

A week after his suspension, Fabrizio was informed that West Valley had

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L AW R E V I E W

conducted an investigation which had found that he had not followed several Cal North rules, including the physical contact rules. Fabrizio was then informed that his coaching privileges would not be reinstated.

Voluntary Disclosure US Youth bylaws required its state associations and each affiliate league to collect and screen criminal conviction information on its coaches, trainers, volunteers and administrators who would have contact with US Youth child members, including those like the plaintiff.

US Youth permitted its state associations and leagues to collect this information by means of a “voluntary disclosure” form.

US Youth did not require criminal background checks by independent third parties. US Youth, however, had negotiated a discounted rate with an online vendor to permit state associations, leagues or teams to obtain nationwide criminal background checks on an applicant for $2.50 per search.

By 2010, nearly all of the state associations within West Valley’s region used third-party independent sources to run annual criminal background checks on their volunteers, coaches and trainers.

US Youth kept records regarding which state associations did and did not conduct these background checks. US Youth also distributed monthly reports indicating which individuals had been disqualified from participation in US Youth soccer programs due to prior convictions.

Although US Youth knew that voluntary disclosure by an applicant of his or her criminal convictions was ineffective, US Youth did not require its affiliates to conduct criminal background checks.

While the risk management committee of US Youth recommended requiring mandatory criminal background checks, it was concerned that such a requirement could increase exposure to potential liability for negligence. A memorandum to US Youth stated as follows: From a risk management standpoint, it certainly makes good sense to conduct

criminal background checks of all volunteer and paid adults that have contact with US Youth Soccer players. But, from a negligence standpoint, regularly conducting criminal background checks of volunteers and paid adults creates a self-imposed duty to do the same for all that serve in a similar capacity. The failure to conduct such a check would be considered as a breach of duty, which, in turn could mean liability.

When Fabrizio applied for a coaching position with West Valley in 2010, he was required to fill out a form that asked whether he had been convicted of a felony, a crime of violence or a crime against a person. The disclosure form stated that US Youth might deny certification to any person who has been convicted of these types of offenses.

Though Fabrizio had been convicted in 2007 of battery against his spouse, he answered no to each of these categories and authorized Cal North and West Valley to confirm this information. Neither Cal North nor West Valley conducted a criminal background check to verify Fabrizio’s denial of any violent criminal behavior. West Valley knew that a criminal background check would identify applicants who had lied about their background on the self-disclosure form, but it failed to conduct criminal background checks.

Special Relationship Duty In her complaint, the plaintiff alleged her injuries were caused by the negligence of defendants US Youth, Cal North and West Valley. In so doing, the plaintiff claimed the defendants had a duty to protect her from Fabrizio’s criminal conduct. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged the defendants had “breached their duties to her by failing to conduct criminal background checks.”

In response, US Youth claimed it “lacked physical custody and control,

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and thus had no special relationship with plaintiff.” The appeals court acknowledged that “defendants had no duty to plaintiff unless they stood in a special relationship to her.” However, under the circumstances of this case, the appeals court found a special relationship did indeed exist between the defendants and the plaintiff.

While “parents were present at games and social events,” the court noted the presence of parents at practices was usually limited to when “they dropped off the players or arrived to pick them up.” As a result, the court found players typically spent far more time at practices with their coaches than at games or soccer social events attended by their parents. Accordingly, by assuming responsibility for the safety of the players during these prac-

tices, the court found the Association’s coaches acted as “quasi-parents,” similar to adults employed in school, day care and scouting settings. Having “entrusted their children to defendants,” in the opinion of the court, the parents had a reasonable expectation that their children “would be kept physically safe and protected from sexual predators while they were at soccer practices.”

Since the plaintiff was a member of US Youth and played on a West Valley team, a local affiliate of US Youth and Cal North, the appeals court concluded “West Valley was required to comply with the policies and rules of US Youth.”

These US Youth rules included established standards under which coaches were hired, including screening for criminal conviction information on coaches.

Having determined which individuals,

including Fabrizio, had “custody and supervision of children involved in its programs,” the appeals court concluded US Youth had a legal duty to exercise reasonable care in the selection and hiring of coaches. The court then considered whether reasonable care under this special relationship between the Association and youth soccer participants, like the plaintiff, should have included a criminal background check of Fabrizio.

Foreseeable Abuse As noted by the appeals court, a legal “duty to take affirmative action to control the wrongful acts of a third party will be imposed only where such conduct can be reasonably anticipated.” In making this determination, the court would consider whether “the degree of foreseeability is high enough to charge the defendant

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L AW R E V I E W

with the duty to act on it.” According to the court, “Heightened foreseeability can be shown by evidence of prior similar criminal incidents or other indications of a reasonably foreseeable risk of violent criminal assaults.”

In this particular instance, the specific issue before the court was “whether it was foreseeable that a soccer coach would sexually abuse a player.” The plaintiff had contended there was “heightened foreseeability of sexual abuse by a coach based on the defendants’ knowledge of prior incidents and other indications of risk.” In response, Cal North and West Valley argued that the plaintiff has shown only “a mere possibility of the risk of sexual abuse.”

US Youth also maintained there was “no foreseeability as a matter of law, because it did not have actual knowledge of Fabrizio’s assaultive propensities.”

Specifically, US Youth claimed it had “no knowledge that Fabrizio had previously sexually or physically abused anyone or had a propensity to do so.” The appeals court rejected this argument.

As noted by the appeals court, US Youth was “aware of incidents of physical and sexual abuse of US Youth Soccer’s members by its coaches at a steady yearly rate of between 2 and 5 per year.”

Moreover, the court found US Youth had adopted the KidSafe Program “in recognition of the risks of sexual abuse to its players” (http://kidsafefoundation.org/ sexual-abuse-prevention-program/).

Moreover, the court noted that the KidSafe Program included a pamphlet that acknowledged the following: One out of every 4 girls and one out of every 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18....Pedophiles are drawn to places where there are children.

All youth sports, including youth soccer, are such places.

In the opinion of the appeals court, these facts were indicative of “an acknowl24 Parks & Recreation

edgement by US Youth that children playing soccer were at risk for sexual abuse.”

Similarly, Cal North and West Valley had adopted the KidSafe Program, effectively acknowledging their soccer programs attracted those who might sexually abuse their players, including past incidents of sexual abuse. Further, the appeals court noted “the year before Fabrizio submitted his application, both Cal North and West Valley were aware of multiple sexual abuse incidents involving the founder of West Valley.”

Based on these facts, the appeals court concluded “it was reasonably foreseeable to defendants that a child participating in their soccer program would be sexually abused by a coach.”

The present case involved criminal conduct by a member of an organization that provided activities exclusively for children. More importantly, here, defendants were aware that sexual predators were drawn to their organization in order to exploit children and that there had been prior incidents of sexual abuse of children in their programs.

Fabrizio was an employee of West Valley and a member of US Youth, and these organizations controlled which individuals had access to the children in their programs.

Background Check Burden Having found sexual abuse by a coach was reasonably foreseeable, the appeals court also considered “the burden to defendants of requiring and implementing criminal background checks.”

US Youth had argued that it would “impose a tremendous burden to mandate criminal background checks for employees and volunteers in defendants’ programs, because the availability of criminal background checks varies among the states.”

Further, US Youth claimed “volunteers working with children in the majority of states are not required to undergo criminal

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background checks and private entities are not allowed to obtain national criminal background checks on volunteers in many states.” The appeals court disagreed.

As noted by the appeals court, “the American Youth Soccer Organization, another national youth soccer organization, has required criminal background checks for its volunteers and coaches in these jurisdictions.” Moreover, the court found US Youth had “required criminal background checks for all coaches and referees participating in its youth Olympic development program in the state associations since 2008.”

In addition, the appeals court noted US Youth had “kept records of which state associations did and did not obtain these criminal background checks and distributed reports of individuals who had been disqualified from participation in its youth programs.”

In the opinion of the appeals court, these facts demonstrated US Youth had “the administrative ability to ensure compliance with mandatory criminal background checks.” As a result, the court concluded “the burden would not have been significant” to require criminal background checks.

Similarly, the appeals court concluded criminal background checks would not have been overly burdensome to Cal North and West Valley. In reaching this determination, the appeals court noted “nearly all of the state associations in Region IV had been conducting criminal background checks on all volunteers, coaches and trainers since 2010.”

US Youth had also argued that “the cost of mandating criminal background checks would be substantial.” According to US Youth, if criminal background checks cost $2.50 per check, registration for “over 900,000 administrators, coaches and volunteers” annually would “amount to $2.25 million.”

The appeals court, however, found

the defendants would not have borne the cost if “members of a team or the applicant had paid for the criminal background check.” More importantly, the appeals court noted “there was and continues to be no cost for criminal background checks in California pursuant to Penal Code section 11105.3.” In particular, the court found this statute provides that “no fee shall be charged to nonprofit organizations for criminal background checks.” (Similar cost-free online resources for criminal background checks are available in a number of jurisdictions.)

PARKS & REC Salsbury

Duty to Protect Children As noted by the appeals court, the “parties agree that the plaintiff was injured by Fabrizio’s conduct.” Further, the appeals court found the “connection between the plaintiff ’s harm and defendants’ failure to conduct a criminal background check was close.”

According to the court, it would have been highly unlikely that Fabrizio would have been hired had the defendants conducted a criminal background check of Fabrizio. Specifically, in a criminal background check, the court found defendants could have discovered Fabrizio’s prior conviction for domestic violence.

As a result, in the opinion of the court, Fabrizio would have had far fewer, if any, opportunities to sexually abuse the plaintiff if the defendants had conducted a criminal background check prior to his having been retained as a youth soccer coach.

More importantly, under the circumstances of this case, the appeals court found imposition of a legal duty to conduct criminal background checks on defendants would assist in the achievement of a “paramount goal” in society to prevent future harm, viz., “the protection of children from sexual abuse.”

The appeals court, therefore, concluded the “defendants had a duty to conduct criminal background checks of adults who would have contact with children in their soccer programs.”

As a result, the appeals court reversed the earlier determination by the trial court that the youth soccer league and association (Association) owed no legal duty to protect the plaintiff from criminal conduct by a third party (Fabrizio). On remand, the trial court would conduct further proceedings to determine whether negligence liability should be imposed on Association defendants for their failure to conduct criminal background checks prior to hiring Fabrizio as a youth soccer coach.

Detailed references for this article are available at www.parksandrecreation.org/2017/June/Criminal-Background-Checks-for-YouthSport-Coaches.

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 in Manassas, Virginia (jkozlows@gmu.edu). Webpage with link to law review articles archive (1982 to present): http://mason.gmu.edu/~jkozlows.

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Creating a Sustainable Community Garden

By Brittany Quale

T

he 462 Halsey Community Garden is a robust, volunteer-run farm where residents grow more than just food. Alice Forbes Spear, a volunteer, describes the garden’s model as “growing food, but also growing community.”

The formerly vacant lot is nestled in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn (New York) — a culturally vibrant, yet historically underserved community. In the fall of 2011, a group of volunteer community residents rallied around the long-empty 462 Halsey Street lot, and by the spring of 2012, those stewards opened the community garden’s gates, which stay open all day, every day, from April through October. By the beginning of 2014, the community garden group abandoned its private allotment system in favor of a communal growing model (with a few garden beds reserved for long-standing and elderly residents) as a way to increase garden membership and more efficiently use the small space bounded by four apartment buildings.

Keep It Local By growing vegetables, fruits and herbs within blocks of thousands of Brooklyn residents, 462 Halsey is increasing access to organic produce. In 2013, GrowNYC, an environmental nonprofit located in New York City, selected 462 Halsey as a Fresh Food Box program partner to provide affordable, local and fresh produce weekly to more than 100 families. In 2016, 462 Halsey started a weekly donation-based, sliding-scale farmer’s market.

Photo By Steven Duarte Photography

Now, 462 Halsey is one of 60 community gardens that provide lush green space and locally grown food to the neighborhood’s 150,000 residents, more than 67 percent of whose households are enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

Despite continuous challenges, the gardeners are committed to growth and sustainability. Their methods are tangible tactics that any eager gardener can learn from and apply in their own space.

26 Parks & Recreation

Use Recycled Materials From its inception, 462 Halsey built its garden space with only salvaged, donated and recycled materials, creating growing beds, compost bins, signs, seating and more from bricks, pallets, cinder blocks and boards. These tactics reduced the volunteer-run community garden’s expenses and also reduced its carbon footprint.

Solar and Rainwater Collection The community garden stores water in a 1,550-gallon tank and five 50-gallon tanks, and plans are in the works to collect water from a neighboring rooftop to water the garden through a solar-powered drip-irrigation system. Forbes Spear describes this move as strategic, diverting the volunteers’ time spent on watering to other productive tasks, such as weeding and tending to the compost. “We’re learning how to work smarter, not harder.”

Community Compost 462 Halsey manages waste sustainably through its community compost program.

Since opening its gates in 2012, the program has encouraged nearby residents to return their nutrient-rich food scraps to the garden. Volunteers then churn the food scraps into compost, which gardeners add to the soil to help their plants grow.

In total, the garden has diverted more than 79,000 pounds of food scraps from landfills. Two gardeners at 462 Halsey have even partnered with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to become certified master composters, providing expertise and education to the program.

Youth Education Passing down knowledge from generation to generation is an important value

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to the gardeners of 462 Halsey. While many volunteers grew up farming in the Caribbean and the South, other residents have little gardening knowledge. “We are trying to recreate populations where people actually have this knowledge,” says Forbes Spear. In 2012–2013, the community garden partnered weekly with a class of public school students with autism.

Outside formal programming, the adult gardeners are “constantly inviting kids into the garden” to foster a relationship between kids and nature. Hose duty and s’mores are fun, end-of-day activities that keep the kids coming back for more.

A Welcoming Space for All Forbes Spear describes how “once 462 Halsey put up a welcome sign, everything totally changed.” The large, colorful, hand-painted sign that greets visitors states

“462 Halsey Community Farm…All Welcome! Please come in.” Despite being a public space in name, many might not feel entitled to use the space. Notably, Forbes Spears describes 462 Halsey’s Safe Space policy, which states that the community garden “strives to be a safe and welcoming space for everyone who comes into the garden,” where members and visitors “will constructively confront and stop any oppressive behavior or language.” 462 Halsey is a place where both long-standing residents and new faces are welcomed; senior citizens work alongside transgender volunteers, forging connections that may have never occurred outside the garden.

Today, 462 Halsey is bright-eyed and looking toward the future with big goals and new found support. Recently, NYC Parks officially welcomed the community garden into its GreenThumb (www.gre-

enthumbnyc.org) family. This means that 462 Halsey now benefits from additional resources and funding from GreenThumb, NYC Parks’ community gardening program, which supports nearly 600 community gardens throughout the city.

Every season the members of the community garden work together to overcome new obstacles. Forbes Spears describes the gardeners as family. “In each passing year, we get smarter. We don’t give up; we keep working hard. It’s such an important space for so many people, for so many different reasons.”

Detailed references for this article are available at www.parksandrecreation.org/2017/June/ Creating-a-Sustainable-Community-Garden.

Brittany Quale is the Project & Design Coordinator for NYC Parks GreenThumb (brittany.quale@parks.nyc.gov).

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SOCIAL EQUITY

Promoting LGBT Inclusion and Awareness in Programs and Facilities Cultivating the affirming inclusive approach to park and recreation policies and practices

By Joseph Martin, M.S.

D

espite recent strides toward civil rights, equality and recognition for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), recreational programs, spaces and resources for them could remain inadequate nationally. In some parts of the country, services for LGBT people may not be readily or openly available, while in some areas they may not exist at all. However, like other disadvantaged groups, people who are LGBT need and deserve equal and unprejudiced access to programs, spaces and resources.

The Nonexclusionary Inclusive Approach A common reaction to this essential component of public customer service is “of course, everybody can participate in programs.” Many park and recreation agencies and facilities have inclusivity as a core value — reflected perhaps in their mission to serve everybody regardless of race, religion, orientation or gender identity. This nonexclusionary inclusive policy, in which “everyone

28 Parks & Recreation

is welcome and no one should be turned away,” is a common practice in a number of agencies and facilities nationwide.

The appeal for this type of inclusive approach is understandable, as it allows for a broad interpretation of inclusivity. It also frees agencies from potential political entanglements should some patrons disagree with their inclusive policies and practices.

However, while agencies are well-intentioned to say “everyone is welcome,” a few

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questions need to be considered: • How do people know that they are indeed welcome to participate in programs?

• How do we communicate our inclusive policies and practices?

• How effective have these strategies been, and, most importantly, what is our culture like?

While we have grown more tolerant as a society, our long-standing culture has made it so that certain people do not feel as welcome, comfortable or safe. They have been, and continue to be, marginalized and deemed inferior, subjected to ridicule and derogatory remarks, and have endured discrimination and violence. We are more inclusive now than before, but, for many people, including LGBT people, this experience is still not a reality for them. Therefore, we need to make an effort to consistently apply the affirming inclusive approach to policies and practices regardless of the groups we serve. To say “everyone is welcome” is a good approach; to express and show that “no matter your race, religion, orientation or gender identity, you are welcome” is even better.

The Affirming Inclusive Approach With the nonexclusionary inclusive approach, we do not explicitly communicate and openly demonstrate that groups like the LGBT community are welcome as we would with being affirming inclusive. As a result, members of the LGBT community may not feel inclined to participate. Instead of broadening our reach, we may actually be broadening the gap between us and other groups. When we utilize the affirming inclusive approach, we acknowledge patrons who belong to and identify with particular groups, like the LGBT community.

We may develop programs that we classify as LGBT-friendly or LGBT-focused, create spaces where participants feel welcomed, comfortable and safe, and provide opportunities to enhance their develop-

6 Starting Points for LGBT Programming Through the Affirming Inclusive Approach ment and well-being. We may invite and join with people from different backgrounds and experiences, whether they identify as LGBT or straight, to increase collaboration, interaction and understanding and to spur awareness and active involvement. No matter the setting, we can build and nurture a sense of community, connection and support that’s lacking in people’s lives. Since park and recreation agencies are often deeply rooted in their communities, we are well-positioned to positively influence the lives of people in our area.

However, it is important to note that in doing these things we are not disregarding or devaluing those who do not identify as LGBT. We are also not exhibiting bias or communicating that the LGBT community matters more than any other. Rather, we are communicating that patrons who are LGBT have equal and unprejudiced access to opportunities like everyone else.

The notion that LGBT programs are exclusively for those who are LGBT, and in turn, alienate those who are not, is a misconception. The affirming inclusive approach simply presents a service philosophy that encourages us to treat everyone the same, regardless of our perceptions and knowledge of their sexuality, race, religion or other characteristics. To do so is to not saturate our service with political correctness, but rather bolster it with respect and human decency. With this approach, we realize we must always do right by our patrons and general community. Often, “doing right” entails exploring our roles within our respective communities and responding to the needs of those we serve.

Successful programs that use this approach champion the notion of possibility. In an LGBT-friendly sports tournament, for instance, it would be possible for people who are LGBT to play sports in a safe, nurturing and judgment-free environment. In an LGBT-focused event, it would be possible for people who are LGBT to gather information about resources, highlight issues facing their community and initiate policy, practice and culture changes.

Regardless of the program, it is possible for anyone, even those who do not identify as LGBT, to make a difference. Even a small group of people can inspire purposeful and productive changes within the agency, facility or general community. The simplest acts can yield the most profound outcomes. Most of all, with the growth of LGBT programs, it is possible for people who are LGBT to transcend stereotypes and misconceptions. The same principles and programming elements could apply to other groups as well. In promoting inclusion and awareness for the LGBT community, we are able to do the same for other groups. The affirming inclusive approach grants investment in and the celebration of possibilities, just as we should invest in and celebrate people — no matter their race, religion, orientation or gender identity.

1

Create and expand partnerships with local and national LGBT centers, organizations and even sports leagues. Invite other agencies, departments and groups as well — especially those with excellent track records for inclusive policies and practices, who can address LGBT presence, visibility and representation.

Conduct consistent and substantial outreach to members of the LGBT community.

Reach vulnerable groups within the LGBT community, including the youth and homeless.

Plan special events for LGBT Pride Month in June and LGBT History Month in October, and participate in LGBT-related campaigns.

Increase programs and events that focus on intercultural awareness and cultural competency. Prepare and share educational materials. Involve individuals from both the general and LGBT communities and encourage collaboration.

Examine and modify the culture and language within agencies and facilities to be more inclusive and respectful. Regularly train staff on inclusive language and practices with accountability.

2 3 4 5 6

Joseph Martin, M.S., a Contributor to Parks & Recreation magazine, is a Graduate of the University of Idaho (mart0472@vandals.uidaho.edu).

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(305) 393-5230 alan.georgeson@constructive4.com soccer5usa.com Constructive 4 is a leading consulting group with 20+ years of national experience in parks soccer planning and development, and Soccer 5 USA is one of the nation’s leading small sided soccer operators.

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Climate L

ast year, the city of Phoenix had 110 days where the temperature reached 100 degrees or higher. As in previous years, the Phoenix department of parks and recreation was confronted with the fact that many visitors to the Desert Mountain Preserves were seriously unprepared for the conditions they would find themselves in when they took to the trail during the heat of the day. Not only were residents and tourists facing extreme danger on the trails, but their pets were too.

Six hikers died in Arizona last year, and in Phoenix, the fire department was called on to make an ever-growing number of mountain rescues. The parks and recreation department proposed closing certain areas of its desert parks and prohibiting people from hiking on certain trails when the temperature reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Public reaction from citizens was swift and almost universally negative, but the parks department and the fire department continue to face more than 200 mountain rescues a year with no sign of conditions getting better.

In San Diego County, Parks and Recreation Director Brian Albright faced an unpleasant and discouraging truth last year.

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The Tijuana River Valley Park, in the southernmost watershed of San Diego County, is the last remaining natural watershed that is not cut by highways or rail lines. It is part of a beautiful, fertile river estuary that contains some of the greatest wildlife diversity in its park system. The park lies in the heart of the Pacific flyway and is an international destination for bird watchers. More than 340 species of birds have been recorded in this park, including the endangered Southwestern willow flycatcher.

During a period of six months last year, Albright witnessed the die-off of more than 50,000 trees in this park, mostly willows, due to the extreme drought that has gripped

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the Southwestern United States for the past six years. “It was a striking and awakening moment for me,” he says. “The die-off of trees in a river valley like this eliminates habitat for rare bird and animal species, creates a flood risk, and impacts both air and water quality. It is why we take such care to protect our regional tree canopy.”

In Miami-Dade County, the parks and recreation department faces an entirely different challenge, namely unexpected and frequent flooding for no apparent cause. This “blue-sky flooding” is caused by king tides, or tides that are higher and lower due to the gravitational effect of the moon on the earth. Such tides can occur twice a month or more, and occur without rain or storms.

“Nuisance flooding,” as the phenomenon is sometimes called, has become more than a nuisance, however. Salt-water intrusions kill turf, poison gardens and degrade fresh-water marshes. Flood

Change, Parks and Health

waters rise into stormwater discharge pipes and sewer overflows produce an unpleasant and unhealthful backwash of toxic substances and bacteria-laden water. In Miami-Dade County, as in many other coastal communities, it may not be the initial flood waters that pose the greatest health hazard to communities, but rather the water that remains that cannot drain away. Parks and recreation areas located in flood-prone areas are often the first to be flooded and the most impacted by such flooding.

What does each of these weather-related challenges to park and recreation agencies have in common even though they may be thousands of miles apart? Each of them can be attributed to climate change.

Climate Change and Our Way of Life NASA recently reported that April 2017 was the second-hottest month ever in 137 years of global recordkeeping, with aver

age temperatures just slightly under April 2016, the hottest month ever recorded.

Record hot temperatures are part of a trend of ever-hotter weather patterns that are now starting to regularly affect U.S. communities nationwide.

Other climate-caused weather changes are occurring with greater frequency as well, including sea level rise, more extreme weather events and storms, much heavier localized rainfall and, paradoxically, more extreme droughts in certain areas of the Southeast, Southwest and West. Some climate scientists have characterized the changes that are occurring as “hotter hots, wetter wets and drier dries.�

The high average annual temperatures are linked to the rise in atmospheric carbon, now also at a peak of 406 parts per million and climbing. A preponderance of climate scientists link global warming to the human burning of fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas emissions, a cause that is vigorously dis-

By Richard J. Dolesh

puted by climate change deniers, but which is happening, nonetheless, on a global scale.

Our climate is changing dramatically, and it will have substantial impact on our own communities and our nation.

The issues for parks and recreation resulting from climate change are not altered by whether the changes to our climate are primarily caused by humans. No matter what the causes, the impacts are undeniable and will continue to affect us for many years, if not for many generations, with ever-increasing severity. We must begin now to develop climate-resilient parks that are capable of adapting to the changes that are occurring and to mitigate the impacts as best as we can. This article is the first of three to be published over the coming year that will examine the impacts of climate change on parks and recreation in terms of health, outdoor recreation and nature.

It is worth noting that not all of the impacts of climate change are negative. In fact,

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C L I M AT E C H A N G E

some may be beneficial to certain segments of our industry — more on this in a future article — because climate change will surely change the face of outdoor recreation as we now know it. As it does, there may be significant opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs. But, to deny that climate changes are happening or to minimize the significance of the changes that are taking place will not alter the fact that we must deal with these impacts now. And, the most significant of climate change impacts are those that affect human health.

Howard Frumkin, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and former dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, says, “Climate change is perhaps the biggest health challenge we are facing in this century. We don’t want to be overly alarmist, but this is truly an alarming situation. It is as important as anything we have faced on a global scale. Is it certain? No, but the probabilities are very high.” To minimize or ignore the dangers makes no sense. He continues: “We buy home insurance to protect against fire, flood and other dangers. Why wouldn’t we act with the same care when it comes to our health?”

Early this year, the American Public Health Association (APHA) kicked off the Year of Climate Change and Health. At that meeting, APHA Executive Director Dr. Georges Benjamin said, “We’re committed to making sure the nation knows about the effects of climate change on health. If anyone doesn’t think this is a severe problem, they are fooling themselves.”

Surili Patel, senior program manager for Environmental Health in APHA’s Center for Public Health Policy, enumerated the health impacts of climate change: “Rising temperatures which cause heat waves and urban heat island effects, vector-borne diseases — such as those carried by ticks and mosquitoes — diminished air quality, increased flooding, and storms, food and water-related infections, all of which can have significant impacts on physical and mental health.” She continued: “These conditions can lead to 32 Parks & Recreation

multiple intersections. For example, on extremely hot days, your health resources can become depleted and you cannot recover as quickly as you otherwise might. It is harder to breathe, and you are more susceptible to air pollution. Particulate matter and ground-level ozone affect you more.” And, if this were not enough, “Chronic stress and anxiety are now tied to climate change, and make other health conditions worse.”

Who Is Most Affected?

Those most affected by climate change are often those with the least ability to do anything about it, according to Patel.

“Climate change is blind to race, ethnicity and gender.” Young children and the very old are most at risk, says Frumkin.

“Children, the elderly and the deprived are most impacted. It varies with the hazard, but in the case of extreme heat, these populations can’t do anything about it.

They can’t dissipate heat and they can’t take action to get out of the heat.”

Frumkin points out that outdoor workers are also on the frontlines of extreme heat, and the problems associated with it, such as air pollution, magnify health impacts.

Climate change makes chronic health conditions worse, so allergies, asthma and other conditions are aggravated.

George Luber, chief of the Climate and Health Program at the National Center for Environmental Health for the CDC, says the greatest negative impacts of climate change are really determined by place and are place-specific and path-dependent. For example, in cases of trying to adapt to extreme heat, people may not be prepared, are not educated to the dangers and are susceptible to local factors that make conditions worse, such as a lack of air conditioning or very high nighttime temperatures.

How Can We Adapt?

One of the greatest concerns that park and recreation agencies may face regarding the heightened health dangers from climate change is how they will affect children. NRPA and a number of other

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organizations have been fully engaged in the national effort to connect kids to nature. We cannot be unmindful of the dangers in encouraging kids to go outside on red-alert air quality days and when temperatures exceed 95 degrees regularly in many U.S. cities during the summer. Our challenge is to be able to adapt our regular programming and activities and still be able to get kids outdoors in nature in ways that are healthful and safe.

In Phoenix, the arid conditions, high daily temperatures and a lack of shade can make park visits unenjoyable if not unhealthful. Inger Erickson, director of Phoenix Parks and Recreation, says that they have developed a shade and tree master plan to help them reach a goal of having 25 percent of the city land surface covered with tree canopy. “Our ‘Fit Phoenix’ initiative encourages hiking and walking. Shade is essential if we want people to enjoy these kinds of healthful activities in our parks.”

Maria Nardi, acting director of Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Space, says their strategies for improving individual and community health are very much a part of their recently adopted master plan. “Our master plan integrally links the entire infrastructure of parks, recreation and open spaces to transit to achieve greater walkability and bikability. The plan recommends preventative measures as well to allow communities to achieve greater resiliency to storms, sea level rise and flooding.” In terms of health impacts, Nardi says, “there is an intrinsic value of creating a connected community. It gives strength and resiliency to people and natural systems.”

What Park and Recreation Agencies Can Do Ana Alvarez, deputy general manager of East Bay Regional Parks (EBRP), one of the nation’s largest special park districts with more than 120,000 acres of land in the east San Francisco Bay area, says, “We are trying to create a ‘climate-smart’ park system based on the ecological functions of

the extraordinary green spaces their parks protect in the highest density urban area of California.” She notes that EBRP parks perform important ecosystem services — storing carbon, recharging groundwater, cleaning air and filtering water — that may go unrecognized. “Our parks are more than just pretty green spaces and great places to recreate — they are essential to health, and we are intentionally, and very deliberately, addressing how we can improve health every day,” she explains.

To meet the challenges of climate change, says Frumkin, “We must rethink the ways we do things in parks and recreation. To get around extreme heat conditions, we need to redo our program schedules. Public activities can be scheduled early in the morning or at dusk. Parks need to close during extreme heat and bad air days. We need to supply water to anyone engaging in sports or recreating on very hot days. We need

to re-train coaches and park administrators on how to adapt activities to such conditions. On a larger scale, we need to rethink landscaping in parks, reducing those plants and trees that produce high amounts of allergens and pollen.

We must rethink forest management in parks, especially for urban forests.”

Patel of APHA concurs: “We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change, and perhaps, we will be the last to have the ability to take effective action.”

She adds that APHA wants sound science to guide decisions. “We want every American to understand the effects of climate change on health, and we want to mobilize the public to action.” Parks can and do play a very important role, she says.

Luber of the CDC says, “Parks and recreation allow communities to reduce health vulnerabilities. A healthy environment, daily exercise and mental health improvements can help to reduce risk of

exposure to disease and illness. Parks can be a risk reducer by allowing people of all ages to become healthier.” In addition, Luber says, “Parklands build natural capacity and resiliency to the many drivers of climate change — extreme weather, floods, heat, drought and other conditions.”

“There is another important service that parks and rec can provide,” says Luber.

“Ecosystem services are too often seen only as improving water or air quality or habitat for wildlife. Rarely are parks and recreation areas seen in terms of health services. If we start looking at parks as health centers and quantify the results, we can get a much better picture of how important they are to the health and well-being of every community and the individuals who live in them. Parks are essential in our defense against climate change.”

Rich Dolesh is NRPA’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives (rdolesh@nrpa.org).

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k a e r b s k r a P r u O n i wing o r g on a o help n o i t e ac strive t k a t d s nitie issue an ery u m s Com c health g recov Jone i n l t i r b k o C ee pu and cts s m i i d h a d r a S. Ib reya

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he alarming epidemic that is wreaking havoc on communities nationwide is becoming a more frightening reality every single day. The use and abuse of opioids and the subsequent addiction are spreading like wildfire, and agencies across the country are doing everything they can to keep up and douse the flames. With opiate abuse and overdose rates rising every year, what can local parks do to not only keep our nature spaces clean from this crisis, but also to offer places for addicts seeking recovery to engage in therapeutic activities?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioids — prescription and illicit — are the main drivers of drug-related overdose deaths. In the United States, opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths in 2015, and opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999. Further, heroin-related overdose deaths have quadrupled since 2010, with nearly 13,000 overdose deaths in 2015.

While the statistics clearly identify an increase in opioid addiction, the problem is gaining prominence in local parks across the country. Parks can become a haven for addicts, as they offer a free place to interact with other users, sell or use drugs and even potentially hide from law enforcement. Additionally, parks are dealing with health and safety issues, as many areas have been littered with drug paraphernalia such as used syringes.

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OPIOID OUTBREAK

According to Dr. David Rolfe, professor of recreation management at Central Washington University, it takes a drug prevention policy that is comprehensive and involves the entire community in order to be successful in making a change. “A wide coalition, which includes education, law enforcement, parks and recreation and other constituents, can impact effective change, but they have to care enough and be consistent to carry through,” he says.

“It’s key that everyone is on board and upholding the coalition’s mission.

“In our experience, the participation of public parks is an integral part of a task-force coalition, as we know they have become the preferred destination for addicts to use and deal,” says Rolfe.

He also adds that effective design strategies that increase visibility within parks — such as the use of passive lighting in secluded areas where people tend to use or deal drugs — can be helpful in promoting parks as safe community destinations, as well as discourage park users from engaging in illicit behavior.

Gabriella Korosi, a transitional care and outreach registered nurse with CareOregon, a nonprofit organization committed to improving and protecting the health of low-income and vulnerable Oregonians, believes understanding the mind-

36 Parks & Recreation

set of those who suffer from addiction is crucial in addressing prevention. Korosi agrees that parks and public recreation facilities can be an easy place to hide and offer comfort to opioid users seeking refuge, and that an alliance of community agencies is the most important asset when it comes to finding a solution. CareOregon is partnering with the medical community, law enforcement and local park agencies to provide prevention education and treatment for those in need. The focus of this coalition is training staff members on the safe disposal of needles, first-responder training and wellness rehabilitation.

When it comes to the disposal of needles, many parks have taken a proactive approach with a published protocol to ensure staff and visitor safety, as the use of public bathrooms for opioid use has skyrocketed.

Billie Schmidt, superintendent of park operations for Kitsap County in Port Orchard, Washington, concurs. “Needles are on the rise at all of our locations. Each of our vehicles has a bag with items in it to use for sharps removal, including thick gloves with 5/10 needle stick resistance,” Schmidt says. “We have sharps containers in each of our 21 restrooms in our fairgrounds location, and these containers are made to be tamper-resistant so as not to be a danger to curious children.”

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Schmidt explains that all maintenance staff is instructed never to tamp down garbage, and also to carry garbage bags away from their bodies. The Kitsap County fairgrounds are also a hub for other county workers to bring their full sharps containers for disposal. “Once the bin is filled, it’s sent to the appropriate location for disposal. Our risk management department worked with our parks department and public works department to create this system,” Schmidt adds.

Cleveland Metroparks in Ohio is also taking similar measures when it comes to finding paraphernalia in their parks, as well as working with law enforcement.

Employees of the parks are advised to not handle trash with their bare hands, and if needles are discovered, they are to notify their supervisor, as well as law enforcement rangers if there is suspected drug abuse going on within a park. “In that case, it becomes evidence and the rangers handle it,” says Nancy Desmond, director of special projects for Cleveland Metroparks.

For Jared Bunde, a registered nurse with the Department of Health’s Homeless Outreach Team in San Francisco, the park system is ground zero for much of the drug activity in the community. With Golden Gate Park spanning over one-and-a-half miles, Bunde believes it is a key area for opportunities to spearhead prevention and offer rehabilitation services to addicts.

“We team up with park rangers to provide social and medical services based on what they have identified for resource connections,” says Bunde. “Outreach workers and the medical team are trained to distribute Naloxone and ensure people living on the streets have access. A lot of the needle disposal happens through exchange programs and the city of San Francisco in tandem with the parks system. The grounds maintenance team is really on the forefront of identifying and managing through needle collection and cleanup safety.”

A key element of success for Bunde’s initiative is working hand in hand with parks to assist opioid abusers in finding

the proper help they need. For instance, at Golden Gate Park, grounds maintenance workers and addicts seeking refuge in the park interact on a regular basis. Having people on the frontline who have daily interaction with drug users and can identify issues is an integral part of providing intervention and help.

“Being alone is a huge risk factor in fatal overdoses,” says Bunde. “Those tending to the park grounds are there early in the morning and are able to identify potentially dangerous behavior and notify the park rangers, who then work with their constituents.”

Since opiates affect the brain’s receptors that release dopamine — a neurotransmitter that produces a “feel good” reaction — many experts agree that recreation and physical activity can help offer an alternative lifestyle for opioid addicts. This can translate into parks becoming a haven for addicts seeking recovery activities and a positive way for them to channel their focus and energy into beneficial exercise, and ultimately, a method of rehabilitation.

Sarah Welton, of the Well Building Institute, is a triathlon coach in the San Francisco Bay area and agrees that exercise can trigger a similar “feel good” reaction as opioids by creating increased serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. “Fitness and wellness groups should become an integral part of the community coalition and stakeholder groups,” Welton adds.

While the opioid epidemic is a highly complicated one to understand and address, the clear message for the park system is to: • Work with a dedicated coalition of professionals in the community to identify and treat substance abuse disorders.

• Design or adopt a protocol for addressing needle disposal that keeps everyone safe.

• Consistently identify and mitigate “at risk” or untended areas within a park to prevent dealers and users, particularly at night and early in the morning.

• Offer activities and programs that give people a community to be a part of, including sports, and welcoming faith, emotional and drug abuse support programs to meet and host gatherings in the parks.

Bunde adds, “Opioid addicts are people who have lost their way and the parks

are where they find refuge. It can be the start of where we can help them to become as healthy as possible.”

Mareya Ibrahim is a Freelance Writer, based in Aliso Viejo, California (mareya@eatcleaner.com).

Cort Jones is the Associate Editor for Parks & Recreation magazine (cjones@nrpa.org).

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NRPA Update Introducing the Health and Wellness Advisory Panel’s Newest Members

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RPA’s Health and Wellness Advisory Panel provides oversight, feedback and subject-matter expertise for NRPA’s health and wellness programs and initiatives. The panel serves as a sounding board for new ideas and practices that helps to provide guidance to NRPA staff and our members. The panel is excited to welcome two new members to the team.

Ann Conklin

Executive Director for the Michigan Recreation and Park Association (mParks) An almost 40-year veteran of the park and recreation field, Conklin assumed an administrative role with mParks in 2011 following 10 years as the Director of Canton Leisure Services (CLS), the park and recreation department serving the 85,000 residents of Canton Township. At mParks, Conklin is responsible for providing leadership, strategic direction, financial stewardship and corporate relations and for overseeing membership enhancement objectives. She is passionate about ensuring that Michigan park and recreation professionals have the tools they need to administer and advocate for parks, recreation and leisure services across the state, including a variety of health and wellness programs and initiatives.

Sagar Shah

Research Associate at American Planning Association’s Planning and Community Health Center Sagar Shah is a research associate at American Planning Association’s Planning and Community Health Center. He is also completing his doctoral degree in regional development planning at the University of Cincinnati with a focus on healthy urban planning. Shah is currently involved in applied research projects at the APA, connecting urban planning and public health. Before joining APA, he worked on the CDC-funded Communities Putting Prevention to Work program, where he contributed his planning expertise and worked closely with the local health department and community partners. His research interest includes investigating the complex relationship between built environment and health through the lens of social equity.

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Play Spaces Grant Program

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hanks to a $1 million grant from The Walt Disney Company, NRPA is excited to expand the Meet Me at the Park program and provide additional communities with increased access to play spaces in local parks for children and families across the United States.

As part of this program, park and recreation agencies in all 50 states are invited to share their best ideas on increasing access to play spaces for children and families. Agencies with the most innovative and impactful project ideas will receive grants, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 to build their projects. This investment supports NRPA and Disney’s combined goal of providing 1 million kids and families with greater access to play.

Applications are being accepted through June 23, 2017. For more information and to access the grant application, please visit www.nrpa.org/ disney.

Be a Park Champion!

Sign the Park Champion pledge

by June 30 for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!

Just visit www.nrpa.org/Park-Champions and write “JuneMag” in the notes of the sign-up form.

You can advocate for parks and rec in your community by stepping up as a Park Champion! Start by signing the Park Champion pledge at www.nrpa.org/Park-Champions. Then, use NRPA’s resources to see how you can ask your U.S. representative and U.S. senators to support federal policy that helps parks and recreation in your community.

You can get involved in two ways:

Show and Tell Show your members of Congress how important parks and recreation is to your community by inviting them to an upcoming event like a park dedication, groundbreaking or program kick-off. It’s easy to get started with the Park Champion Advocacy Toolkit, our step-by-step guide to hosting a Park Champion event. Find the Toolkit and a suite of resources at www.nrpa.org/Park-Champions

Have Your Voice Heard Send a letter to your U.S. representative and U.S. senators advocating for key park and recreation issues. NRPA makes it easy to reach out – just head to NRPA’s advocacy page at www.nrpa.org/Advocacy-Engage, type in your name and address, personalize your letter, and hit send! It only takes a few moments to make a big difference.

www.nrpa.org/Park-Champions

NRPA Update

More Health and Wellness Sessions Offered at Conference This Year

By Tom Crosley

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ocal park and recreation agencies provide crucial health and wellness opportunities for all communities across the country. NRPA works with these agencies to provide the tools, resources and technical assistance to improve access to healthy foods and to increase opportunities for people to be physically active in their communities. During the 2017 NRPA Annual Conference, attendees will have the opportunity to choose from more than 50 education sessions supporting our Health & Wellness Pillar. Here is just a sample of the range of topics related to this Pillar:

Community Assets to Improve Rural Health Through Parks and Recreation Rural communities experience many challenges, but across America, these communities possess strengths and assets that can be leveraged to support well-being and equity. Rural or smalltown park and recreation agencies have a large impact on the health and well-being of their communities. They often fill many roles but can be limited in capacity. National experts from the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis and local partners at the Louisiana Public Health Institute will share their findings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded regional rural health forums that were held across the country this year. The panel will also discuss specific strategies to help agencies understand how to increase capacity and health impact through their current resources and programs by incorporating health into all aspects of their work and community partnerships.

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Designing & Implementing Evidence-Based, Family-Based Programming for Health A unique partnership between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and four diverse park and recreation centers across the country has resulted in an evidence- and family-based program that has been proven to reduce childhood obesity. Come hear from park and rec staff and leaders who have participated in adapting this program to their community, and have witnessed the healthy behavior change that resulted in both parents and children. Get a glimpse of the future of supporting health in communities through parks and recreation.

The presenters will discuss strategies to advance health in your community by addressing program design, implementation, assessment, sustainability and strategies to work with partners. This innovative approach simultaneously creates programming for parents and preschool children.

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Innovative Community Gardening and Its Role in Social Justice and Community Resilience Urban agriculture is growing in popularity across the country, and attendees of this session will have the opportunity to learn best practices for planning and managing community truly equitable and sustainable garden programs. Community gardens not only provide communities with fresh food, but can also be places for neighbors to come together and learn about native ecology, sustainable gardening practices and much more. Community gardeners on public lands across the country are thinking outside the traditional community garden box to engage and provide valuable resources for all community members.

This session, which straddles all three NRPA Pillars — Social Equity, Health & Wellness and Conservation — will highlight grassroots initiatives building community resilience through inclusive and innovative activities.

For a complete list of health and wellness and all other education sessions and to register for the conference, visit www. nrpa.org/conference2017. We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans, September 26-28.

Tom Crosley is NRPA’s Senior Manager of Education (tcrosley@nrpa.org).

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NRPA Update

Hot Topics The weather isn’t the only thing heating up this month! There are lots of conversations happening on NRPA Connect.

Check out a preview of some of the hottest conversations below:

1

Facility Wi-Fi — Members often wonder about the best way to handle Wi-Fi at their facilities.

Questions include: Do you control the signal or does your IT department?

Do you require a password or just use a general signal? Do you limit what is available? Can patrons stream Netflix or other video on their devices? If you don’t allow video streaming, do patrons complain? Chime in with your answers!

2

Pool Days for Dogs — Two of the hottest topics on Connect — dogs and pools — make for one popular thread! Professionals weigh in on experiences with opening up their pools for dogs. They discuss pros, including great publicity photos, and cons, like getting dog hair in the pool.

3

Using Social Media to Advertise Job Openings — Members discuss the best practices for using social media to advertise job openings. Most have found it to be a positive experience and these types of posts receive lots of shares, which help market their agency.

It’s Easier Than Ever to Get Involved with NRPA

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he perks of volunteering are numerous — résumé building, network growth, getting that “feel-good” feeling. NRPA has made volunteering even easier (and more fun) with its new volunteer platform.

Being part of the NRPA Volunteer Pool means that you are interested in learning about future volunteer opportunities available through NRPA Connect.

When you opt in to the pool, you will receive email alerts as soon as a new opportunity opens up that matches your qualifications and interests.

Here is how to get started:

1

Opt In to the NRPA Volunteer Pool Opting in is easy. To be added to NRPA’s Volunteer Pool, log in to NRPA Connect, and under the volunteer tab, click “Opt In to the Volunteer Pool.”

Then, when new opportunities come up, you’ll be the first to learn about them.

Once opted in, you can, of course, suspend your request at any time. Simply set the “Invite me to volunteer when opportunities match my expertise” toggle from “Yes” to “No” on your volunteer profile, and you’ll no longer receive invitations.

2

Complete Your Volunteer Profile Completing your volunteer profile will help us know what kind of volunteer opportunities you are qualified for and interested in and be better able to match you with future volunteer opportunities.

4

Charging Fees for Vendors in Parks — What guidelines does your agency have for allowing vendors in your parks? Log in and share your contracts or sponsorship agreements.

Have an answer or suggestion you would like to share? Visit www.nrpaconnect. org to join the conversation.

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You can also opt out of receiving any future communications about opportunities from your volunteer profile.

3

Open Opportunities/ Volunteer Points Check out and consider volunteering for the opportunities now open! The full listing of volunteer posting is available through the Volunteer Opportunities List. For each volunteer opportunity you complete, you will be awarded points based on the length of task and the experienced level required. You have the opportunity to earn three different badges — Ambassador, Champion and MVP — depending on your volunteer points.

Have questions about getting involved?

Email Hayley Herzing at hherzing@ nrpa.org.

Member Spotlight: Commit to Health Youth Ambassadors

By Cort Jones

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he new Commit to Health Youth Ambassadors initiative is a combined effort between NRPA and the Target Corporation to engage youth as health and wellness leaders in their communities. NRPA was awarded $100,000 as part of Target’s ongoing youth wellness efforts to inspire local agencies to implement the HEPA standards with sustainable, creative, impactful and scalable solutions that are focused on youth as the catalysts of change. NRPA awarded the Chicago Park District, Mesa Parks, Recreation and Communities Facilities and Houston Parks and Recreation with funding to pilot this youth-driven approach to increase healthy eating and physical activity.

Parks & Recreation magazine recently spoke with the Youth Ambassadors from these communities to learn why they decided to participate in the program, their views on the importance of health and wellness, their favorite healthy foods and physical activities, as well as their plans for the future.

Luis Cruz, Youth Ambassador, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Texas I was born and raised in the east end of Houston, Texas. Many of us knew someone who struggled with diabetes or weight issues and many knew very little about nutrition.

In high school, my friends and I were concerned about our families’ health and created an initiative to promote health and wellness through Zumba Fitness, along with a creative way to promote environmental literacy. I became Zumba-certified and started teaching classes. At first, we were instructing 10 students and then slowly added up to 100 students! Not only are we spreading this message at the high school level, but now we are also bringing it to younger kids in community centers all around Houston.

It is important not only to educate our communities about health and wellness, but also to engage people with actual solutions. By incorporating Zumba, we have been able to provide a positive, safe

environment for diverse sets of people to take part. We have been able to see the positive energy in engaging recreation and fitness throughout the city of Houston. We have also been showcased on national platforms in Colorado and Washington, D.C. Currently, my favorite healthy food is a quinoa salad made with corn, cherry tomatoes, beans, onion, cilantro, lemon and avocado. My favorite physical activity would definitely have to be Zumba. Our team offers Zumba through an amazing program called “Genius Hour,” a pilot program that allows students to choose an enrichment class they’re passionate about, offered during the school day.

I am currently attending Houston Community College taking my basics, and I will transfer to the University of Houston to study graphic design and environmental studies. My goal is to expand our mission throughout the entire city of Houston, spreading messages of health and wellness, and bringing people together to celebrate each other and the outdoors.

Risha King, Youth Ambassador, Chicago Park District, Illinois I become a Youth Ambassador because I wanted to show people my leadership, determination and willpower.

When it comes to being a Youth Ambassador, people look at me and see the character that I have and my willingness to teach kids, and even young adults, about wellness and health.

I think we need to educate our community about health and wellness, because, in this society and in the community, we are surrounded by fast food chains, and there’s not a lot of good, healthy food resources, so we choose what is close by and that’s usually a McDonald’s, which is on every corner. I believe that the community should know more about health and wellness so people can keep their bodies healthy. Also, people can live longer by eating and being healthy.

My favorite healthy food would have to be salad, and my favorite physical activity is track and field. I want to be a psychiatrist when I get older.

Tanya Bumbernick, Youth Ambassador, Mesa Parks, Recreation and Communities Facilities, Arizona I decided to become a Youth Ambassador because I love to lead and I want to spread the word about health and wellness. I think we need to educate our communities about health and wellness so the obesity rates will go down in adults and children.

My favorite healthy food is a green salad with croutons and no dressing. My favorite activity is soccer because it involves lots of running, and I love running. When I grow up, I want to be a part-time engineer and a part-time nutritionist.

— Cort Jones, Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine

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©Myles Mellor

Parks & Recreation Crossword

Across 1 Overall direction that good leaders set 5 Ornithologist’s concern 8 Dept. over hiring 9 Jacinto or Andreas 10 ____ mussels, troublesome species in Minnesota 11 Spiny lizards 12 Polite address to a customer 13 Description of a foreign species that can upset the natural balance of an ecosystem 17 Loftiest 20 Connection 21 Means inside at the beginning of a word 23 Key element used by good leaders in decision making 24 Florida Everglades critter, for short 27 ___ roll (winning) 28 Raise 30 ____ marketing, one avenue for funding parks programs 33 Pond bird 35 Source of natural light 36 Soccer ____ (fan in the family) 38 Global weather information provider, _____ Networks 39 Ability to look forward and plan the future confidently

Down 1 Small and medium 2 New beginning 3 Melting, like glaciers in spring 4 A hesitation 5 Flock sound 6 New technologies and programs — good leaders drive them 7 Nightfall 9 Red and orange glow 14 Compete 15 Fir tree that’s aromatic 16 Cut down, as costs 18 Words before fix or flash 19 Ad ___ Committee 22 Wine area in California 25 Donkey offering, in some parks 26 Succulents for low-water areas 29 Curved 31 The Land of Yosemite and the Grand Canyon 32 Big ___, on the California coast 34 Dove noise 36 Home to Mackinaw Island, for short 37 Land of 10,000 Lakes, abbr.

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 win one of three Park and Recreation Month T-shirts when you check your answers. The winners will be randomly selected and notified June 30, 2017.

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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

JULY

JUNE

September 26-28, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana

6-7 15-16 27-28

Palo Alto, California Ceres, California Sacramento, California

13-14

City of Palm Coast, Florida

29-30

Milpitas, California

November 5-9, 2017

www.nrpa.org/education

CPSI PROGRAM Hillsboro, Oregon Kodak, Tennessee San Diego, California

18-20

Raleigh, North Carolina

7-9 22-24

Wheat Ridge, Colorado Livermore, California

6-8 13-15 13-15 18-20 20-22 27-29

Honolulu, Hawaii Leesburg, Virginia Saratoga Springs, New York Griffin, Georgia Dublin, Ohio Grand Rapids, Michigan

JUNE

14-16 19-21 27-29

JULY

AFO PROGRAM

AUG

August 27-September 1, 2017

AUG

The NRPA Directors School is an exclusive professional development opportunity, designed to prepare new and potential directors of park and recreation agencies for the challenges of leading and managing effectively. The “D-School” focuses on four core areas of study: Directors skills, employee management, agency management and financial management. We also tailor the curriculum to your needs through a series of volunteer student-led presentations and through crowd-sourcing emerging issues and trends before the school begins.

This year’s curriculum is taught by our profession’s thought-leaders, and we’re happy to introduce Tom O’Rourke as the school director, and Corey Wilson and Michael Kirschman as new instructors on this accomplished team.

Potential attendees must first apply to the Directors School. Once accepted, they will receive instructions on how to register. For more information, including scholarship information, please visit our website at http://www. nrpa.org/directors/

All NRPA Schools are held at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia, unless otherwise noted.

SEPT

2017 NRPA DIRECTORS SCHOOL AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 1

www.nrpa.org/CPSI

www.nrpa.org/AFO

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Operations Recreational Water Disinfection Avoiding disease outbreaks

By Ellen Meyer

T

his summer while kids are happily enjoying a cool splash in the pool, aquatics staff will be busy ensuring that aquatics facilities are clean and safe. With obesity and diabetes reaching epidemic proportions, it is important that kids and adults are provided with fun ways to stay active. A recreational water illness (RWI) outbreak in park facilities could be disastrous for the people who become ill, the aquatic staff responsible for keeping the water safe and for people who need to stay active but may not swim because of concerns about the safety of the water.

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Every two years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a survey of disease outbreaks in pools and spas. In the latest survey (2011–2012), there were 69 outbreaks in treated water (i.e., not a lake or river). A summary of disease-causing organisms (i.e., pathogens) and outbreak statistics are shown in Table 1.

There are three basic steps to prevent RWIs: • Minimize contamination • Maintain a sanitizer residual in all parts of the pool at all times • Respond to contamination according to CDC protocols Since most of the pathogens are introduced by the swimmers themselves, patron education is a vital component of contaminant minimization. Signage should be used to inform patrons about the following: i. They should shower before entering the pool. ii. They should not enter the pool if they are ill with diarrhea. iii. They should not urinate in the pool.

Free posters and brochures are available online from the CDC to help educate patrons about the role they play in keeping the water clean.

Pathogens are constantly being introduced into the pool, so maintaining a sanitizer residual in all parts of the pool at all times is essential to prevent RWIs. The sanitizer needs to be out in the water where the swimmers are to protect them from bather-to-bather disease transmission. A sanitizer residual also needs to be present in areas of the pool where swimmers rarely go (e.g.,

the deepest part of the pool) and during times when swimmers are not present (e.g., overnight or during periods of closure). The reason for this is because bacteria, such as Pseudomonas and Legionella, can grow and reproduce in unsanitized water. These organisms can form a slimy layer, called biofilm, which is very hard for sanitizers to get into to kill the organisms harboring there. So, even if a sanitizer residual is reestablished, it may not be able to penetrate the biofilm.

There are numerous products that claim to kill bacteria, but unless the product is a sanitizer registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as indicated on the label, it is not a sanitizer. The EPA regulates chemicals used to kill pathogens in pools. The only chemicals and systems that are EPA-registered for use in sanitizing pools are chlorine, bromine, PHMB (polyhexamethylene biguanide) and some metal systems. There are some treatments, such as UV and ozone, which are very good at inactivating hard-to-kill pathogens, like Cryptosporidium (crypto). However, UV and ozone cannot be used as primary sanitizers in pools because a residual cannot be maintained in the pool to prevent bather-to-bather disease transmission. UV and ozone are often used as secondary disinfectants in high-risk facilities, but a primary sanitizer residual must always be present. Chlorine is the most common sanitizer used in pools, and its concentration should be maintained between 1 and 4 parts per million (ppm).

We know that pathogens are constantly being introduced into the pool, but there are also certain events where gross contamination occurs: vomit, formed stool and diarrheal accidents. The CDC has studied the pathogens that may be present in these events and has provided guidelines for treatment on its Healthy

Table 1: Disease-Causing Organisms and Outbreak Statistics Group

Species

Typical Health Effect Outbreaks* Cases*

Hospital*

Bacteria

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Rash

2 (4)

16 (56)

0 (0)

E. coli

Diarrhea

2

21

5

Shigella sonnei

Diarrhea

1

5

1

Legionella spp.

Respiratory illness

9 (2)

33 (52)

18 (1)

Cryptosporidium spp. Diarrhea

36

874

44

Giardia

Diarrhea

1

21

0

Norovirus

Diarrhea

2 (2)

122 (21)

0 (4)

Parasites Viruses

* Values in parentheses are not confirmed to be the specific pathogen.

Hyperchlorination Tables No Stabilizer Present Free Chlorine, PPM

Time, Hours

With Cyanuric Acid Stabilizer Present Free Chlorine, PPM

Time, Hours

20

12.75

20

28

10

25.5

30

18

40

8.5

Swimming website and in its Model Aquatic Health Code. The steps in these remediation procedures should be carefully followed to prevent an outbreak.

For example, below are the basic steps for treatment of diarrhea in the water: Step 1: Close the pool to swimmers Step 2: Remove as much fecal material as possible (vacuuming is NOT recommended) Step 3: Using unstabilized chlorine, hyperchlorinate the pool (see tables below for dosages and times) with the filtration system operating and maintaining the pH above 7.5 Step 4: Backwash the filter Step 5: Reduce chlorine concentration to 1 to 4 ppm.

Step 6: Allow swimmers back into the water If stabilizer is greater than 15 ppm, partially drain pool to reduce stabilizer to less than or equal to 15 ppm.

The reason there are different hyperchlorination instructions with the stabilizer is because the stabilizer slows the

disinfection rate of the chlorine. The CDC performed a study with crypto and found that with greater than 15 ppm of cyanuric acid, it was not able to obtain the required reductions. The values in the stabilizer table were obtained from its study.

It is essential that all members of the pool staff are trained in RWI prevention and their local health code(s). They should also be familiar with how and why (i) patrons can contribute contamination, (ii) an EPA-registered sanitizer residual is maintained in all parts of the pool at all times and (iii) contamination response protocols are followed. The pool operators, lifeguards and swimmers all play a part in preventing disease transmission and ensuring that a safe, healthy pool can be enjoyed by everyone.

Detailed references for this article are available at www.parksandrecreation.org/2017/ June/Recreational-Water-Disinfection.

Ellen Meyer is the Product Safety and Government Affairs Manager at Lonza (ellen. meyer@lonza.com).

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Operations

The Digital Imposter After penetrating your website, a hacker can do business as you

By Joe Dysart

I

n the latest twist on identity theft, hackers are clandestinely taking over business websites — and then brazenly billing the customers who visit those sites as if the sites are their own. While any sort of website identity theft is alarming, the version that results in a hacker taking command and control of your website — and ultimately your business dealings — is especially brutal.

Under this scenario, hackers find a way to break into your website, and then take over all the interfaces your business uses to operate it. Simultaneously, the hacker also gets access to your business’ accounts payable and receivables software, as well as its email correspondence software.

With all the tools in hand to do business as you, the hacker begins cutting deals with your customers via your website, instructing them to wire payments for goods and services to a new bank account — one that the hacker owns and operates.

After a few quick deals, the hacker vanishes — along with all the cash that has been wired to his or her bank account. Ultimately, the victimized business or organi-

zation only finds out about the scam weeks or months later, when hordes of angry customers start calling, demanding goods and services that were never delivered.

Perhaps most unsettling about this new spin on cybercrime is that even the most strongly secured websites are vulnerable. “Security will always be an evolving arms race between the attackers and defenders,” says Adolfo Cruz, director, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, Riverside, California.

Indeed, IT security researcher Arun Sureshkuma proved that reality with chilling clarity last summer, when he demonstrated how he could hack any Facebook page — and take over that

page as its administrator — in less than 10 seconds (http://bit.ly/2qobTkr).

Moreover, once established as administrator, Sureshkuma could have easily set up payment processing on the hijacked page for any sort of deals he felt like making, using popular payment processors like PayPal and Stripe (http://bit. ly/2qgrKXa).

Sureshkuma did alert the social media goliath to the security glitch, which it immediately patched. But, his ruse underscored a hard reality: No business, no matter how seemingly powerful and mighty, is immune to website identity theft. According to an April 2016 study from Symantec, an IT security firm, more than 75 percent of popular sites on the web have unpatched vulnerabilities (http://symc.ly/2qBx2cG). Online fraud is expected to reach $25.6 billion by 2020, up $10.7 billion from 2015, according to a 2016 study by Juniper Research.

“While no website is hack-proof — evidenced by the worldwide hacking group, “Anonymous,” hacking high-profile government organizations — there are a number of best practices that should redundantly cover your bases,” says Zack Poelwijk, a senior marketing consultant for Limelight Development, a web services firm. “The importance in this space is to be preventative, not reactive.”

Following is a list of preventative measures that web security experts suggest you take to make your website less vulnerable to hacking:

Joe Dysart is an Internet Speaker and Business Consultant based in Manhattan (joe@joedysart. com).

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Establish an online security training program for employees — Sadly, too few employees realize the stakes when it comes to web security.

Even in this day and age, when millions of IDs and passwords are regularly stolen from major corporations, the most commonly used passwords are “123456” and “password” — according to Splash Data, a cyber-security firm (http://splashdata. com/about/index.htm).

Bulletproof your website’s dashboard — Start with a super-strong ID and password by creating both at Random.org’s random password generator (www.random.org/passwords). There you can create passwords and IDs up to 24 characters long that are extremely tough to crack. You can also add two passwords together if you’re looking for even greater security. Be sure to have your web designer add a double-authentication requirement for entry into your website’s dashboard. Many banking customers already have double-authentication on their online checking accounts. They initially enter an ID and password for their checking account. But before they can log in, they need to retrieve and enter a special numerical code that the bank sends to their email account.

In addition, you can have your designer program your website so that after three or so wrong log-in attempts, the website will freeze and can only be accessed with intervention by a human from your IT department.

Consider alternatives to passwords — “The widespread practice of typing usernames and passwords to log on to the internet might soon become obsolete,” says Robin Murdoch, managing director of internet and social business for Accenture. “Consumers are increasingly frustrated with these traditional methods because they are becoming less reliable for protecting their personal data such as email addresses, mobile phone numbers and purchasing history.” So, here are some alternatives: Microsoft’s Windows 10 can replace ID and password access to its Windows software with “Windows Hello,” software that offers users the ability to sign in using fingerprint readers or facial recognition — although the facial recognition option requires a high-end, depth-perception camera.

Google has a physical “security key” dongle, which users plug into their computer’s USB port to gain access to their Google accounts online (support. google.com/accounts/answer/6103523).

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently licensed an advanced anti-hacker software tool, developed for use by companies and organizations, that’s designed to pinpoint suspicious behavior by hackers once they’ve compromised a system’s ID and password and are freely roaming a computer network. “It is important to know what you have on your networks,” says Celeste Matarazzo, a principal investigator for cybersecurity at Lawrence Livermore.

Even more futuristic is Myris by Eyelock, (www. eyelock.com) a scanner that only grants access to a computer — and any number of websites you’d like to use with it — once it identifies the iris in your eye. The human iris is as unique as a fingerprint and the chances of the device making a false match are one in 1.5 million, according to

the maker. Myris may sound like science-fiction, but it’s already on the market at big box stores like Best Buy, Staples and Fry’s.

Limit entry to your dashboard even further: You can also harden your website dashboard by limiting access to your website the dashboard from pre-determined, IP addresses only (every computerized device can be assigned a specific IP address by your web designer for identification purposes).

Be careful about what you expose on the web: “Currently, our website is not collecting data from our community and anything we put out is for public knowledge,” says Cory LeeAnn Long, recreation coordinator, Central Point, Oregon. “If we were to implement a more user interfaced-based website, we’d request the most advanced security features available while minimizing the impact on our users.

“Our biggest priority is data protection and that is one of the reasons why we’ve not stepped forward with implementing public profiles for our community members.”

Janet Donnelly, public affairs coordinator for Willamalane Park and Recreation, based in Springfield, Oregon, shares Long’s sensitivity to consumer data: “The security threat we worry about most is the potential threat to confidential consumer information,” Donnelly says. “That’s why we hired one of the best web development firms in our area to hand pick our web hosting firm. We also rely on national companies such as Active Communities and MailChimp to safeguard our customers’ data.”

Install a security plugin: For Wordpress users, there are number of free security plugins, including iThemes Security (https://ithemes.com/security) and Bulletproof Security (www.bulletproofsecurities.com). Similar software exists for websites that use other types of website content management systems.

Install a firewall on your website: “A firewall routes web traffic through a separate server, determining whether it’s safe traffic or not, before allowing it to go to your website,” Hanson says. “This does not cause a delay for the end user.”

Most modern website firewalls are cloud-based and provided as a plug-and-play service for a modest monthly subscription fee.

Get your designer to use HTTPS protocol: Technically speaking, HTTPS guarantees to your visitors that they’re talking to the server that’s hosting the website they’re trying to reach. It also guarantees that no one can intercept or change content coming from the website — or transactions between the website and website visitor. Let’s Encrypt, an open certificate authority service provided by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG), helps businesses reduce the cost of the conversion to HTTPS protocol (https://letsencrypt.org/about).

Auto-scan all devices you’re plugging into your business computer network: Have your IT department secure your system with software that automatically scans any device — such as a flash drive, external hard drive, etc. — for malware any time such a device is attached to your network.

Get a free Google Webmaster account from Google: Offering a plethora of free tools for site owners, Google Webmaster can also often detect when your website has been hacked and will inform you of the hack via your account, according to says Evy Hanson, owner of, Leap Online Marketing.

Backup frequently: Just in case the worst happens, be sure to keep everything backed up. The rule of thumb: backup at your business, backup off-site and keep a third “cold backup” off your network — or a backup that is disconnected from your computer network as soon as it’s made on a daily basis.

Secure your website folders: While all website files and folders should have proper permissions and ownership, this basic step is often overlooked.

Ask your web designer to apply these controls.

The move can deny attackers the ability to upload malicious files and execute code that can compromise not only your site, but your server as well.

Use a monitoring service: Services like SiteLock (www.sitelock.com) will monitor your website every day for malware, viruses, suspicious code, attempted break-ins and out-of-date software.

Keep all your website software up-to-date: One of the primary reasons web software companies continually update their software is to plug security holes. Unfortunately, these companies generally inform the public about the specific security holes they’ve plugged. So, according to Hanson, if you don’t make the fix, a hacker knows where to look on your website for an easy way in, according to Leap’s Hanson.

Be doubly careful if your website runs on Wordpress: When it comes to security, Wordpress is unfortunately a victim of its wild popularity. The web authoring system is so in vogue, it has become a favorite target of hackers. One of the major benefits of Wordpress popularity for criminals: is if a hacker finds a security hole in on Wordpress site, he or she knows there are probably thousands— if not millions — of websites that are also sporting the same security hole.

Have a major security talk with your web designer: Knowing about the safeguards above will enable you to talk intelligently with your web designer about your website’s security. He or she needs to know you consider website security ultra-critical to your business.

“Defense in depth remains the industry best practice,” says Cruz. “Tiering protection with the assumption that one or more defenses will fail at some point will reduce the number of breaches and will accelerate the defender’s detection capabilities.”

Long agrees: “Web security is always changing with trends and threats. Remaining creative and aware is probably the biggest and best approach to maintaining security.”

“It’s about redundancy, redundancy, redundancy,” Poelwijk says. “Individual practices all have their weaknesses. But together, they’re incredibly strong. For example, if the worstcase scenario happened and your website was hacked, you could simply revert back to the last clean backup.”

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Products Backpack Blower Greenworks Commercial’s 82-volt Backpack Blower uses lithiumion battery with superior brushless electric motor technologies to power through every job from routine maintenance to serious debris clearing. The brushless electric motor provides longer run-times, zero-maintenance and zero-exhaust, all while decreasing vibrations and noise levels. Perfect for getting the job done in serene surroundings. GREENWORKS COMMERCIAL, 855.470.4267, WWW.GREENWORKSCOMMERCIAL.COM

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Natural Organic Weed Killer Soil Technologies Corp. has announced that Phydura, a nonselective burndown herbicide, is now OMRI listed for use in organic farming and gardening. Phydura contains clove oil and other food-grade materials.

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9/14/2016 10:00:12 AM W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 7 |

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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 | J U N E 2 0 1 7 |

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Aquatic Professionals Training NRPA provides education, networking, resources and certification to aquatics professionals to ensure healthy, efficient, successful and vibrant aquatic facilities. Check out our training options below.

2017 NRPA Annual Conference

AFO Instructor Workshop at the WWA show

featuring a full track of Aquatics sessions

September 26-28 | New Orleans

October 14-15 | West Palm Beach, FL

NRPA Career Center

AFO Certification Courses

Find or post Aquatics jobs

Offered All Year Long | Nationwide

Online Aquatics Courses

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To learn more, visit: www.nrpa.org/Aquatics

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Greenfields............................................................................. 2-3

Themed Concepts.................................................................13

Gyms For Dogs/Livin the Dog Life..................................52

Vortex........................................................................................17

Jayhawk Plastics.....................................................................53

Waterloo Tent & Tarp............................................................25

advertiser index

Aquatix......................................................................................23

(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 Š2017 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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W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 7 |

Parks & Recreation

55

Park Bench

Nomadic Nourishment in NorCal

Foodies in Northern California prepare their appetites for a mouth-watering safari at Folsom City Lions Park every month.

The City of Folsom Parks and Recreation department and Sacramento Mobile Foods (SactoMoFo) joined forces in 2014 to bring some of the best gourmet food trucks from all over Northern California together for a free, family-friendly event. On the third Wednesday of each month, the park — which is adjacent to the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary — is home to the Food Truck Safari, and is chock-full of delicious food, live music and fun events for kids.

This event, which features more than 10 food trucks and draws up to 2,000 people every month, is a way for the city to bring awareness to its zoo, parks and the programs offered, as well as to tap into a market of people who come from out of town for the event. “Our goal is to reach new markets and promote our activities, events and facilities to people we may not normally reach,” says Chuck Harrison, community and cultural services manager for the City of Folsom Parks and Recreation department. The Food Truck Safari includes booths from community partners, such as the zoo and local library, to inform guests about programs in the city that they may not have been aware of otherwise.

The park and recreation department provides the use of City Lions Park — which has picnic tables, benches, playgrounds and shelters — for the event and SactoMoFo provides the food trucks and entertainment. “It’s a great opportunity for families to come out and have some food, listen to music, socialize and let the kids run around and play,” says Harrison. He adds that there are a lot of great things to do at the event, but of course, the focus is on the food.

Entry into the event is free to the public, with the only cost being whatever array of scrumptious eats and tasty treats patrons choose to indulge in. Many of the food trucks also offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options for diners with specific dietary needs.

“It’s become a very well-attended, well-received event,” says Harrison. “The local community knows to expect it every month, and they make plans for it as a nice family outing.”

— Cort Jones, Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine

56 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 7 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

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