18 minute read
Introducing Lynnbrook Park
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND The new Lynnbrook Park design will convert an old drainage ditch that no longer flows effectively into an ecologically restored stream with plantings along the banks.
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How Parks Build Community aims to improve a local Chattanooga community
By Paula M. Jacoby-Garrett
During Fiesta Lynnbrook, attendees and participants shared feedback about what memories they would like to create in the park space, such as connecting people with nature and water.
Located on the southeast side of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the new Lynnbrook Park will provide outdoor recreation and healthy activity options for the nearby community, as well as help to restore the local environment.
NRPA is heading to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the next Parks Build Community (PBC) project to build a new park in the Oak Grove neighborhood. Located on the southeast side of the city, the park will provide outdoor recreation and healthy activity options for the nearby community, as well as help to restore the local environment.
The NRPA PBC designee was chosen based on a series of criteria, all focused on selecting a community where the impact would be extensive. “While 2020 was not a year like any other, it provided an opportunity for deep reflection and a chance to refocus our work and ensure that it was centered in our values and Three Pillars,” says Rachel Banner, NRPA’s director of park access. “This year, due to budget, construction and community engagement challenges, NRPA searched for projects in several major cities in the southeast. We also implemented new equity-based selection criteria for Parks Build Community to ensure the maximum health, environmental and economic benefits for the local community.”
“Lynnbrook Park not only met those selection criteria, but also went above and beyond with their engagement and design to maximize a 1.4-acre space and the benefits it provides to the community,” says Banner. “First and foremost, the park reflects the culture and values of the community. It also provides a space to engage in health-promoting activities, solves a critical flooding challenge, connects people to nature, and creates
a safe place for play and a community gathering place.”
Improving the Health of People and Place
Access to parks is key for NRPA. NRPA works to ensure everyone has access to the multiple benefits of parks, and defines access not only as the physical features that make it accessible, easy to get to and beautiful, but also defines access as belonging — creating a space that feels safe, culturally relevant and welcoming to everyone. In each community, access may look different. For Chattanooga, part of its access challenge is proximity, with only 37 percent of people in Chattanooga currently within ready access to quality local parks and recreation.
This area is prime for more park and green space development. In
DESIGN DRAWING COURTESY OF AKOSUA COOK, CITY OF CHATTANOOGA
Entry Plaza: Decoratively paved area with descending tiers. Plaza is centered around water feature that will be designed to help clean the storm water runoff entering the site.
Screen Planting to provide separation from adjacent property. Adult Gaming Area: Space for adults to enjoy chess or checkers or bocce ball.
Playground Area: Protected area with safe, soft surfacing, interactive play equipment and seating for adults.
Transitional Space:
Lawn space for relaxing and observation between active spaces.
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
Future Central Bridge Crossing:
connecting bridge with architectural accents and space to congregate and watch activities at band shell pavilion area.
Art Plaza or Splash Pad:
point from bridge crossing for sculpture installation or splash pad / water feature.
Paver “Bumpouts”: to create on-street parking spaces and safe places of refuge for pedstrians crossing the street to the park. Lower Pool: or constructed wetland to help clean stormwater runoff before being released into the creek. Passive Seating Areas: and lawn spaces for relaxation and observation of the creek form the northeastern section of the park.
Accessible Creek Section: Creek begins to spread out and can be accessed at this point. Plantings and large stones create places to sit and cross the stream. Future Rustic Foot Bridge: A creek crossing that creates an exciting and artful conection between the two halves of the park.
LYNNBROOK AVENUE
Stream Restoration Planting: Running the length of the stream and throughout the park will be beautiful, native and natural stream plantings designed to be sustainable and critical to the reestablishment of the stream bank.
Future Bathroom Building:
On-site bathroom building centrally located in the park to serve users of the bandshell / pavilion as well as parents and kids using the playground
Future Bandshell / Pavilion:
Structure and plaza for community events and gathering.
particular, the small, diverse Oak Grove neighborhood has an even mix of Black, Latino and white community members of all ages, more than 1,000 of which have limited access to parks.
Focusing not only on area residents’ health, Lynnbrook Park also will heal and repair the surrounding environment. Currently, the site is composed of an empty lot, half of which is paved, with a drainage ditch running the length of the property. The ditch was created during the Works Progress Administration (WPA) era
The Lynnbrook Park design came from a creative community engagement process that centered community relationships and needs to determine what features should be included in the park.
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
Future Central Bridge Crossing: Main connecting bridge with architectural accents and space to congregate and watch activities at band shell pavilion area. Art Plaza or Splash Pad: Focal point from bridge crossing for sculpture installation or splash pad / water feature. Open Lawn Area: Large open lawn area for active play or passive relaxation. Room to throw the frisbee or lay on a blanket and enjoy the sunshine.
Vehicular and Pedestrian Bridge: Wall separated bridge providing arched crossing of the creek as it passes under 17th Street. Arched stone bridge allows kids acces to creek under 17th street
Future Small Bridge Crossing:
Small footbridge to connect lawn area with picnic area.
EAST 17TH STREET
Picnic Seating Area: Lawn area with tables and seating for several groups. Park Swing: Swing by the creek for relaxing and observation of the creek and passers-by.
Future Picnic Pavilion: Central structure surrounded by charcoal grills for picnickers and protection from the weather Future Kiosk: for community engagement, announcements and park information along with small entry plaza.
LEGEND
Future Amenities
(1930s-1940s) as a public works project to allow stormwater to drain from the area into the Dobbs Branch stream and eventually out to the Tennessee River. Over time, it has lost its functionality, and the ditch currently flows inefficiently, causing flooding in the area. The City of Chattanooga is looking at the site to not only provide a park for residents, but also to improve water flow and quality through reclamation of the site.
For project manager Akosua Cook, it made sense to combine the environmental improvements with the creation of a park. “It has these cumulative benefits — it would bring over 3,000 residents within a 10-minute walk of a park, it would reduce heat island effect, it would improve the overall flooding issues in the area, and it would improve that whole watershed, [which] would improve water quality for the residents. It is a great overall location and will provide a great overall impact for the area,” says Cook.
Lynnbrook Park’s planning and conceptual designs are finished, and the park is scheduled to open in spring 2022.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND
Envisioning a Future Park
What sets this project apart from many others is its creative community engagement process. “We wanted to be intentional with this space, really listening to this adjacent neighborhood, and focusing on the needs and desires of that community,” explains Cook. “In 2016, our local Trust for Public Land office, along with our Public Art department, applied for a National Endowment of the Arts grant. They used it to do a creative engagements strategy, where they hired a local artist to do a series of public engagement events to find out what type of park would make the most sense in this area.”
For NRPA, it’s the community relationship that makes this project coalesce. “I think collectively what makes this project come together is the arts-based, inclusive and intentional engagement used to create the park that had a cascading effect on the project,” says Banner. “To begin, the engagement was led by a local artist who centered the community culture in his engagement and sought not only to build a park, but [also] to truly build community through the process. The process started by asking how people currently enjoy the outdoors and what memories they would want to create in the space, as opposed to asking what amenities they would like to see. Ultimately, it led to a design that creates a place for people to feel safe, [and to] connect with nature, water and people in their community in addition to so much more.”
Spearheading the public engagement was local artist, lawyer and writer Josiah Golson. “I approach community engagement with the belief that its process should genuinely reflect the culture of the community that I am serving,” Golson states in the Lynnbrook Community Design Sketchbook (tinyurl.com/ vmy32rd6). For this project, Golson assembled a team of forwardthinking individuals to help create a place where community members could “engage authentically with their own experiences and help us imagine the potential for the space.” Golson’s diverse team included Daniela Peterson from The Trust for Public Land, architect Roy Wroth and multimedia artist Botany Rain.
Through their work, the group “seeks to unpack the complexity of communities and issues through im-
ages, symbols and poetry in order to discover patterns, connections and ideas that one would otherwise fail to see,” according to Golson. The group worked with the Oak Grove community to create the park’s conceptual layout and determine desired amenities, all of which are summarized in the design sketchbook. Community events, such as Fiesta Lynnbrook and Design Over Dinner, offered the community opportunities to discuss their needs and aspirations for the space in a comfortable, in-person environment. Community members were involved in determining themes and design elements that are included in the park’s creation.
For Golson and his team, their participation didn’t end with the park design. Involvement with the community continues today and will be integral in the future as public art is chosen for the site. The result of the process is a design that is intentional and not only meets the needs of the community, but also is driven by the community.
For Cook, as a park planner, this project and relationship with local residents and business owners could be a blueprint for other projects. “It’s been a process that has involved the community from the start with the creative engagement strategy that was implemented. We haven’t done that for any other park, but it’s something that we would like to see if it works here and how we can utilize that strategy again. We like to experiment — not everything always goes to plan, but we do like to try to be creative and find different ways to engage with the community because our old ways of having a standard community meeting are becoming less and less effective,” says Cook.
Making Progress
While this project had planned to move forward with existing resources, NRPA’s involvement has made it possible to deliver a more complete vision of the park to the community. The park is scheduled to have traditional park elements, such as a playground and an open lawn area, and more communityspecific elements, including a pavilion for group gatherings and an adult gaming area. The oncederelict drainage will be converted to an ecologically restored stream with plantings along the banks that
Our Process
Our team’s creative process includes research, documentation, and storytelling. function as a critical component to Through canvassing the community, we learn the site’s sustainability and aesthethow residents occupy and activate individual and shared spaces (such as bus stops, restaurants, etc) ically as a natural water feature. A LYNNBROOK OPEN SPACE constructed wetland and a series of small bridges will create a natural space that people of all ages will enjoy, embodying how green stormwater infrastructure can be an integral component of environmentally resilient community parks. The move toward a healthy environment is fast approaching for the Oak Grove community. Lynnbrook Park’s planning and conceptual designs are finished, and the construction documents are nearly complete with a plan to open the park in spring 2022. Projects like Lynnbrook Park wouldn’t be possible without our PBC donors. For more information about the PBC project and how you can be involved, contact Nury Márquez, NRPA’s senior director of development, at nmarquez@ nrpa.org. Paula M. Jacoby-Garrett is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
and what life, gatherings, culture, and play look like in these spaces.
Our team produces unique culturally-oriented workshops that allow residents to engage and express their memories and visions of parks and shared spaces. Public engagement events were led by a local artist who focused on community culture to ensure that the park fits the The workshops inspire conversational, visual, needs of the community. and theatrical exercises that invite participants to imagine a park as a continuation of their memories.
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OPERATIONS
Essential Operations for an Essential Summer
By Kelley Freridge
At the American Camp Association (ACA), we think about health, safety, risk management and quality in the camp setting every day. ACA has released its CampCounts 2020 Report, a study that focuses on the policies, practices and procedures of camp operations for managing and mitigating spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Park and recreation professionals and camp staff are reviewing and updating their plans daily as summer approaches.
We’re fortunate that we learned a great deal from last summer and the more than 3,000 day and overnight camp programs that served communities — often functioning as essential care for frontline workers and families in need of childcare. Since March 2020, ACA has focused on how we think about health, safety, risk management and quality. Our Field Guide for Camps covers implementing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance in the camp setting and is available for free to all individuals serving youth in any way at bit.ly/Camp FieldGuide.
We encourage you to take some time to download the field guide and consider how the recommendations outlined in the resource might be implemented in your program and facilities, and with your staff. ACA’s Field Guide for Camps was developed with information from publicly available sources, including public and private entities, non-governmental organizations and professional associations, as well as subject matter experts in each area covered by the field guide.
CDC guidance provides the foundation of every applicable area of the field guide and sets the guiding principle for camp operations: the more people a camper or staff member interacts with, and the longer that interaction is, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. This concept informs all areas of the field guide, but also informs the nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that are core to operating in-person programming this summer. We now know that camps that have implemented strict, layered mitigation strategies — including wearing masks, cohorting, physical distancing, pre-screening, cleaning, maintaining healthy facilities, proper handwashing, running programming outdoors as often as possible and leveraging ventilation strategies when indoors — have been able to safely operate in person while mitigating spread of COVID-19.
If you’re interested in exploring more of ACA’s findings from summer 2020, we encourage you to download the CampCounts 2020 Report, which can be found at bit. ly/CampCounts2021. The report highlights how NPIs were used in both day and overnight camp settings — and tested at select programs.
Camps that have implemented strict, layered mitigation strategies have been able to safely operate in person while mitigating spread of COVID-19.
Kelley Freridge is Chief Marketing Officer for the American Camp Association (kfreridge@acacamps.org).
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(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 ©2021 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.
Virtual Mentorship Program Yields Great Rewards
Mount Airy (North Carolina) Parks and Recreation is excited to be one of five NRPA Youth Mentorship Program grantees. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created unique programming challenges and opportunities for our mentorship program. In January 2021, after months of not being able to offer most programs, the Mount Airy Parks and Recreation motto became “How can we offer this program and offer it safely?” Following the lead of other NRPA Youth Mentorship grantees, Youth Mentorship Coordinator Jaimi Scott and Family Services Supervisor Kim Wilson took on the task of creating and implementing virtual group mentoring activities. Before each activity, a Zoom meeting was created and kits with any supplies that were needed were delivered to the homes of participants. The first virtual activity consisted of making pony bead bracelets. Scott and Wilson had mentors, mentees, siblings, parents and even one grandmother laughing, engaging and making bracelets. Since this inaugural virtual activity, program staff have led an activity every two weeks. These virtual activities have included facemask decorating, a Valentine’s Day craft and game night, as well as a virtual fort night where everyone created forts out of blankets and mats. This past February, mentees celebrated Black History Month by coming up with 10 facts about a famous historical or influential Black leader and presenting their findings during a Zoom meeting. Although they were nervous, they did an amazing job honoring their assigned person. A similar virtual event was held for Women’s History Month, whereby each mentee got to pick an influential female in history or one who had personally impacted their life. As COVID-19 restrictions are being eased by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, face-to-face mentoring is now occurring along with virtual activities. Schools have allowed mentors back in person to have lunch with their mentees, and matches have been able to meet at the local community center for physically distanced activities, such as tie dying shirts, playing pingpong or basketball, taking swim lessons and homework tutoring in our computer lab.
The agency’s most successful group mentoring activity has been “egging” the yards of our mentees and their siblings for Easter. Program staff and mentors, when possible, went to the home of each mentee and hid Easter eggs for all the children in the household. Easter baskets were then placed on the porch for the children to hunt eggs with. More than 1,000 eggs were hidden in mentees’ yards during the week preceding Easter. Each individual egg contained candy and an anti-drug or anti-bullying slogan. More than 30 different slogans were used, including: “Be all you can be, go drug free” and “Stop bullying now, take a stand, lend a hand.” The staff are excited for the future of the youth mentorship program and will continue to program it meaningfully and creatively. On behalf of the children served in this program, Mount Airy Parks and Recreation thanks NRPA for this grant opportunity and the difference that it has made in the community. — Cathy Cloukey, Assistant Director for Mount Airy Parks and Recreation PHOTO COURTESY OF KIM WILSON
Mount Airy Parks and Recreation hosts virtual and inperson group mentoring activities, such as Easter egg hunts and Black History Month Zoom presentations.
PARKS & RECREATION JUNE 2021 ◆ THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUE ◆ A CIRCLE OF SOLACE ◆ TYLER NORRIS WALKS THE TALK ◆ PBC: A PRESCRIPTION FOR HEALTHLY LIVING
