Parks & Recreation September 2022

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contents

september 2022

FEATURES

38

Dr. Temple Grandin on the Importance of Outdoor Play

Paula Jacoby-Garrett

Parks & Recreation has a conversation with the worldrenowned scientist, animal behaviorist, advocate for autism and author.

44 Principles of Inclusive Playground Design

Cheri Ruane, FASLA

Discover seven design principles that will help create playgrounds that benefit all.

50 Welcome to the Valley of the Sun!

Vitisia Paynich

Explore fun things to do in Phoenix and learn more about the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PLAY & PARK STRUCTURES

Dr. Temple Grandin collaborates with the Play & Park Structures team as she tests their new signature ride, the Temple Trolley.

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Program

evaluation provides managers, staff and the community an opportunity to better understand current programs and to identify opportunities for improvement. PHOTO

Winard

Feeling Worthy and Important

The message in this month’s column is a simple one — making people feel worthy and important. I write this still processing the news of a beloved family member’s passing. While sharing stories recently, one of my cousins said, “Peo ple loved her for her way of making them feel worthy and important.” It struck me in sitting down to write this piece, which kicks off our Annual Conference issue, that making people feel worthy and important is what this field does.

The foundation of NRPA’s charitable mission is park and recreation equity — striving to ensure that everyone benefits from parks and recreation. When people are benefiting, they are achieving greater well-being, social connection, economic opportunity and healthier environments. What better way to make people feel important than investing in the places, spaces and programs that deliver on park and recreation benefits?

This issue of Parks & Recreation includes a couple of features that speak to this idea of making our community members feel worthy and important — from Dr. Temple Grandin’s piece on how spaces can be created to support neurodiversity, to core principles of inclusive park design.

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting and meeting with park and recreation professionals in Minnesota. One rising leader in our field, Meredith Lawrence of Mendota Heights, shared stories of how she is supporting community members through the public golf course she man ages — including three blind veterans who are able to play the course safely thanks to Law rence’s inclusive approach. Steve Benoit of Shoreview Parks and Recreation gave me a tour of their innovative playground, and I was delighted to see the intergenerational engagement in their incredible, vibrant space. Another great example of working to make all members of the community feel worthy and important came from Brad Tullberg of Brooklyn Park. He shared how they are reaching out to engage and support their growing population of New Americans — helping them to understand the benefits of parks and recreation and engage in programs and spaces.

The truth is that we all want to feel worthy and important, cared about and invested in. Family members can certainly do that, it’s true. But, when it comes to achieving that at the community level, parks and recreation is truly where that is best and most fully manifested.

Our theme of “Rise Up for Parks and Recreation” supports feeling worthy and important as a field — seeing greater investment, appreciation and celebration of the work that each of you do for one another and your communities.

KRISTINE STRATTON President and CEO

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

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chair of the Board of Directors

Carolyn McKnight-Fredd, CPRP Eagle Methods Management Consulting Dallas, Texas

Treasurer Xavier D. Urrutia

Alamo Colleges District San Antonio, Texas

Secretary

Joshua Medeiros, Ed.D., CPRE

City of Bristol Parks and Recreation Bristol, Connecticut

At Large Nonet T. Sykes

Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

At Large

Mike Abbaté, FASLA, LEED AP Abbaté Designs Portland, Oregon

President and CEO Kristine Stratton, Ex Officio National Recreation and Park Association Ashburn, Virginia

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Abbaté, FASLA, LEED AP Abbaté Designs Portland, Oregon

Kathy Abbott Boston Harbor Now Boston, Massachusetts

Jesús Aguirre, CPRE

Waterloo Greenway Austin, Texas

Rebecca Armstrong North Portland, Oregon

Jose Felix Diaz

Ballard Partners Miami, Florida

Victor Dover

Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning South Miami, Florida

Angelou Ezeilo

Greening Youth Foundation Atlanta, Georgia

Richard Gulley

San Diego Parks and Recreation San Diego, California

Monica Hobbs Vinluan

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Ashburn, Virginia

Susie Kuruvilla

Gurnee Park District Gurnee, Illinois

Joanna Lombard

University of Miami School of Architecture; Miller School of Medicine Department of Public Health Sciences Miami, Florida

Mollie Marsh-Heine Earthjustice Boulder, Colorado

Carolyn McKnight-Fredd, CPRP

Eagle Methods Management Consulting Dallas, Texas

Joshua Medeiros, Ed.D., CPRE

City of Bristol Parks and Recreation Bristol, Connecticut

Arnold L. Randall

Forest Preserve District of Cook County Chicago, Illinois

Nonet T. Sykes

Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

Xavier D. Urrutia

Alamo Colleges District San Antonio, Texas

Lakita Watson, CPRP

Richland County Recreation Commission Columbia, South Carolina

Greg A. Weitzel, M.S., CPRP

Kids Around the World Las Vegas, Nevada

Philip Wu, M.D. (Retired) Kaiser Permanente Northwest Region Portland, Oregon

LIFE TRUSTEES

Beverly D. Chrisman Lexington, South Carolina

Anne S. Close Fort Mill, South Carolina

James H. Evans New York, New York

Rosemary Hall Evans Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Earl T. Groves Gastonia, North Carolina

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

Harry G. Haskell, Jr. Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Kathryn A. Porter Mendham, New Jersey

Perry J. Segura New Iberia, Louisiana

R. Dean Tice Round Hill, Virginia

Eugene A. Young, CPRP Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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

What’s Your Funny Park and Recreation Story?

I believe if you’ve been in a job long enough, you’ve likely encoun tered plenty of strange, wild and downright hilarious moments to fill a book or two. Although I’ve been at NRPA just two-and-half years, I’ll bet many members of our park and recreation community have some really memorable and fascinating stories just waiting to be shared with our magazine team. So, in honor of our conference issue, I have one question for you: What’s your funny park and recreation story involving kids? We’re very excited to learn about these stories, however, please ad here to a few ground rules: (1) Keep it professional; (2) don’t include the full name of the person(s) involved; and (3) think light and funny We invite you to email your story at prmagazine@nrpa.org

If you’re attending the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference in Phoenix this month, I recommend reading our cover story, “Dr. Temple Gran din on the Importance of Outdoor Play,” on page 38, which profiles one of NRPA’s featured conference speakers. Author Paula M. Jacoby-Garrett spoke one-on-one with this esteemed scientist, animal behaviorist and author, as well as an important voice for those living with autism. “Having autism herself, Dr. Grandin is both an advocate and spokesperson for individuals on the autism spectrum. Recently, she has lent her knowledge and expertise to the park and recreation world through a unique collaboration with Play & Park Structures,” JacobyGarrett writes. This important partnership emphasizes the need for inclusive design in playground equipment, so that individuals of all abilities can enjoy outdoor play.

Contributor Cheri Ruane takes this concept one step further with the feature article, “Principles of Inclusive Playground Design,” on page 44. According to Ruane, “With each new universal design, we have an opportunity to move the needle on what constitutes a great playground. You simply cannot make progress if it’s not compelling to people of all ages and abilities.”

Are you currently planning your trip to Phoenix? Check out our special conference section on page 50, which offers a handful of suggestions for fun things to do in the city nicknamed, “The Valley of the Sun.” You’ll also find a handy list of frequently asked questions to assist you with your registration and travel needs.

Lastly, don’t forget to visit our expansive exhibit hall, where you’ll discover a plethora of com panies and service providers showcasing the latest products available on the market. And, be sure to say hello to our magazine team in the NRPA Member Area Booth #2559. We look forward to meeting you, answering your editorial questions and, perhaps, hearing your funny park and recreation story. You never know…it just might be published in a future magazine issue. See you in Phoenix!

PRESIDENT AND CEO Kristine Stratton

VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org

EXECUTIVE EDITOR AND DIRECTOR OF PRINT AND ONLINE CONTENT

Vitisia Paynich vpaynich@nrpa.org

MANAGING EDITOR Lindsay Hogeboom lhogeboom@nrpa.org

MANAGER OF ONLINE CONTENT

Jennifer Fulcher-Nguyen jnguyen@nrpa.org

PUBLICATION DESIGN

Kim Mabon/Creative By Design CreativeByDesign.net

SENIOR CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

WESTERN REGION AND ASIA Michelle Dellner 703.858.4635 mdellner@nrpa.org

SENIOR CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER EASTERN REGION AND EUROPE Paul Semple 916.880.5225 psemple@nrpa.org

DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Melissa Hunter 703.858.2199 mhunter@nrpa.org

PHOTOGRAPHY

Dreamstime.com or NRPA (unless otherwise noted)

MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Anthony-Paul Diaz, Chair

Michael Abbaté, FASLA

Neelay Bhatt

Ryan Eaker

Kathleen Gibi

Paul Gilbert, CPRP

Tim Herd, CPRE

Denise Johnson-Caldwell

Roslyn Johnson, CPRP

Michele Lemons

Sarah Lisiecki

Sam Mendelsohn

Maria Nardi

Lisa Paradis, CPRP

Paula Sliefert

Shonnda Smith, CPRP, AFO

Ronnetta Spalding

Anne-Marie Spencer

Stephen Springs

Amelia Storer

VITISIA

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION

Parks and Recreation Mourns the Loss of Historian and Scholar Dr. Charles Hartsoe

By Jennifer Fulcher

Champion, ambassador, gentleman, leader, scholar, icon, friend “en cyclopedia of institutional information,” and “one of the great ones” — these are the words others in the park and recreation field use to describe Dr. Charles Edwin Hartsoe, who passed away on May 15.

The field and NRPA communi ty mourn the loss of Hartsoe — a well-respected educator, historian and advocate. Throughout his long and distinguished career, he served as an NRPA Life Trustee; past pres ident of the NRPA Board of Trust ees; executive director of the Nation al Recreation Foundation; founding member and former chairman of the Joseph E. Lee Memorial Library; and an Ambassadors Club member.

“Charlie was an encyclopedia of institutional information on the his tory and evolution of the NRPA,” says Kenneth Kutska, CPSI, exec utive director of the International Playground Safety Institute and past member of NRPA’s Board of Trustees. “He was not only a schol ar, but a gentleman who spread the word of our profession. He [will be] missed by me and others who had the pleasure to be a friend through the 1990s and 2000s.”

Hartsoe, a native of Bluefield, West Virginia, served in the U.S. Air Force before earning a Bachelor of Science in recreation and youth leadership from Springfield College in Massachusetts, and then a master’s degree in recreation and parks from University of Illinois. He entered the field through an internship program sponsored by NRPA, working as an intern for Robert Crawford,

commissioner of recreation for Philadelphia. After the internship, Hartsoe continued working for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation as an administrative analyst, according to a biography (tinyurl. com/2p8vsr9r) by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA).

Hartsoe began working for the National Recreation Association, now known as NRPA, as assistant executive director in 1960. He be came an historian who chronicled the evolution of NRPA and its role as a leader in the parks and recre ation movement. He was one of the founding members of the Joseph E. Lee Memorial Library and Ar chives — a physical library for parks and recreation historical and tech nical documents located at the Na tional Recreation Association head quarters in New York. When the organization became NRPA, much of the library’s collection eventual ly moved to NRPA’s current head quarters in Ashburn, Virginia.

Hartsoe left NRPA and returned to the University of Illinois to lead the undergraduate program for the Department of Parks and Recre ation while working on completing his Ph.D. In 1968, he became associ ate professor of recreation and parks at Penn State University; in 1971, he

became chair of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. From 1977 until his retirement in 1995, Hartsoe served as chairman of the Department of Recreation at Virginia Commonwealth Univer sity where he was named Professor Emeritus, according to the AAPRA biography.

Throughout this time, Hartsoe continued to serve as a park and rec reation leader. He was as a member of the NRPA Board of Trustees from 1976 to 1978. He received the NRPA Distinguished Professional Award in 1989; earned the Ralph C. Wilson Award for Exemplary Volunteer Ser vice to NRPA in 2001; and became a NRPA Life Trustee in 2004.

To read more about Hartsoe, visit nrpa. org/InMemoriamCharlesHartsoe.

( jnguyen@nrpa.org).

Jennifer Fulcher is NRPA’s Online Content Manager

PHOTO COURTESY OF NRPA ARCHIVES

Dr. Charles Hartsoe

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Oceanside Harbor

The value of joining NRPA and obtaining CPRP designation

By Ted Schiafone, CPRP

Before purchasing and managing a private marina on the west coast of Florida, I had a career in banking, and prior to that, in private enterprise business. During that time, I was profit driven and had high standards of customer service.

After selling my marina, I tran sitioned to managing a small cityowned marina on the east coast of Florida. I then was offered an op portunity to manage a large harbor on the southern coast of Califor nia. What is interesting about mu nicipal harbors is that they are gen erally organized as an enterprise business. They are not funded by tax dollars and, as a result, need to be profit driven in order to operate. However, as a publicly-owned busi ness, there are high expectations to support access and recreation to residents and visitors. In “The Golden State,” the entire coast line is regulated by the California Coastal Commission. This agency requires access to the harbor’s re sources at low or no cost.

After spending a few months in my position at Oceanside Harbor in San Diego County, I realized

our harbor was City of Oceans ide’s most active park, even though we are not a designated park. Our property is teeming with walkers, joggers, bikers, kayaks, paddle boards, picnics and sightseers.

This realization prompted me to join NRPA, in order to gain insight into the operation of parks. As a member, I saw the opportunity to further my knowledge by becom ing a Certified Park and Recreation Professional. Through NRPA’s monthly magazine, Parks & Rec reation, and other NRPA publica tions and communications, I began to realize the opportunity to create equity and more access for our low-income residents and visitors, and people with disabilities.

One challenge we face is that a significant portion of our revenue must go to maintaining our docks, service buildings, beach, roadways and parking lots. The internal ques tion we ask ourselves is: How do we meet our obligation to maintain the harbor and create more equity in our park-like features? The answer is fairly simple. As we plan projects and routine maintenance, we must design for low- and no-cost features that improve access for all of our visitors and residents.

We learned that integrating eq uity into our initial design did not cost more. For example, we have a number of concrete picnic tables

throughout the harbor that need ed to be refinished. These tables included a 2-foot by 3-foot insert on the tabletop that had an outdat ed marketing message. We simply designed a gameboard on weath erproofed material to replace the old insert. This offers our visitors a chance to play checkers, chess or backgammon by bringing their own game pieces.

Another example comes from our design for the replacement of a sidewalk in a heavily traveled area along our harbor village of stores. There were several pinch points due to the placement of trash receptacles, trees, light posts and signposts. The design and con struction to widen the travel path cost no more than if we had re placed the existing design.

My personal favorite example of a simple way we are incorporating equity into our plans is the design and future conversion of a small patch of green space into a rock garden for kids and adults to paint their own rocks or stack them.

While Oceanside Harbor is not officially designated as a park, by viewing this public amenity through the lens of parks and recreation, and with the help of NRPA resourc es, we have been able to incorporate equity into our harbor management practices, bolstering access and recreation opportunities for all of Oceanside’s residents.

Salvatore “Ted” Schiafone, CPRP, is Harbor Division Manager at Oceanside Harbor (tschiafone@oceansideca.org).

Although not a designated park, Oceanside Harbor in California is City of Oceanside’s most active park.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TED SCHIAFONE

Creating Dynamic Community Hubs Through Tennis

By Victoria Chiesa

Through new and exciting partnerships at public parks and recre ation facilities from coast to coast, the United States Tennis As sociation (USTA) hopes to change the game for families across the country. With the support of PlayCore and Impact Parks, the USTA is creating new and innovative community hubs throughout the United States: immersive experiences that will combine tennis and other racquet sports with play areas and social activities to positively impact na tional health and wellness.

Access to tennis at public parks is crucial to the association’s mission of promoting and developing the sport’s growth in the United States, according to Craig Morris, the USTA’s chief executive of community tennis. Through the construction of these community hubs, the goal is to build upon the momentum in participation growth that the sport has enjoyed over the past two years. Since 2019, nearly 5 million people have started playing or returned to tennis, an increase of 27.9 percent. Much of this growth has been among youth and communities of color.

“Delivering tennis through parks and recreation is one of the most important factors in the growth of

tennis in this country,” Morris says. “Partnering…will allow us to bring the sport for a lifetime to communi ties across the country in an entire ly new way.”

But these community hubs won’t just support tennis, which is their chief innovation. In the same twoyear timeframe, pickleball gained 1.36 million additional players around the United States, while padel, a cross between tennis and squash, is thriving. The develop ment of these new hubs will al low for centralized consolidation of these racquet sports in a single location, affording players easi er access to one or more of them. They’re also dynamic; they can be built small, centered around as few as two tennis and two pickle ball courts, or they can be large, sprawling facilities with a stadi um, practice wall and more than two-dozen courts for tennis, pick leball and padel. For those not yet old enough to hold a racquet or

padel, the inclusion of playgrounds will encourage exploration, and by extension, an early propensity for an active life.

On the vision for communi ty hubs, Bob Barron, executive director of Impact Parks, says: “For communities looking to ex pand intergenerational activities, we’ve innovated spaces that… can more easily create public opportunities to build skills and discover a lifelong love of sports and active behavior.”

Lisa Moore, senior vice presi dent for corporate strategic service at PlayCore, adds: “We are thrilled about the partnership with USTA and our like-minded values of providing intergenerational activ ities to enhance the quality of life through parks. This collaboration will help create more opportunities for diverse people to connect out doors and engage in tennis, play and just [be] together.”

Since 2019, nearly 5 million people have started playing or returned to tennis, an increase of 27.9 percent.

In addition to supporting the creation of these hubs, the USTA also has the technical, business and advocacy resources to help them thrive. The association offers complementary expertise and as sistance to all park agencies, and works in tandem with them to both understand their unique situations and equip them with the resourc es to bolster the work they do in their communities. For example, the USTA’s Tennis Venue Services team can assist with the construc tion of new courts and the im

PHOTO COURTESY OF PLAYCORE, INC.

provement of existing courts to ensure they’re built to last, while its Park Agency Tennis Assessment provides an in-depth, personalized action plan — containing anything from staffing recommendations to the latest industry research and data that outline opportunities for growth — to improve an agency’s tennis infrastruc ture and delivery.

Melissa Battite, the director of recreation and com munity programming in Lexington, Massachusetts, is one industry professional who can attest to the value that these services provide; she recently worked with the USTA on finding solutions for the town’s infrastructure and its complementary racquet sports offerings.

“The opportunity to participate in the assessments program has provided our organization with feedback for our current level of services in addition to recom mendations for both short-term and long-term plan ning,” she says. “The USTA team is knowledgeable, professional and a resource that all communities should embrace for guidance and support when considering the delivery of programs, services and capital planning of hard-court surfacing for racquet sports.”

Member Benefit: NRPA Member Discount Programs

NRPA members receive news, exclusive education and networking opportuni ties, advocacy support, grant opportu nities, and much more to help them be successful. Did you know NRPA also offers special discounts on the products and services listed below? As a member, you get immediate ac cess to these valuable benefits:

Accessibility Audits – Receive a discount on all accessibility au dits and services provided by WT Group, LLC. Visit WT Group in Booth #608 at the 2022 NRPA An nual Conference.

Background Screenings – Back ground Investigation Bureau (BIB) is NRPA’s exclusive background

screening provider. BIB’s Secure Vol unteer platform makes background screening volunteers easy by com bining great technology with a quali ty screen. Visit BIB in Booth #508 at the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference.

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Health and Emergency Network Platform – ePACT is an incredibly easy-to-use system to collect emergen

cy information, waivers and consents. You also can use ePACT to commu nicate with your customers and their emergency contacts in a crisis. Visit ePACT in Booth #2543 at the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference.

Insurance Programs – Take ad vantage of NRPA’s many insurance programs, ranging from blanket rec reational activities/medical plans, instructors and interns liability, team sports, football, equipment, and notfor-profit organization liability insur ance provided by K&K Insurance.

Questions about taking advan tage of your member benefits? Con tact Hayley Herzing, senior man ager of membership, at hherzing @nrpa.org

Victoria Chiesa is Content Producer and Editor for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) (victoria.chiesa@usta.com).

RESEARCH

The

2022 NRPA Park and Recreation Salary Survey

By Melissa May

As the nation and the economy continue to recover from the coro navirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the labor market has grown even tighter. During spring 2022, labor force participation continued to lag pre-pandemic levels, while empowered workers switched jobs more frequently than they had in the past as a part of the “Great Res ignation.” Consequently, park and recreation agencies must offer compen sation packages for their staff that include competitive salaries and robust benefits to attract and retain the best and brightest for their teams.

The 2022 NRPA Park and Recre ation Salary Survey report (nrpa.org/ SalarySurvey) features detailed base salary and bonus data for 10 typical park and recreation agency positions. Comprehensive compensation data provide park and recreation agen cy leaders with guidance on how to attract the best candidates for their staff. Such data also can provide in sights into salary and benefits offered by potential employers.

The 2021 to 2022 median salary in creases for 10 typical park and recre ation agency positions are as follows:

• Park and Recreation Agency Di rector (or Executive Director or Superintendent): +3.1%

• Planning Director (or Superin tendent): +3.5%

• Director of Finance (or Admin istrative Director or Business Manager): +3.2%

• Recreation Director (or Rec reation Superintendent or As sistant Director – Recreation): +3.4%

• Park Operations Director (or Maintenance Director or Main tenance Superintendent): +3.5%

• Park Operations (or Mainte nance Foreman): +3.8%

• Facilities Manager: +3.1%

• Athletics Supervisor (or Athlet ics Manager): +3.4%

• Aquatics Supervisor (or Aquat ics Manager): +3.5%

• Recreation Programs Coordi nator (or Recreations Programs Manager): +3.4%

Benefits

Worker compensation is about more than just salaries and bonus es. Benefits, including paid time off, insurance and retirement plans, can represent nearly a third of a work er’s total compensation and include:

• Time off: Park and recreation agencies typically provide 10 days of annual vacation to their newly hired full-time employees. After five years of employment, the median number increases to 15 days per year, growing to 20 days after 10 years of service. Agencies typically provide 12 days of annual sick leave.

• Maternity and paternity leave: A third of park and recreation agen cies currently offer specific paidleave benefits associated with the birth or adoption of a child. Elev en percent of agencies provide specific paid maternity benefits; 22 percent provide specific paid

maternity and paternity benefits.

• Health insurance: Park and rec reation agencies cover a median 84 percent of their employees’ health insurance premiums.

• Retirement options: Forty-three percent of agencies offer their employees defined benefit (DB) plans and defined contribution (DC) plans, providing a greater diversity of retirement options for their staff. More than three in four agencies have a DB program as part of the compensation packag es they offer to newly hired, fulltime employees; 67 percent offer a DC plan either in conjunction with a DB plan or as the sole re tirement benefit offering.

Minimum Wage Policy and Seasonal Employees

Part-time and seasonal workers are essential contributors to park and recreation agencies. Part-time and seasonal employees typically re ceive compensation at or just above minimum wage. The lowest hourly wage paid by nearly two-thirds of park and recreation agencies is the statutory minimum wage to which they are subject. At 15 percent of agencies, the minimum wage paid matches the current federal mini mum wage of $7.25 per hour; an other 48 percent of agencies pay a locality/state minimum wage that is higher than the federal minimum.

The full 2022 NRPA Park and Rec reation Salary Survey report with comprehensive salary data, sample job descriptions, sample organi zation charts and a benefits break down can be accessed at NRPA Connect (connect.nrpa.org).

Melissa May is Senior Research Manager at NRPA (mmay@nrpa.org).

Think you know which one is LED?

NRPA PARK PULSE

Parks and Recreation Provides Healthy, Local Food Options

More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults say it is not easy or they are unsure how to access locally-grown food. Black (71%) and Hispanic (65%) adults are less likely than their white counterparts (76%) to say it is easy to find locally-grown food.

According to the 2022 NRPA Agency Performance Review, 45% of park and recreation agencies operate community gardens and 21% administer or manage farmers markets, increasing healthy, local food options for their community members.

Each month, through a poll of 1,000 U.S. residents focused on park and recreation issues, NRPA Park Pulse helps tell the park and recreation story. Questions span from the serious to the more lighthearted. The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com).

Visit nrpa.org/ParkPulse for more information.

National Plan, Local Partners

Parks and recreation at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health

By Asia Simms and Dan McCarthy

After more than 50 years, the White House will once again con vene a national Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health this month. In reconvening this conference, the Biden-Harris administration welcomed partners from all sectors to partici pate in the development of a national strategy. On behalf of our members, NRPA contributed recommendations on how park and recreation agencies can help meet these challenges with innovative solutions.

To guide the conference’s discus sions and national strategy, the ad ministration established five pillars of discussion: improving food access and affordability, integrating nutri tion and health, empowering all con sumers to make and have access to healthy choices, supporting physical activity for all, and enhancing nutri tion and food security research.

Park and recreation professionals — and the programs, services and spaces they provide — play a vital role in ensuring all people can thrive in the communities where they live,

Food insecurity and other diet-related chronic diseases, like heart disease and diabetes — which are some of the lead ing causes of death and disability in the United States — persist at alarmingly high levels. More than 38 million people experience hunger in the nation, with children, Black, Latinx, Native American, Asian Pacific American, older adults and rural communities disproportionately im pacted. Source: NRPA (nrpa.org/blog)

learn, work and play. At NRPA, we want to end hunger by making it easier for everyone — including urban, suburban, rural and Tribal communities — to access and afford food by expanding eligibility for and increasing participation in food assistance programs. Investing more reliably in parks and recreation and community-based organizations will make it easier for everyone to access and afford healthy and local foods nutrition education, food assistance programs, as well as safe, active transportation to grocery stores, farmers markets and other food distribution centers.

We want to empower all com munity members to make and have access to healthy choices, environ ments, workplaces and schools by investing in culturally appropriate public messaging and education campaigns that resonate with com munities. We want our nutrition and food security policies informed by issues of equity, access and dis parities, and supported by inte grating nutrition and health, par ticularly in nutrition metrics, data collection, and research. We want to prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health,

including disease prevention and management, and ensure that our healthcare system addresses the nutritional needs of all people.

Parks, trails and green spaces offer physical and mental health benefits, so much so, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Communi ty Preventative Services Task Force (CPSTF) (tinyurl.com/4atupc3z) recommends park and trail infra structure to increase physical activity. When combined with other health interventions, the CPSTF found that park and trail infrastructure increased the amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity by 17 percent. Offi cially recognizing the importance of parks in its public health recommen dations is a step in the right direction.

As millions of people living in the United States continue to face barriers to health, now is the time for park and recreation profession als to elevate their voice. NRPA en courages our members to be active participants in shaping the admin istration’s national strategy and its areas of focus by lifting up stories of lived experiences with hunger, poverty or other barriers to health, and sharing recommendations on how to improve community health and well-being at its roots.

Please join us in spreading the word by tweeting @NRPA_news and @WhiteHouse with the hashtags #EndHungerNow and #PowerOfParks with your message. We look forward to working with the administration, Congress and our partners to address community health and well-being nationally and locally.

Asia Simms is NRPA’s Park Champions Initiative Specialist Intern (asimms@nrpa. org). Dan McCarthy is NRPA’s Advocacy Manager (dmccarthy@nrpa.org).

In our rapidly changing world, it’s become increasingly more import ant to utilize outdoor spaces for a healthier lifestyle with open spaces for activities of leisure and sport. Parks, playgrounds and other out door areas have become instrumen tal safe havens for kids and adults seeking to enjoy life to its fullest. With society’s emphasis on more outdoor activities, it also raises the need for protection from the harm

ful effects of the sun and its ev er-present ultraviolet (UV) rays. Unprotected exposure to the sun’s UV rays can cause damage to the skin, eyes and immune system. It also can cause cancer. There are other contributing factors, such as heredity and environment, but sun burn and excessive UV light expo sure damage the skin. This damage can lead to skin cancer or premature skin aging.

One of the most popular ways to defend against over-exposure has been the emergence of fabric shade systems. For the past 26 years, Shade ‘n Net has been a pioneer in the shade industry, pro viding protection with our highly effective and attractive cable-ten sion structures and sails. With ex treme spans between columns, fabric shades have been the go-to for park professionals, schools and any other entity that has visitors engaged in outdoor activities. With a wide range of applications (e.g., playgrounds, sport courts, pool decks, bleachers, etc.), Shade ‘n Net has assisted tens of thousands of satisfied clients in enhancing their athletic and play sites with a wide variety of aesthetically pleasing de signs that come in dozens of differ ent color options.

Shade ‘n Net structures have proven to be an excellent long-term investment with multi-year warran ties and engineer-designed systems that withstand the test of time with professionally-manufactured, maintenance-free structures. With Arizona as the starting point (our manufacturing plant is based in Phoenix), clients have come to know that the structures that we supply withstand the harshest of elements year after year. Also, they have the comfort of knowing that with the same original ownership, Shade ‘n Net always stands behind their product and honors their warranties.

Gaining national recognition be yond Arizona, we’ve also had tre mendous success supplying our systems throughout the country and even shipping systems as far away as Europe, Asia and Africa. Whether we’re covering your neigh borhood playground equipment or helicopters for the U.S. Military, we always strive to provide the most effective, attractive protection!

Measuring Health and Wellness Program Impact

By Dianne Palladino, Austin Barrett and Allison Colman

In their unique role as Community Wellness Hubs (nrpa.org/Community WellnessHubs), park and recreation agencies connect every community member to essential programs, services and spaces that advance health equity, improve health outcomes and enhance quality of life. As such, health and wellness programming can be designed to target any combination of the social determinants of health (tinyurl.com/5x4yfewa) — all of which have a direct impact on people’s health, well-being and quality of life.

Health and wellness programming for parks and recreation can cover a range of topics, including nutrition, physical activity, mental health and many others. As trusted gathering places, park and recreation agencies are uniquely able to reach a wide audience through programming, services, education and other health promotion activities because of their close community connection.

Measuring the impact of these programs takes many forms and

can be challenging to design, es pecially for those new to program evaluation. Program evaluation provides managers, staff and the community an opportunity to bet ter understand current programs, to examine how well they are func tioning and to identify opportuni ties for improvement. Evaluation is an ongoing practice because of multiple factors that interplay in a health program. Thus, collecting information and gaining perspec

tive through evaluation is essential to improving program processes and outcomes from their develop ment through completion.

During July 2022, NRPA re leased a framework to help park and recreation professionals measure and evaluate health and wellness programs. Developed in partner ship with NORC at the University of Chicago, a non-partisan research institution, with funding from the Walmart Foundation, NRPA’s Health Impact Evaluation Framework: Measuring the Process and Outcomes of Health and Wellness Programs (nrpa.org/HealthImpactEvaluation Framework), is a comprehensive guide that connects agencies to ex isting evaluation tools, data sources and resources. The framework will help agencies better evaluate the im pacts of park and recreation health interventions and communicate them more effectively to local elect ed officials, members of the public and philanthropic supporters.

PHOTO

Program evaluation provides managers, staff and the community an opportunity to better understand current programs and to identify opportunities for improvement.

Key Sections of the Framework

The framework includes five sec tions designed to guide readers throughout the evaluation life cycle, including:

• Importance of Evaluating Health and Wellness Programs

– Definitions of health and well ness and program evaluation

• Program Design – Useful tools to organize programs and pre pare for successful evaluation

• Designing an Evaluation Plan –The evaluation approach, evaluation questions and determining evaluation capacity

• Collecting/Analyzing Data –Data needs, collection, analysis and interpretation

• Using Evaluation for Improve

ment and Advocacy – Translat ing findings into action

Case studies, worksheets, and links to resources and data sources provide additional guidance on implementing a holistic evaluation process within park and recreation agencies.

Why Evaluate?

NRPA’s Health Impact Evaluation Framework: Measuring the Process and Outcomes of Health and Wellness Pro grams will help park and recreation professionals navigate the entire evaluation life cycle for health and wellness programs, from program design through sharing results with stakeholders. Professionals can use the tools and resources provided in the framework verbatim or modify them to meet their needs. Evalu

ation can help park and recreation professionals identify, strengthen and promote the ways in which their agency contributes to improving the overall health and wellness of communities. With guidance from the Health Impact Evaluation Framework: Measuring the Process and Outcomes of Health and Wellness Programs, park and recreation professionals are one step closer to harnessing the power of pro gram evaluation.

Inquiries about the Health Impact Evaluation Framework should be addressed to NRPA’s Evaluation team at NRPAEval@nrpa.org.

Dianne Palladino is Director of Evaluation at NRPA (dpalladino@nrpa.org). Austin Barrett is Evaluation Manager at NRPA (abarrett@nrpa.org). Allison Colman is Director of Health at NRPA (acolman@nrpa.org).

An historic house, farm and plantation comprise the Latta Nature Preserve, which was purchased by Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in the mid1970s.

Historic Plantation Reimagined in Mecklenburg County

By Chris Matthews

Managed by Mecklenburg County’s Park and Recreation Depart ment, Latta Nature Preserve is a 1,460-acre passive recreation park that protects significant natural resources and provides water quality protection for Mountain Island Lake — the pri mary drinking water supply reservoir for the greater Charlotte, North Carolina, area. Located within the nature preserve is a circa 1800 historic farm and plan tation known as Latta Place. The historic Latta site currently occupies about 16 acres within the preserve. There are 19 structures on the property, two of which remain from the original James Latta plantation. The property, historic house and several other historic structures are owned by Mecklenburg County.

When the property was purchased by the county in the mid-1970s, the management, maintenance and pro gramming associated with the histor ic site was contracted to a nonprofit organization. Up until the summer of 2021, the nonprofit was charged with stewardship of the plantation grounds, along with a carriage barn, cabins and outbuildings, and the de

velopment of programming to give visitors a glimpse into 19th century life in the Carolina backcountry.

The Issue

In June 2021, the county opted not to renew its Annual Performance Agreement with the nonprofit orga nization. This was a result of signifi cant public backlash over advertising

for a post-coronavirus (COVID-19) Juneteenth event, called “Kingdom Coming.” Specifically, the issue was that the program description, posted on the nonprofit’s website and on social media, did not acknowledge the historical significance of June 19, a day that commemorates the final emancipation of slaves in the United States. Instead, the program descrip tion appeared to strike a sympathetic tone for those who had owned slaves, referring to one slave owner as an “overseer” and a “massa.”

Even though Mecklenburg County did not oversee day-to-day programs at the living history museum, park and recreation department staff took swift action to recommend the can cellation of their agreement. “That context, we felt, was not in accor

dance with what we were trying to do with the facility,” W. Lee Jones, direc tor of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, says. Once the premises were vacated by the nonprofit, the complete responsibility for management and future programming be came the sole responsibility of Meck lenburg County Park and Recreation.

The Present

The change in management opened the door for reinvention of the site — not by denying its painful past, but by allowing for a space to share its history from a sensitive, unbiased frame of reference. Since closing the site, Mecklenburg County has de veloped a basis for the project that consists of three phases: Discovery, Blueprinting and Implementation.

In Discovery, the department

moved forward with goals of eq uity, inclusion and compassionate, truthful programming. Staff quickly initiated conversations with com munity partners, including museum professionals, local historians and experts in the interpretation of Afri can American experiences during the antebellum period. The project team also consulted with scholars to en sure that next steps are informed by current research.

The Future

The Blueprinting phase will begin summer 2022, with the development of an Interpretative Master Plan that will be executed by an outside con sultant. The goal of the plan is to help develop interpretative themes and a timeline for implementation. The Blueprinting phase also will in

clude archival research and story col lection from key descendants identi fied as having ties to Latta Place. The final phase, Implementation, will be gin in fiscal year 2023-2024 and will conclude with the reopening of the site to the public.

The project taking place at Latta involves a tremendous amount of transformation. What began as a change in management has evolved into a journey of reflection and heal ing. This project has afforded all involved a chance to revisit the past with hopes of reshaping the future.

An extended version of this column is available online at parksandrecreation. org.

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

Can We Talk About Resilience?

By Ayanna Williams, MSW

This year has provided many opportunities to practice resil ience — the ability to adapt and rebound when faced with change. Sometimes, you can anticipate change and plan for it. Other times, the change might be so subtle and slow that you don’t realize it’s happening. Resources to respond (such as money, volun teers, supplies, etc.) might be readily available, or it might take some time to figure out an appropriate response.

Anytime is a good time to discover resilience in your community. We can foster resilience by cultivating relationships across sis ter agencies (e.g., local health de partments or nonprofits), neighbors and other like-minded partners and advocacy groups. I recently moved about 400 miles from a city I called home for 15 years. The first places I visited were parks. Some I visited for a quiet respite to clear my mind and get away from the stress of moving. I also sought out parks for local farmers markets and social op

portunities, like outdoor concerts. I found myself looking around to see who and what was in the park. I looked for green infrastructure proj ects. Some became easy to see when it rained, and the grounds became saturated like an over-filled sponge. I noticed recreation centers were the location of cooling centers when the heat climbed above 90 degrees and stayed there for a week. I was looking for community resilience and was relieved to find it.

Anytime is a good time to explore resilience in your community.  New

leadership, planning and budgeting are opportunities within which you might discuss the role of parks and recreation. Most types of plans can include a discussion of resilience, master plans, strategic plans, sustain ability plans, community revitaliza tion and emergency preparedness. Just asking two or three simple ques tions can help park and recreation professionals and people outside of the field to think about the role of parks in community resilience:

• Distributive – Who has physical access to local park and recreation spaces? Is there parking, sidewalks and public transportation?

• Procedural – Who decides the budget, operations, maintenance and programming? Can lead ership in the parks department, elected officials or engaged resi dents influence the process?

Just asking two or three simple questions can help park and recreation professionals and people outside of the field to think about the role of parks in community resilience.

• Interactional – How are people treated in local park and rec reation spaces? Who feels wel comed? Who feels unwanted? Could staff benefit from more training in this area?

• Care – How do people steward local park and recreation spaces and the broader environment? Is this an opportunity to partner with community nonprofits?

Anytime is a good time to en courage resilience in your com munity. We have the opportunity to ensure resilient climate solutions are incorporated into communities across the country. NRPA has de veloped a suite of green infrastruc ture resources to provide the tools, knowledge and resources to plan,

implement, maintain and advocate for greener parks and open spaces. These resources also can help your staff, partners and elected officials understand the multiple benefits green infrastructure can bring to surrounding communities. Some of those benefits include improved community health, access to green spaces and nature, and opportunities for education, employment, and resiliency.

NRPA’s resources include:

• A guide of best practices for plan ning, constructing and managing green infrastructure in parks

• Case studies and briefing papers that take a deep dive into some key areas, like community en gagement, funding and equity

• The Green Infrastructure Evalu ation Framework (tinyurl.com/ bdcscr64), which helps deter mine what data points to mea sure and how to measure them to show the impact of these spaces

• The National Green Infrastructure Certification Program, a profes sional certificate from an online course focused on designing, implementing and maintaining green infrastructure in park settings

What’s more, you can leverage park and recreation spaces through partnerships to access more funding and increase the positive impacts for your community.

Ayanna Williams, MSW, is Director of Community and Environmental Resilience at NRPA (awilliams@nrpa.org).

Retaliation After Gender Discrimination Claim

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

In the case of Davis v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and David son County, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50820 (M.D. Tenn. 3/22/2022), Plaintiff claimed her supervisor had retaliated against her after she had filed a gender discrimination claim against him, thus creating a hostile work environment in violation of federal civil rights law.

Facts of the Case

From October 1978 to July 2017, Plaintiff was an employee at one of Defendant’s departments, the Metro Parks and Recreation De partment (the Parks Department). During her tenure at the Parks De partment, Plaintiff worked in the Community Recreation Division and the Revenue Producing Divi sion. Plaintiff had no disputes at her workplace until 2011, when the Parks Department hired Tommy Lynch to be its director. According

to Plaintiff, Lynch created a “good ol’ boys atmosphere,” which he formalized in 2013 by merging the application process for two assistant director positions in Special Ser vices and Community Programs.

Plaintiff applied for the position of assistant director for Special Ser vices, which was one level above her then-position as superintendent of Golf. After panel interviews for both assistant director positions (Special Services and Community Programs), the hiring committee

ranked Plaintiff as number “one” in the process. However, a longtime male employee, John Holmes, re ceived the Special Services position, while Plaintiff received the Commu nity Programs position. In Plaintiff’s view, her experience in the Revenue division made her the most qualified candidate for the Special Services position. Believing that she had been a victim of gender discrimination, Plaintiff filed a complaint about the job promotion process with Defen dant’s human resources (HR) de partment on June 27, 2013.

Plaintiff asserted that she be gan experiencing retaliation the following day when Lynch’s as sistant refused to allow Plaintiff to access her own personnel file, to which Plaintiff previously had easy access. Immediately thereaf ter, Lynch threatened Plaintiff’s job, informing her that she might not last in the department for the remaining year and four months until her eligible retirement date.

In the case of Davis v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Plaintiff claimed her supervisor retaliated against her after she filed a gender discrimination claim against him.

Soon after, Lynch’s “open door” policy to speak with him, which he granted to everyone in the Parks Depart ment, no longer applied to Plaintiff. Around the same time, Lynch made sure someone else always sat in on his biweek ly meetings with Plaintiff. Lynch also spoke with Plaintiff’s peers about her complaint and questioned Plaintiff’s “loy alty” for accusing him of gender discrimination.

In July 2013, Lynch informed Plaintiff that her gender discrimination complaint had been turned over to HR to be investigated. A month later, Plaintiff met with two HR employees to discuss how to stop the retaliation and harassment Lynch was directing at her. At the meeting, Plaintiff explained that she was working in a hostile envi ronment; in response, the HR employees said they would stop the retaliation and harassment against Plaintiff.

In October 2013, Lynch evaluated Plaintiff’s work performance. The scores Plaintiff received were the lowest scores Plaintiff had ever received in her career, as well as the lowest possible on the evaluation form. Plaintiff believed the evaluation was illegitimate and returned it to Lynch. Lynch then amended the evalu ation to include higher scores, with the revised score being a 3.31 out of 4. Lynch evaluated Plaintiff again at the end of 2013. Plaintiff’s average score in this eval uation was 3.35 out of 4.

In June 2014, Lynch issued a written reprimand via email to Plaintiff for missing a work meeting. Approximately six months later, Lynch issued another written reprimand via email to Plaintiff, this time for missing a work deadline. Fol lowing this second reprimand, Plaintiff spoke with Lynch about the email, and she claims that he spoke to her like a child and dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

For his part, Lynch admitted to “being irate” and raising his voice at Plaintiff and other employees at times. Plaintiff further contends that Lynch did not reprimand other assistant directors for similar conduct, but Lynch claims that he verbally reprimanded other employees for being unprepared at meetings. In addi tion, Lynch testified that he had issued written repri mands to other employees for unrelated issues.

In July 2015, Lynch completed another work eval uation for Plaintiff. He gave Plaintiff’s performance a 2.88 rating on a scale where two was considered ac ceptable and three was considered commendable. In his rationale for the score, Lynch wrote:

Sally has done a credible job in Recreation but her rela tionship with peers in the department and her supervisor continues to deteriorate. She has been reprimanded with

in the past year; and yet seems to think she is entitled to not respond to her supervisor in certain situations. Plaintiff, however, disputes that her relationships with peers had deteriorated. A few days after Lynch’s evaluation, Plaintiff requested another meeting with HR to discuss her complaints regarding Lynch.

New Supervisor

In February 2016, Lynch appointed Monique Odom as deputy director of the Parks Department. As the deputy director, Odom held an equivalent rank and a functionally similar position in the department as the assistant directors, including Plaintiff.

In April 2016, Lynch informed Plaintiff that she would now be reporting to Odom, who would then report to Lynch. Around the same time, Lynch stopped speaking to Plaintiff except at group meet ings, and Plaintiff began having biweekly meetings with Odom instead of Lynch. Plaintiff was the first assistant director supervised by Odom, but Odom eventually supervised all the assistant directors with 22_001919_Parks_n_Rec_SEP Mod: July 20, 2022 4:10 PM

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in the Parks Department. Plaintiff expressed to Odom, many times, her concern about the pattern of retaliation, harassment and hostile work environment she felt she was being forced to endure, including the fact that she had to report to Odom.

In early January 2017, Lynch transferred Plaintiff’s assistant of 14 years to another division with out consulting or notifying Plaintiff beforehand. Neither Plaintiff nor her assistant was provided with an explanation for the move. Odom, however, said she supported the move and had planned to move this assistant once Lynch retired and she became director of the department.

Later that month, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the Equal Employ ment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), arguing that she had been subjected to harassment and intim idation after filing a sex discrimi nation complaint with HR. A little more than five months later, on July 2, 2017, Plaintiff voluntarily retired.

Procedural History

In April 2017, Plaintiff initiated her lawsuit in federal district court, al leging retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Defendant sub sequently moved for summary judg ment on all of Plaintiff’s claims.

Summary judgment for Defen dant, effectively dismissing Plain tiff’s lawsuit, would be appropri ate only if Defendant could show there was “no genuine dispute as to any material fact” and Defen dant was, therefore, “entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A genuine dis pute about a material fact would exist when “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could re

turn a verdict for the nonmov ing party,” in this case, Plaintiff.

Initially, the federal district court ruled Plaintiff’s retaliation claims based on acts that occurred before March 31, 2016, were timebarred because Title VII required an EEOC complaint to be filed “within 300 days after the alleged employment practice occurred.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1).

In addition, the court ruled each of the three discrete acts that oc curred after March 31, 2016, were “not retaliatory,” including: the April 2016 placement of Plain tiff under Odom’s supervision, Lynch’s September 2016 written reprimand, and the January 2017 transfer of Plaintiff’s assistant.

The federal appeals court, howev er, reversed the summary judgment based on Plaintiff’s hostile workplace theory, which was characterized as a retaliatory harassment claim and remanded Plaintiff’s retaliatory harassment claim back to the fed eral district court. On remand, the federal district court would have to “determine whether the conduct of Plaintiff’s employer, in a cumulative assessment, would have dissuaded a reasonable employee from making a charge of discrimination.”

Four Factors for Retaliation

According to the federal district court, Plaintiff would have to demonstrate the following four fac tors cited in the Supreme Court’s “McDonnell Douglas framework” to establish a “prima facie” (i.e., le gally sufficient) claim of retaliation:

(1) Plaintiff was engaged in a protected activity; (2) the exercise of protected rights was known to the employer; (3) the employer took an adverse employment ac

tion against Plaintiff; and (4) there was a causal connection between the adverse employment action and the protected activity.

On appeal, Defendant conceded the first two McDonnell Doug las factors are satisfied because “Plaintiff’s June 2013 gender dis crimination complaint constitutes a protected activity about which it knew.” Defendant, however, ar gued “the third and fourth McDon nell Douglas factors are not met because Plaintiff has not shown a harassing environment that is caus ally related to her June 2013 gender discrimination complaint.”

Adverse Employment Action

As described by the federal district court, an adverse employment action in the retaliation context is conduct that “might have dissuaded a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination.” Moreover, in determining whether Plaintiff was subjected to a hostile work environment, the court would assess “the cumulative effect of Defendant’s actions as if they constitute one unlawful employment practice.” In so doing, the court would consider more than just employment-related conduct because a charge under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) “extends beyond workplace-related or employmentrelated retaliatory acts and harm”: We evaluate all the circumstanc es, including the frequency of the discriminatory conduct; its severi ty; whether it is physically threat ening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance.

In addition, the court also would

determine “whether Defendant’s con duct included repeated abusive dis criminatory comments or treatment.”

Relevant Actions

In determining whether “Defen dant’s conduct might have dissuad ed a reasonable worker from mak ing a charge of discrimination,” the federal district court acknowledged “a hostile work environment can not be said to occur on any particu lar day.” On the contrary, the court would consider “the entire time pe riod of the hostile environment” if “at least one act contributing to the hostile-work-environment claim occurred within the filing period.”

In this particular case, the court would, therefore, consider actions that took place before March 31,

2016, if those acts were “sufficient ly related to those incidents occur ring within the [300-day] statutory period as to form one continuous hostile work environment.”

Because the federal district court already had ruled certain acts were “not retaliatory,” Defendant claimed the court should not con sider three actions that occurred after March 31, 2016: (1) Odom’s supervision of Plaintiff starting in April 2016; (2) Lynch’s September 2016 written reprimand; and (3) the January 2017 transfer of Benson, Plaintiff’s assistant. The federal dis trict court rejected this argument.

In the opinion of the court, these non-retaliatory actions from June 2013 through January 2017 were still “relevant to determin

ing whether Defendant’s conduct might have dissuaded a reasonable worker from pursuing a discrimi nation charge”: Even where one employment ac tion may not rise to the level of an adverse action, multiple incidents taken together might dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a discrimination charge…. Furthermore, the ex istence of an extended period of time where few (or no) hostile acts take place does not prevent actions occurring before and after that time period from being part of the same hostile work environment. As a result, the court would con sider all acts predating March 31, 2016, as part of the alleged hos tile work environment,” as long as

Kelsy Maxie Frisco, Colorado

those acts were:

Sufficiently related to those inci dents occurring within the statutory period as to form one continuous hostile work environment and a rea sonable person in the same factual circumstances with the same train ing and experience as the aggrieved employee would believe that the con duct complained of was unlawful. In this particular instance, the court found Lynch had committed acts both inside and outside the stat utory 300-day period that purport edly contributed to a hostile work environment, including: threatening Plaintiff’s job; no longer extending his open-door policy to Plaintiff; questioning Plaintiff’s loyalty in front of her peers; assigning Odom to supervise Plaintiff and transferring Plaintiff’s longtime assistant.

Cumulative Effects

The specific issue before the federal district court was, therefore, “whether the cumulative effect of Defendant’s pre- and post-March 31, 2016 actions created a hostile work environment.” According to the court, there was a “relatively low bar” to satisfy the le gal standard as to “what might dis suade a reasonable employee from making a charge of discrimination,” including the following circumstanc es in this particular case:

Transferring a long-time assis tant without explanation, placing an employee under the supervision of a peer, placing an employee on paid administrative leave for a few days, or suggesting that an em ployee obtain other employment because things are not working out.

As noted by the court: “Even something as seemingly trivial as a supervisor’s failure to invite an em ployee to lunch could ‘deter a rea

sonable employee from complain ing about discrimination’ in certain circumstances.”

As noted by the court, Plaintiff had filed her gender discrimination complaint in June 2013. Shortly thereafter, the court found “Lynch informed Plaintiff that she might not last in the department until she was eligible to retire.” Further, the court acknowledged that Lynch had: Questioned Plaintiff’s loyalty for accusing him of discrimina tion; excluded Plaintiff (and only her) from his open-door policy; and stopped meeting with Plaintiff alone at their bi-weekly meetings.

Under such circumstances, the federal district court found: “A reasonable employee might think twice about pursuing a discrimi nation complaint if her supervisor, who also happens to be the target of the complaint, then informs the employee that she might not re main with the department.”

With regard to the alleged differ ent treatment of Plaintiff in Lynch’s open-door policy, the court further found “a reasonable worker in Plain tiff’s position might construe this treatment as an attempt to isolate her in the workplace, which also could constitute an adverse action.”

In addition, the court found “Lynch’s decision to meet with Plain tiff only with somebody else present could be reasonably interpreted as an indictment of her honesty.” As char acterized by the court, “such a ‘wit ness’ arguably would be necessary only if Plaintiff could not be trusted to accurately recount the proceedings of her meetings with Lynch.”

The court further noted, “a few months later, Lynch gave Plaintiff the lowest performance evaluation scores she had ever received in more

than three decades.” In the opinion of the court: “Such an unexpected evaluation might make a reasonable worker wonder whether her discrim ination complaint had something to do with the scores.” According to the court: “This is especially true be cause Lynch’s subsequent decision to give Plaintiff higher scores for the same evaluation could be seen as calling into question the legitimacy of the original scores.”

Accordingly, the court concluded that the cumulative effect of “Lynch’s actions in April 2016 and January 2017 also could be seen as contrib uting to an environment that might dissuade a reasonable worker from pursuing a discrimination claim.” In reaching this conclusion, the court further recognized that an “adverse employment action” was indicated by Plaintiff’s having to “report to Odom, a peer who held a functional ly similar position within the depart ment as Plaintiff.” According to the court, “this act alone could dissuade a reasonable worker from pursuing a discrimination claim.” In addition, the court found the January 2017 transfer of Plaintiff’s assistant also suggested “an adverse employment action intended to isolate Plaintiff in the workplace.”

Based upon these facts, the feder al district court held: “a reasonable jury could conclude that the cu mulative effect of all these actions subjected Plaintiff to a workplace environment that might dissuade a reasonable worker from pursuing a charge of discrimination.”

Causation

The federal district court then proceeded to consider “the fourth and final McDonnell Douglas fac tor, causation.” In determining

causation of an adverse employ ment action, the federal district court would consider “the work environment created by the cumu lative effect of several actions’’:

[T]he causation inquiry asks whether this work environment was caused by Plaintiff’s June 2013 gender discrimination com plaint, not whether any discrete act carried out after March 31, 2016, was caused by the complaint….

A causal connection between an employer’s actions and a protected activity can be established if the adverse action was taken shortly after the plaintiff’s exercise of pro tected rights….

Where an adverse employment action occurs very close in time after an employer learns of a protected

activity such temporal proximity be tween the events is significant enough to constitute evidence of a causal con nection for purposes of satisfying a prima facie case of retaliation. Under the circumstances of this particular case, the court conclud ed a reasonable jury could find Plaintiff was subjected to an ad verse work environment after her June 2013 discrimination claim un til January 2017, when Plaintiff’s longtime assistant was transferred without notice or explanation:

The allegedly hostile work envi ronment here began shortly after Plaintiff filed her gender discrim ination complaint, with Lynch threatening Plaintiff’s job, chal lenging Plaintiff’s loyalty in front of her peers, excluding Plaintiff

from his open-door policy, and re fusing to meet with Plaintiff alone.

As noted by the court, “these actions occurred within days or weeks after Lynch learned of the discrimination complaint.”

Conclusion

Having found sufficient evidence in the pretrial record to support Plaintiff’s retaliation claim, the federal dis trict court rejected Defendant’s mo tion for summary judgment, which would allow Plaintiff’s retaliation claim to proceed to trial for consideration by a jury.

James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., is an Attorney and Professor emeritus in the School of Sport, Recreation and Tourism Management at George Mason University ( jkozlows@gmu. edu). Webpage link to an archive of articles (1982 to present): mason.gmu.edu/~jkozlows/lawarts/artlist.htm

Dr. GrandinTemple on the Importance of Outdoor Play

By Paula M. Jacoby-Garrett

As a child, my world was divided into two places: inside and outside. It was the 1950s, and if we had any say, my siblings and I preferred to play outside. We just loved being outdoors, whether it was the neigh borhood with its playgrounds or our backyard or the woods beyond.

The outdoors is where I first started making discoveries, though I never would have called them that. I never would have thought that splitting rocks, or collecting shells, or dissecting flower buds was something scientists did to unravel Earth’s mysteries. To my mind, I was just playing. It’s only looking back now that I see how curiosity led to observation, and how observation is at the heart of all science. If you like looking at trees, and bark, and the pattern of veins in leaves; if you are fascinated by clouds or the spots on a ladybug’s back; if you like to split open rocks and see what’s inside, then you’re already an outdoor scientist. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, a question that grown-ups are fairly obsessed with. I also had no idea that all the stuff I loved doing as a kid would come to inform my life’s work.

–

Dr. Temple Grandin, The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World

A conversation with the world-renowned scientist, animal behaviorist, advocate for autism and author

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PLAY & PARK STRUCTURES

Dr. Grandin observes children testing the Temple Trolley prototype at Play & Park Structures’ prototype facility.

Dr. Temple Grandin is well known for her work in animal sci ence and autism. In 2010, actor Claire Danes portrayed her in the award-winning HBO biographical film, Temple Grandin. As a prolific writer, she has authored numerous books and articles, sharing her wealth of knowledge in pro fessional and mainstream circles. Recognizing her work as a col lege professor at Colorado State University, CEOWORLD maga zine named her one of the top 10 college professors in the United States (tinyurl.com/yk6zcpk3).

Having autism herself, Dr. Grandin is both an advocate and spokesperson for individuals on the autism spectrum. Recently, she has lent her knowledge and expertise to the park and recre ation world through a unique col laboration with Play & Park Struc tures. She teamed up with the company to develop the Temple

Trolley, a unique play event that incorporates spinning, swinging and gliding into one multisensory piece of equipment. Activities like spinning can have a calming effect on individuals with autism and can aid in reaching developmental milestones.

On September 21, during the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference in Phoenix, Dr. Grandin will pres ent the session, “Inclusion for All Types of Minds and Bodies in Parks and Recreation With Dr. Temple Grandin,” and speak later at the Best of the Best awards cer emony ( nrpa.org/Conference ). She will be sharing her research and insight on how people think differently. Parks & Recreation magazine recently caught up with Dr. Grandin to discuss the impor tance of outdoor play and how neurodiverse individuals can be included in recreation environ ments.

Parks & Recreation: What impact did time outdoors have on you as a child?

Dr. Temple Grandin: Outdoor time was my fun time. Mother used to say to me, “go out, run the energy out of you.” We rode our bikes all over the neighborhood. I would spend hours working on my dif ferent kite inventions when I was 7 and 8 years old to figure out how to make them fly better. It was all done outdoors. I just loved it.

P&R: A recent study stated that children spend less than 10 minutes daily in unstructured outdoor play in the United States. In comparison, on average, children spend seven hours on a screen daily. What impacts do you feel this has on our youth?

Dr. Grandin: I think that’s just ter rible. When I was a child, we were limited to one hour of TV a day during the week and two hours on Saturday and Sunday, and my mother had to approve the shows. The rest of the time we spent out side, making up games and playing with neighborhood friends. Many kids live in my neighborhood, and there’s a building near where I live with a very nice playground. I nev er see kids on that playground. Free play is something that they don’t get much of at all today, and I think that’s a problem.

I remember talking to a lady that ran summer camp at a farm. In the morning, they had struc

Children at Signal Centers in Chatta nooga, Tennessee, show Dr. Grandin the Selfie Swizzler, a playground component designed to incorporate spinning and rocking at the same time, which many children with autism enjoy.

Dr. Grandin collaborates with the Play & Park Structures team as she tests their new signature ride, the Temple Trolley.

tured activities. Then, it was time for free play in the orchard in the afternoon. These were 8- or 9-yearolds. She said for about a day, the boys would mope around because they didn’t have any electronic devices. And then, maybe a day and a half into it, they would discover free play. They had the greatest time and wanted to come back next year, but they had to go through device withdrawal first.

Dr. Grandin: I remember reading a book years ago, called Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv. He talked about how, gradually, kids spent less and less time outside. And I think it’s unfortunate. I think about my time outdoors when I was a child. We would go to the beach in the summer, and I’d look for shells and make stuff out of them. You have to get people out there doing things. There are all kinds of things you can do. Like in my book, The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World, you can go out and observe animals. They’re fun to observe, just watch ing them doing all sorts of things. I had somebody complain and say, “Well, there are no animals in the city.” I said, “What about pigeons? Plenty of those. What do they do? You can look at the stars and watch the space station as it goes by.” These are all things that families of all incomes can do.

P&R: Over the years, there has been a focus on inclusion in park and playground creation to provide spaces and

equipment for various physical capabilities. Your collaboration with Play & Park Structures is one of the first to address the needs of those with different minds who have different play needs and styles. What needs or factors should be considered when planning play spaces for those individuals?

Inspired by her own childhood experi ences, Dr. Grandin smiles as she rides the new Temple Trolley prototype designed by Play & Park Structures.

Dr. Grandin: The first step you must realize is that people think differently. Let’s just think about making designs for play equip ment. A lot of that work is done by industrial designers rather than engineers, who are visual thinkers. I know the Play & Park

P&R: What strategies can we use to encourage more outdoor time for our youth and adult populations?

Structures team gets many of their designers out of the industri al design department rather than the engineering department. Af ter the design process, you must have some engineering to ensure the equipment is structurally safe. I think it’s good to have things be more inclusive; to do so, you must have different types of thinkers involved in the creation process.

P&R: You have stated that spinning was a vital play component for you as a child. What other types of sensory-rich movements should be incorporated into play equipment for neurodivergent individuals?

Dr. Grandin: Balancing activities should be incorporated into play grounds and equipment. There are therapies where they’ll nail a twoby-four [board] to the floor and get the kid to walk across it because

balancing activities are helpful for development. Also, things like horseback riding where you can get both balance and get rhythm. Those types of movements can be beneficial to a child.

P&R: When designing or planning for those who think differently, should individual needs be primarily considered, or should group play be prioritized?

Dr. Grandin: Both individual and group play are essential. Swings, of course, are more individual play. When I was a child, there were seesaws where two kids had to cooperate to make that work. Kids would also play together on the jungle gym. There was also a…gigantic slide at our school, and we had to take turns going on that; we had to line up and take turns.

Dr. Grandin: Activities don’t need to be expensive. I wrote a book, called Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inven tor, which is all my parachute and kite experiments that I spent hours working on. I had to tinker and experiment to get my kite to work or get my parachute to open. These were things that didn’t cost a lot of money.

I’ve met kids that never made a paper airplane or snowflake. I gave a book signing for Calling All Minds four years ago in a nice suburb of Denver. About 30 per cent of the kids that came to the signing had never made a paper airplane. Well, we got a lot of printer paper that night, and they got to make them. They found it fun throwing them off the bal cony into the theater. And if it didn’t work, they got another piece of paper to try again. Kids today are removed from the world of hands-on making and are too afraid of making mistakes.

P&R: We’ve talked a lot about children and their outdoor experiences. How can our parks and recreation centers support the outdoor experience of adults with different minds?

P&R: For those municipal parks, schools and community centers that may not have new equipment in their budget, what can they do to support a neurodiverse population?

Dr. Grandin consults with the Play & Park Structures’ design team manager in the testing laboratory at the manufac turing facility in Fort Payne, Alabama.

Dr. Grandin: I think we just need to get everybody out there doing things. More time outside is good and giving people a sense of pur pose is important. I went to a place that has a group home for people that have severe intellectual disabilities. They had a workshop where they made artwork and sold it. You see, that’s something real. It’s not just busy work — it’s something that has a purpose.

P&R: We are excited to have you as one of the marquee speakers at the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference in September. What are you most looking forward to at the conference?

Dr. Grandin: One of the things

I want to talk about is different kinds of thinking and how there are different kinds of minds. I’ve got a new book coming out short ly after the conference on Octo ber 11, called Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstrac tions. In the book, I talk about how different people have differ ent ways of thinking.

I used to think everybody thought in pictures. The movie Temple Grandin shows perfectly how I think, and I thought ev erybody thought that way. I was shocked that some people think in words. And I discovered that in my late 30s. You have visual thinkers that like building things and mechanics. Then you have the visual-spatial thinkers that are

good at patterns, math and music. And you’ve got people that think in words. Individuals that have a label often are more extreme. They might be an extreme math ematician. They might be an ex treme picture thinker like me, or there are some that are extreme word thinkers, good at language.

The first step is to become aware that different types of minds exist.

To hear Dr. Grandin talk more about different types of think ing, tune in to the September bo nus episode of Open Space Radio at nrpa.org/September2022Bonus Episode.

Paula M. Jacoby-Garrett is a freelance writer located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

INCLUSIVE Principles of Playground Design

Designing playgrounds to benefit all

By Cheri Ruane, FASLA

The concept of “universal” or “inclusive” design means that the design of products and environments should make them us able by all people to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or special ized design. This includes people of all ages with au tism, intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and other mental or physical disabilities, as well as their caregivers. The concept also addresses the needs of other children.

Inclusive playgrounds should use similar or adjacent means of access and appeal to a variety of interests and needs.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WESTON & SAMPSON

When it comes to playgrounds, such inclusive design should ac commodate everyone and chal lenge them at their own develop mental level.

The goal of designing inclusive playgrounds is to maximize each facility’s usability by individuals with a wide variety of characteris tics. Whether we are talking about learning strategies or physical space, inclusive design operates by a distinct set of principles designed to maximize access and everyone's enjoyment of a space.

As with many aspects of our daily lives, one size does not fit all. Well-designed outdoor play envi ronments must include a variety of experiences, be accessible to people with varying skill sets, and, most importantly, they should be fun!

With each new universal design, we have an opportunity to move the needle on what constitutes a great playground. You simply cannot make progress if it’s not compelling to people of all ages and abilities. The experience must appeal to people’s sensory abilities and preferences in terms of sound, vision and touch, and be appropri

ate for everyone, regardless of the user’s sensory abilities.

Let’s look more closely at the seven principles that govern univer sal playground design.

Principle 1: Equitable Use

The design is useful and market able to people with diverse abilities.

Highlights:

• Provide the same means of use for all users that are identical whenev er possible; equivalent when not

• Avoid segregating or stigmatiz ing any users

• Make provisions for privacy, security and safety equally avail able to all users

• Make the design appealing to all users

All users should use similar or adjacent means of access when playing. The experience of the play features should appeal to a va riety of interests and needs. Phys ical effort should be minimized with light to moderate force, but this doesn’t mean it shouldn’t in volve some level of risk. A vari ety of means of approach to the

same element can be effective. For example, a multilevel water table should accommodate users of dif ferent heights and abilities, includ ing those in wheelchairs.

Ensuring adequate clearance for mobility devices is another important component. One example involves a tall slide that may be ac cessed by a hillside scramble, a rope ladder, and a sloped pathway so that each individual arrives at the top by whatever means best fits that person.

Principle 2: Flexibility in Use

The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

Highlights:

• Provide choice in methods of use

• Accommodate right- or left-handed access and use

• Facilitate the user’s accuracy and precision

• Provide adaptability to the user’s pace

Flexible design in inclusive playgrounds means that the design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities, including low- to high-risk takers. A play feature that includes adaptable features for a range of users will be most flexible. For example, interactive elements, like musical instruments, may be flush with the ground to walk on or roll over, at seated height for touch or overhead to reach and stretch. The output also should be varied (e.g., vibration and sound). Interactive features, like hand bikes and balance

Flexible design in inclusive playgrounds means that the design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

Inclusive playground designers must incor porate considerations, like economic, engi neering, cultural, gender and environmental concerns, into their design processes.

beams, can be used in a variety of positions (sitting, standing, on the ground or on a supporting surface). All interactive features should be mounted or securely attached to a footing so that people can use these elements to move from sitting to standing and vice versa.

Principle 3: Simple and Intuitive Use

Use of the design is easy to under stand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills or current concentration level.

Highlights:

• Eliminate unnecessary complex ity

• Be consistent with user expecta tions and intuition

• Accommodate a wide range of literacy and language skills

• Arrange information consistent with its importance

• Provide effective prompting and feedback during and after task completion

A simple, inclusive design al lows a feature’s use regardless of the user’s abilities. For example, it should be obvious for people in wheelchairs that the transfer steps and handrails for certain activities are meant to support their engage ment. Concentration level is an often-overlooked consideration. Kids and adults may have different levels of concentration, even with in the span of a park visit.

Principle 4: Perceptible Information

The design communicates neces sary information effectively to the

user, regardless of ambient condi tions or the user’s sensory abilities.

Highlights:

• Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential infor mation

• Provide adequate contrast be tween essential information and its surroundings

• Maximize “legibility” of essen tial information

Inclusive design provides multiple means of access while always including a path of less or low resistance for those who need it.

• Differentiate elements in ways that can be described (i.e., make it easy to give instructions or di rections)

• Provide compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people with sensory lim itations

One example of universally perceptible information in inclu sive design is the use of different colors to indicate the intensity of experience on specific pieces of play equipment. For tall slides and speedy spinners, a warmer color indicates a high level of in tensity. At the water table or mu sical instruments, a cooler color signals a calmer environment.

Principle 5: Tolerance for Error

The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of acci dental or unintended actions.

Highlights:

• Arrange elements to minimize hazards and errors (i.e., the most used elements should be the most accessible, whereas the most challenging elements should be less centralized)

• Provide warnings of hazards and errors

• Provide failsafe features

• Discourage unconscious action in tasks that require vigilance

Inclusive design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions. Children are always looking to use playground equipment in ways that the designers had not intended. Can the child use the equipment in an un intended way and still not get hurt? This must be carefully balanced, however, with a kid’s innate desire to take risks and use the equipment in ways that are outside their com fort zone. Each play “event” should appeal to individuals at varying ages and developmental levels and should promote its use in more than one way (e.g., a spinner can be used from a seated position on the ground or be sat or stood upon).

Principle 6: Low Physical Effort

The design can be used efficiently and comfortably, and with mini mum fatigue.

Highlights:

• Allow users to maintain a neu tral body position

• Use reasonable operating forces

• Minimize repetitive actions

• Minimize sustained physical effort

Inclusive design allows for the users to be able to exert all the energy they would like once they get to a specific place in the play environment. However, an un even access path, for example, could tire out users in wheel chairs or on crutches before they even get to where they want to go, which can cause frustration. This doesn’t mean that all ap proach sequences to play events need to be low physical effort — that will not create a diverse experience, nor will it create the possibility of goal setting for in cremental advancement of one’s own development. Instead, it is important to provide multiple means of access with varying de grees of physical difficulty while always including a path of less or low resistance for those who need it. This also encourages imagination and social play and promotes discovering new ways to play (e.g., cause/effect, build ing, pretending) and stimulates physical or mental activity.

Inclusive playground equipment should be easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills or current concentration level.

“Universal” or “inclusive” design accommo dates users of all abilities to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Principle 7: Size and Space for Approach and Use

Appropriate size and space are pro vided for approach, reach, manipu lation and use, regardless of the us er’s body size, posture or mobility.

Highlights:

• Provide a clear line of sight to important elements for any seat ed or standing user

• Make the reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user

• Accommodate variations in hand and grip size

• Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or per sonal assistance

Because of the space needs of the users of inclusive playgrounds, both in accessing and experiencing the spaces, accommodations for approach, reach and manipula tion must be made. Such designs, for example, would provide ample space to park a wheelchair or walk er while the child engages with wa ter or music play. Another example might be that users who are not very steady on their feet may need a larger standing area on the equip ment than more able-bodied users.

Additional Considerations

The principles of universal design address more than just usability; de signers also must incorporate other considerations — such as econom ic, engineering, cultural, gender and environmental concerns — into their design processes. The princi ples described in this article offer de signers guidance to better integrate

features that meet the needs of as many users as possible.

No matter the size or shape of an inclusive playground, there are always ways to design it so that it can be used and enjoyed by a wide

range of abilities. All it takes is some thought, some good ideas, and a lit tle bit of creative thinking.

Cheri Ruane, FASLA, is a Vice President and Design Discipline Lead at Weston & Sampson.

Welcome to the Valley of the Sun!

Explore Phoenix and the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference

By Vitisia Paynich

This year, the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference takes place September 20-22 in Phoenix. Nicknamed “The Valley of the Sun,” Phoenix is located in the Sonoran Desert and earns its moniker from the area’s exceedingly sun-drenched climate and lack of rainfall throughout the year. As the sixth-largest city in the United States, Phoenix boasts a population of 1.68 million people and welcomes more than 16 million visitors annually. Most notably, the founders of the city named it Phoenix after the bird “because it had sprung from the ruins of a former civilization that had vanished in history. As a result, the Phoenix bird became the official city symbol” (tinyurl.com/yck439cc). Thus, the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference theme “We Rise Up for Parks and Recreation” complements this year’s conference location perfectly.

We invite you to join us and your fellow park and recreation colleagues for a week of high-powered networking, thought-provoking education, exciting exhibits and just some good old-fashioned fun in the sun! Whether you plan to arrive early or extend your stay in the city, here are some attractions worth visiting — along with frequently asked questions that might help make your conference planning a breeze.

Arizona Science Center

Located in downtown Phoenix, this popular attrac tion offers daily demonstrations, hosts shows at its Dorrance Planetarium and boasts a five-story, massive screen in its IMAX Theater. Check online for a list of events along with coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols.

Address: 600 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85004

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily Website: azscience.org

Admission: Adults $21.95, seniors (65+) $19.95, children (ages 3 to 17) $15.95. *Due to limited daily capacity, guests are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance online.

Desert Botanical Garden

Spanning 55 acres, this botanical garden features thousands of species of cactus trees, flowers and other plant life.

Address: 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy. Phoenix, AZ 85008

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Website: dbg.org

Admission: General admission $14.95 to $24.95, children (ages 3 to 17) $14.95, children 3 years and younger free. Guests are required to purchase tickets in advance online.

Castles N’ Coasters

This venue is perfect for visitors desiring low-key, fam ily entertainment and for thrill seekers wanting to test the limits — from miniature golf and arcade games to a two-loop rollercoaster.

Address: 9445 N. Metro Pkwy. E., Phoenix, AZ 85051 Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Website: castlesncoasters.com Admission: $7 to $55 passes

Heard Museum

This art museum presents the stories of Indigenous people from a firstperson perspective, as well as exhibitions that showcase the beauty and vitality of traditional and contemporary art.

Address: 2301 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85004

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday Website: heard.org

Admission: Online tickets — adults $20, seniors (ages 65+) $17, students (w/ college ID) $9, children (ages 6 to 17) $9, children 5 years and younger free. On-site tickets — Adults $23, seniors (65+) $20, students (w/ college ID) $9, children (ages 6 to 17) $9, children 5 years and younger free.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT PHOENIX/ FERNANDO HERNÁNDEZ

PHOTO

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Papago Park

Located mere minutes from downtown Phoenix, this park features red rock buttes looped with trails along with breathtaking views from the top of Hole-in-the-Rock Trail.

Address: 625 N. Galvin Pkwy. Phoenix, AZ 85008

Hours: East of Gavin Pkwy., 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. dai ly; West of Galvin Pkwy., sunrise to sunset daily Website: phoenix.gov/parks

Admission: Free

Phoenix Art Museum

A local museum featuring an expansive collection of celebrated art spanning from the Renaissance period to the present.

Address: 1625 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85004

Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednes day; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday Website: phxart.org

Admission: Adults $23, seniors $20, students (w/ valid ID) $18, children (ages 6 to 17) $5, children ages 5 and young er free.

Advanced ticket reser vations are required.

Anytown Parks & Rec

Join us at Bluebird Park tomorrow at 3:00 pm for the Annual Kite Festival.

My kids are excited! See you at the park.

Phoenix Zoo

This attraction is the largest privately-owned, nonprofit zoo in the United States.

Address: 455 N. Galvin Pkwy. Phoenix, AZ 85008

Hours: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily Website: phoenixzoo.org

Admission: Adults (ages 14 and older) $29.95, chil dren (ages 3 to 13) $19.95

Roosevelt Row

After a long day at conference, want to get away to relax, unwind and maybe get a bite to eat? Roo sevelt Row is an ur ban district featuring galleries, street art, shopping boutiques, coffee shops, bars, as well as restaurants of fering a variety of cui sine options. For more information, visit rooseveltrow.org

For more information about Phoenix attractions, go to visitphoenix .com. Note: Venue hours and pricing are subject to change.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT PHOENIX/PHOENIX ZOO

PHOTO COURTESY OF PHOENIX ART MUSEUM

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDON SULLIVAN

2022 NRPA Annual Conference Frequently Asked Questions

Following are some commonly asked questions and general information about the 2022 NRPA Annual Conference that might help you plan your travel and navigate your time during this must-attend event.

Q:What is the address of the Convention Center?

A:Phoenix Convention Center 100 N. 3rd St. Phoenix, AZ 85004

Call for general information: 602.262.6225 Convention Center website: phoenixconventioncenter.com

Q:Where can I find my membership ID number to register?

A:You can find your member ship ID number by logging in to your NRPA account (forms. nrpa.og). You also can contact NRPA’s Customer Service Team by emailing them at customer service@nrpa.org or calling 800.626.NRPA (6772).

Q:What is the registration fee? What does the registration cover?

A:All registration information can be found at nrpa.org/ conference/registration.

Q:If I have specific questions about my registration or housing, or need to make changes, how do I reach NRPA’s

registration and housing partner, MCI (previously known as Wyndham Jade)?

A:Call MCI at 888.385.8010 (and 972.349.5891); use the live chat (tinyurl.com/mvnjkw25) (open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT); email an MCI representative at nrpa@ mcievents.com

Q:Is there a retired rate?

A:Yes. NRPA is happy to bring back a retired registration rate for 2022.

Q:Does

my registration include tickets to NRPA ticketed events?

A:Full Package and Young Professional Full Package registration rates include all educa tion sessions, the NRPA Opening General Session, the Closing Gen eral Session, the Exhibit Hall and NRPA’s Opening Reception at the Duce. There are separate registra tion fees for pre-conference work shops (PCWs), the Local Hostorganized Off-Site Institutes (OSIs) and Leisure Tours, as well as the Golf Tournament, and the Yoga – 5K Fun Run/Walk, as well as other ticketed events and opportu nities. Further details regarding all additional events and the confer ence schedule can be found on the NRPA Conference website at nrpa. org/Conference

A:NRPA has contracted with a number of hotels for the conference. The best place to check out your options and availability is here: nrpa.org/conference/ registration/registration-hotels

A:Food will be provided at the Opening Reception on Tuesday evening, and lunch will be served in the exhibit hall on Wednesday afternoon.

A:Yes, you can pay with a purchase order (PO). You will need the PO number and a copy of the actual PO to complete your registration. Policies for paying with a PO have changed in the past couple of years. All attendees using a PO should read our Registration Terms and Policies regarding POs as a form of payment (nrpa.org/conference/ registration/registrationterms).

Yes. To do so, please con tact MCI at 888.385.8010 or email nrpa@mcievents.com. If you registered as a nonmember and received a membership, that mem

Q:Are there any meals included with my full registration package?

Q:Is there a discount on my hotel rate? If so, how do I receive the discount?

Q:Can I pay my registration fee with a purchase order?

Q:If someone cannot attend, can we substitute another person for an existing paid registration?

A:

bership also will be transferred. If registrations are transferred, it is often necessary to ensure housing arrangements are changed as well.

do I make a check out to?

A:If you are paying by check, please make it out to “NRPA.”

I attend an Off-Site Institute,

Leisure Tour or PreConference Workshop if I am NOT attending the full Conference (i.e., education sessions, etc.)?

A:Yes! This is possible. When completing the online regis tration, be sure to click on the ra dio button for “Additional Training Sessions Only,” which will be your registration type. At that point, you will be able to select any of the add-on options and they should

appear in your “cart” for when you are ready to check out.

For additional information, visit nrpa. org/Conference

(vpaynich@nrpa.org).

• 120,000+

•

Vitisia Paynich is Executive Editor and Director, Print and Online Content at NRPA

There are a variety of shade designs avail able on the market today that will not just protect people, but also improve the aesthetics of any site.

OPERATIONS

Why Shade Is Vital to Our Health

By Alan Bayman

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the time they reach their 70s. What’s more, this organization and the American Cancer Soci ety report that depletion of the earth’s ozone layer is increasing our exposure to the sun’s dangerous ultraviolet (UV) rays, which causes millions of people to develop skin cancer annually.

To minimize the risks of UV expo sure, the top recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to stay in the shade. Often, the time that people spend outside and in the sun is with in public parks and while taking part in recreation activities. Play grounds, splash pads, pools, skate parks, basketball courts, bleachers, dugouts and concession areas are some sites that are most vulnerable to sun exposure. Given that these spaces are where people are likely to be exposed to harmful UV rays, park administrators can take a pro active approach to this problem by providing more sun protection for the public. Once considered an “optional” park amenity, shade protection — such as shade cover

ing — is quickly becoming required equipment for maintaining chil dren’s health and well-being.

What Type of Shade Do I Need?

The industry has answered the call for long-lasting, durable and at tractive shade products. The best products on the market come in a range of colors, use quality materi als, and offer extensive warranties and features, including the means to easily remove the canopy and re place it later in the event of severe storm or for the winter season.

Ask if the shade product you are contemplating offers all of the fol lowing:

• A 20-year rust through corrosion warranty on metal components

• A 10-year deterioration warranty on fabric canopies (including the stitching thread) and cables

• Stainless steel cables and hard ware for maximum corrosion resistance

• Easy and reusable removability mechanism built in with its own 10-year warranty

Choosing Attractive Shade to Improve Your Site

There are a variety of shade designs available on the market today that will not just protect people, but also improve the aesthetics of any site. Choose a shade design that not only will protect park visitors, but also will create an attractive focal point. When arranged together, multiple shade coverings can become a shad ed destination that people seek out for outdoor gatherings under the sun.

What’s more, shade covering that offers multilevel sails are great for shading larger areas, such as ex ercise courts or playgrounds. Their layers of colorful fabric canopies can make your public venue a land mark destination that attracts fami lies for fun under the sun.

The Bottom Line

With people’s health at risk, pro viding shade at public places is no longer just an option, but a neces sity. If you choose wisely, shade can be a long-lasting investment for the public good that’s aesthet ically pleasing, maintenance-free, and easy to remove and reattach by your staff.

Alan Bayman is President of Shade Systems, Inc. (alan@shadesystemsinc. com).

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHADE SYSTEMS, INC.

Kay Park Recreation 59 Landscape Structures Inc.

7 Lincoln Aquatics 53 Musco Sports Lighting

21 National Construction Rentals 53, 60 NetPlay USA 11 NextUp Pickleball Products

• Interactional – How are people treated in local park and rec reation spaces? Who feels wel comed? Who feels unwanted? Could staff benefit from more training in this area?

• Care – How do people steward local park and recreation spaces and the broader environment? Is this an opportunity to partner with community nonprofits?

Anytime is a good time to en courage resilience in your com munity. We have the opportunity to ensure resilient climate solutions are incorporated into communities across the country. NRPA has de veloped a suite of green infrastruc ture resources to provide the tools, knowledge and resources to plan,

implement, maintain and advocate for greener parks and open spaces. These resources also can help your staff, partners and elected officials to understand the multiple benefits green infrastructure can bring to surrounding communities. Some of those benefits include improved community health, access to green spaces and nature, and opportunities for education, employment, and resiliency.

NRPA’s resources include:

• A guide of best practices for plan ning, constructing and managing green infrastructure in parks

• Case studies and briefing papers that take a deep dive into some key areas, like community en gagement, funding and equity

• The Green Infrastructure Evalu ation Framework (tinyurl.com/ bdcscr64), which helps deter mine what data points to mea sure and how to measure them to show the impact of these spaces

• The National Green Infrastruc ture Certificate, a professional certificate from an online course focused on designing, implementing and maintaining green infrastructure in park settings

What’s more, you can leverage park and recreation spaces through partnerships to access more funding and increase the positive impacts for your community.

Ayanna Williams, MSW, is Director of Community and Environmental Resilience at NRPA (awilliams@nrpa.org).

North Port Parks and Recreation 5K Rises Up to Improve Accessibility and Equity

The annual North Port (Florida) Rockin’ Run & Roll 5K and Kids Fun Run were started in 2019 with the goal of welcoming and connecting people of all ages and abilities to improve their overall health and wellness. Held annually in January, the Rockin’ Run & Roll 5K is promoted to the community as an opportunity to start the new year right and is strategically located in Butler Park. Not only is this area of town a hub of health and wellness facilities, but also it is adjacent to a local middle school and high school, and provides a flat, fast and accessible course for participants.

Proceeds from the 5K go toward the city’s Youth Scholarship Program. The scholarships are just one of the initiatives in our quest to ensure all children have opportunities to engage in programs, regardless of financial barriers. To further expand accessibility and avoid financial barriers to recreation participation, the race fees for North Port employees are covered by the city’s wellness committee.

“Over the past few years, our department has been actively expanding our programming and events in an effort to dismantle barriers to equity in our community,” says Sandy Pfundheller, parks and recreation director. “We recognize the importance of building healthy and inclusive communities and realized as we went through the CAPRA [Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies] accreditation process that there was more we could do to ensure all people have access to the benefits of local parks and recreation.”

Participants of all ages and abilities in the annual 5K are invited to move through the course by foot, wheelchair or stroller — regardless of whether entrants cross the finish line of their own volition or under another’s power. For those who prefer complet ing the race on their own terms, North Port Parks and Recreation also offers the option to compete virtually.

This featured photo, taken during the Rockin’ Run & Roll 5K this past March, embodies the intent and spirit of this event, as well as the vision for NRPA’s Equity pillar.

In addition to the annual 5K, North Port Parks and Recreation has worked hard over the past few years to expand equitable access at all its events. To accomplish this, the staff forged new partnerships with local nonprofits that have expertise in this area. These community partners have sponsored sensory-friendly or adapted event options for attendees at several events, including the Movie on the Green series, as well as the large-scale egg hunts, Trick or Treat, and the Sweetheart Ball.

While the work isn’t finished in creating a future where the full power of parks and recreation is widely recognized for creating a better life for everyone, this photo captures the essence of that race. Our participant, with her humble but determined expression, fully embodies how our field “rises up” for our communities and how, in return, our communities rise for one another.

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A photographed runner captures the essence of North Port (Florida) Parks and Recreation’s Rockin’ Run & Roll 5K race.

Laura Ansel, MAC, Marketing and Engagement Coordinator, City of North Port

PHOTO COURTESY OF LANDON CRAMER