Parks & Recreation Magazine August 2018

AUGUST 2018 W W W. N R PA . O R G

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contents august 2018

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF JISU YANG

volume 53 | number 8 | www.parksandrecreation.org

FEATURES

42 ‘Park-Walk’: A Vertical, Park-Growth Vision

Imagine a city growing new public parks as it grows upwards with each new skyscraper. Let the mind’s eye visualize these rooftop parks connected by park bridges joining together in an organic and random way that grows as cities do, parcel by parcel. The result would be “Park-Walk”: an interwoven network of public parks connected with bridges and High Line-type walkways. These parks, inside a growing city, would provide more places to be in urban areas.

Joseph Cincotta, AIA, LEED, NCARB, M.Arch

48 ‘Breaking the Bubbles’ to Create Play-Centered Parks

For decades, bubble diagrams and program master plans have been the precursors to park and playground designs. Inclusive design, multifunctional features, and the added value of

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healthier communities are several trends that are pushing the design of public spaces in new directions. At the center of this revolution is play.

Chad Atterbury, PLA, ASLA

2018 NRPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE SECTION

52 A Conversation with SaulPaul 54 Five NRPA Conference Hacks from the Insiders

55 Directors’ Corner 56 Education on the Go Tom Crosley

58 Special Events 59 Exhibit Hall at a Glance

*

contents august

columns 8

departments

10 Editor’s Letter Designing a Better Future Sonia Myrick

12 Research Parks & Rec: The Vacation & Staycation Solution Kevin Roth, Ph.D.

Perspectives Our Core Values: Being Bold and Courageous Leon T. Andrews, Jr.

24 Advocacy August Congressional Recess Megan Phillippi

14 Park Pulse New Survey Reveals Americans’ Top Summer Staycation Activities

28 Law Review

16 Community Center

Common Lake Organism Fatal to Park Visitor James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

Ready to Respond Versus React Lori A. Hoffner

34 Conservation

20 Member to Member

How to Prevent Ticks and Still Enjoy the Outdoors Rich Dolesh

Rainbow Beach Aquatic Center Gary Novitski

38 Health & Wellness

64 NRPA Update NRPA’s 2nd Annual Summer Camp on Capitol Hill 64 Park and Recreation Officials 2017–2018 Salary Trends 65 The NRPA Store 66 September 22 Marks the 25th Annual National Public Lands Day 67 Connect Hot Topics 68 Member Benefit: Visit the Career Center at the NRPA Annual Conference 68 Parks & Recreation Crossword 69 Member Spotlight: Patricia Polzin, CPRP 70 Professional Development Calendar 73

Engaging Children in the Park Planning Process Clement Lau, AICP, DPPD

40 Social Equity California’s Prop 68 Robert García

74 Operations Therapeutic Recreation and Inclusion Programs in Your Community 74 Landon Schenck Applying Technology to Real-Life Challenges 76 Anthony M. Joy Health Coaching: The New Kid on the Block 78 Sheila Franklin

80 Products

87 Advertiser Index 88 Park Bench #PlayerOfTheDay Suzanne Nathan Cover image: Masato Kawano 6

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY PROJECT

81 Park Essentials

Page 40

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P E RS 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 RS

Our Core Values: Being Bold and Courageous This is my last post as chair of the NRPA Board of Directors. I have served on the board since 2010. As chair, I traveled the country and the world this year, and it has been an honor to represent this organization. I am excited about where this organization is heading and could not be prouder to be part of an organization and a board that are committed to challenging ourselves to tackle the issues and opportunities that lie ahead.

Our nation, as well as our profession, faces some serious challenges. It is vitally important that our organization stays committed to making a difference in people’s lives and that we hold fast to our core values. As I traveled the country this year, I have been very encouraged that our park and recreation professionals have consistently shared how important our values are to this profession and the communities we serve.

And what are those core values?

We believe that everyone should receive the benefits of quality park and recreation services, no matter where they live, no matter their background or ethnicity, and no matter what their income.

In keeping to our core values, we have sought every opportunity to lift them up. For example, thanks in large part to your advocacy, Congress increased funding in the fiscal year 2018 spending bill for programs that are vital to the industry, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund State Assistance Program and Community Development Block Grants. Last October, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Urban Land Institute, we helped launch the 10-Minute Walk campaign, which aims to ensure all Americans live within a 10-minute walk (or half-mile) of a high-quality park or green space and have already had nearly 200 mayors sign on to this initiative.

Last year, in my remarks in New Orleans, I challenged us to be bold and courageous in doing what is necessary to call out injustices and truly reconcile the harms of the past. I hoped that as chair, I would find opportunities to be bold and courageous in how we turn the tragic moments we experience in our country, like the school shooting at the Margory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, into triumph. I also hoped to discover members who felt empowered to be bold and courageous with me and recognize a vital opportunity for parks and recreation to be an unexpected vehicle for advancing social justice in our country.

I am so grateful for the opportunities of this past year to engage with young professionals in the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District and a range of park and recreation professionals in Wichita, Long Beach, Fort Worth and Maryland. Whether it was creating spaces for courageous conversations, providing training and technical assistance or working to develop a racial equity plan, my time in each place allowed me to discover so many people in our field who felt empowered to be bold and courageous with me.

We still have so much more work to do, but this past year has me very hopeful that park and recreation departments across this country can go beyond the expectations that suggest all we offer is a fun space for families to play.

Let’s keep building on this momentum to step up, show up and speak up!

LEON T. ANDREWS, JR. Chair of the Board of Directors 8

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2 2377 Belmont Ridge Rd. | Ashburn, VA 20148 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 Chair of the Board of Directors Leon T. Andrews, Jr.

Jack Kardys

National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Michael Kelly

Chair-Elect Jack Kardys J. Kardys Strategies Miami, Florida

Past Chair Stephen Eckelberry Bartlett Park District Carol Stream, Illinois

Treasurer Michael Kelly Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

Secretary Jesús Aguirre Tower Steel Services, Inc. Seattle, Washington

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

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael Abbaté, FASLA Formerly of Portland Parks & Recreation Portland, Oregon

Jesús Aguirre Tower Steel Services, Inc. Seattle, Washington

J. Kardys Strategies Miami, Florida Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

Karen Bates Kress Park Advocate Emigrant, Montana

Carolyn McKnight, CPRP Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge East Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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

Ian Proud Playworld Systems Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Molly Stevens Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Austin, Texas

Nonet T. Sykes Atlanta Beltline, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

Xavier D. Urrutia City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation San Antonio, Texas

Leon T. Andrews, Jr.

LIFE TRUSTEES

National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Beverly D. Chrisman Lexington, South Carolina

Neelay Bhatt

Anne S. Close

PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

Hayden Brooks American Realty Corporation Austin, Texas

Fort Mill, South Carolina

James H. Evans New York, New York

Rosemary Hall Evans

Kong Chang

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

City of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Saint Paul, Minnesota

Earl T. Groves

Kevin Coyle

Charles E. Hartsoe, Ph.D.

National Wildlife Federation Washington, D.C.

Stephen Eckelberry

Harry G. Haskell, Jr.

Richard Gulley

Mendham, New Jersey

City of San Diego Park and Recreation, Board Balboa Park Conservancy San Diego, California

Perry J. Segura

www.openspaceradio.org

Richmond, Virginia Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

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Gastonia, North Carolina

Bartlett Park District Carol Stream, Illinois

Roslyn Johnson

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Kathryn A. Porter

New Iberia, Louisiana

R. Dean Tice Round Hill, Virginia

Eugene A. Young, CPRP Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Designing a Better Future Last year, Northern Virginia, where I live, claimed the title for being the worst traffic “hot spot” in the country, according to INRIX, a transportation analytics data company. A new Metro station is coming to my community, and with it, a major push for high-density development around it to encourage Metro use and help take some of the traffic off the roads.

One of the biggest concerns voiced during a recent, very heated, community meeting was about the loss of green space and the fact that not much of it is being designated for the new developments.

Given the notoriously bad traffic we endure in the metro-D.C. area, I understand the desire to curb urban sprawl. I see it on my commute to work, and I’m saddened by the rapid loss of green space and vegetation.

The contributors to this issue of Parks & Recreation offer two approaches to creating welcoming, functional and fun green spaces and give me some solace about the push for high-density development. First, in the cover story on page 42, titled “Park-Walk”: A Vertical, Park-Growth Vision,” architect Joseph Cincotta shares his vision for a proposed vertical park space in Portland, Oregon.

With the high cost of available land in urban areas, building vertical parks — not just rooftop gardens — is a feasible solution to meet the need for green space in densely developed areas.

In designing these park spaces, it’s well known that community involvement is a critical ingredient for success. However, the typical park design often results in what architect Chad Atterbury, PLA, ASLA, calls, “bubble” parks, where areas are separated by activity and age groups. On page 48, in the feature titled “Breaking the Bubbles to Create Play-Centered Parks,” he gives some concrete examples of how to turn a static playground into a dynamic space that encourages exploration for all ages.

As you work to improve the health and sustainability of your communities, forming partnerships with a broad spectrum of community organizations will greatly advance your efforts to design a better future.

I hope you’re planning to join us in Indy this September. Beginning on page 52, check out some conference details and see which exhibitors will be there. Visit www.nrpa.org/conference/ to see the amazing lineup of sessions and activities that await you. Atterbury will be there and will do a deeper dive into how to create play-centered parks.

Conference is a great opportunity to hear directly from colleagues who’ve dealt with some of the same issues you face and to share your knowledge and insights with them. You’re being called on to do more and more with less resources, so why not use this time to draw from this rich pool of knowledge and avoid re-inventing the wheel.

SONIA MYRICK Executive Editor

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PRESIDENT AND CEO Barbara Tulipane, CAE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLISHING, AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR Sonia Myrick smyrick@nrpa.org EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR Suzanne Nathan snathan@nrpa.org PUBLICATION DESIGN Creative By Design 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 SALES COORDINATOR Meghan Fredriksen 703.858.2190 mfredriksen@nrpa.org PHOTOGRAPHY Dreamstime.com (unless otherwise noted) MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Keith Anderson Gerald Brown Ernest Burkeen Brendan Daley Anthony-Paul Diaz Ryan Eaker Robert García Kathleen Gibi Sandra Gonzales Tim Herd Brian Johnson Todd Lehman Sam Mendelsohn Maria Nardi Lisa Paradis Gil Peñalosa Vic Richard Dr. Kevin Riley Karla Rivera Paula Sliefert Anne-Marie Spencer Stephen Springs Randy Wiger

September 25–27 Indianapolis, IN

8,000 Attendees

100s of Top Speakers

400+ Exhibitors

CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BACKYARD America’s parks are like one big backyard, offering people in nearly every community a safe place to play, enjoy open space and spend time with family and friends. Without the work of so many professionals, volunteers and advocates, America’s Backyard would not exist. It’s time to celebrate all that we do to support America’s Backyard and make our communities great places to live.

COME TO INDIANAPOLIS. COME BE INSPIRED. N R PA .O R G/C O N F ER EN C E

RESEARCH Parks & Rec: The Vacation & Staycation Solution

By Kevin Roth, Ph.D.

A

mericans do not take enough time off from work. I write this not only because I know you are reading this column during August, the height of summer, but also with input from the many research studies that track vacation habits. According to a study by the U.S. Travel Association (https://projecttimeoff.com/re ports/state-of-american-vacation-2018/), American workers took an average of 17.2 days of leave in 2017. This was down from an average of 20.3 days per year seen during 1978–2000.

The lost vacation time deprives workers of a chance to recharge, which in turn detrimentally affects their physical and mental health.

More so, these workers are leaving money on the table at their workplace. More than half of workers in the U.S. Travel Association study (52 percent) report having ended 2017 with unused vacation, adding up to 705 million workdays. In 2017 alone, workers forfeited $62.2 billion in lost vacation benefits.

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Vacation Expenses A Bankrate survey, conducted this past May, revealed that half of Americans did not make vacation plans for this summer (www. bankrate.com/personal-finance/ s m a r t - m o n e y / s u r ve y - c a n t - a f ford-summer-vacation/). The same study found that the most widely cited reason for not making vacation plans this summer was not having enough money to take a trip. These expenses can be tre-

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mendous when you factor in the cost of things like airline tickets, hotel rooms and admissions fees to amusement parks.

The good news is that parks and recreation is part of the solution to get people to take more time off.

Your agency delivers a wealth of low-cost, no-cost amenities that all members of the community and visitors can enjoy, including everything from parks, trail and campsites, to beaches, gardens and museums. Whether it is to attract tourists or be the place for locals to enjoy a few days off, parks and recreation is the place where all people can blow off some steam and enjoy the company of family and friends.

For example, parks and recreation is an important part of many vacation agendas. The August 2017 NRPA Park Pulse (www.nrpa.org/ publications-research/park-pulse/ park-pulse-survey-vacation-desti nations/) poll highlights just how much parks and recreation offers to vacationers when they travel.

Results from the more than 1,000 adults surveyed show the following amenities and features are important when picking a vacation destination: • Beaches or waterfront access (61 percent) • Nature, scenic views or wildlife (46 percent) • Museums, aquariums, zoos and science centers (41 percent) • Trails for walking, running or biking (33 percent)

• Parks, botanical gardens, conservancies (32 percent) The impact of the local parks and recreation on tourism can be tremendous. After having enjoyed your agency’s many amenities, there’s a high probability that tourists will return home and tell their friends and family about the parks, trails and museums in your town.

The result is a virtuous cycle where the good impression your agency leaves on visitors drives more visitors to return, creating millions of dollars in economic activity in your community.

‘Staycationing’ As good as park and recreation amenities are to entice visitors to vacation in your region, these same attributes can do the same to help workers who are unable to leave town. Workers in the aforementioned Bankrate survey cite travel costs, family duties and an inability to take much time off from work as reasons for not traveling this summer. For them, a staycation may be in order.

A staycation is a vacation spent at home, involving activities near home or visiting local attractions.

The local park and recreation agency offers staycationers a robust set of offerings that do not cause much damage to their wallet.

The August 2018 Park Pulse poll asked 1,004 adults across the United States about their favorite summer staycation activities. The top three favorite staycation activities are likely offered by your agency: attending a neighborhood festival or event (48 percent), visiting a local park (47 percent) and going for a walk or run on a local trail (47 percent).

Other favorite staycation activities include: • Shopping at the local farmers market (41 percent) • Going to a public pool, aquatic center or splashpad (31 percent) • Camping locally (24 percent) • Kayaking, boating or surfing nearby (20 percent) • Visiting a local arboretum or gardens (18 percent).

Park and recreation agencies serve a diverse population, with differing needs and desires. So, it is no surprise that favorite staycation activities vary widely. For example, survey respondents who are parents of children under the age of 18 are more likely to include the local public pool and camping nearby in their staycation plans. By comparison, nonparents are more likely to include walking in a park or on a trail, shopping at a farmers market and visiting a local arboretum or garden in their plans. Similarly, millennials and Gen Xers are more

likely to go to the public pool and camp locally, while baby boomers are more likely to include attending a neighborhood festival, going for a walk or run on a local trail and shopping at the local farmers market in their staycation plans.

Whether it is for a vacation that involves traveling across the country or “staycationing” in town, the local park and recreation agency is a part of the solution to our nation’s crisis of not taking time off from work. Your agency provides low-cost, no-cost activities that increase physical activity, reconnect people with nature and that are a place where family and friends may enjoy each other’s company.

Moreover, when the weather cools this fall and your agency’s peak activity period has passed, do not forget to take some time off, yourself, as well.

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

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

NRPA Park Pulse Which of the following would be your top three summer staycation* activities?

Americans’ Top Summer Staycation Activities Include Parks and Trails

Attend a neighborhood festival or event

48%

Visit the local park

47%

Go for a walk or run on the local trail

47%

Other popular summer staycation activities include: Camping locally

Shopping at a local farmers market

24%

41%

Kayaking, boating or surfing nearby

Going to a public pool, waterpark or splashpad

20%

31%

Visiting a local arboretum or garden

Volunteering in the community

12%

Taking a class at a local rec or community center

10%

18%

www.nrpa.org/Park-Pulse *A staycation is a vacation spent at home involving activities near home or visiting local attractions.

The National Recreation and Park Association Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,004 adult Americans, ages 18+, between June 21st and June 25th, 2018, using an email invitation and an online survey.

Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18 and older.

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COMMUNITY CENTER Ready to Respond Versus React

By Lori A. Hoffner

I think Columbine was a real watershed moment for this whole country, and maybe even for a lot of parts of the world. — Parent of a Columbine victim When reflecting on the tragedy of April 20, 1999, while also seeing the frequent occurrence of present-day tragedies, one can’t help but wonder: Was there a turning point? Unfortunately, in the past 19 years, we’ve seen too many other tragic events like the shooting at Columbine High School.

Maybe the turning point came by way of different organizations, such as park and recreation agen-

cies and departments, viewing themselves as a major factor in the healing and recovery of a community following a tragic event.

One of the first philosophies that any organization should embrace is proactivity. What crisis response policies and practices do you currently have in place that allow you to respond versus react?

Trying to create a plan when your community needs all hands on

deck can feel like a constant game of tag. So, what can you do beforehand to minimize additional trauma and facilitate recovery?

To be a part of the healing and recovery process, it’s important to have a plan in place long before any traumatic event might occur.

Relationships with key decisionmakers and department leaders will enhance communication and action plans and help to guide how your organization can be an integral part of the recovery process.

As part of a municipality or city government, your agency might already be at the table with the other key decisionmakers. Be intentional regarding the conversations about the role your organization is willing to take during a traumatic event. These conversations must include purposeful actions, space, programming, etc.

If your agency is not part of a city government, consider the power of a relationship with the school district, hospitals or fire and police departments, and other nontraditional establishments. You may have invited these organizations to participate in different events and that can be a great way to start that relationship. Whether your organization is in an urban, rural or suburban community, there are various organizations, businesses

A spontaneous memorial in Columbine.

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and agencies that can be useful in the healing process, including faith communities, mental health agencies, local nonprofits, hospitals and volunteer organizations, like Volunteers of America.

During difficult times, leadership that is strong, fair and compassionate is critical. It’s a time when people are pulled in multiple directions based on interests, needs and emotions, and it can be difficult to not get swept up in the chaos. So, make decisions now that you can use to support your actions later.

Based on some experiences of the Columbine High School community, following are a few things to consider:

Media When the shootings at Columbine High School occurred, nearby Clement Park, a regional 300-acre park, became the location where media set up camp. By Wednesday, April 21, 60 media trucks and their various pieces of equipment began a more than three-week-long occupation of one of the southeast lots of the park. The size and number of trucks caused damage to the parking-lot curbing and asphalt. An assertive staff member from the parks and recreation district requested financial support from multiple media outlets to help with the necessary repairs, and approximately 80 percent of the parking-lot damage costs were recovered.

Having a policy in place regarding damage caused by on-site media trucks and traffic could help protect your budget. In addition, during the time of the media encampment, district staff provided utility hookups, sanitary facilities, snow removal, trash collection and crowd manage

Research from the American Psychological Association and

multiple law enforcement agencies shows clear differences in response for individuals who have ongoing crisis-response training: Trained 1. Startle, fear 2. Feel anxious 3. Recall what they have learned 4. Prepared to act as rehearsed 5. Commit to action

Untrained 1. Startle, fear 2. Panic 3. Fall into disbelief 4. Lost in denial 5. Descend into helplessness

ment assistance. As a public service-based organization, it makes sense that staff were engaged in this manner. Having a proactive and ongoing dialogue with your staff about what their roles might be amid a crisis response can create more positive results.

At the height of the media coverage, about 500 reporters were on scene. There were times when any person in the park, including many of the park staff, was fair game for an interview. Having a clear media and/or public relations policy will protect your staff from feeling like it needs to respond on behalf of the organization. Instead, make sure the staff knows who should address all crisis-related questions.

Doing so creates a safe barrier for your staff and reduces the potential of misinformation.

Department Responsibilities Following the shooting at Columbine High School, all county departments were part of the overall crisis response. However, the parks and recreation district, specifically its adult and youth sports and children’s programming, was impacted

the most. The attention that normally would have been focused on field preparation, spring and summer programming and ongoing before-and-after-school activities were put on hold or modified.

Many park staff members were pulled from their regular duties to work at Clement Park to deal with the spontaneous memorials that were created and the more than 250,000 visitors who came to the park. They were also dealing with weather issues from a record amount of snow and rain that fell.

Several of the surrounding elementary schools where much of the afterschool programming was to take place went on a modified schedule, forcing the recreation department to provide alternate locations and programming. Many staff members had children who attended Columbine High School and feeder schools. Understandably, their time and attention were no longer focused on their job, and they were absent from their positions for several days. Also, several of the part-time, teen staff were students at Columbine, and it took quite a while for them to return to work.

The reality is that every depart-

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COMMUNITY CENTER

Part of a crisis response plan may include the sorting, cataloging and storing of spontaneous memorial items.

ment within your organization will be impacted at some level by a traumatic event. Your crisis response should include a detailed plan for the various responsibilities of each department and a phone tree that includes key staff members who can accurately share information throughout your organization and implement any necessary action plans. What kind of a strategy can you put in place to help your organization return to normal to support recovery?

Memorials Author Jenny Diski once wrote that, “Spontaneous memorials have become a ‘basic human need.’” Following the shootings

Your crisis response should include a detailed plan for the various responsibilities of each department and a phone tree that includes key staff members.

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at Columbine High School, nearly half-a-million items were left in Clement Park as part of the spontaneous memorials. Out of respect for the victims and the community, the park and recreation agency did its best to protect them for more than three weeks.

Eventually, these items needed to be moved; the local fire departments took the flowers and plants, creating mulch and potpourri that could be sold to contribute to the victims’ fund. Other items that could be salvaged were cataloged and stored for approximately one year. This gave the families an opportunity to sort through them and keep anything they may want. The sorting, cataloging and storing was a very long, arduous process and could not have been done without the help of other local park and recreation departments and volunteers.

Do you have a policy that clearly addresses the where, what and for how long of spontaneous memorials? How will you enforce it? Having relationships throughout your community with multiple organizations can help with this process.

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Those organizations not only can inform the community about the policy, but can also assist when it’s time to take them down.

Permanent memorials present another challenge. There may be individuals who want to place a memorial in your park, on your trails or in a facility. Be prepared with a policy that will support the decision of the organization.

Also, be prepared to discuss how you will address First Amendment issues, as well as the separation of church and state. Emotions run high with the topic and expectations of memorials.

Personal Healing and Recovery Everyone was affected by the shootings at Columbine High School. Whatever the nature of the traumatic event, your staff needs to know it’s okay to reach out for help. The local mental health organization had members of its staff available for the park and recreation staff. There were team debriefings available for those who wanted to attend; others found help through the Em-

ployee Assistance Program, and employees were encouraged to find their own way to begin their personal healing and recovery.

The most important thing you can do for their recovery is to encourage and support them in seeking out helpful resources. One such helpful resource is the Disaster Distress Helpline — 800.985.5990 or text to talk 66746.

Parks and recreation supports the community’s well-being and healing through the programs and amenities offered. Your agency creates a “help-seeking” climate by reminding individuals about healthy eating, getting plenty of sleep and, especially, engaging in physical activities. Physical activity not only enhances well-being by

reducing trauma-based symptoms and improving coping strategies, but also helps individuals gain or regain a sense of achievement.

Tragic, traumatic events, whether natural or manmade, are a part of our world. However, we can choose to be an integral part of recovery through thoughtful and intentional policies and practices. John Hull, a retired Clement Park supervisor, shares: “When this happened, we had no time to prepare. I guess the lesson learned is to have a plan for everything and hang on to each other. I know the stuff that park and recreation people are made of, and we can get through anything.”

Special thanks to the Foothills Parks and Recreation District staff that faced the unknown and tremendous obstacles

Columbine High School Memorial in Clement Park.

dealing with the shooting event at Columbine High School. Your work has paved the way for a positive response in other communities.

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

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MEMBER TO MEMBER Rainbow Beach Aquatic Center A unique renovation allows Vincennes, Indiana, to continue to enjoy its 80-year-old pool

By Gary Novitski

T

he city of Vincennes, Indiana, has been blessed with an incredible 80-year-old aquatic facility, which locals call “Rainbow Beach.”

The idea for this aquatic center was born in 1937 as a federal works progress administration project, with the initial goal of providing jobs for unemployed workers during the Great Depression. It was also intended to address an alarming increase in the number of children drowning while swimming in the nearby Wabash River. from which water cascaded in front of a variety of colored lights. This distinctive lighting feature gave the water a “rainbow” effect and its subsequent name. It was one of the first public pools to incorporate

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RENOSYS

Initially designed by the local architectural firm Sutton & Routt, the aquatic facility was an innovative, one-of-a-kind pool with a sandy beach surrounding its waters and a tall tower in the middle

20 Parks & Recreation

both a water and light feature, not to mention a “beach entry” for patrons.

Rainbow Beach is the largest and oldest aquatic facility in Indiana. From 1937 until 1969, it was a summer destination for families throughout Indiana and neighboring Illinois. Postcards from the 1940s called it “Indiana’s most beautiful bathing beach.” Many of those who visited the facility in the 1940s remember the sand beaches, the ornate planter urns with water

The new main Rainbow Beach pool (shown here) has two large flume slides and eight swimming lanes. A splash pad and three other pools round out the center.

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Installation of the steel wall structures for one of the three main Rainbow pools.

fountains pouring into the pool, the colorful lights at night, the multiple diving boards and the diving tower in the center of the pool.

By the mid-1960s, the massive use of Rainbow Beach caused officials to have to decide whether to close the facility or make extensive repairs. In 1971, the decision was made to redesign the pool, removing the sand beaches and adding regulation swim lanes. After the initial redesign in the early 1970s, the pool was once again heavily used for another 40-plus years, when wear and tear once again forced a re-examination of the pool and its surrounding amenities.

Grassroots Movement Saves Rainbow Beach The fond memories Vincennes residents have of Rainbow Beach led to a grassroots, citywide effort, by the residents and businesses alike, to raise taxes and sell bonds to completely renovate the facility and restore it to be a showcase centerpiece for the city.

This municipally owned aquatic center is adjacent to Gregg Park, which is part of Vincennes Parks and Recreation. Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Steve Beaman was one of the residents whose childhood memories fueled his passion for the renovation. “I remember riding my bike with my buddies to the pool when I was in middle school,” he recalls.

“It was the place to go.” Beaman spent weeks sharing his vision for

a new Rainbow Beach, and the more he spoke to people about it, the more he heard similar stories that proved to him Rainbow Beach had a strong generational tie to the community. It was a part of the local history that residents wanted to keep for future generations.

The New Design The Rainbow Beach renovation and new construction was budgeted at $3.4 million. Through an overall bond, $3.8 million was raised for the complete renovation, which would include four different bodies of water — three pools and a splashpad, a climbing wall and a lily pad walk (paid for by additional donations provided by citizens and local businesses after the job went to bid), a bathhouse and a new con-

cession area that opens to both the Gregg Park and to the pool area.

Once the money was raised and the project put out to bid, the contract was awarded to RenoSys Corporation, in Indianapolis.

The Transformation The new facility was scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend to usher in the first day of summer.

However, as with any major construction project, there were several challenges that delayed the opening until July: Demolition and weather challenges: The demolition of the pool took almost three months — from early September through late November — primarily due to the discovery of an unusually thick section of concrete under the original pool. This

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was in addition to the removal and off-site disposal of 51,940 square feet of existing concrete pool deck, all of the pool walls and the existing pool plumbing, and the existing 4,360 square feet of the original building and its internal components.

In mid-December, the steel wall structures for the three main pools were installed, but an unusually cold winter and extremely wet spring was not conducive to pouring concrete.

Mechanical/pump room chal-

lenges: Rainbow Beach, with four separate bodies of water in one area, was particularly challenging. The design could become disorderly without considerable advanced planning and flow. Arranging an organized mechanical/ pump room allows for more efficient operation of the pools and for easier equipment service and maintenance. None of the four pools share equipment because each body of water has a different turnover rate per state and local codes. For example, the diving pool, which has a much lighter bather load than does the wading pool, does not need to have its water turned over as often.

Rainbow Beach was updated with environmentally friendly operation systems and is such a “showcase” aquatic facility for the region, that every detail was taken into consideration, including the pool gutter system. “Often in the process, the sizing for the perimeter gutters are an afterthought, but this can lead to troubles down the line,” says Jason Mart, CEO of RenoSys. He explained that in this case, the gutters, which were made of U.S. stainless steel, were all custom fit according to the flow characteristics of each body of water. These stainless-steel gutters combined with the plumbing, form a builtin trough with pressurized filtered water inlet supply returns. In fact, the maintenance and repair costs of stainless-steel gutters are less because they eliminate buried pipes that can break because of freeze/

An extremely cold winter followed by an unusually wet spring made the construction process very challenging.

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A custom-designed and manufactured blue whale kiddie slide (at right) is one of several unique Rainbow Pool features.

thaw damage or ground movement — providing long-term preventative savings.

Open for Summer Fun Since Rainbow Beach reopened, the residents of Vincennes and the surrounding communities have enjoyed the facility and it’s again packed with bathers daily. These pools would never have been a reality without the determination of the Vincennes community and the forethought of a few individuals.

In fact, this pool was recognized by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns with a ‘Community Achievement Award’ because of the collaborative efforts of city officials, the business community and determined residents who literally

walked the streets promoting the project. Rainbow Beach is now back to its previous glory and is, once again, a show-piece aquatic facility and park for the state of Indiana.

According to Beaman, families come from over an hour away to use the aquatic facility. The city of Vincennes and its parks department are proud they have had a city pool available to its citizens for more

than 80 years. “The Rainbow Beach Family Aquatic Center is like having a waterpark in our own backyard.” says Beaman. “The commitment of this community to make our dream a reality speaks volumes of our love for our city and always trying to make it better.”

Gary L. Novitski is Vice President of the Commercial Division of Stainless Steel Pools and Spas for RenoSys Corporation (garyn@renosys.com).

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August Congressional Recess The opportune time for advocating for parks and recreation

By Megan Phillippi

A

cross the country, summer programming at park and recreation agencies is in full swing and Park Champion events are coming in hot! Several Park Champions have hosted members of Congress and their staff this summer to allow them to see first-hand how park and recreation agencies are making their communities happier, healthier, more economically vibrant places to live and play.

On June 15, East Orange Recreation and Cultural Affairs in New Jersey kicked off its summer meal program and second annual Park Champion event in Rowley

In the current political climate on Capitol Hill, creativity in showcasing how policies impact the work back home will be critical to ensure the future of parks and recreation.

24 Parks & Recreation

Park with a bang and a bouncy house. Local celebrity DJ Lil’ Man served as the master of ceremonies for the event, which also featured slides, games, dance contests, face painting and, of course, free healthy meals and snacks for kids through the USDA Summer Food Service Program. Ravi Boze-Adams, program director for Afterschool Meals & Summer Food and a dedicated Park Champion, used the Park Champion Advocacy Toolkit to invite

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East Orange’s members of Congress and their staff out to the event. Jeremy Julius from Senator Robert Menendez’s office was in attendance and saw first-hand the importance of the USDA summer meal reimbursement program to the children of East Orange, as well as the agency’s work to create a healthier community through the Commit to Health initiative. He even stated that he wants to make his attendance an annual tradition!

On June 23, Baltimore Recreation and Parks and Baltimore Parks & People Foundation hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of Ambrose Kennedy Park in the Johnson Square community.

Lisa Schroeder, president and chief executive officer for Baltimore’s Parks and People Foundation, greets Senator Ben Cardin at the opening of Ambrose Kennedy Park.

Ambrose Kennedy Park, funded in part by NRPA’s Great Urban Parks Campaign, boasts a splashpad and a variety of beautiful stormwater management features, some of the first stormwater management projects of their kind to be completed in the state.

Senator Ben Cardin offered opening remarks for the ceremony, thus turning the ribbon-cutting ceremony into a Park Champion event. “I am particularly impressed by your sensitivity to the environment,” Senator Cardin notes. “Stormwater is one of our major problems in protecting the Chesapeake Bay. You’re doing something about it right here in Johnson Square! You’re showing leadership!”

DC Department of Parks and Recreation, the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County, and the Caroline County Recreation and Parks Department kicked off Park and Recreation Month by co-hosting the second annual Summer Camp on Capitol Hill (read more about this event on page 64). Several representatives from congressional offices and Brandon Lipps, USDA’s acting deputy undersecretary of the Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, were in attendance to see how federal funding, such as the 21st Century Community Learning Program and the Summer Food Service Program, is critical to fostering healthier youth through out-of-school-time programs offered at park and recreation facilities nationwide.

Summer Camp on Capitol Hill featured a variety of activities

that children typically participate in during summer camp and outof-school time, including soccer, tennis, arts and crafts, Commit to Health nutrition education activities and the Wildlife Explorers Nature Discovery Program.

Hosting Your Members of Congress With the congressional August recess now here, Park Champions are making plans to host their members of Congress and their staff members. From groundbreakings and ribbon-cuttings

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Staff from New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez’s office participate in the summer meal program kickoff in East Orange’s Rowley Park.

Jayni Rasmussen, NRPA’s advocacy and outreach manager, takes a selfie with the campers at Rowley Park in East Orange, New Jersey.

26 Parks & Recreation

to tours of new parks, trails and community centers, Park Champions are highlighting their best assets, while building better relationships with their members of Congress.

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This congressional summer recess presents a perfect opportunity for you to host your own Park Champion event. On August 3, members of Congress will head to back to their home districts and states for an entire month and are available to connect with their constituents.

In the current political climate on Capitol Hill, creativity in showcasing how policies impact the work back home will be critical to ensure the future of parks and recreation.

Park and recreation professionals are uniquely positioned to take an innovative approach to advocacy.

Instead of relying on standard advocacy techniques, you have resources to draw on, such as beautiful parks, quality programming and a deep connection with your community.

Sure, anyone can interact with their congressional offices with the occasional email or phone call. But, by inviting your members of Congress or their staff to see, first-hand, the essential services you provide, you can leave a lasting impression that will allow you to build a strong relationship with your federal-elected officials and their staff year-round.

The powerful storytelling, showand-tell method is exactly what’s behind the Park Champion campaign, NRPA’s signature grassroots advocacy initiative. It engages park and recreation professionals, park advocates and decisionmakers across the nation in a unique advocacy campaign.

Through webinars with expert guest speakers, comprehensive tools and staff on-hand, the Park Champion initiative is making it easy to bring Capitol Hill to a park near you.

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Local dignitaries, including Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin (far right), and Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (fifth from right), at Ambrose Kennedy Park opening ceremony.

Becoming a Park Champion There are several benefits to becoming a Park Champion, including the opportunity to develop relationships with your members of Congress and to showcase your parks, facilities and programs, gaining valuable event planning and advocacy skills, strengthening volunteer support by mobilizing them in advocacy and building a better understanding of how federal funding affects local parks and recreation.

A key benefit NRPA offers our Park Champions is a step-by-step Park Champion Advocacy Toolkit (www.nrpa.org/park-championadvocacy-toolkit), which contains draft invitations, contact information for all members of Congress’ office schedulers and helpful tips on how to plan a successful site visit.

This summer, you can make a huge difference in the fight for the future of parks and recreation! Invite your members of Congress out for a visit and show them what the work you do every day means to your community. If you have an exciting summer program, ribbon-cutting, park dedication, summer meals program or infrastructure project, don’t forget to invite your members of Congress! Visit www.nrpa.org/park-champions to get started! Reach out to Jayni Rasmussen (jrasmussen@nrpa.org), advocacy and outreach manager, for help with invitations and event coordination.

Note: All Park Champion events shared before Friday, August 31, 2018, are eligible for the 2018 Park Champion of the Year Award! Visit www.nrpa.org/park-champion-advocacy-toolkit and let us know about your event.

Megan Phillippi is NRPA’s Public Policy Intern (mphillippi@nrpa.org).

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LAW REVIEW

Common Lake Organism Fatal to Park Visitor

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

N

egligence liability is generally based on an unreasonably dangerous condition that causes injury. Foreseeability is a key consideration in determining liability for negligence. Foreseeability is a probability, not a mere possibility. Based on one’s own actual knowledge or the common understanding of those similarly situated, how have individuals been injured in the past?

In light of the injury-causing propensity and frequency of a given situation in the past, what preventative measures would reasonable persons be expected to take to mitigate the foreseeable risk of future injuries? On the other hand, if an injury is truly unforeseeable, reasonable persons would not be expected to take any precautions or preventative measures to avoid negligence liability.

Amoebic Brain Infection In the case of Daviess-Martin County Joint Parks & Recreation Department v.

28 Parks & Recreation

Estate of Abel, 77 N.E.3d 1280 (Ind. App. 6/19/2017), Waylon Abel died after being infected by a common water-borne organism while swimming in a park lake. Abel’s estate (the Estate) claimed the parks department, along with the parks board, county and health department, were negligent in failing to reasonably address the threat posed to park visitors by harmful organisms in the park swimming lake.

On July 15, 2012, Abel was a visitor to West Boggs Park, a 1,500-acre recreation area that includes a 622acre lake. The park is jointly owned

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by Daviess County and Martin County in Indiana. The park property is governed by and through the parks board. According to the Estate, Abel died after being exposed to an amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, while swimming in the lake. This amoeba can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain infection that leads to the destruction of brain tissue. The fatality rate is more than 97 percent.

There is only one known way for the amoeba to infect a human.

Water containing the amoeba must forcefully enter the nasal passage and reach the olfactory nerve, which is located at the very top of the nasal canal, just beneath the brain. The risk of a Naegleria fowleri infection is extremely rare. Between 1962 and 2013, only 132 people in the United States were diagnosed with PAM,

despite millions of recreational water exposures each year.

In June 2014, the Estate filed a complaint against the parks board, Martin County, Indiana, the Martin County Health Department and the state of Indiana. The Estate alleged that the defendants were negligent for failing to protect the public from injury. Specifically, the Estate alleged defendants were negligent in the following: (1) failing to test the water of West Boggs Lake to determine the existence of harmful organisms in the water, including but not limited to Naegleria fowleri; (2) failing to properly maintain West Boggs Lake in a manner permitting safe swimming; (3) failing to warn the

public of a dangerous condition at West Boggs Lake; (4) failing to warn the public of the existence of Naegleria fowleri in the water.

Centers for Disease Control In response, the defendants filed motions for summary judgment, claiming they owed no duty to protect Abel under these circumstances. In so doing, the trial court was presented with documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicating there was “no routine or rapid test for the presence of Naegleria fowleri.” Further, the CDC had noted no method currently exists that accurately and reproducibly measures the numbers of amebae in the water.

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In general, CDC does not recommend testing untreated rivers and lakes for Naegleria fowleri because the amebae is naturally occurring and there is no established relationship between detection or concentration of Naegleria fowleri and risk of infection. There are no means yet known that would control natural Naegleria fowleri levels in lakes and rivers.

In light of this CDC information, the defendants claimed it was “unclear how a standard might be set to protect human health and how public health officials would measure and enforce such a standard.”

As noted in the CDC information, “recreational water users should assume that there is a

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low-level risk when entering all warm freshwater, particularly in southern-tier states.” Further, based on the following, the CDC documentation acknowledged that posting warning signs “based on finding Naegleria fowleri in the water is unlikely to be an effective way to prevent infections”: Naegleria fowleri occurrence is common, infections are rare.

The relationship between finding Naegleria fowleri in the water and the occurrence of infections is unclear.

The location and number of amebae in the water can vary over time within the same lake or river.

There are no rapid, standardized testing methods to detect and quantitate Naegleria fowleri in water.

Posting signs might create a misconception that bodies of water without signs or non-posted areas within a posted water body are Naegleria fowleri-free.

The Estate, however, claimed that the CDC had recommended warning the public: “whenever they enter a warm freshwater body, they should assume an amoeba is present.” As a result, based on this CDC recommendation, the Estate argued full-trial proceedings were necessary to determine whether reasonable care under the circumstances in this particular situation required a “warning about the presence and risks of Naegleria fowleri.”

Further, the Estate maintained the trial court should have allowed additional pretrial discovery proceedings to “determine the defendants’ actual knowledge about Naegleria fowleri and that they should have known Naegleria fowleri was present in the lake.” The trial court agreed and denied the defendants’ mo30 Parks & Recreation

tions for summary judgment, but granted the defendants’ request for an immediate appeal.

On appeal, the issue was whether the trial court had erred in denying the defendants’ motions for summary judgment because no duty was owed to protect Abel under the circumstances of this case. As noted by the appeals court, summary judgment should be granted only if the undisputed evidence clearly shows “there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party deserves judgment as a matter of law.” In other words, further trial proceedings were unnecessary because the pretrial evidence in this particular case conclusively established that defendants owed no legal duty to protect Abel against amoebas in the lake.

Unreasonable Risk of Harm?

As cited by the appeals court, to prevail on a negligence claim, “a plaintiff must prove that the defendant or defendants: (1) owed him a duty, (2) breached that duty and (3) proximately caused his injury.”

Moreover, in determining whether a duty exists, the court would consider “the relationship between the parties” and “the reasonable foreseeability of harm.” Further, in determining whether an act is foreseeable, the court would “assess whether there is some probability or likelihood of harm that is serious enough to induce a reasonable person to take precautions to avoid it.”

In general, the appeals court acknowledged: “Governmental units have a long-recognized duty to maintain a public recreational facility in a reasonably safe manner.” Reasonably safe, however, would not mean

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risk free. By virtue of their gaining access to public recreational facilities, park visitors (“invitees”) would necessarily assume the unavoidable and inherent risks associated with potential exposure to indigenous flora and fauna on the premises while engaging in outdoor activities.

In this instance, the appeals court acknowledged: “Daviess County is a landowner of West Boggs Park, and the Parks Board is the operator of the Park.” In determining “whether the County, Parks Board, or the Health Department owed a duty to Abel,” the appeals court indicated it would “engage in the standard analysis regarding a landowner’s duty to an invitee for a condition of the land.” In so doing, the appeals court would apply the Restatement (Second) of Torts section 343, which provides: A possessor of land is subject to liability for physical harm caused to his invitees by a condition on the land if, but only if, he (a) knows or by the exercise of reasonable care would discover the condition, and should realize that it involves an unreasonable risk of harm to such invitees, and (b) should expect that they will not discover or realize the danger, or will fail to protect themselves against it, and (c) fails to exercise reasonable care to protect them against the danger.

Accordingly, in applying Restatement Section 343, the appeals court would “first focus on whether the County and Parks Board knew or by the exercise of reasonable care would have discovered the condition and should have realized that it involved an unreasonable risk of harm to invitees.”

As noted by the appeals court, the Estate had admitted that there are currently no known methods of eradicating or controlling amoebae in lakes. Regardless, the Estate argued “the County and the Parks Board knew or should have known by the exercise of reasonable care that Naegleria fowleri was present in the lake.” Further, the Estate argued the county and the parks board “should have followed the CDC recommendation that recreational users of warm water bodies of water across the U.S. should be warned about the de facto presence of the Amoeba in the water, its risks and precautions necessary to protect themselves against infection.”

In response, the county claimed, “the potential presence of Naegleria fowleri was never brought to the attention of the County’s Board of Commissioners” or “otherwise contemplated during Board meetings prior to Abel’s death”: Prior to August 7, 2012, the Parks Board Superintendent had never heard of Naegleria fowleri. The County did not conduct any water testing at the lake; rather, the Parks Board, which operated the Park for the County, did so.

The Parks Board oversees the lake operations, including compliance with the applicable health and environmental regulations governed

by Federal, State, and local officials. It routinely tests the water as required by the Indiana State Department of Health, but those requirements do not include testing for Naegleria fowleri.

routine or rapid test for the presence of Naegleria fowleri.” Moreover, the defendants claimed, “no method currently exists that accurately and reproducibly measures

the numbers of amebae in the water.” Based on this evidence from the CDC, the defendants maintained “it was unclear how a standard might be set to protect human

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No Public Health Standard According to the defendants, information from the CDC conclusively established that there is “no

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health and how public health officials would measure and enforce such a standard.”

Under these circumstances, the appeals court found no evidence that “the County or the Parks Board knew or by the exercise of reasonable care would have discovered the existence of the Naegleria fowleri or realized that it involved an unreasonable risk of harm to invitees.” On the contrary, the appeals court found pretrial evidence indicated “a PAM infection, especially in Indiana, is very rare.” In fact, the appeals court noted, “Abel was the first known PAM infection in Indiana’s history.”

Accordingly, in the opinion of the appeals court, the County and Parks Board did not owe Abel a duty to test the lake water because there was “no rapid, standardized testing method to detect and quantitate Naegleria fowleri.”

Moreover, even if the County or the Parks Board had tested for Naegleria fowleri, there was “no quantifiable relationship between finding Naegleria fowleri in the water and predicting the occurrence of the PAM infection.”

In general, CDC does not recommend testing untreated rivers

Virtual visit to West Boggs Lake on YouTube: Boggs Lake https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=QvPpUxC0NOw

32 Parks & Recreation

and lakes for Naegleria fowleri because the amoeba is naturally occurring and there is no established relationship between detection or concentration of Naegleria fowleri and risk of infection.

According to the CDC, recreational water users should assume that there is a low-level risk when entering all warm freshwater, particularly in southern-tier states. There are no means yet known that would control natural Naegleria fowleri levels in lakes and rivers.

Reasonably Foreseeable?

In reaching this determination, the appeals court also considered “whether it was reasonably foreseeable for a lake owner/operator to expect a swimmer to contract a PAM infection.” Moreover, in determining whether Abel was owed a legal duty of care, the appeals court would consider the “broad type of plaintiff ” and the “broad type of harm” to determine if “reasonable persons would recognize it and agree that it exists.” In so doing, the appeals court would determine whether “there had been no known Indiana PAM infections” prior to Abel’s death. In

First responders rescue man from West Boggs Lake https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=24smQLWGcJk

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the opinion of the appeals court, “it was not reasonably foreseeable that Abel would contract a PAM infection”: Out of millions of recreational swimming water exposures each year, only 132 people were diagnosed with the infection between 1962 and 2013. Even if a swimmer is exposed to Naegleria fowleri, the likelihood of contracting the PAM infection is rare.

The majority of those infections were found in southern states.

As a result, the appeals court held “the County and the Parks Board did not owe a duty to Abel” and the trial court had erred when it denied the County’s and the Parks Board’s motions for summary judgment.

Public Health Concerns The appeals court also reviewed the Estate’s complaint against the defendant health department.

Under state law, a local health department had the authority and responsibility to control communicable diseases. That being the case, an environmental health specialist for the county had indicated the health department’s primary purposes were “to ensure the safe preparation of food for

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county residents and the sanitary installation and operation of septic systems.” As a result, any water testing at the lake was conducted by the parks board, not the health department. Moreover, the environmental health specialist had noted that “at no time during his education, training, certification, or continuing education had he heard Naegleria fowleri mentioned, discussed, cautioned against or otherwise stated.”

In determining whether the health department owed Abel a legal duty of care, the appeals court would once again consider: (1) the relationship between the parties, (2) the reasonable foreseeability of harm and (3) public policy concerns.

As was the case with the county and parks board, the appeals court found no “reasonable foreseeability of harm,” which would impose a legal duty of care owed to Abel under the circumstances of this particular case. Further, in the opinion of the appeals court, Abel’s death did not give rise to any public policy concerns, which would justify the imposition of a legal burden and duty of care to require warnings and/or conduct testing for the presence of Naegleria fowleri in the lake.

As for public policy, given that the PAM infection is extremely rare, the infection is due to an amoeba that is comparable to a wild animal, there is no rapid, standardized testing method for the

presence of Naegleria fowleri, and there is no known treatment available for lake water. We do not believe that a blanket imposition of ‘duty’ under these circumstances promotes public policy.

While recognizing “the circumstances here were tragic,” the appeals court, nonetheless, held “the County, Parks Board, and Health Department did not have a duty to Abel.” The appeals court, therefore, ordered the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of the defendants: the county, parks board and health department.

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

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CONSERVATION

American Dog tick

How to Prevent Ticks and Still Enjoy the Outdoors

By Richard Dolesh

I

f there was ever a pest that’s more hated than mosquitoes, it is probably ticks. Like mosquitoes, ticks feed on the blood of a host, but unlike mosquitoes, ticks bite deeply and stay attached for days before they drop off. If that’s not enough reason to dislike them, a recent CDC study shows that vector-borne insect diseases, including those from ticks, increased by more than 300 percent from 2004 to 2016, and a citizen-science research project that was coordinated by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation and recently published in the journal PLOS, reported that several tick species that are capable of transmitting Lyme disease and other illnesses were found in 83 U.S. counties where they had not previously been found.

Just thinking about ticks is enough to make anyone considering taking a hike in the woods to say, ‘Give me the controller — Let’s see what’s on TV instead.’

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Just thinking about ticks is enough to make anyone considering taking a hike in the woods to say, ‘Give me the controller — Let’s see what’s on TV instead.’

What Are Ticks?

Ticks are eight-legged arachnids in the class with spiders, not insects. In the United States, there

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are about 80 species of hard-shell and 10 soft-shell ticks. Most people are likely to encounter the more common species, namely the American Dog tick; the Lone Star tick, sometimes called seed ticks; the Blacklegged tick, frequently called Deer ticks; and the Brown Dog tick. Depending on the species and their stage of development, ticks may be active during all warm seasons.

Ticks feed on the blood of a vertebrate host — deer, dogs, mice or even birds and reptiles. After hatching from an egg, the tick larva, which may be no bigger than a grain of sand, finds a host to feed on. After feeding, they drop off, molt to nymphs, and feed again.

Nymphs then molt to adults that

seek the blood of a new host. Because they feed on different hosts at each stage, they may pick up disease-causing pathogens that they then transmit to the next host they feed on. After the adult female feeds, she drops off and lays up to 5,000 eggs, and the cycle begins again. Some ticks may take up to three years to complete this cycle, others do so in a matter of months.

What Are the Dangers?

According to the Tick Encounter Resource Center of Rhode Island University, Blacklegged ticks (Deer ticks) are most likely to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Recent studies have shown that up to 50 percent of Dear ticks carry the Lyme disease-causing bacteria. Lyme disease symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and joint pain, but in only about 40 percent of cases is there the characteristic “bullseye” rash at the site of the bite. The Blacklegged tick, which is present throughout the East, has expanded more recently into the upper Midwest and far West.

Scientists and ecologists speculate that there are several reasons tickborne vector diseases are increasing and disease-carrying ticks are expanding their range. Two probable causes are higher annual temperatures because of climate change and changing patterns of animal migration. Ticks are expanding into areas where they were never present before due to the explosive spread of white-tail deer and expanding human travel patterns.

In recent years, the dangers from ticks have grown dramatically because they are more likely to carry organisms that can infect humans

with any number of nasty diseases in addition to Lyme disease, such as Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI), which can produce a life-long allergic reaction to red meat (you’ll never eat a burger or steak again if you get it), Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Powassan, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Tularemia and other really awful diseases and conditions you don’t want to get, ever.

What You Can Do to Prevent Tick Bites Park and recreation agencies can play a vital role in educating park visitors and equipping their staff with knowledge about the hazards of tick-borne diseases and how to avoid them. Matt Graul, chief of stewardship for the East Bay Regional Park District in the San Francisco Bay area, says they take tick education and prevention very seriously. With the spread of Lyme disease to the Northwest, public park agencies have begun to institute awareness measures for the public. Graul says, “We developed a tick bite protocol for staff, and we conduct training and education for the full-time and seasonal EPRD staff.” In addition, they also distribute tick removal kits to staff who request them. He notes they post signs for the public in park areas that are known for possible tick exposure.

Chris Matthews, division director of nature preserves and natural resources of Mecklenburg County parks and recreation in North Carolina, notes that, “We do instruct camp counselors and leaders to avoid areas that are known for high probability of tick exposure.” The agency also provides annual safety

How to remove a tick:

1

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.

2

Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.

3

After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

4

Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.

5

Avoid folklore remedies, such as “painting” the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin.

Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible — not waiting for it to detach.

6

If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred and where you most likely acquired the tick.

For more information, visit www.cdc. gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html.

Source: Center for Diease Control (CDC).

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CONSERVATION

such as Permethrin, and biological controls, such as nematodes, that may be considered in concert with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program in high public-use areas.

You can personally avoid exposure to ticks by taking some simple precautions.

In areas of high-tick infestation, park and rec agencies should keep trails well-trimmed overhead and back from the edges of paths.

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training, which covers insect hazards, and issues long-sleeved clothing and insect repellent for employees who wish to use them.

In areas of high-tick infestation, park and rec agencies should keep trails well-trimmed overhead and back from the edges of paths. There are some pesticides,

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Repellents While DEET is the active chemical in most spray or spread-on-skin repellents for mosquitoes and ticks, some people don’t like to use it because of its objectionable properties of staining fabrics and irritating skin and the potential health effects of high concentrations (more than 20 percent concentration) and use on children. There are other, safer alternatives, such as oil of lemon eucalyptus in REPEL, for example, which a Consumer Reports study recently ranked as being just as effective as DEET. Spray-on insect repellents may not work as effectively for ticks, since depending on where ticks get onto your body, they can potentially avoid the repellent you apply. There is one tick repellent, Permethrin, that offers outstanding protection when sprayed on clothes and shoes and it is easy to use. Permethrin, which must be ONLY sprayed on clothes, NOT on skin, repels ticks effectively and will last through four to six clothes washings. There are also companies that will pre-treat your own clothing with Permethrin if you mail it to them, and treatments are good for up to 70 washings. Note: There are different formulations for Permethrin, including for garden use and for agricultural use. Use only the formulation for personal protection.

Clothing Ticks tend to crawl up and that is why you should take extra precautions with your shoes and socks if you are going to be walking off the trail or in leaf litter.

A University of Rhode Island study found that individuals who wore shoes and socks treated with Permethrin were 74 times less likely to have a tick bite than those not wearing treated shoes and socks.

One common precautionary measure often suggested is to tuck your pants in your socks, but this has the unfortunate unintended effect of making you feel like a dork. Still, if you are wearing socks, tuck pants into them. The protection factor is worth it.

Be aware of where you might be likely to get a tick on you. Ticks don’t lie in wait and then jump on you like some super flea. They do ‘quest’ as they wait for hosts and they are more likely to get on you as you walk through tall grass or leaf litter or as your head and shoulders brush against hanging branches.

Wear a hat if you are walking in a forest and plan your route as you walk. Stay out of tall grass if you can find a route around it.

Check yourself externally as soon as you finish walking through these environments. This applies to dogs as well. Be alert to where they run and check them carefully when you return home or after they have been outdoors. Don’t depend solely on chemical repellents for your dog or yourself.

If a tick becomes attached, remove it with sharp tweezers. See CDC’s

webpages for how to properly remove an attached tick at www.cdc. gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html.

An excellent guide to tick encounters and preventative measures you can take is the TickEncounter

Resource Center of the University of Rhode Island: www.tickencoun ter.org/. A second, more in-depth review of tick prevention strategies and repellents can be found at www.ct.gov/caes/lib/ caes/documents/pub lications/fact_sheets/ entomology/repel lent_fact_sheet_new_ format_2015.pdf.

Don’t be afraid to work or recreate outdoors. Yes, ticks are out there, but you can avoid them by taking precautions and being alert and aware.

Richard Dolesh is NRPA’s VP of Strategic Initiatives (rdolesh@nrpa.org).

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PHOTO COURTESY LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION.

H E A LT H A N D W E L L N E S S

Youth participated in a hike to the top of the Puente Hills Landfill in Los Angeles to help them envision a future regional park there.

Engaging Children in the Park Planning Process

By Clement Lau, AICP, DPPD

I

n planning and designing new facilities, park and recreation agencies typically seek public input through a meeting or a series of meetings.

Having hosted and participated in many such meetings as a park planner, I believe they may not be the most effective way to obtain input that reflects all segments of communities and their diverse viewpoints. Children (under 18 years of age), for example, are often underrepresented or not represented at all. This is certainly alarming but not entirely surprising, considering that the formal or rigid nature of most public meetings can intimidate and discourage kids of all ages from openly sharing their ideas and thoughts.

Given that children are key park users and parks contribute significantly to their development and quality of life, we must be intentional and creative in how we engage them in the planning and design of parks. An important lesson I have learned over the years is that children have much to say about parks and have valuable insights to contribute. The challenge then is for us to engage them in ways that encourage and empower them

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to share their ideas and to actively participate in existing and future planning and design processes.

Voting for Park Features and Activities Many kids today are tech savvy and most have their own smartphones. One way to effectively engage them is to have an activity during a community meeting that allows them to vote for their favorite park features (like a basketball

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court) and recreational activities (like skateboarding). This may be done using special mobile devices or smartphones, with participants being shown images of various park features and activities, and then being able to select the ones that appeal to them the most.

This approach was part of the process used to develop the Puente Hills Landfill Park Master Plan (www.nrpa. org/parks-recreation-magazine -puente-hills-landfill), which involves the conversion of the nation’s second-largest landfill into a regional park. Voting using sticker dots was also done on a large scale for the Los Angeles Countywide Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment (http://lacountyparkneeds.org/) as children and adults voted for their top 10 park projects in communi-

A student illustratation of an ideal park.

Some ideas were incorporated into the Florence-Firestone Community Parks and Recreation Plan.

ties across the county. Although this method might be more old school, it was still a good way to determine a community’s park priorities.

Drawing and Building Dream Parks The traditional public meeting tends to be dominated by a few loud voices, eager to share their opinions with everyone. To truly engage kids, meetings need to be more fun and interactive. Providing art supplies and allowing younger children to draw their favorite dream or ideal park is one way to do this. This type of activity not only encourages them to be creative and share their ideas visually, but it also helps parents to more freely participate in the meeting without having to worry about their children. For the Master Plan for Sustainable Parks and Recreation (https://tinyurl .com/y82lnad6) planning process, time was set aside toward the end of meetings for children to present their drawings. This helped to create an overall hopeful and positive feeling for all participants. Yet another way to engage kids is to provide them with toy blocks and other random materials they can use to build model parks. For example, planner and artist James Rojas’ (www.placeit .org/bio_james_rojas.html) interactive planning approach through the use of model building has proven successful in engaging the public, especially kids, and encouraging innovative city-making. Having had first-hand experience in a Rojas-led exercise, I know this approach empowers participants by allowing them to shape and share visions in a supportive environment without the fear of providing a wrong answer.

Touring Parks Sociologist Frederik Polak once said, “The future may well be decided by the images of the future with the greatest power to capture our imaginations and draw us to them, becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.” To enable children to see what is possible, they need to be exposed to a wide variety of park and recreation destinations. This is especially true for kids growing up in underserved communities with very few parks and lacking the means to travel to places outside of their immediate neighborhoods.

As part of our various planning efforts, we organized tours for children to visit and experience parks in other areas. For example, during the Belvedere Skate Park’s design process (https://tinyurl.com /yag46pk2), our department took young East Los Angeles skateboarders on a tour of various skateparks to see which design features they would like at their own skatepark. Also, for the Puente Hills Landfill Park Master Plan, many youths participated in an organized hike to the top of the landfill (https://vimeo.com /188573554) so they could experience what it would be like to have a regional park there in the future.

Visiting Schools In addition to hosting meetings with activities that engage children and offering tours of parks, it is also important to visit children where they are and where they spend most of their time — at their schools. This requires coordination with and the cooperation of local school districts and/or principals, but it is well worth the effort. As part of the Florence-Firestone Community Parks and Recreation Plan (https:// tinyurl.com/y6twr6wf), a middle school allowed us time to conduct a survey of its students to better understand their needs and preferences with respect to park and recreation programs. We also asked the students to illustrate their ideal park and came away with some wonderful pieces of art that were incorporated into the plan.

To meet the growing and diverse needs of communities, park and recreation agencies must effectively reach out to and collaborate with existing and future park users in the planning and design of recreational facilities.

We must plan and design parks with, rather than for, children.

Clement Lau, AICP, DPPD, is a Departmental Facilities Planner with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, and a member of NRPA’s Health and Wellness Advisory Panel (clau@parks.lacounty.gov).

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY PROJECT

SOCIAL EQUITY

Community leaders celebrate the passage of Prop 68 with Senator de León (in lavender shirt).

California’s Prop 68 A primer for infusing diversity and equity into public policy

By Robert García

C

alifornia voters taxed themselves more than $4.1 billion to improve park access when they approved Proposition 68, the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018 on the June ballot. Why?

According to Senator Kevin de León, a leader of the measure: “Parks make life better. You can feel the grass below your feet. You can see butterflies. You can hear birds. Playing fields for soccer, not just passive parks, but active parks, make life better,” Sen. de León made this statement during a community celebration at Vista Hermosa Natural Park and Soccer Fields, which adjoin the Edward R. Roybal Learning Academies. The celebration and setting, in one of the most park-poor assembly districts in the state, reinforced the message for the 40 Parks & Recreation

shared use of parks, schools and pools to make optimal use of tax payers’ dollars.

“This is a human and civil rights issue,” Sen. de León emphasizes.

“Some folks have to fight and struggle for access. So, thanks to the incredible folks here, and the incredible campaign that made this come to fruition. Folks like The City Project, Our Parks LA Coalition and others have done incredible work.”

Sen. de León continues: “Parks matter for health reasons. This includes type 2 diabetes, obesity, psychological and mental stress…

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pressures we deal with. Parks make for great therapy for mental health issues. Parks impact all of us. Everyone loves parks,” he concludes.

“Parks and green space, equal access to bees, trees, the ocean, beaches, larger regional state parks, soccer fields, pocket parks. We want it all.”

Prop 68 recognizes disparities in park access and helps ensure everyone has their fair share of healthy parks, water and climate protections.

People of color and low-income people disproportionately have the worst access to parks and recreation, are harmed by global warming and are among the biggest supporters of conservation measures.

Prop 68 does the following: • Authorizes $4.1 billion for state and local parks, natural resources

protection, climate adaptation, water quality, and flood protection • Recognizes the underinvestment in parks, trails and outdoor infrastructure in disadvantaged areas and communities • Favors disadvantaged communities for certain projects • Provides workforce education and training, contractor and job opportunities for disadvantaged communities • Provides standards for outreach to minority, low-income and disabled populations, and tribal communities under section 8 • Requires annual audits The Prop 68 standards are important to measure progress and equity, and to hold public officials accountable. The annual audit makes it possible to ensure the standards are being met. Public agencies that receive Prop 68 funds must consider actions to engage diverse populations, including minority, low-income and disabled people, and tribal communities under section 8. Those actions include: • Conducting active outreach to diverse populations about programs and opportunities • Mentoring new environmental, outdoor recreation and conservation leaders to increase diverse representation • Creating new partnerships with state, local, tribal, private and nonprofit organizations to expand access • Increasing visitation and access • Expanding multilingual and culturally appropriate materials • Developing or expanding coordinated efforts to promote youth engagement and empowerment, including fostering new partnerships with diversity-serving and youth-serving organizations, urban areas and programs

• Identifying staff liaisons to diverse populations Prop 68 recognizes the dangers of green displacement, where, as communities become greener, more desirable and more expensive, current residents no longer are able to live or even work nearby. Prop 68 prioritizes funding for projects that prevent displacement as a result of increased housing costs.

Legislative leaders and Governor Jerry Brown led the battle to put Prop 68 on the ballot. These leaders include Sen. de León, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Assembly Members Eduardo García and Cristina García.

The City Project worked with these legislative leaders to include the provisions on diversity and equal justice in Prop 68. That language in turn is based on the Presidential Memorandum called Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Our National Parks, National Forests, and Other Public Lands and Waters (2017). The City Project also worked with GreenLatinos, Next 100 Coalition and others to support that work. In recent testimony before the Congressional Forum on “People Over Polluters” in Washington, D.C., The City Project testified on Prop 68 as a best practice for the nation.

Prop 68 and its provisions on diversity, equal justice and inclusion are more examples of progressives taking matters into their own hands to improve equal opportunity in California. The diversity language was added directly by the people and the leaders, not by mainstream environmental organizations and funders that have dictated the terms of past “pay-to-play” natural resource funding measures.

Indeed, the first bill that then-Assembly Member de León introduced

on his first day in office was a park bond measure that passed. He later worked with community leaders to define standards for “park-poor” and “income-poor” communities to receive park funding. The standards worked: fully 88 percent of those funds reached communities of color and low-income communities.

These measures were a response to ballot measures that make empty promises to distribute park and resource funds equitably, and notably failed to deliver.

Progressive grassroot leaders are often marginalized by mainstream organizations and government agencies. They have helped change California into a “state of resistance” against national cutbacks in safety-net protections for environmental justice, health equity, climate and conservation, and other areas. The state’s journey from Prop. 187, which would have made undocumented immigrants in the state ineligible for public benefits, required legislative action, but it was pushed every step of the way by immigrant advocates. While Governor Brown receives credit for the state’s current budget surplus, the “millionaires’ tax” that raised needed revenue was the result of activists threatening to run their own ballot measure. Even the decision to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2022 is the product of an even more aggressive schedule offered by labor and community allies, according to University of Southern California Professor Manuel Pastor, Prop 68 offers lessons for activists and candidates nationwide.

Robert García is the Founding Director-Counsel for The City Project/Proyecto del Pueblo (rgarcia@cityprojectca.org).

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ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF JISU YANG

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A Vertical, Park-Growth Vision

By Joseph Cincotta, AIA, LEED, NCARB, M.Arch

Our origins are of the earth.

And so, there is in us a deeply seated response to the natural universe, which is part of our humanity. — Rachel Carson Urban streets facilitate efficiency. They are where transportation and commerce intersect, and pedestrians are relegated to the streets’ margins, aka sidewalks. The name itself suggests the kind of marginalization that walking has become in the modern car-based

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PA R K WA L K

society. As we continue to make it easier for things to go quickly, there is perhaps an increased need for a place where things can just be, and move more slowly, or in other words, a place to park.

Imagine a city growing new public parks as it grows upwards with each new skyscraper. When high-rise developers are offered an opportunity to increase their project size, they can afford to “deA Park-Walk is not only a way to get from point-A to point-B, but a green space in which to spend time.

Park-Walk prioritizes human mobility and designates space within the heart of our cities where nature can thrive. mocratize their development” and set aside space on their lower rooftops for a park. This quid pro quo is codified as a forward-thinking, public-private initiative. Let the mind’s eye visualize these rooftop parks connected by park bridges 44 Parks & Recreation

joining together in an organic and random way that grows as cities do, parcel by parcel. The result would be “Park-Walk”: an interwoven network of public parks connected with bridges and High Line-type walkways. This series of publicly connected greens would enable people to walk dogs, play with children, grow food and participate in outdoor activities.

The contemporary city’s challenge is that when buildings grow taller, sidewalks do not get wider.

The existing neighborhood parks can’t grow beyond the set-aside

boundaries of the visionary thinking from bygone eras when there was land to be set aside. In the early part of the 19th century, most of the land that eventually became New York’s Central Park was a largely untamed area that included small settlements of unappreciated Irish and African-American communities, as well as undesirable squatters and odious industries, such as animal hide tanning operations. The land was eventually purchased for

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$5 million in 1857, which in today’s dollars would be just under $139 million. Notwithstanding, the actual real estate value of Central Park’s 778 acres today is a staggering $35 billion! With that in mind, it’s highly unlikely that a city can afford to buy developed land and turn it into parks, despite the well-documented advantages of mental and physical health benefits.

Park-Walk prioritizes human mobility and designates space within the heart of our cities where nature can thrive. ParkWalk supports densification by providing the natural quiet space that inhabitants usually find on the outskirts of cities.

There are precedents for this vision to grow parks on roofs. Raised public spaces and parks can be found in San Francisco’s “Privately Owned Public Open Spaces” or POPOS. This idea grew out of many of the midcentury modern public plazas, such as Lever House and the Seagrams Building, that sprouted on Park Avenue in New York City. On a nice day in almost every city in the world, public plazas are packed with people spilling out of office towers during their lunch break. Any refuge from the noisy pace of the street and sidewalk is usually a welcome repose.

Park-Walk = POPOS + Green Roofs + Sky Bridges This parks-on-rooftops vision is also more feasible because green roofs have come a long way from the leaky sod roofs of the past.

Using proven materials and engineered layers, Germany pioneered green roofs in the 1960s. Today, many municipalities incentivize green roofs because of the environmental benefits in reducing urban heat-island effects. The structural

Park-Walks can connect to buildings and green rooftops.

demands for adding vegetation to a roof are, in many cases, easily accommodated. Many flat roofs can and will grow plants unless we intentionally stop them. Bird scat is often filled with seeds, and, with the right combination of windblown silt and nutrients, green roofs will naturally occur. In fact, local plants were already thriving on the abandoned tracks of New York’s High Line, courtesy of Mother Nature, prior to rehabilitation. In his book The World Without Us, Alan Weisman, in 2007, explained how quickly a city would be reclaimed by Mother Nature.

Park-Walk hosts a natural process by offering a planned introduction of nature back into the city.

A Walk in the Park-Walk Park-Walk envisions new parks that grow up onto 5- to 7-story high green roofs and are connected across the city with ramps, park bridges and sidewalk access points. The idea of simultaneously growing parks and buildings grew out of an independent exploration of The Ankeny Blocks (https:// theankenyblocks.com/) — an area that encompasses 11 relatively contiguous parcels of land covering roughly 30 blocks — in the Ankeny district of Portland, Oregon. It presents an unprecedented opportunity to consider many parcels at one time in a wellestablished, thriving city. ParkWalk would provide the residents

Imagine, walking along a riverside park and having the option to traverse the city, via a series of ramps and terraced gardens, without being on a sidewalk. of this area with the opportunity to gain a coveted park-side address where everyone would have access to more parkland.

Imagine, walking along a riverside park and having the option to traverse the city, via a series of ramps and terraced gardens, without being on a sidewalk. You are on a “Park-Walk” in a realm for only people and nature. After

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PA R K WA L K

ascending Park-Walk, the path levels out and a vast network of nature, mushrooming across the city, comes into view. A bridge with vines cascading down to the street below extends toward the next block’s raised public space.

Well high above the din, in this

Park-Walk helps to restore a true sense of community and value, turning unused spaces into productive, healthy and valuable parkland. raised public park, is a web of rooftop sanctuaries that consist of commons and green community spaces, flowering gardens, playgrounds, all designed to bring people together and back to nature, helping to restore the balance between us and the world we live in. Here exists a network of nat-

ural growth, where every bridge expands an oasis of green that’s limited only by our imagination.

Open-air space brings light and life where once there were only more empty building rooftops. ParkWalk helps to restore a true sense of community and value, turning unused spaces into productive, healthy and valuable parkland.

The path turns up and away from the river toward a new hotel that has kept half of its roof as an open-air café. Without Park-Walk, this would have been another hotel with another private, underused, green roof. The heightened visibility in having a restaurant adjacent to a park is a boon to its success, in addition to being a nice amenity for the steady stream of ParkWalk visitors. As a rule, people go where people are and, in Portland, residents and tourists would come to enjoy the gourmet local flavors from a spot combining the seclud-

Park-Walk integrated with building development.

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ed serenity of a park environment.

The ability of guests to venture on to the rooftop terrace and then walk out across the new Naito parkway garden bridge and down to a waterfront park to watch the boats go by would be among the hotel’s distinguishing trademarks.

Past the hotel, at a higher level on a neighboring building, are greenhouses growing fruit, vegetables and herbs that could be sold at a farmers market. Commercial activities would be limited to services typically found in a park. Larger rooftops could house pickleball and tennis courts, public pools and recreation fields that would give young children a safe place to play.

There is no reason to compete with the street’s vitality, as Park-Walk’s goal is to provide a respite from the urban streets.

A series of ramps, lifts and steps continue up past vibrant community gardens and open grass areas,

leading to a veranda underneath the upper floors of a mixed-use office/residential tower block.

Benches invite visitors to stop and enjoy a view between the buildings, as others crossover the street below on the opposite side of the block heading to an even taller building that’s open for three stories so that the Park-Walk can pass through it much in the same way a sidewalk passes along any residential tower on the street level.

On Park-Walk, however, it’s above and away from the hustle and bustle of a city street.

The cost benefit of direct park access would be attractive for elder care co-op housing and for parents with young children. The direct access to the park offers lawn space for community yoga classes.

In a sense, we are going backwards to go forwards, reaching toward a sustainable, healthy city.

The city of the future.

• Will the street lose its vitality if a percentage of pedestrians prefer a Park-Walk to a sidewalk?

• How best to establish publicprivate partnerships to build and maintain Park-Walks?

“Traditionally, America’s cities have grown horizontally, spreading farther and farther into the surrounding countryside. They

The cost benefit of direct park access would be attractive for elder care co-op housing and for parents with young children. The direct access to the park offers lawn space for community yoga classes.

A Starting Point?

The illustrations used throughout this article give a painterly insight as to what this development could look like were it to be developed with the principles of the Park-Walk.

This introduction of Park-Walk presents a starting point for a series of rich discussions on how we want to grow our cities around the world and to address some of the vexing problems that plague cities. Following are a few of the questions that would need to be addressed: • While we are offering public parks for everyone, how can we create affordable housing to keep the economic diversity of the neighborhood intact?

• Can Park-Walks offer an alternative for civic gatherings and democratic expressions?

Greenhouses and rooftop gardens.

have thus both despoiled our rural character, while, at the same time, dissipated the density that give cities their special energy,” says Mike Abbate, an NRPA board member and principal of Abbate Designs.

“Enlightened cities and states have decided to create limits on the sprawl that can happen by creating urban-growth boundaries.

This allows cities to grow up, not out. Cincotta’s visionary thinking (see www.ParkWalkPDX.org) gives us a glimpse into a new future that is both denser and more relaxing, both more vertical and more beautiful, and both more

constructed and healthier.

“Where others see merely economic opportunity,” Abbate continues, “in the redevelopment of several blocks of downtown Portland, Oregon, Cincotta sees the chance to create a dynamic, new urbanism that is welcoming to all, beautiful and healthy. As an advocate for public parks and the former director of Portland Parks & Recreation, I applaud his exciting vision: parks, like cities, must evolve as we build better and better urban habitats.”

Joseph Cincotta, AIA, LEED, NCARB, M.Arch., is the Principal Architect for LineSync Architecture (jc@linesync.com).

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‘Breaking the Bubbles’ to Create Play-Centered Parks

By Chad Atterbury, PLA, ASLA

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or decades, bubble diagrams and program master plans have been the precursors to park and playground designs, segregating activities and age groups into defined areas. Inclusive design, multifunctional features and the added value of healthier communities are several trends that are pushing the design of public spaces in new directions. At the center of this revolution is play. A vehicle to engage the mind, activate the body and bring people together, play is at the forefront of reshaping parks to offer new experiences, while also creating community.

Typical park designs, for many years, placed swings in one corner, a pop-up fountain in another and a picnic pavilion near the playground.

These parceled program planning design techniques were the assumptions and building blocks of parks for generations. People visiting “bubble” parks tend to stay in one area when they visit and tend not to intermingle or explore further. This causes people to spend less time, get less exercise and meet fewer people. Too often, this led to predictability and devalued spaces. Communities were investing large amounts of resources into park components that were used by relatively small populations.

Trends in Play-Centered Parks Some current trends in play-centered park design are supportive in breaking the bubbles that traditionally divide functions and age groups.

Breaking bubbles involves re-imagining the

boundaries of each activity within the greater park setting, striving for integrated, interactive spaces that encourage exploration and providing new ways to engage with the park.

Expanding the idea of a static playground into a dynamic play experience creates new opportunities for the use of the same space.

A bridge becomes a musical instrument, an entry sign becomes a playful climbing element — an example of unconventional play that is discovered and that opens the experience to all ages. Multifunctional features allow for interpretation and exploration.

These are key elements in non-prescribed play and in engaging multiple user groups.

Verticality and elevation become new design tools to employ as experiences become three-dimensional. The unique and diverse array of possibilities attracts more ages and user groups. Each use beckons people to approach W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | AU G U ST 2 0 1 8 |

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BREAKING BUBBLES

This concept, when combined with play features, has been exceptionally useful in pushing the boundaries of fluid play environments with recent openings of notable destination playgrounds across the United States.

Design Techniques History — of architecture, people or events — becomes the theme that drives the design of play-centered parks to be crafted for specific locations that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Custom play features often become the defining feature to represent the culture and context of a place. A musical theme, horticultural theme, industrial theme, nature theme: Custom play elements are contextually derived and informed through feedback from the community.

Circulation itself can become a program element, where multiple paths lead to a given destination, allowing visitors to determine their own experience and difficulty level. Play elements can be woven along pathways versus confined to a specific “play area.” An elevated bridge can serve as vertical and

PHOTOS COURTESY DIG STUDIO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

play in creative ways. This is not random design: spines and loops connect use areas, integrating play throughout the park. The separation of features encourages search and discovery as well as movement.

This approach introduces visitors to the concept of choice and the use of imagination in play.

Fluid play environments offer opportunities for families to play. All generations join in through the way activities are presented, and the offer of myriad approaches reinvents what we’ve known for generations as traditional playgrounds. The premise of custom play is based on non-prescribed activities and sharing. In some cases, older children can step in to coach younger ones on how to use equipment, enhancing social interaction between age groups.

Design techniques that create interactive, multigenerational and multifunctional parks are woven together to present opportunities for all ages and abilities. Thinking about design as a three-dimensional volume drives innovation by offering 360-degree, nonlinear experiences and choices.

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horizontal circulation, while also providing shade, ADA accessibility and a place to admire distant views.

Utilizing topography and site features to maximum extent can make a park belong exclusively to a location. Grade changes can be used to create a distinctive entry feature and capitalize on views to which people wouldn’t otherwise have access. Site preservation can lead designers to elevate features from ground level, providing unique access and circulation opportunities, while protecting environmental resources. Choice is key, and the idea of pushing landscape architecture to exaggerate natural site features prompts designers to focus in new ways.

Benefits and Added Value The concept of choice is not the only benefit or added value that results from breaking bubbles in park design. Healthy activity is supported and emphasized, with layouts that encourage movement and social interaction. The attention to mobility levels offers choices that can attract visitors who may not have access to equipment in other parks. Slides, stairs and ramps may be three approaches to tackle the same access point. “Green deserts” in the city fabric are addressed by locating parks in neighborhoods without access to recreation, bringing communities closer to the “10-minute walk” goal and providing social equity.

The benefits of engaging, play-centric parks support multiple aspects of development. In general terms, independence and problemsolving are employed to inspire confidence, promote curiosity and support physical development. In more specific terms, health scores Denver, Colorado’s Sanchez Park is an intergenerational, accessible, and challenging play space for all.

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This elevated walkway is part of the play experience in the tree canopy play space in Mesa, Arizona’s Pioneer Park.

from local school districts can point to underserved neighborhoods and populations that would most benefit from new recreational choices. The movement benefits afforded by fluid play environments can address challenges with childhood obesity.

Public engagement plays a defining role in shaping play-centered parks to serve neighboring populations. Needs may vary from one population to the next and shaping a park to serve diverse goals requires listening and responding to citizen input. Where a park in a more affluent area may focus on entertainment, sports fields and custom play, in a neighborhood of low-income residents, there may be an added need for equipment rental kiosks and community meeting spaces.

From the design perspective, the concept of breaking bubbles plays out in different ways within any given park. Landscape Architects at Dig Studio recently opened two destination parks designed to “break” bubbles: Pioneer Park in Mesa, Arizona, the city’s oldest park that required a major refresh, and Paco Sanchez Park in Denver, Colorado, that welcomed a national competition-level destination playground.

‘Bubble-Breaking’ Parks The 17-acre Pioneer Park, which had lost its luster over time, stands out for its historic shade trees, remarkable in their size and maturity, which is a rarity in Arizona’s desert environment. Dig Studio capitalized on this feature by designing a play space in the tree canopy via an elevated walkway that became part of the play experience, while also protecting sensitive tree roots. Custom play structures replicate the form of the park’s historic trees, repurposing the park for the next

generation of users within an imaginative play experience. The park’s historic layout, organized by a central spine, was preserved and repurposed with a new spray ground featuring an interactive light display that serves as a focal point from nearby Main Street.

In Denver, the city’s Re-Imagine Play design competition ultimately led to the redesign of Paco Sanchez Park, which was named for a respected community activist who started Denver’s first Hispanic radio station. The park is in a westside neighborhood and is easily accessible from a light rail line.

The focus at Paco Sanchez Park is on intergenerational play, which is manifested through accessibility, challenge, inclusivity and play for all.

The centerpiece of the park is a 30foot custom “microphone” play tower that symbolically references the park’s namesake. A bridge from the highest point of the park provides an accessible route to the tower, while vertically accessing play features at regular intervals along the span.

Ground breaking on Phase II of the park recently took place, and this will extend the park through a large play loop with custom elements that are representative of music and broadcasting. This layout responds to a 43-foot grade change and inspires movement

from one play element to the next, supporting the health and wellness goals of the park.

The innovative design techniques used on both parks repositioned them within their respective communities, becoming highly praised and immediately embraced by neighborhood residents.

Walkways become play, play becomes art, art becomes shade — this is how the parks of tomorrow will be re-imagined. For park departments across the country, play-centric park designs are shaking up the concept of play, creating dynamic environments that replace traditional passive spaces and offer more inclusive and inventive places for all. Communities are benefiting from reinvestment, people are benefiting from access to healthy activities and multiple generations of people are engaging in play, leading to positive changes in communities that dare to break traditional bubbles to re-imagine play.

The author will do a deeper dive on “Breaking the Bubbles” on Thursday, September 27, during the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis. For details about time and location, check out the full conference schedule under the Education tab at www.nrpa.org/conference/.

Chad Atterbury, PLA, ASLA, is a Senior Associate Landscape Architect for Dig Studio (chada@digstudio.com).

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CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BACKYARD A Conversation with SaulPaul A ‘Musician with a Message’ and second 2018 NRPA Annual Conference keynote speaker

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“Musician with a Message,” SaulPaul redefines what it means to be a keynote speaker. He hails from Houston, Texas, and is an author and award-winning recording artist, whose album “Dream in 3D” (also the title of his book) was considered for a Grammy Award. SaulPaul is also the founder of ReRoute Outreach, a nonprofit organization that helps at-risk and underprivileged youth discover and develop their artistic and entrepreneurial skill sets. The road to the success he enjoys today took several turns, but, from those experiences, he has gone on to entertain and inspire audiences across the world. In a recent conversation with Parks & Recreation magazine, SaulPaul revealed what motivates him and what really excites him about spending time with us in Indianapolis.

Parks & Recreation: For over a decade, you’ve earned an international reputation as a “Musician with a Message” who can entertain and educate any audience. Can you share with us a little about how you’ve crafted that reputation?

SaulPaul: I used to be a motivational speaker and I’d incorporate music into my speeches, then I began just focusing on the music, and I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to be a motivational speaker or perform music. So, I started thinking outside the box and wanted to do something a little bit different. I decided to blaze my own path and thought, ‘Why do I have to decide?’ That’s when I merged the motivational speaking with the music and I became a ‘Musician with a Message.’ So, for the past decade or so, I’ve been fortunate to entertain, inspire and empower people.

P&R: Is there one message that you try to bring to your audience or do you tailor the message to the audience?

SaulPaul: I definitely tailor my message to whoever the audience is. I try to be as authentic

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as possible: it’s all I know. I treat being in front of an audience just like I treat any other conversation. Just like I’m talking to you right now, I don’t have any of these answers prepared. I’m just talking with you from my heart, and that’s what I try to do with whatever type of audience I’m in front of. Whether it’s a keynote or a performance, I just want to be able to communicate with the audience and have them leave feeling inspired. I’ve done a lot of work with young people, and I’ve discovered that being real with them…they appreciate that. It breaks down the barriers.

P&R: You’ve dealt with quite a bit of adversity throughout your life. Can you talk a little about that and how it changed you and shaped you into the man you are today?

SaulPaul: Yeah, so I went from prison incarceration to college graduate. When I graduated high school, I was accepted to the prestigious University of Texas at Austin on an academic scholarship and then I was kicked out. Because of some poor choices, I ended up in prison for two years. When I got out, I was accepted back into the University of Texas and, ultimately, graduated with a 4.0. After getting out of prison and going back to college,

I finally had this vision. My vision was that I just wanted to change the world and touch people’s lives.

The thing I say now is, “We all live on the same planet, but we each live in our own world. Change the world you live in.” That’s how I live my life.

P&R: What motivates you to do what you do?

SaulPaul: Well, for me, I didn’t have a mom or a dad growing up.

My mother died when I was 3 years old and my father had left.

My awesome grandmother raised me, and she’s the reason I dedicate

my life to serving other people. We were by no means wealthy, and we didn’t have much, but what we did have, she would give to anyone that needed it — whether that was a meal, a bed, whatever. She laid that foundation for me.

P&R: What would you say to park and rec professionals who are trying to create a healthy environment oftentimes for kids who don’t know what that should look like or who are trying to cope with some difficult situations?

SaulPaul: I would encourage them

to be the change. Like I said before, change the world you live in. Share your experiences and just come from your heart. Just like I do, tailor your message to your audience and work with what you’ve got. I can’t wait to come to the conference in Indianapolis, share my message and hang out with all the park and rec professionals. The thing I’m really excited to do is check out the exhibit hall. I think it’s going to be a great time!

Join us, Wednesday, September 26 at 9 a.m. for an interactive, entertaining time. For more details, visit www.nrpa. org/conference/.

Now Accepting: 2019 NRPA Premier

Member Calendar Photos Submit your best photos for a chance to have your agency featured in next year’s calendar, which will be distributed to ALL PREMIER AGENCIES

Submit your photos online at nrpa.org/Premier-Calendar-Contest Accepting Submissions until September 24, 2018

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CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BACKYARD Five NRPA Conference Hacks from the Insiders

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hether you are looking for advice on financial decisions or which Netflix series to binge watch next, tips from an experienced insider can make all the difference. That’s why we have pulled together these insider tips to help you have an amazing experience at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference, taking place September 25–27 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

It Pays to Be Early With 8,000 people in attendance, it’s inevitable that lines will form and rooms will fill. To avoid these traffic jams, make sure you get to the most popular events early. You can pick up your attendee badge and materials on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and Monday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to avoid the lines on Tuesday morning. The Opening General Session fills up fast, so make sure you get to your seat early. This year, the first 1,500 people to enter the exhibit hall when it opens on Tuesday and Wednesday, will receive a special giveaway. The Speed Sessions are very popular and the rooms can fill fast. Make sure you have your schedule planned ahead of time to make it easy to get to all of these early.

Stay Active and Healthy Traveling can make it difficult to stay on your regular exercise schedule, but during your time in Indy, you will have plenty of opportunities to get active and energized.

This year, you can run or walk in the popular 5K race, paddle through Indy’s Downtown Central Canal, attend an adventure outing at the Eagle Creek canopy course, play in the annual golf tournament, or sign up for a mobile workshop to get out of the classroom and follow a speaker on an educational journey.

So, don’t forget to bring your athletic gear — you have no excuses to not get active.

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No Need to Get Hangry A hungry conference attendee is not a happy conference attendee. That’s why there will be plenty of opportunities to eat during your time at the conference.

Indianapolis-inspired food and drinks will be served at the Opening Reception on Tuesday, September 25. At the Exhibit Hall Luncheon on Wednesday, September 26, you can grab lunch while you explore all the amazing vendors. Multiple concession stands will be open in the exhibit hall each day. Indianapolis prides itself on walkability, with more than 250 dining options located in downtown near the convention center.

Navigate the Conference Like a Pro The best way to prepare for the conference is with the NRPA Conference Mobile app. Browse the sessions and speakers, create your custom itinerary, start connecting with other attendees, mark the exhibitors you want to visit and read all the conference highlights — all in the palm of your hand. Every year, attendees rank the NRPA app as a highly valuable resource for navigating the conference. This year, it will be better than ever.

Watch out for an email announcement when it is available to download! Bonus Tip: Don’t forget a portable phone charger so you have enough juice to use the app all day long.

Directors’ Corner

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ark and recreation directors and leaders have to stay at the top of their game and provide their staff and community with innovative solutions. As a leader, you are aware of how important that is and how hard it can be to find the inspirational resources you need to stay ahead of the curve. So, for the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference, we’ve brought together some of the top minds in the industry and beyond to engage participants in discussion and exploration of some cutting-edge issues and challenges facing agencies throughout the country.

With plenty of opportunity for conversation, these sessions are designed to get the entire room involved. Following are descriptions of a few of the close to a dozen sessions that will be offered: Parks for Inclusion: Working Toward Health Equity for Our Most Vulnerable Populations NRPA’s Parks for Inclusion initiative was launched one year ago with the goal of improving healthand-wellness opportunities for our most vulnerable populations.

With an emphasis on reaching racial and ethnic minorities, those who identify as LGBTQ, individuals and caregivers of persons with a disability and New Americans (refugees and immigrants), NRPA is working to reach 1 million individuals by September 2020.

With a health equity lens, many agencies are already leading the way toward increased inclusive efforts, engaging community members from all walks of life to reach those most vulnerable, and addressing significant health disparities and the social determinants of health. Hear from agencies and organizations that are using their park and recreation services to establish more inclusive, equitable and just communities through pol

icy, programming, leadership and engagement.

Speakers: Art Hendricks, Portland Parks & Recreation; Autumn Saxton-Ross, Ph.D. (Moderator), NatureBridge; James Rimmer, Ph.D., Lakeshore Foundation - UAB; and Jules Posadas, Seattle Parks and Recreation Department Tackling Substance Use in Parks for the Safety of Staff, Youth and the Community as a Whole As the substance misuse crisis in this country worsens, we are finding that in some communities, park and recreation staff are acting as first responders to individuals using and overdosing in parks. Agencies are needing to create a safe and effective process for removing and disposing of needles and other drug paraphernalia found in their parks and may also be providing support services at their recreation centers for families impacted by addiction. Join us for a candid conversation among park directors as to the role we feel park and recreation

agencies can and should be playing in tackling substance use in parks, while also taking into consideration the very serious concerns of liability and safety for everyone involved. We will also be discussing recent policy decisions being made in cities across the country that impact how substance use in public spaces will be handled.

Speakers: Mark Focht, Julien Scott, Brian Zimmerman Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered as part of the Directors’ Corner and attendance will be limited to 120 people, available on a first-come, firstserved basis. For a complete listing of and schedule for these sessions, visit www.nrpa.org/conference/ program-schedule/directors-cor ner-education-sessions/.

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CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BACKYARD Education on the Go

By Tom Crosley

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ou’ve got the green light to attend a national conference and it’s in a city you’ve not visited before. Once conference gets underway, you know there’ll be little time to explore the city. Are there any opportunities that would allow you to see some sights while soaking up some cutting-edge industry-specific knowledge, you wonder? Well, wonder no more…following are a few of the pre-conference workshops, off-site institutes and mobile workshops that are guaranteed to expand your professional knowledge while allowing you to take in some key sights: Mobile Workshop 55 Trail Planning for Inclusion Trail Development and Implementation Indianapolis is providing opportunities for more people to gain access not only to the recreational opportunities of the city, but also to jobs, schools and services.

To accomplish the overall goal of connecting Indianapolis neighborhoods, we must ensure that all residents feel connected to the

fabric of their neighborhoods and have equal access to opportunities. This is especially true in areas that have been historically disenfranchised or overlooked. This session investigates the efforts that are being made to assure those neighborhoods not only are included, but also that the needs and concerns of current residents are part of the conversation.

This mobile workshop will visit two areas of the city: the South

Monon Trail through the King Park Neighborhood to look at the impacts this completed trail has had on the surrounding neighborhood; and the Northwest area of Indianapolis to explore the potential as the city develops trail opportunities in this neighborhood.

Pre-Conference Workshop #70 Repositioning Public Parks & Recreation: Joining the Smart Revolution Communities are changing, the economy is unpredictable, and technology and globalization are here to stay. Yet, the way we commonly think about public parks and recreation seems to be frozen in time. Is it possible that the day has come for us to transform our collective approach to the provision of park and recreation services?

Are we really leading the productive and purposeful organizations that our communities need given today’s realities?

Pre-Conference Workshop #74 Get LEAN! #MoreValueLessResources Do any of these items sound familiar: under use of people’s talents or skills, filled in-boxes, unorganized work spaces, production of reports nobody needs? As demands for the same or higher levels of service increase, we are often tasked with how to do things “better, cheaper and faster.” We

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need to be more flexible and agile, have a strategy and plan for doing “more with less” without impacting quality and effectiveness, and encourage all employees to be involved and engaged. As Einstein reminds us: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Discover how to use LEAN to save time and money and to create a customer service experience that benefits internal and external customers alike.

Off-Site Institute 3 Carmel’s Central Park: A Destination Park Success Story True to its original vision, Indiana’s Central Park has become an environmentally, financially and socially sustainable destination park in just over a decade. Learn how Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation embraces innovation, as it continues to implement a visionary master plan and create a true community centerpiece. Discover how a systemwide cost-recovery mandate of 80 percent has been successfully balanced against the core values of inclusion and environmental stewardship. Through tours of the park’s community center, waterpark, dog park, imaginative mega-playground and natural areas, participants will receive a behind-the-scenes understanding of the park’s design intent and operations, leaving inspired on how to create their own destination wonderlands. (Lunch provided; Dress appropriately for walking outdoors)

Off-Site Institute 4 Leading Accessibility, Inclusion and Outdoor Programs for People with Disabilities As the home of environmental education and the originator of camping for people with disabilities, Bradford Woods, Indiana University’s outdoor learning laboratory and camping facility, is an iconic Southern Indiana outdoor recreation area. Over the years, Bradford Woods has continued to lead the nation and the world in offering programs for youth and adults with all types of disabilities, pushing the forefront on inclusion and accessibility. Visit Bradford Woods’ leading-edge campus, tour its facilities and participate in outdoor recreation activities in support of learning opportunities that include programming that’s accessible for able-bodied and disabled participants. (Lunch provided; Dress appropriately for outdoor activities) Off-Site Institute 10 World-Class Events: Planning with the Best Downtown Indianapolis is host to many world-class events, celebrations, festivals and runs — and it starts with cooperation and planning. We’ll be getting in the weeds with our local city officials and event planners to discuss the process of creating the ultimate customer experience. As part of the experience, we’ll cruise down popular Georgia Street, stop by the Indy500 Festival offices for a chat and tour the White River

State Park campus. (Lunch provided; Dress appropriately for walking outdoors) Session #77 Marketing Certificate Program: Engage Your Community, Get More People in Your Parks Is your agency ready to make the jump to more meaningful engagement with its customers?

Selling the value of parks and recreation as an essential service in your communities is vital to achieving your agency’s goals, yet effective and deliberate marketing methods are changing every day. Come join experts from both the private and public sectors to develop strategies to increase participation in your programs, to more effectively use “big data” while targeting your audience and to capture strategies for emerging target markets, plus much more. The team of boot camp instructors will provide park and recreation marketing professionals and DIY directors with a full day of enlightenment and best practices for your agency’s marketing efforts. (Lunch provided) Preregistration is required for each OSI, pre-conference and/or mobile workshop. For a full list, visit www.nrpa.org/conference/ program-schedule/pre-conferenceworkshops-off-site-institutes/.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Indianapolis!

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

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CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BACKYARD Special Events

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ou can’t host the biggest park and recreation conference in the world without incorporating bigtime special events. That’s why this year at the NRPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis, there will be hundreds of exciting sessions and several social opportunities and ways to not only interact with your peers, but also to have some fun. You work hard all year long; it’s time to celebrate your success with thousands of your colleagues this September 25–27. Here are just a few of the events you won’t want to miss: Double the Keynote, Double the Inspiration Each year, the NRPA General Session features an inspirational keynote to help get the conference off to an invigorating start. But this year, attendees will get to attend two keynote presentations and be doubly inspired. On Tuesday, September 25, Peter Kageyama — author of For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places and the follow-up, Love Where You Live: Creating Emotionally Engaging Places — will inspire you to continue to make your communities great places to live. On Wednesday, September 26, SaulPaul — a “Musician with a Message” — will entertain you and

remind you of the important role parks and recreation plays in shaping the lives of all people.

NRPA Knows How to Party Previous attendees will agree, the NRPA Opening Reception is the best place to unwind, socialize and enjoy entertainment — including “creative” dance moves from your colleagues. This year, the party will be at the home of the Indiana Pacers: Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday, September 25. The Opening Reception will feature two ways to show off your dance moves — in front of a live band or in the DJ room. There will also be Indianapolis-inspired food and drinks, and even the opportunity to get on the court and participate in basketball competitions with the chance to win prizes.

Students, Show Your School Spirit NRPA is inviting current students to a unique networking event at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday, September 25. Come hang out with other future park and recreation professionals and show off

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your school colors. There will also be multiple university graduate program representatives there to share details about their programs. All students who attend will have access to the NRPA Opening Reception immediately following the rally.

So Much Space for Activities!

It wouldn’t be a park and recreation conference without ways for attendees to recreate. This year, conference-goers can attend an adventure outing at the Eagle Creek canopy course, tee it up at the annual golf tournament, paddle your way through Indy’s Downtown Central Canal, run or walk in the popular 5K race or sign up for one of the many Off-site Institutes to experience the Indy culture.

Celebrate America’s Backyard No RSVP necessary for this backyard party. Everyone can join the NRPA staff in the NRPA member area in the exhibit hall, honoring America’s true backyard — parks and recreation. There will be fun games, a comfortable space to network and get off your feet, and attendees can chat with NRPA staff to learn about all the member benefits available to them.

If you haven’t already done so, make sure you register for the action-packed 2018 NRPA Annual Conference and join 8,000 of your peers, September 25–27 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Learn more at www.nrpa.org/Conference.

Exhibit Hall at a Glance

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undreds of top park and recreation vendors and experts from around the country and across the field will be on hand to showcase their products and services in the exhibit hall at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference. Following is a list of exhibitors that will join us in Indy September 25–27. This listing is current as of July 24, 2018, and is subject to change. Check your program guide, our handy Conference App or visit www.nrpa.org/conference/ for updates and details.

Company Name Booth Number 2by2 Industries........................................ 2205 Academy of Model Aeronautics............ 1825 Acapulco Pools............................................2413 AccessRec, LLC........................................... 2316 Action Play Systems, LLC........................ 2437 Active Network, LLC................................. 1335 Adventure Golf Services, Inc.................... 307 Aerial Designs............................................ 2015 AGCO Corp....................................................... 617 AllChem Performance Products..............2211 All Star Elite Sports................................. 3005 AllStar Mounds.......................................... 2229 Alnet Americas, Inc................................... 2501 American Aluminum Seating, Inc......... 3100 American Camp Association................. 2904 American Carnival Mart............................1827 American Council on Exercise............... 2106 American Heart Association.....................621 American Park Network...........................2341 American Ramp Co......................................1517 American Red Cross................................ 2328 American Society of Landscape Architects..................................................... 309 Ameristar Perimeter Security............... 1330 Amilia.............................................................2321 Anchor Audio, Inc.......................................2017 Animal Care Equipment and Services, LLC........................................205 Aquatic Development Group..................2407 Aquatix by Landscape Structures......... 1901 AquaWorx......................................................530 Aragon Elastomers................................... 1038 Architectural Design Consultants, Inc.........................................2412 Arizona Baseball Co.....................................315 Artificial Ice Events.................................... 627

Company Name Booth Number Aspira/ReserveAmerica.............................402 AstroTurf.......................................................1043 Athletic Business....................................... 606 Avalanche Waterslides, Inc......................943 Axio Soccer..................................................2212 Background Investigation Bureau......... 704 Bag Spot........................................................320 Batting Cages Inc.......................................1241 Beacon Athletics.........................................1715 BECS Technology, Inc...............................2227 Bedford Technology....................................201 Berliner......................................................... 1707 Big Toys....................................................... 1406 Bison Inc......................................................... 717 Bison Playground Pumps..........................1141 Black Rocket Productions, LLC.............. 1925 BlueScope Construction Government Services.................................524

Company Name Booth Number Bobcat Co......................................................939 bo-mar Industries Custom Metal Fabrication........................................635 BoMar Soft Playgrounds, International................................................820 Bona US...........................................................719 Breezer Holdings/Breezer Mobile Cooling..............................................543 Brigadoon Fitness.......................................516 Bright White Paper Co................................414 Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects.2110 Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf............. 3106 BSN Sports.................................................... 1741 Burke Playgrounds.................................... 1031 Busch Systems International................3007 California Sports Surfaces.................... 2900 CampDoc.com............................................ 2203 CardConnect.............................................. 2325 Cedar Forest Products Co...................... 2201 Cemer Kent Ekipmanlari...........................1941 Central Park Conservancy........................330 Century Industries, LLC............................ 2101 CHA................................................................ 3104 Champlin Tire Recycling, Inc................. 2030 Chemtrol........................................................302 Childforms......................................................215 Cintas Corp.................................................. 629 CivicRec.........................................................2213 Clear Comfort............................................ 2330

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CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BACKYARD Company Name Booth Number Cochrane USA................................................931 Commercial Recreation Specialists..... 1036 Community Pass.......................................2426 Connor Sports..............................................428 Contech Engineered Solutions LLC......... 701 CORCL.............................................................705 Counsilman Hunsaker............................ 2326 Cre8Play........................................................1937 Criterion Pictures......................................2302 Custom Canopies..................................... 2600 Custom Ice Inc.......................................... 2409 CXT Precast Concrete Products........... 2809 Daktronics...................................................2327 Daldorado LLC............................................. 2310 Deacero.........................................................2314 Deatons Waterfront Services..................528 Deschamps Mats Systems, Inc...............2112 DesignPark Corp...........................................416 Dig Studio, Inc.............................................2231 Disc Golf Association Inc......................... 500 DiscGolfPark............................................... 2915 Discraft Inc...................................................300 Dock Blocks of North America............. 2902 Doggie Walk Bags, Inc..............................2214 DOGIPOT......................................................... 1018 Dog-ON-It-Parks..........................................1435 Douglas Sports Equipment.......................716 DuMor, Inc.................................................. 2009 DuraPlay, Inc............................................. 2208 Earth Networks............................................818 Easi-Set Worldwide.................................. 1320 Eco-Counter..................................................439 Ecolawn Applicator....................................942 Ecoturf Midwest Inc.....................................311 EMG.................................................................408 EMPEX Watertoys........................................308 emuamericas, LLC......................................2313 EnSoul Music Designs Inc.........................221 Ephesus Lighting........................................526 Epic Outdoor Cinema............................... 1930 ERC Wiping Products.................................630 eTrak Recreation Software...................... 742 Ex-Cell Kaiser, LLC...................................... 2115 Fahr Industries Ltd....................................2021 Fibar Systems..............................................633 FieldTurf.........................................................1931 60 Parks & Recreation

Company Name Booth Number FieldTurf Commercial................................ 2116 FlagHouse.....................................................1341 FlexGround, LLC.......................................... 1139 FlingGolf..........................................................210 Flowbird.......................................................2307 Forest Commodities...................................636 ForeverLawn Inc.........................................2121 Forte Products..............................................415 Fountain People/Water Odyssey............1413 Freenotes Harmony Park............................1111 Frog Furnishings........................................1222 Fun Express................................................ 2301 Gaco Western............................................ 2003 GameTime..................................................... 1501 Gared Sports............................................. 2220 GatorBridge and GatorDock.................. 2309 GeeseProblemSolved..................................535 Genan Inc.......................................................410 Gerflor USA..................................................... 417 Glasdon, Inc..................................................638 Glide................................................................430 Go Ape Treetop Adventure...................... 2013 Go-Elan............................................................314 Gopher Sport............................................. 2005 Graffiti Solutions Inc.................................2217 Grasshopper Co............................................718 Grassmats USA LLC....................................1433 Great American Direct...............................634 Greenfields Outdoor Fitness Equipment.....................................................1417 GT Grandstands...........................................1431 GYMS FOR DOGS - NATURAL DOG PARK PRODUCTS................................. 609 Hellas Construction, Inc.........................2304 Henderson Recreation Equipment.........708 HGACBuy..................................................... 2400 Hilo Challenge Domes.................................419 Hitchcock Design Group......................... 1238 Human Kinetics...........................................533 Hunter Industries.......................................529 Hustler Turf Equipment (Excel Industries).......................................2041 HydroPoint................................................. 2405 Hydrorider......................................................501 ICON Shelter Systems Inc........................1240 ID Sculpture.................................................2241

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Company Name Booth Number iDashboards...................................................321 Imagination Playground........................... 732 IMBA..............................................................2524 IMC Outdoor Living................................... 1922 Impact Melanoma/Bright Guard........... 1039 Imprint Plus..................................................540 INNOVA Disc Golf........................................ 3001 Insane Impact.............................................2331 Intelligenz.................................................. 2800 Invisible Structures.................................. 2801 iStrike Alerts............................................... 3401 iZone Imaging..............................................804 Jacobsen....................................................... 809 Jambette Playground Equipment Inc............................................. 1641 Jaypro Sports, LLC......................................628 JUST FUN S.C............................................... 2216 K&K Insurance Group, Inc.........................328 Kay Park Recreation Corp....................... 3201 Key Log Rolling.......................................... 2108 Kidstuff Playsystems, Inc........................534 Kiefer Aquatic.............................................2207 Kinetic Recreation Design.........................431 KirbyBuilt.......................................................602 KOMPAN, Inc...................................................727 Kwik-Covers................................................ 2319 Lake Country Corp................................... 2033 Landmark Studio & Design..................... 1425 Landscape Architect and Specifier News............................................................ 3208 Landscape Structures Inc...................... 1809 Life Floor........................................................ 728 Lincoln Aquatics........................................ 1428 Little League Baseball & Softball.......... 608 Little Tikes Commercial............................ 1521 Lonza.............................................................2414 Lose & Associates, Inc..............................838 LTR Products.................................................1441 Madrax/ Thomas Steele.............................639 MAIS Software........................................... 2506 Master Garden Products............................421 Master Pitching Machine........................2402 Mateflex.......................................................2223 Mer-Made Filter.......................................... 2100 Midwest Elastomers Inc..........................1332 Milbank...........................................................435

Company Name Booth Number Miracle Recreation......................................1731 Miroad Rubber USA.................................. 2225 Mity Lite...................................................... 2032 Mondo............................................................. 703 Most Dependable Fountains Inc..............1117 Murdock/Super Secur Mfg. Co................1233 Musco Sports Lighting Inc...................... 1001 MyRec.com....................................................400 MyTCoat Commercial Outdoor Furniture.......................................404 Natare Corp..................................................2415 National Alliance for Youth Sports.........507 National Construction Rentals.............. 3101 National Cooperative Leasing............... 1823 National Joint Powers Alliance.............. 1821 National Park Service................................329 National Recreation Systems..................1231 NCTRC (National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification).............................211 Nicros Climbing Walls................................642 Nirbo Aquatic Inc......................................... 721 No Fault Sport Group.................................938 Noratek Solutions Inc.............................. 2215 NPPGov...........................................................604 NRPA Giveaway Station........................... 2613 NRPA Learning Playground........................135 NRPA Member Area.................................. 2854 NRPA Picnic Area.......................................2637 NRPA Picnic Area...........................................115 NRPA Picnic Area....................................... 3315 NRPA Sales Office...................................... 3447 Oglebay.........................................................3107 Omega II Fence Systems..........................429 One Beat CPR + AED.....................................631 OpenAire......................................................2425 Outdoor Aluminum Inc.............................. 800 OutdoorLink, Inc..........................................520 Pannier Corp................................................2312 Paris Site Furnishings & Outdoor Fitness..........................................2431 PARK KENT Mobilyalari Inc........................ 407 ParkInk........................................................ 2320 PDC Solutions................................................ 517 Peachjar, Inc.................................................623 Peak Software Systems......................... 2300 Percussion Play Ltd....................................1541

Company Name Booth Number PerfectMind.................................................. 722 Perry Weather Consulting.......................2421 Pet and Playground Products................ 1041 Pet Waste Eliminator.................................625 Pilot Rock Park Equipment.....................1327 Plastic Recycling of IA Falls.................... 2119 Play & Park Structures.............................. 1101 Play Power, Inc.......................................... 1536 PlayCore........................................................ 1401 Playcraft Systems..................................... 1308 PlayGuard Safety Surfacing......................801 PLAYTIME LLC............................................. 2803 Playworld..................................................... 1531 Pliteq Inc......................................................2102 POINTMARKERS INC......................................531 Polly Products..............................................839 Polygreen Foam......................................... 2914 Porous Pave Inc..........................................1237 Porter Athletic.............................................. 740 Porter Corp................................................... 1210 Power Systems........................................... 1613 Precision Playgrounds.............................. 739 Premier Polysteel Outdoor Furniture....200 Price Chopper Wristbands.........................610 Professor Play, Inc.....................................2133 Profitable Food Facilities.........................1442 ProMinent Fluid Controls, Inc..................700 Protect Youth Sports.............................. 2509

Company Name Booth Number Public Restroom Co................................... 1841 PYI, Inc............................................................ 537 Qitele Group Co. Ltd................................... 909 QNC, Inc./Quik n’ Crispy.............................843 QR F.I.T. Trail, LLC....................................... 2500 Qualite Sports Lighting LLC......................829 Rain Bird Corp...............................................921 Rain Drop Products, LLC............................1701 Ramaker & Associates, Inc.................... 2427 Randolph Rose Collection....................... 1040 RATIO............................................................ 3200 REACH Media Network...............................306 Rec Camp.......................................................2114 RecDesk Software......................................326 ReCPro Software....................................... 1540 Recreation Accessibility Consultants LLC.........................................2007 Recreation Resource Management..... 2512 Recreonics, Inc........................................... 1419 REI Corporate Sales.....................................616 RenoSys Corp.............................................2322 Robertson Recreational Surfacing.........925 Rocky Mountain Sunscreen......................514 Rogers Sports Group, Inc.......................2343 Romtec, Inc....................................................612 Rubber Designs......................................... 3015 Rusty Oak Nursery Ltd..............................303 S&S Worldwide, Inc....................................1221

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CELEBRATING AMERICA’S BACKYARD Company Name Booth Number Safe Sitter.................................................. 2305 SAFE SPORT NET............................................331 Safeslide Restoration................................1142 Schmitz Foam Products Inc..................... 726 SCORE SPORTS.............................................1343 Scoreboard Sports......................................324 Scoremaster Goals.................................... 1921 Security Lines US......................................2222 Seilfabrik Ullmann GmbH....................... 2235 SenSource, Inc..............................................231 Shade Creations by Waterloo.................1224 Shade Systems, Inc................................. 2035 Shaw Sports Turf........................................425 SockGuy....................................................... 2519 Sof’Solutions Inc......................................... 937 sofSURFACES...............................................2418 Soft Touch Bases........................................ 327 SolarOne Solutions, Inc.............................225 South Padre Island (SPI) Nets, Inc...... 2339 SpectraTurf................................................. 1440 Spectrum Aquatics.................................... 1513 Spikeball, Inc.................................................301 SplashTacular...............................................840 Spohn Ranch Skateparks.........................1421 Sport Court...................................................536 SportsPlay Equipment, Inc......................1924 Sportzcast................................................... 1336 SSCI - Background

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Company Name................. Booth Number Screening Solutions................................... 738 Stageline Mobile Stage, Inc.......................521 STARGUM..................................................... 2408 Stern-Williams Co., Inc............................ 2026 Stewart Signs............................................ 2109 Superior Recreational Products.............902 Surface America, Inc................................2024 Swank Motion Pictures.......................... 2308 SYNLawn.........................................................601 Terrabilt, Inc.................................................203 The Inflatable Depot...................................542 The Lifeguard Store.....................................614 The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County..............................401 The Miracle League Association...........2022 The Toro Company..................................... 1801 The Triax System........................................ 1140 Think Green Promos.................................. 1138 TMA Systems, LLC.......................................2221 Tournesol Siteworks..................................632 TOWELHUB.COM.............................................513 TownSuite Municipal Software............ 2209 Tree-Mendous Aerial Adventures.........2337 Treetop Trekking Construction, LLC... 2520 Trigon Sports..............................................2443 Tuff Coat Mfg., Inc.......................................325

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Company Name Booth Number Turf Tank........................................................641 Twister Display..........................................2607 Tyler Technologies...................................... 919 TYPAR Geosynthetics, a Berry brand.. 2406 Ultimate RB, Inc..........................................2132 Ultra Play......................................................1407 Ultra Site...................................................... 1300 United States Tennis Association........ 2901 Unity Surfacing Systems......................... 600 Urban Solar....................................................515 US eDirect Inc.............................................. 505 USA Field Hockey.........................................305 USA Management........................................822 USA Shade................................................... 1030 USGreentech................................................. 437 Valmont Composite Structures Carsonite Brand....................................... 2020 Ventrac......................................................... 3301 Vermeer Corp..............................................2404 Vermont Systems, Inc...............................1217 VersaCourt................................................. 3008 Vibenomics....................................................443 Virco Inc..........................................................816 Vortex Aquatic Structures Int’l, Inc......1023 Wabash........................................................ 1532 Water Safety Products, Inc......................424 Water Technology, Inc............................. 2001 Waterplay Solutions Corp.........................823 Water’s Edge Aquatic Design..................802 Weber Group, Inc.........................................1143 Wenger Corp................................................ 1814 WhiteWater West Industries, Ltd......... 1325 Wickcraft Co................................................ 509 Williams Architects.................................. 1920 Willoughby Industries...............................1331 Winterland Inc............................................2401 Wireless Telematics, LLC........................2424 WM Holdings, Inc. dba WM Polymers........1927 Woolpert......................................................2436 XGrass......................................................... 2909 Yonglang Group Co., Ltd. ....................... 2025 Zamboni........................................................ 1019 Zeager Bros., Inc........................................ 1316 Zhejiang Bole Toy Co., Ltd.......................2127 Zhejiang Egoal Playground Equipment Co., Ltd......................................2111

N R PA E D U C AT I O N

Can’t make it to INDIANAPOLIS?

EXPERIENCE THE NRPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE FROM ANYWHERE

nrpa.org/NRPALive

NRPA UPDATE NRPA’s 2nd Annual Summer Camp on Capitol Hill Members of Congress rediscover their love for summer camp

By Megan Phillippi

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n Friday, June 29, members of Congress and their staff were invited to rediscover their love for summer camp at NRPA’s second annual Summer Camp on Capitol Hill. The DC Department of Parks and Recreation, Maryland National-Capitol Park and Planning Commission, and Caroline County (MD) Recreation and Parks Department joined NRPA at Garfield Park in Washington, D.C., to offer several activities, including arts and crafts, a plant and pollinator project, and a Commit to Health nutrition education taste test. Each of these activities allowed congressional staff to see first-hand what a child experiences at a summer camp or out-of-schooltime program offered through park and recreation centers.

In addition to the help we received from our local agencies, DC Scores, the nonprofit partner of the DC United soccer team, and tennis pros from the United States Professional Tennis Association were also on-site to demonstrate the physical activities offered to children over the summer to help them grow, learn and stay active and healthy.

Co-sponsors for this year’s Summer Camp on Capitol Hill included the Afterschool Alliance, American

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Council on Exercise, the Food Research and Action Center, the National Afterschool Association and the National Summer Learning Association. Our affinity partner, Fun Express, provided some awesome giveaways, including NRPA Summer Camp on Capitol Hill water bottles for camp attendees.

Brandon Lipps, acting deputy undersecretary for the Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture was in attendance to help highlight all the great work park and recreation agencies are doing to ensure kids continue to have access to healthy meals and snacks through the Summer Food Service Program. “USDA has the important role of ensuring kids are fed during the school year and the need for nutrition does not stop during the summer,” says Lipps. “Eighty-three percent of local park and rec departments are offering summer camps and making sure kids have adequate nutrition and are also staying engaged.”

Park and recreation agencies rely on the support of key federal fund-

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ing streams, including the 21st Century Community Learning Center program, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Summer Food Service Program. Summer Camp on Capitol Hill attendees saw first-hand how federal funding is critical to fostering healthier youth during out-of-school time (and had a blast while doing it!).

In addition to providing a showand-tell advocacy opportunity, Summer Camp on Capitol Hill served as a kickoff to the nation’s official Park and Recreation Month, which is observed each July. This year’s theme celebrates the “Lifetime of Discovery” local park and recreation agencies offer their communities, whether it be through STEM programming, older adults programs, innovative health and wellness opportunities, sports parks, aquatic complexes, community celebrations, outdoor education, flood mitigation, maintenance and more.

See the Advocacy column, “August Congressional Recess: The Opportune Time for Advocating for Parks and Recreation,” on page 24, to learn more about how you can advocate for the federal funding that supports your local parks and recreation agency by becoming a Park Champion. You can also learn more about NRPA’s Park Champion initiative by contacting Jayni Rasmussen (jrasmussen@nrpa.org), NRPA’s advocacy and outreach manager.

– Megan Phillippi is NRPA’s Public Policy Intern

PARK AND RECREATION SALARY SURVEY KEY FINDINGS

Park and Recreation Officials 2017–2018 Salary Trends

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ccording to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2015, there were more than 153,000 full-time employees of local park and recreation agencies in the United States. These individuals provide opportunities for people of all ages to experience the benefits of parks and recreation, including greater access to nature and the outdoors, and health and wellness programs that improve the health of communities overall.

Park and recreation agency leaders can determine how to attract the best staff when their decisions are informed by comprehensive compensation data. Conversely, this data also provides park and recreation professionals with insights on salary and benefits offerings from potential employers. This is where the NRPA Park and Recreation Salary Survey report (www.nrpa. org/salary-survey) comes in.

In April 2018, NRPA’s research team sent a 32-question survey to elicit not only the salary data of 10 positions at park and recreation agencies, but also about general information on benefits and salary policies. The survey generated responses from 714 park and recreation agencies across the United States, resulting in a 15 percent response rate.

The survey highlights salary and bonus data for park and recreation agency directors in the areas of planning, finance, recreation and park operations. The data included in the survey report includes detailed comparisons based on agency size, type and characteristics of the persons in the positions (e.g., education, certifications and years in the profession).

2017 TO 2018 MEDIAN SALARY INCREASES Park and Recreation Agency Director

Planning Director

Director of Finance

Recreation Director

Park Operations Director

+2.8% +2.9% +3.0% +2.6% +2.7% Park Operations Foreman

Facilities Manager

Athletics Supervisor

Aquatics Supervisor

Recreation Programs Coordinator

+3.0% +3.0% +2.5% +2.5% +3.0% SALARIES TYPICALLY ARE HIGHER FOR THOSE WITH: Greater professional experience

Greater education attainment

A professional certification

Based on the MEDIAN ANNUAL responses from PARK AND RECREATION VACATION DAYS: 714 park and recAGENCIES TYPICALLY COVER reation agencies, 87 % OF THEIR FULL-TIME the salary survey revealed the folEMPLOYEES’ HEALTH 18 days after lowing: 10 years of employment INSURANCE PREMIUMS. • Salaries are typically higher 78% of park and recreation 68% of agencies offer for those with agencies offer their full-time their full-time employees a greater profesemployees a defined defined contribution sional experience, greater benefit (e.g., pension) (e.g., 403(b), 401(k)) education atretirement plan. retirement plan. tainment and a © 2018 National Recreation and Park Association Typical 2017–2018 salary inprofessional certification, such as, creases and median annual vacaNRPA’s Certified Park and Rection days were also identified. reation Professional (CPRP) and “Public support for parks and Certified Park and Recreation Exrecreation is strong; therefore, ecutive (CPRE) certifications compensation for the people who • Park and recreation agencies typmanage our local park and recreically cover 87 percent of their ation centers should reflect that,” full-time employees’ health insays Barbara Tulipane, CAE, surance premiums NRPA president and CEO. “Agen• The majority (78 percent) of cies everywhere are encouraged to park and recreation agencies ofuse this data as a benchmark to enfer their full-time employees a sure their salaries and benefits are defined benefit retirement plan fair and competitive.”

• More than half (68 percent) of To access all of the survey repark and recreation agencies sources, visit www.nrpa.org/sala offer their full-time employees ry-survey. a defined contribution retirement plan W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | AU G U ST 2 0 1 8 |

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N R PA U P DAT E

The NRPA Store Providing you with the tools to help you expand your knowledge and stay current in the field

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hether you’re a professional in the field, a certified professional or someone advocating for parks and recreation, the NRPA Store (https://apps.nrpa.org/store/) contains many products and tools to help you not only expand your knowledge, but also continue your professional development. From books that underscore our three Pillars — Health & Wellness, Conservation and Social Equity — to study materials that support professionals seeking certification along with our abundance of online learning opportunities, the NRPA store can help you maintain an edge in a competitive field.

By sourcing books from top publishers, such as Human Kinetics, Healthy Learning and the Taylor & Francis Group, we strive to bring you current and relevant park and recreation information.

For example, under our Health & Wellness Pillar, there’s 101 Games & Activities That Teach Leadership

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and Teamwork, by Jared Knight; under our Conservation Pillar, there’s The Imperatives of Sustainable Development, by Erling Holden, et al.; and under our Social Equity Pillar, there’s Nutrition for Sport, Exercise, and Health, by Marie Spano, et al.

Our Certified Park and Recre-

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ation Professional (CPRP) and Certified Park and Recreation Executive (CPRE) programs are the national standards for those in the park and recreation field. To support these certifications, we have the recently updated Official Study Guide for the Certified Park and Recreation Professional Examination, 5th Edition, by Michael A. Mulvaney, et al., and the Management of Park and Recreation Agencies, 4th Edition, edited by Merry Moiseichik.

These resources are invaluable to individuals looking to broaden their horizons.

In addition to the publications, there’s a wealth of online learning opportunities at your disposal. You can register for both upcoming and archived webinars, including any handouts and resources, subscribe to NRPA initiatives or enroll in online courses, all within the NRPA Store.

We want you to have access to as much information as quickly as possible, so we even live-stream select sessions from the NRPA Annual Conference (NRPA Live).

In fact, registration for NRPA Live 2018 (https://learning.nrpa. org/nrpa-live-2018) is open now, so don’t miss out!

Staying relevant in an ever-changing field is difficult, and we want to make it easier by giving you all the tools we can. Your growth is only limited by your imagination! Visit the NRPA Store today at https://apps.nrpa. org/store/.

September 22 Marks the 25th Annual National Public Lands Day

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ark September 22 on your calendar and make plans to join NEEF for the 25th annual National Public Lands Day, sponsored again this year by Toyota. With this year’s theme of restoration and resilience, National Public Lands Day is expected to draw more than 250,000 volunteers to trail maintenance and planting projects, trash pick-ups and other refurbishing activities events from coast to coast.

Every day, natural disasters and extreme weather, human activities and a host of other factors take their toll on our public lands, threatening the health and well-being of the people and wildlife who depend on them. Public land managers, volunteers and others who steward these special places work tirelessly to restore them, make them more resilient to future threats and ensure that people and wildlife continue to enjoy them for years to come. National Public Lands Day is a chance to engage the local community in these efforts through volunteer events.

program will regularly engage volunteers to conserve and restore public lands, while promoting the role of community parks in improving our quality of life and the local environment. The projects will focus on conservation activities, including native plantings, trash cleanups and invasive species removal, all of which will help parks become more sustainable.

To get involved in National Public Lands Day — the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort — and to get a toolkit to help you host a volunteer event, visit neefusa.org/npld.

National Public Lands Day is a chance to engage the local community in these efforts through volunteer events.

This year, NRPA and the CITGO Petroleum Corporation are partnering to host a series of conservation-focused service days for CITGO employees and community volunteers in local parks across Texas, with the first two volunteer events kicking off on National Public Lands Day. Over the next year, the

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N R PA U P DAT E

Visit the Career Center at the NRPA Annual Conference

Hot Topics Have you posted on NRPA Connect? NRPA Connect allows you to network, share resources, ideas and inspirations with your peers in the park and recreation field.

Here’s a preview of what you’re missing:

1

Movie in the Park – Has your agency had a request for a movie to be filmed in your park? What are some obstacles and challenges you’ve faced when getting everything in order?

2

Student Volunteer Program – An NRPA member agency has been contacted by local parents, asking to start a volunteer program for students in 9th and 10th grade for the summer. The students are looking to add volunteer experience to their résumés. If you run a similar program and can provide some start-up tips, visit this discussion and share your advice today.

3

Music Licensing – What is the policy for playing music during your events and what licensing do you need to protect your agency? Musical licensing and your colleagues’ experience with BMI/ ASCAP licensing is always a hot topic on NRPA Connect. Login to find out.

4

Park Naming Contest – A fellow park and recreation agency is looking to engage the public as it redesigns an existing park into a spray park. They are planning to use a selection committee to narrow down the choices and then release a short list for public voting. If you’ve run such a contest in the past, what types of parameters did you give your residents? Do you have any examples of forms you’ve used to collect nominations? Any advice on how to best manage the process?

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hether you are an employer seeking a qualified new member for your team this fall or you are a job seeker looking to advance your career or make a change, come see us at the NRPA Career Center booth #2854! There, you’ll be able to do the following:

Meet NRPA’s Director of Human Resources, Martin Dease – Dease will be at the Career Center booth during exhibit hall hours to help answer your HR-related questions, such as how to prepare for an interview, résumé guidance and more! Stop by and say hello.

Apply for Jobs – We will be highlighting jobs in the park and recreation field from all over the country. If you see one you are interested in, you can apply on the spot using one of our computers dedicated to job seekers. Be sure to bring your résumé on a flash drive or have it in a format that’s easy to access.

Networking – You never know who you will meet at the booth! The Career Center in the NRPA Membership Booth is filled with lots of potential employees or employers. Professionals matches have been made at the annual conference before, maybe this is your year!

Unable to attend the NRPA Annual Conference this year? Here are some ways you can still use the Career Center

Don’t get left behind. Visit www.nrpacon nect.org to join the conversation.

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from your office: Showcase your open position in front of 7,000+ people – If you post your open position between August 8 and September 8 in the Career Center, it will be highlighted in the NRPA Career Center booth #2854 at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis. Job seekers will be encouraged to apply on the spot!

Fall Job Posting Discount Available – Post your open position starting August 1 through September 22 and use code 2018CONFERENCE for 20 percent off an NRPA Single 7-Day Job Posting Package or NRPA Single 30-Day Job Posting Package.

With an average of 1,093 views per job, the NRPA Career Center is the place to help you find your next team member.

Be sure to post your open position in time for the NRPA Annual Conference, and don’t forget, members always get a 33 percent discount on job posting packages. Have questions? Contact Hayley Herzing at hherzing@nrpa.org.

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Member Spotlight: Patricia Polzin, CPRP

By Vitisia Paynich

D

uring her childhood, Patricia Polzin didn’t mind being called a tomboy. The Illinois native grew up the youngest of eight children in a neighborhood where she and her siblings would head outside in the morning and would not return home until their mom called them inside for dinner. After the meal, they would, often, go back outside to catch fireflies or play a variety of games.

“We spent our days playing in local parks, neighboring fields and our yards. I fell in love with the outdoors, a variety of sports and nature at a very early age,” recalls Polzin. “I actively played volleyball and softball, but basketball was my real love — and I played it every day I could.”

Parks & Recreation magazine recently spoke with Polzin, executive

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director of Crete Park District in Illinois, to learn what drives her passion for parks and recreation, how her agency uses partnerships to offer indoor fitness programs, and what she does to stay fit.

Parks & Recreation: How did you come to choose parks and recreation as your career path?

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Patricia Polzin: In 1984, when I entered Western Illinois University, I said, ‘Parks and recreation: that’s where I want to go.’ So, I declared it as my major; however, I switched after the first semester to physical education, with an emphasis in athletic training. I felt at the time, athletic training would be my career.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education in 1988, I taught for four years in the private school system in the south suburbs of Chicago. I soon realized that I wanted to do more than teach physical education; it was my desire to provide recreation activities to all ages, including adults and seniors. In parks and recreation, people are signing up for the programs because they want to participate, want to learn new things and want to experience everything that parks and rec has to offer.

In 1992, I was hired as a recreation superintendent for Dolton Park District in Dolton, Illinois.

This launched my career in parks and recreation, and in 1993, I became executive director of Dolton Park District. I relied on many mentors in the field to help me with this transition to executive director. In July of 1998, I became the executive director of Crete Park District in Crete, Illinois, a village that my husband and I would call home and raise our sons for many years. I am blessed to have a fantastic board of commissioners and wonderful, hardworking staff.

One of the wonderful aspects of this field is that others love to share

experiences, and they are there to help each other succeed. I could call other directors for advice and guidance, and they would gladly take time out of their day to help me. Now, I have young professionals calling me for advice, and I enjoy that — as they will become the new leaders in our industry.

P&R: How does your agency promote indoor fitness within the community?

Polzin: The Crete Park District does not have a recreation or fitness center; however, we do have a cooperative agreement with our local school district and Governor’s State University in University Park, to offer a walking club and indoor swimming classes in

the evening. This created an environment for individuals to walk, swim and socialize; at the same time, swimming is fantastic fitness for all ages plus a life-safety skill. I am proud to offer both activities to our community, utilizing facilities that are already existing.

What’s more, we purchased a storefront, called Creek Park on Main, for a dance studio because interest in our ballet program has soared in our community. We have more than 150 students taking lessons and learning the fine art of ballet. We are also able to provide yoga, tai chi, karate, Zumba, qigong and gymnastics classes in our multipurpose room, along with sports classes that are offered in our local schools. Our agency

promotes family fun and community togetherness.

P&R: How do you make sure that your programs appeal to all age groups?

Polzin: Programming for all age groups is always a challenge in parks and recreation. It seems easier to program for children from ages 5–12. This is when the world is opened up to all activities in their minds, and it’s the introduction time to explore sports, arts and crafts. Parents want their children to have a variety of options, and the local park district is a perfect place to explore all options. Classes or activities are usually the first exposure some have to individual sports or classes.

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N R PA U P DAT E

The challenge is to find programs for teenagers that they will participate in without being over-supervised but still being engaging and fun. We offer programs for this age group, such as unplug challenges and scavenger hunts. The teenage group wants to be heard, and we have even had teen panels formed to help find programs that appeal to them. The seniors are our fastest-growing population that we need to program for, and they want to remain or re-achieve their health and fitness.

Offering exercise classes with qualified instructors is a must. Offering new classes, such as pickle ball and athletics, is also key to keeping our adults/seniors active.

Without proper facilities, we do face challenges with all age cate-

gories; however, we keep trying and keep offering programming — sometimes, we hit just the right activity that everyone loves. And, sometimes, we offer the same programs at different times of the day or week until we find the right fit.

P&R: What activities do you enjoy doing to maintain your own health and well-being?

Polzin: In my own spare time, my first love is my family. I have been married to my best friend, Mike, for 29-plus years and we have two sons, Tom and Mike — both of whom I am very proud. In my perfect world, I would have a fishing pole in the water sitting in a boat or on a shoreline, enjoying

YOUR

the sounds of the waves splashing against a bank or a stream flowing over rocks. Maintaining my own health is always the battle of eating healthy and getting exercise, which I typically get in the pool doing laps or water fitness.

I also enjoy traveling, hiking and exploring new areas. My other guilty pleasure is in Orlando, Florida, where Mickey Mouse and I have become very close friends.

To be honest, it’s Eeyore who really steals my heart. When asked to do this interview, I was humbled and honored at the same time. As Eeyore would say, “Thanks for noticing me.”

— Vitisia Paynich, Freelance Writer for Parks & Recreation magazine

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OPERATIONS Therapeutic Recreation and Inclusion Programs in Your Community

By Landon Schenck

P

ark and recreation departments across the country are establishing inclusive recreation programs and participation opportunities to give all citizens — from toddlers to seniors — an equal opportunity to participate in local activities, classes and athletic events. Such programs are helping communities to foster cultures of social inclusion and acceptance, and are helping young people develop into confident, capable adults, no matter their learning or development challenges. If you are ready to incorporate such programming into your activities, it will be critical that you understand the fundamentals of a successful implementation.

What Is Therapeutic and Inclusion Recreation Programming?

As a foundation for your efforts, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of inclusion and therapeutic programming, as they pertain to local government parks and recreation.

Inclusion refers to community services that provide reasonable

accommodations for citizens with disabilities to participate in recreation activities, use public facilities and enjoy community leisure activities. Reasonable accommodations may include the use of individualized techniques and resources to enhance program participation for those with special needs. To be successful, inclusion initiatives

must incorporate internal training, disability awareness programs and facility accessibility modifications.

While inclusion services provide accommodations for disabled citizens to participate in existing programs, without fundamentally altering the program or activity, therapeutic recreation programs are separate, specially designed activities that aim to meet the physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs of their participants. Ideally, your community should balance both inclusion services with specialized therapeutic recreation programs to provide the most comprehensive community offering.

The Role of Your Park and Recreation Department Therapeutic and inclusion services focus on abilities, rather than on disabilities, and enable individuals with physical, social or mental challenges to reach their fullest potential. In so doing, participants gain confidence, develop communication skills, experience moments of success, learn teamwork and make lasting friendships — all essential skills necessary for adolescent development.

As stewards of community activity participation and positive youth development, park and recreation leaders should advocate for the implementation of inclusion services and therapeutic programming in their community and for program promotion and citizen outreach and participation.

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To achieve success, follow these best practices.

How to Implement a Successful Therapeutic and Inclusion Program in Your Community Programming: 1. Communicate program benefits to all internal departments. By being part of a broader administration-wide conversation relative to inclusion services, your community will see higher adoption and more rapid success toward meeting the highest possible public accommodation standards.

2. Staff an inclusive recreation coordinator. Depending on the size of your community and your park and rec department, you may need to hire a dedicated inclusion recreation coordinator or a certified therapeutic recreation specialist to facilitate programming accommodations and train instructors on safety protocols.

3. Allow registrants to indicate if they will need reasonable accommodations. If parents or individuals who need accommodations do not see the opportunity to indicate that when they register, they may believe they will be unable to participate. If your department needs a certain amount of prior notice, note the differentiated deadline for individuals with special requests on the registration form.

4. Create and implement the use of a voluntary inclusion questionnaire. For any individual who needs reasonable accommodations, provide a questionnaire that allows you to gather all the applicable information necessary for an

activity to be safely and adequately adapted. Because questionnaire data may include protected health information, make sure all staff sign confidentiality agreements.

5. Implement a leisure companion program. Consider a leisure companion program that pairs participants with disabilities with a trained volunteer companion, who provides additional support and helps facilitate the individual’s program participation. All companion volunteers should receive specialized training in both disability awareness and emergency medical assistance.

6. Provide ongoing staff training.

By hosting ongoing training on disability awareness, activity adaption, communications and accommodation procedures, you further reinforce the importance of inclusion and keep such critical topics as safety and confidentiality top-ofmind throughout the year.

7. Ensure facility accessibility and universal design. Parks, gymnasiums, classrooms and other facilities used for recreation programs must meet accessibility standards required for parking lots, entrances, restrooms, activity areas and equip-

ment. If you are unsure if your current facility meets the highest accessibility standards, partner with a local support organization to conduct an accessibility audit and work with you to make reasonable accommodations if necessary.

8. Ensure affordability. Assess your current program’s financial structure and determine how you can enable participation by those for whom registration fees may be burdensome, especially given other possible health-related financial obligations.

9. Promote program availability to your citizens. Advertise your program availability via all local marketing channels. Not only will citizens and parents of children with disabilities be pleased to learn about new program opportunities, it will reinforce your communitywide commitment to inclusion among all citizens.

By providing inclusive park and recreation activities, you will enable all generations of your citizens to come together to share in the same goal: being active and engaged in their home away from home.

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

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OPERATIONS

Applying Technology to Real-Life Challenges

By Anthony M. Joy

D

uring a hackathon, the collective brain power and creativity of technologically oriented minds are applied against challenges that traditional partners and vendors find difficult or cost-prohibitive to remedy. With that in mind, this past April, Cleveland Metroparks formed a Hackathon committee and reached out to local schools, colleges, coding boot camps, informal tech clubs and other community organizations to find participants, who could either register as a team or individually, for its inaugural hackathon.

Hackathon participants are usually tech/science students, who form teams, normally of four people, to solve one or more problems provided by the host organization.

Solutions may range from websites and mobile apps to drones or smart devices.

Outreach was done with a variety of methods, which included targeted emails to college professors in science or info-tech fields, flyers posted at schools and making phone calls, attending tech meet-up groups around the city and working with local partners, such as IT

organizations and specific city and county departments. Traditionally, hackathons take place over a weekend with participants sleeping overnight at the location. However, the Cleveland Metroparks Hackathon schedule provided teams with several weeks to work on their projects. The kickoff event was held at the Watershed Stewardship Center on Friday, April 6, and the presentation and awards ceremony was held on Sunday, April 29 at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The members of the Cleveland Metroparks Hackathon commit-

tee included resident experts in natural resources, education and health, and other key staff. These individuals defined specific problem statements aligned to the organization’s strategic plan and created four mission-related tracks — conservation, nature education, health & fitness and an open track challenges — from which the Hackathon teams could choose. A mentor or subject-matter expert from Cleveland Metroparks was assigned to each track to assist the teams in their brainstorming and development processes.

At the April 29 ceremony, each team was required to provide a onepage executive summary about its project and a 5- to 10-minute presentation. The judges — including the Cuyahoga County’s chief transformation officer, the director of the Cleveland Water Alliance, sponsors and Cleveland Metroparks employees — used a weighted scoring system to identify the winner. The projects presented at the awards ceremony were quite varied, but all were complementary to Cleveland Metroparks’ mission. They included: • an Alexa-enabled “Ask A Naturalist” mobile app to help patrons identify plants and animals they might encounter in the parks by connecting to a naturalist at a Nature Center • a low-cost sensor that collects soil and moisture data to anaTeam ‘It’s Irrelevant Really’ (left to right: Xander Barnhart, Mike Garuccio, Kendra Egert) presents its project to the judges.

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Right: Hackathon participant, Xander Barnhart, finishes coding a project.

Bottom: Team “Ampersand” (left to right: Taniya Talukdar, Craig Lawrie, Tyler Grant) participates in a question and answer session.

lyze water flow and erosion, and relays that data back to a dashboard • a scavenger hunt mobile app • an interactive map that provides telemetry regarding migratory bird paths The winning project was a website, where panoramic images are linked to a virtual trail tour that highlights historical and natural resource information. It includes video, images and other graphical data for education, information and wayfinding.

Some projects were so promising that Cleveland Metroparks reached out to two of the teams to discuss making their prototypes into fully finished applications.

Visit https://youtu.be/B_SAoY rf7-Q to see some of Cleveland Metroparks’ technological projects, a few of which have been completed, such as the 3D Hologram, while others are ongoing or are in various stages of development and production.

An added benefit of hosting a hackathon is that it helps increase community awareness about the ways park and rec organizations use technology to enhance their mission-based work. An unexpected bonus was that hackathon participants are a new demographic, with several identifying as non-park users. Their participation in the event piqued their interest in parks and recreation, and they appreciated the oppor

tunity to participate in the event with a goal to directly impact local environmental causes.

The hackathon format harnesses the power of intelligent, motivated people who are deeply interested in applied technology. The more participants, the greater the benefits.

Cleveland Metroparks hopes to expand the hackathon format regionally and nationally, working with other agencies to help provide technological solutions to park and recreation challenges across the country.

Anthony M. Joy is the Chief Information Officer for Cleveland Metroparks (amj1@clevelandmetroparks.com).

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OPERATIONS

Health Coaching: The New Kid on the Block

By Sheila Franklin

O

ver the past three decades, the United States has seen overweight, obesity and chronic disease rates reach record highs.

We know that nutrition and physical activity are two major factors that can be utilized to help treat, reduce and prevent these numbers from rising and, ultimately, will play a key role in reversing the trends. Yet, current data confirms that physical inactivity has been on the rise for several years. of health and wellness activities, serving a wide variety of demographics throughout the nation.

They offer myriad opportunities for residents to engage in physical activity, ranging from individual use of amenities like trails, swimming pools and tennis courts, to structured programming, such as group exercise classes, youth and adult sports leagues and martial arts classes. They also are focusing on improving access to healthy foods and promoting healthy eating for their community members,

PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE

Research shows that the number of children who participate in at least one hour of physical activity per day has dropped to 26 percent and only 45 percent of adults are getting the amount of daily physical activity needed to achieve the associated health benefits. In addition, when surveyed, 23 percent of adults reported they had not taken part in any physical activity or exercise aside from their regular job in the past 30 days.

Local park and recreation agencies have become critical providers

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teaching new generations to enjoy and protect nature and working to ensure that children have access to healthy and active out-of-schooltime programs, regardless of their economic status.

Community Fitness Programming Recreation and park agencies have a long history of employing exercise professionals in a variety of ways. Most agencies offer group exercise classes as part of their programming palette and, in recent years, have begun offering the services of personal trainers. Most often this service is offered at department fitness centers, but agencies without such facilities can still offer their residents the opportunity to work with personal trainers in other settings.

Health coaches work face-to-face with individuals in a wide variety of settings, including at fitness and community centers. They also often incorporate technology in the form of either delayed or real-time communication; for example, using the phone, internet, email, video conferencing and social media.

While these exercise professionals are instrumental to recreation and park programming, there is a “new kid on the block� — health coaches. Health coaches are individuals who are passionate about health and wellness who actively collaborate with individuals and groups, assisting them in unlocking their full potential to live healthy lifestyles. From managing stress and setting goals, to eating

healthy and regularly engaging in physical activity, the health coach serves the unique role of empowering people to take ownership of their own health and to discover their own motivation for lasting behavior change. These professionals can help recreation and park agencies continue to grow their health and wellness programming and increase opportunities for community members to have easy access to behavior-change expertise around developing healthy lifestyles.

In the face of increasing lifestyle-related diseases, health coaching has the potential to have a great impact. Research shows that adopting sustainable healthy behavior patterns, including regular physical activity and sound nutrition, is key to addressing the obesity epidemic and other lifestyle-related medical conditions. Health coaches are uniquely poised to serve as guides for that sustainable change, because of their knowledge and skills in helping individuals to preserve and/or restore their health and enhance their overall wellness.

With expertise in delivering individualized treatment based on a non-judgmental, personal relationship, coupled with expertise in behavior change, fitness and nutrition, health coaches can serve as invaluable members of a healthcare team, supporting both physicians and patients in increasing quality of care while decreasing costs. “People don’t just need an exercise program or a diet plan. They need an expert who can guide and empower them. They need someone who can connect with them in a way that makes them believe they have the ability to make meaning

ful and lasting changes,� says Cedric Bryant, president and chief science officer at the American Council on Exercise.

Professional Credibility for an Evolving Field One of the most important decisions a park and recreation agency must make when offering health coaching services is what credentials they will require for their coaches. Currently, there is no regulation for health coaches, but several certifications are available, ranging in title from health coach to wellness coach. The reality, though, is that not all offer the same level of professional credibility that is imperative in this evolving field.

Professional certifications should obtain third-party validation from an independent organization that explicitly accredits certification programs. The American Council on Exercise (ACE), along with other leaders in the health and fitness industry (including other fitness certification organizations), believes that individuals who are compensated in their role as a

coach should attain a nationally accredited professional certification.

This can include a health or wellness certification accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or the International Coach Federation (ICF).

The NCCA has reviewed and accredited certifications for most allied healthcare professions, including credentials for registered dietitians, athletic trainers, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists, among many others.

Hiring health coaches whose certifications demonstrate the highest standard of competence for a coaching professional can help the park and recreation agency ensure coaches have mastered the foundational principles necessary to empower people for positive, longterm, healthy change.

Detailed references for this article are available at www.parksandrecreation. org/2018/August/health-coachingthe-new-kid-on-the-block.

Sheila Franklin is the Director of Government Relations for the American Council on Exercise (sheila.franklin@acefitness.org).

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©2018 Pentair Water Pool and Spa, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Parks & Recreation

85

park essentials

NRPA Members need the family of

THE HIGHEST QUALITY GOAL MARKET ON THE MARKET.

NORDOT® Adhesives

for both installation and turf repair.

We’re the BEST for 45 years.

Aerospace quality TIG welded construction.

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WWW.SCOREMASTER.COM

EMAIL

SALES@SCOREMASTER.COM

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1-888-726-7627

P. O. Box 241 Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 USA Tel: 908 233-6803 Fax: 908 233-6844 E-mail: info@nordot.com Web: www.nordot.com

Our goals meet or exceeds ASTM F2056 and ASTM F2673

S TA I N L E S S S T E E L , E V E RY T I M E

Outdoor Bottle Filler & Water Fountain CWBF-2-RPB-HC

ADA Compliant

REVIT details available at our website.

800.428.4065 | WilloughbyStainlessFountains.com

86 Parks & Recreation

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© 2018 Willoughby Industries Inc.

Our commercial grade allstainless-steel fixture is built to last and helps to reduce waste from disposable water bottles.

Resistant to sunlight, heat, and vandalism and available in 11 striking powder-coated colors!

Gyms for Dogs.............................................................................. 84

Aquatix by Landscape Structures. . ........................................... 23

IMC Outdoor Living. . ..................................................................... 69

BCI Burke..................................................................................15, 82

Kay Park Recreation.................................................................... 85

Bona US............................................................................................ 5

Landscape Structures, Inc. .......................................................... 7

Brigadoon Fitness. . ....................................................................... 81

Most Dependable Fountains...................................................... C2

Bright Ideas Shop........................................................................ 82 Cemrock Landscapes, Inc.. . ......................................................... 31 Classic Recreation Systems Inc.. . ............................................. 25 Custom Canopies, Inc.. . ................................................................27 Dock Blocks................................................................................... 83 DOGIPOT...........................................................................................27 Dri-Dek........................................................................................... 83 Easi-Set Buildings. . ...................................................................... 83

Murdock Manufacturing. . ............................................................. 19 Pentair........................................................................................... 85 Pilot Rock/RJ Thomas ................................................................. 29 Polly Products.. ............................................................................. 85

advertiser index

Amish Country Gazebos.............................................................. 82

Salsbury Industries....................................................................... 9 Scoremaster Goals ..................................................................... 86 Shade Systems . . ............................................................................. 1

Gametime....................................................................................... C4

Synthetic Surfaces...................................................................... 86

Gared .. ........................................................................................... 84

Vortex............................................................................................. C3

Go Ape............................................................................................ 84

Water Odyssey.. .............................................................................37

Gothic Arch Greenhouses........................................................... 84

Willoughby Industries................................................................. 86

Greenfields Outdoor Fitness .. ................................................. 2, 3

The Wood Carver, Inc./Goldenteak............................................ 86

(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 ©2018 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.

GET

YOUR DOG ON THE

COVER

Submit your best photo of YOUR DOG IN A PARK between August 2–17

www.nrpa.org/Dog-Cover-Contest

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Parks & Recreation

87

Park Bench

#PlayerOfTheDay Each day during the recently observed Park & Recreation Month, the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department named an employee the #PlayerOfTheDay and featured him or her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“Our tagline is ‘Where KC Plays,’” says Heidi Markle, KC Parks’ manager, marketing and events, “so we wanted to focus on promoting play and recognizing employees in a fun way for Park & Rec Month.”

With nearly 400 employees working at 221 parks and 10 recreation centers, this could have been an overwhelming task, but the response was seamless. The selected employees were peer-nominated and represent the variety of areas that serve KC Parks and Recreation. Markle traveled to the various locations to photograph the employees and collect pertinent data, including the answer to, “Why do you love working with parks and recreation?”

“I love watching people use parks and playgrounds that I have built and maintained,” was the response Markle got from Andy Fleming, the municipal management trainee-North District who’s been with KC Parks for five years.

“I’ve even had people invite me to join their family reunion, as they used grills I installed just the day before! Helping the citizens of my city enjoy their time together is rewarding and encourages me to take pride in my work,” he added.

The effort proved to be an encouraging way to build community, both internally, where staff offer congratulations online and in person, as well as within the local area served, by putting a face to the many things that go on behind the scenes.

At the end of the month, the 31 employees were highlighted in one document that will be shared with the park board, as well as distributed throughout the department for one more recognition. Markle adds, “It’s been very rewarding to meet the selected employees, to take their picture and get their quote. They take great pride in knowing they help make their community better.” Visit www.instagram.com/kcmoparks to see all 31 #PlayerOfTheDay employees.

– Suzanne Nathan, NRPA’s Media Specialist

Nathaniel Rogers, Labor Leader Central District, 20 years with KC Parks

88 Parks & Recreation

Andy Fleming, Municipal Management Trainee - North District, 5 years with KC Parks

Latoya Johnson, Sr. Recreation Director - Tony Aguirre Community Center, 11 years with KC Parks

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Paige Crosswhite, Part-time Recreation Director - Kansas City North Community Center, 3.5 years with KC Parks

Oliver Hurd, Supervisor of Recreation - Marlborough Community Center, 23 years with KC Parks

BRING COMMUNITIES TOGETHER THROUGH THE WONDER OF WATER At Vortex, we’re dedicated to developing unique solutions for parks and urban spaces that engage people of all ages and abilities to share moments of fun, joy and adventure.

Learn more by visiting VORTEX-INTL.COM

World leader in aquatic play solutions with over 7,000 installations worldwide VORTEX-INTL.COM | INFO@VORTEX-INTL.COM 1.877.586.7839 (USA & CANADA)

city PLAY HAS NO LIMIT ® gametime.com/neighborhood

PARKS & RECREATION AUGUST 2018 ◆ PARK DESIGN ◆ 2018 NRPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE EXHIBITORS & EVENTS ◆ ‘BUBBLE-BREAKING’ PARKS