Parks and Recreation - November 2014

Student-Designed Parks | Religious Conflicts in Parks | Anti-Bullying Contracts in Oakland November 2014 w w w. n r pa . o r g

Are We There Yet? Race to close the gender equity gap in sports continues Page 42

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contents november 2014 volume 49 | number 11 | www.nrpa.org

contents Cover Story

Read the digital edition of this issue online at http://ezine. parksandrecreation.org.

42 It’s (Still) A Man’s World Women in the sporting world have made great strides, but there are still miles to go Sage Learn

Features

48 Learning by Design Student-designed and student-built parks offer a creative learning process for young professionals while benefiting communities nationwide Kevan Williams

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contents november 2014

departments

columns 8 Perspectives Healthy Play Outdoors Means Healthy Kids Barbara Tulipane, CAE

6 Web Exclusives 10 Editor’s Letter 12 Letters

Making It Gina Mullins-Cohen

14 Community Center Red Cross Drowning Prevention 14 Research Update: Evidence-Based Programs and Practice 16 Notable News 19 NRPA Connect Hot Topics 19

20 By the Numbers Wild for Water

21 Meet the Mayor Hernando, Mississippi’s Chip Johnson Kevin O’Hara

23 Member to Member Teaching Tolerance Michelle Doppelt

53 NRPA Update Chicago Supports its CPRPs 53 PRORAGIS and Feeding Programs 54 Member Benefit: Premier Certification Package 55 Test Your Park and Recreation Knowledge 55 NRPA Board Nominations 55 Member Spotlight: Shalon Lewis 56

25 Advocacy The Land and Water Conservation Fund Turns 50 David Tyahla

28 Law Review Bible Believers Target Arab Festival James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

32 Future Leaders Networking and Sharing Ideas: Setting the Park and Recreation Field Apart Jay Tryon, CPRP

34 Conservation Planting Native is a Matter of Life and Death David G. Davis

36 Health and Wellness Changing Reality Keri Schwab, Ph.D., and Daniel Dustin, Ph.D.

39 Social Equity Back in the Game Danielle Taylor

Staff Spotlight: David Wenner 57 Professional Development Calendar 58

60 Operations Mighty Moss 60 Samantha Bartman Why Waste? 62 Elizabeth Lowell

64 Products 67 Advertiser Index 68 Park Bench Kids and Olympian Take the Single-Track Trail Amy Stahl and Marissa Bracamonte 4

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Web Exclusives

ParksandRecreation.org Don’t forget to follow NRPA and Parks & Recreation Magazine at their respective Twitter accounts, @ NRPA_news and @ParksRecMag. Twitter is a great way to keep up to date on all the most recent news at NRPA and the magazine, as well as staying in touch — we love to hear from you! Tweet us about your park and recreation programs, photos, articles — you might even see your tweets featured in the magazine! In addition, you’ll find sneak peeks and updates on events in our industry, so staying informed and involved has never been easier.

We’d like to congratulate Chicago, Illinois, for its 2014 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation Management. This is the first time Chicago has been honored with the award, and in addition, Chicago is the largest city ever to win. For more information on Chicago’s Gold Medal Award-winning parks, playgrounds, green spaces and amenities, visit www.myfoxchicago.com/clip/10763940/chicago-park-district-wins-national-award to see an interview with Chicago Park Superintendent Mike Kelly discussing the national recognition.

Also, congratulations to the City of Henderson Public Works Parks and Recreation Department, Nevada; Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation, Indiana; City of Kettering Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department, Ohio; City of Lafayette, Colorado; and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia, for winning the Gold Medal Awards in their respective categories!

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Parks & Recreation

Check out our digital edition at http://ezine.parks andrecreation .org

Roundtable Recap

| Natural Playsca

rtation pes | Transpo

Updates from

Congress

4 JUNE 201 A.ORG

W W W. N R P

Trailblazers

and Park agencies mountain biking te groups collaborang to build exhilarati their trail systems for 48 Page communities

Attention all photography lovers: The window of opportunity is closing to enter the Parks & Recreation Magazine July 2015 cover contest! November and December of 2014 are the last months we will be accepting submissions. After we’ve received all your great shots, we will choose a handful of them to put to a public vote on our Facebook page in the spring of 2015. The winning photograph will be featured on the July 2015 issue of Parks & Recreation Magazine celebrating 30 years of Park and Recreation Month. Submissions must be high-resolution at 300 dpi and 8.5 inches by 11 inches. Take your best “shot” and let us see how you capture parks and recreation! Submissions and questions can be sent to Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist Roxanne Sutton at rsutton@nrpa.org, and you can find inspiration with the digital version of the magazine at http://ezine.parksandrecreation.org.

Stay in touch!

NRPA website: www.nrpa.org Parks & Recreation website: www.parksandrecreation.org Digital edition: http://ezine.parksandrecreation.org NRPA Connect: www.nrpaconnect.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/NationalRecreationandParkAssociation Twitter: www.twitter.com/NRPA_news, www.twitter.com/ParksRecMag Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/nrpa

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W W W. F U N D Y O U R PA R K . O R G

THE ONLY CROWDFUNDING SITE DEDICATED TO PARKS AND RECREATION The work of local parks and recreation offer solutions to some of our nation’s toughest challenges like obesity, the economy and environmental sustainability.

National Recreation and Park Association's Fund Your Park crowdfunding program is helping agencies raise money for these priceless efforts one donation at a time.

To find out how your agency can get involved visit www.nrpa.org/FundYourPark

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Healthy Play Outdoors Means Healthy Kids “Guidelines for natural playscapes?” What is this? It sounded like an oxymoron to me when I first heard about this initiative. Who in the world would think you need guidelines for kids to play in the woods? Well, I learned there is a lot more to this initiative than meets the eye, and the subject is very relevant to public parks and recreation.

When Richard Louv wrote The Last Child in the Woods about eight years ago, it was a wake-up call to parents, educators, and park and recreation advocates across the country, because people began to realize that this might be the last generation of kids who played outdoors. Kids were staying indoors to play video games, watch TV, surf the Internet and spend hours behind electronic devices. Kids no longer knew how to play outdoors, and worse, they didn’t care if they did.

With knowledge that there was a growing crisis that needed attention, the idea of creating nature play and learning areas quickly took shape. Parks, childcare institutions and schools all became interested in developing their own nature play spaces — safe, controlled areas that contain natural features and materials from nature to enable discovery play. Parents want more, and they are asking park and recreation agencies to provide these kinds of play areas. But how do you make such nature play places safe for all?

Robin Moore, professor of landscape architecture at North Carolina State University, and Allen Cooper, director of state and local education advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation, led a group of experts, including many NRPA members and staff, in developing guidelines for the design, management and operation of nature play and learning areas, which were released in September 2014 (www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/ Kids-and-Nature/Programs/Nature-Play-Spaces-Guide.aspx; see www.parksandrecreation.org/2014/September/New-National-Guidelines-for-Nature-Play-Areas for more).

While the publication of the nature play guidelines marks a milestone in the effort to connect more kids to nature and the outdoors, it doesn’t signify that we have even made a dent in the profound changes that technology have brought to children. But there is no use wringing our hands — it is simply time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

And with your help, NRPA is making a difference. Our 10 Million Kids Outdoors initiative (www.nrpa. org/10millionkidsoutdoors) in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation has more than 650 park and recreation agencies signed on in support, and we have counted more than 5 million kids connecting to nature in parks. NRPA has also teamed up with the Partnership for a Healthier America to engage at least 2,000 park and recreation sites that will provide programs that offer physical activity and nutritional standards in after-school time (www.nrpa.org/committohealth). The American Water Charitable Foundation in partnership with NRPA recently awarded $384,000 in grants to park and recreation agencies to construct nature play areas in parks (www.nrpa.org/buildingbettercommunities). And NRPA is providing tools, resources, networking, training and education to our members. Visit www.nrpa.org and the above links for the information and resources you need.

The bottom line is that we are about getting kids healthy. We want to connect millions more kids to nature and the outdoors, and with your help, we can.

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

Parks & Recreation

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

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

Executive Committee Chair of the Board of Directors Detrick L. Stanford, CPRP Clayton County Parks and Recreation Jonesboro, Georgia

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

Past Chair Robert F. Ashcraft, Ph.D. ASU Lodestar Center Phoenix, Arizona

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

Michael Kelly

Brian Knapp NOVA Parks Fairfax, Virginia

Molly Stevens Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Austin, Texas

PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

William “Joe” Turner

Bartlett Park District Bartlett, Illinois

President and CEO Barbara Tulipane, CAE

Houston Parks and Recreation Houston, Texas

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James H. Evans

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New York, New York

National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Rosemary Hall Evans Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department Albuquerque, New Mexico

Chester W. Freeman

Rebecca Benná, CPRP

Gastonia, North Carolina

Five River Metro Parks Dayton, Ohio

Charles E. Hartsoe, Ph.D.

Cullman, Alabama

Earl T. Groves

Richmond, Virginia

National Wildlife Federation Washington, D.C.

Harry G. Haskell

Jennifer Harnish

Kathryn A. Porter

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Southwest Christian School Fort Worth, Texas

Mendham, New Jersey

Roslyn Johnson

New Iberia, Louisiana

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

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The fun is in the water!

Perry J. Segura

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Parks & Recreation

9

editor’s Let ter President and CEO

Making It

Barbara Tulipane, CAE

Fresh off the heels of NRPA’s national convention, we are inspired by the keynote speakers, motivated by the education sessions and impressed by the products and services found on the show floor. Awareness of NRPA’s Three Pillars: Conservation, Health and Wellness, and Social Equity, moved from conversation topics and plans in 2013 to execution and delivery this year. Progress was made and all signs point to continued improvement.

vice President of marketing, communications and pUBLISHing, and Editorial directoR

Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org executive Editor

Danielle Taylor

dtaylor@nrpa.org Associate Editor

Samantha Bartram

Clearly, however, the job is not done, and with deeper examination of the multifaceted topic of social equity by this year’s keynote panelists, one can only see greater effort ahead. Social equity is age, it is religion and race, physical and mental disabilities, economic culture and opportunity, and it is gender.

Resurrecting the topic of gender equity in the cover feature, “It’s (Still) a Man’s World” (page 42), NRPA’s Government Affairs Manager Sage Learn examines the often brutal treatment of young women in sports today. Learn addresses this alarming and controversial subject that can no longer be ignored.

“Learning by Design” by Kevan Williams (page 48) focuses on the creative design achievements in planning and architecture emerging from universities to enrich and support park systems allowing for healthier communities and environments. The Rural Studio at Auburn University and the Howard S. Wright Neighborhood Design/Build Studio at the University of Washington provide students with the very real opportunity to design and build out park and recreation centers from scratch, as well as through revitalization projects offering community enrichment and a growing expanse of opportunity to students seeking to work both for and with park systems.

This month’s Conservation column (page 34) by David G. Davis, associate director of landscaping services at Wake Forest University, discusses the importance of native plants to our increasingly fragile ecosystem and how going native in park landscape design preserves crucial habitats of insects such as bees and butterflies.

Every day, while providing crucial and often overlooked community services, park and recreation agencies strive for improvement and to make “it” happen within their communities. And so I ask you, are we making it? We are more aware of the need to move forward and have the desire to evolve, but are we making it? Let us know. We want to hear your stories.

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

10 Parks & Recreation

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sbartram@nrpa.org Editorial intern

Marissa Bracamonte mbracamonte@nrpa.org Publication Design

Creative By Design www.creativebydesign.net Senior Manager of Advertising

Dana Storm

703.858.2174 dstorm@nrpa.org (Issn 0031-2215) is published monthly by the National Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148, a service organization supported by membership dues and voluntary contributions. Copyright ©2014 by the National Recreation and Park Association.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of NRPA. Issued to members at the annual subscription price of $30, included in dues. Subscription: $36 a year in the U.S.; $46 elsewhere. Single copy price: $4.50. Library rate: $48 a year in the U.S.; $58 elsewhere. Periodical postage paid at Ashburn, Virginia, and at additional mailing offices. Editorial and advertising offices at 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148.

703.858.0784. Postmaster, send address changes to Parks & Recreation, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148.

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Letters We hope the articles you read in Parks & Recreation are thought-provoking and engaging, and we want to hear your opinions on what you read in these pages. Through social media posts, website comments, emails to staff or posts on Connect, let us know how the magazine’s articles apply to your job and your agency. To submit feedback for this section directly, email Associate Editor Samantha Bartram at sbartram@nrpa.org.

While the Good Samaritan had very good intentions, it troubles me that she called the police because a female age 9 was left alone in the park.

It troubles me because it shows how ill-informed parents are about kids spending time in their own community. Several reasons support my concerns, including: (1) According to the Department of Justice Juvenile Justice Division, crimes against children

since the ‘90s have been steadily declining. This is especially true when it comes to violent crimes. (2) The 24hour news media has inappropriately inflated how often serious crimes against children occur. The media unfortunately has decided to sensationalize the stories shared in order to increase viewership. When it comes to serious crimes against children, the number of viewers paying attention to

that particular news story skyrockets.

(3) The media loves to sensationalize stories because the media does not want to share all perspectives on issues and instead only show/tell the perspective that gets the most viewers.

(4) Abduction, abuse and murder of children by strangers is relatively rare.

(5) The most likely group to abduct a child is parents who are going through child custody battles. (6) In order of

Roll with the Seasons.

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most likely to least likely when it comes to committing abuse whether physical, sexual or emotional is as follows: (A) parents (B) step-parents (C) direct relatives (D) extended family (E) coaches/teachers (F) religious leaders (G) strangers. (7) The order for those most likely to least likely for a child to be murdered is very similar to the order for the abduction of children. (8) The majority of “missing” kids are found safe with no harm done to them within the first 24 hours. Kids go “missing” all the time but that doesn’t make the news because it isn’t sensational enough and won’t get the viewership numbers the media are trying to achieve. (9) Kids are way smarter than most adults think they are and tend to be very good judges of character. (10) Children tend not to get ab-

ducted or abused in public places like parks, recreation centers and schools because of the “safety in numbers” principles. Kids get abducted or abused when they end up going in secluded or private places. (11) Basic stranger awareness lessons have proven to be MORE effective than ignoring these sensitive topics. (12) Each child is unique and the appropriate level of risk must be examined on a case-by-case basis. Most kids won’t ask to do something if they are not comfortable with doing it.

Comment on Associate Editor Samantha Bartram’s blog post, “Your Park is Your Family,” www.nrpa.org/Blog/Your-Parkis-Your-Family, by Mark West, director of operations at ScoutingManiac, an outdoor recreation and adventure activities consulting firm located in Anchorage, Alaska

The most logical thing I ever heard on the subject came from an REI marketing campaign: “Humans are mammals. Mammals belong outside.” And when it comes to outside play, parents need to tag along as observers and followers (and paramedics if necessary)! Let your kids get dirty, challenge themselves, make their own discoveries. We are raising a generation of physically unfit, socially inept, paranoid children with no empathy or imagination.

UNPLUG AND GO OUTSIDE! Comment on NRPA Senior Manager of Fundraising Jessica Culverhouse’s blog post, “Let Them Play in the Park,” www. nrpa.org/blog/let-them-play-in-the-park

by Marcia Clausing, park board member for the City of Billings Parks, Recreation and Public Lands in Billings, Montana

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Parks & Recreation

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Community Center Toward 50,000 WaterCompetent Swimmers

The American Red Cross is celebrating 100 years of promoting water safety with an ambitious campaign to teach people to swim and prevent drowning deaths

By Samantha Bartram

A

American Red Cross

sk your friends and family members, “Do you know how to swim?”

You will likely find many who say, yes, of course they can swim. You’ll see them contemplate the question, unearthing memories of splashing about in the community pool, or perhaps jumping the breaking waves on some distant shore. There they were, in their bathing suits, enjoying the water and having a great time, so, of course they can swim! However, ask these same folks, “What’s your level of water competency?” and you may be met with a confused stare. While swimming and water competency certainly go hand in hand, there are critical nuances regarding proficiency in the two that can sometimes mean the difference between life and death by drowning. As the American Red Cross recognizes its 100th anniversary of providing swimming safety education, its aquatics leaders are taking on a five-year, 50-city campaign to reduce the drowning rate by 50 percent by teaching 50,000 people what it means to be “water competent.”

Cole Moody, 4, experiences swimming in a life jacket under the watchful eye of City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Parks and Recreation Water Safety Instructor Lauren Mynhier.

14 Parks & Recreation

In the Shallow End In preparation for its centennial campaign, the Red Cross partnered with market researchers ORC International to learn more about how Americans view their swimming proficiency.

Turns out, many folks believe they’re much better swimmers than they actually are. The survey found that although 80 percent of Americans said they could swim, only 56 percent of the self-described swimmers could perform all five of the basic skills the Red Cross has identified that could prevent drowning. Put another way, more than half the survey respondents are “water incompetent.” Connie Harvey, the director of Aquatics Centennial Initiatives for the Red Cross, said these findings were not particularly surprising to her team. “I don’t think most people understand what it really means to be ‘able to swim’ or

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to be ‘water competent,’” she says.

“Many think that if they are comfortable in the shallow end of the pool or can make it across the width of a pool that they have the basic skills.”

The Red Cross defines water competency as encompassing critical safety skills including: step or jump into the water over your head; return to the surface and float or tread water for one minute; turn around in a full circle and find an exit from the water; swim 25 yards to the exit; and exit from the water. If in a pool, you must be able to exit without using the ladder.

Overall, the survey found 54 percent of Americans either can’t swim or are not able to perform all the water competency skills. On top of that, many discrepancies in water competency were found among race, gender and age, including: • Only 33 percent of African-Americans report that they can perform all five basic swimming skills, compared to 51 percent of whites. The survey showed that 84 percent of whites and 69 percent of African-Americans say they can swim.

• Just four in 10 parents of children ages 4-17 report that their child can perform all five basic swimming skills, yet more than nine in 10 (92 percent) say that their child is likely to participate in water activities this summer.

• Men are significantly more likely than women to report that they

have all five basic swimming skills — 57 percent for men compared to 36 percent of women.

Tossing a Life Preserver To mitigate these stark findings, the Red Cross endeavored to identify the 50 cities most in need of their water safety protocols. Each posts high drowning rates according to information culled from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In all, the campaign will reach 19 states. This year, the campaign kicked off in 10 cities, with expansion to 50 identified cities planned in the ensuing years.

There’s an urgency to this campaign, as hundreds of thousands of Americans look forward to the 2015 swimming season but fail to enroll themselves or their children in swimming lessons. According to its survey, the Red Cross found eight out of 10 Americans plan to engage in water-based fun this summer, such as going to the beach, pool, waterpark, boating or fishing. Thirty-two percent of all Americans said they plan to swim at a location without a lifeguard. “This centennial campaign is intended to help provide access to swim lessons at least until water competency and teach water safety to people of all ages who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn,” Harvey says.

The need for increased water competency is dire — every day, an average of 10 people die in the U.S. from unintentional drowning. Tragically, 20 percent of them are children aged 14 or younger, according to the CDC. For those individuals who do not know how to swim or who lack comprehensive water competency, the Red Cross offers swimming lessons for both adults and children. The free Red Cross Swim App, available for iPhone

and Android, lets parents track their child’s progress as she makes her way through the water competency curriculum. More information on how you or someone you love can become one of the 50,000 new, fully-competent

swimmers is available at www.redcross.org/take-a-class/program-highlights/swimming/centennial.

Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine (sbartram@ nrpa.org).

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Community Center

Research Update: Evidence-Based Programs and Practice Resources, equity and why parks and recreation should move in this direction

By Mary J. Christoph, MPH, and Laura L. Payne, Ph.D.

T

hat parks and recreation help facilitate healthy, active lifestyles and physical activity is particularly important given that more than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, a risk factor for many chronic diseases. Since the 1990s, there has been a shift from chronic disease treatment to prevention and wellness, and a focus on developing and implementing more evidence-based practices (EBPs). Evidence-based practices are well-researched programs that have been tested broadly and demonstrate effectiveness in a variety of populations; often, programs are focused around health promotion/disease prevention. Some early examples from the 1990s include NRPA’s Hearts ‘N Parks program and CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health), while current examples of EBPs include the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk with Ease program and the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management program.

Although EBPs are becoming more widespread, there are still significant disparities regarding organizations’ knowledge and capacity to adopt EBPs. Geographic Hurdles Rural areas are particularly constrained by lack of human and monetary resources. According to 2013 U.S. Census data, almost 20 percent of this country’s population lives in rural areas, which have higher poverty, all-cause mortality, obesity-related chronic diseases — 39.6 percent

16 Parks & Recreation

of rural versus 33.4 percent of urban residents — inactivity and poorer access to healthy food.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has emphasized the adoption of evidence-based health and wellness programs, many rural communities lack the knowledge, organizational

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capacity, funding and partnerships to implement them. Even though fewer rural residents are insured and they are more likely to smoke or be inactive than urban or suburban residents, relatively few rural counties are included in funding initiatives to target these risk factors and improve wellness and prevention in their communities. Thus, it is important to understand what is currently being done in rural communities to prevent chronic disease, assess program effectiveness and develop strategies that lead to improved capacity to make community-level changes in health behavior and health outcomes.

Case Study of a Rural Community The authors evaluated a recreation-based wellness program in a rural Midwestern town — South Town’s (pseudonym) population is 13,000 and is 85.4 percent Caucasian and 10.2 percent African-American.

The median household income is $31,905, compared to $47,367 for the state, and 14.6 percent of residents live below the poverty line, while 18 percent are uninsured. In 2009, a local hospital partnered with a recreation center and a faith-based organization to create a wellness center providing community-based programs to address chronic disease management.

The resulting adult wellness program promotes weight loss through physical activity and nutrition education.

More than 300 participants had completed the six-week program by

Pub Name: PRM 2.19 x 9.88

2012, meeting twice weekly at the recreation center. Each class included one hour of nutrition education and one hour of exercise instruction — including strength training, treadmill and bicycle — and walking.

A physical therapy assistant teaches the classes, with physicians, dieticians and exercise instructors serving as guest speakers or trainers. Most participants are over age 50, low- or middle-income, and have at least one chronic disease or risk factor.

Although they are weighed pre- and post-program and surveyed, the limited budget and personnel prevents this data from being analyzed and leveraged for further benefit (i.e., evaluation of impact, grant funding).

The program is in some ways successful — from 2009-2012, participants lost 3.4 pounds and 0.7 body mass index (BMI) percentage points on average over the six-week program. However, only about half of the people who began the program completed it, and very few men participated, even though men have high rates of chronic diseases at younger ages than women. Participants suggested making the fitness program longer, incentivizing weight loss, increasing accountability, sending email or phone reminders, providing links to helpful websites about chronic disease self-management, adding alternative activities such as swimming, yoga and dance, plus more interactive nutrition classes involving portion size and cooking lessons and a recipe-exchange program.

How Can We Bring More EBPs to Rural Communities?

To increase EBPs in rural communities, including the wellness/chronic disease prevention program these writers worked with, we suggest le

veraging more local community and park and recreation resources available, as well as basing programs on the CDC’s Understanding Evidence guide. There are several other cost-effective and easy ways to adopt more EBPs to improve chronic disease prevention and self-management programs: • Increase interest and involvement by developing a broad base of appealing activities, especially those relevant to our everyday lives (e.g. walking, gardening, household chores, playing with children/ grandchildren). Emphasis on lifestyle physical activity versus exercise is optimal.

• Ensure that programs are long enough to create lifestyle change (preferably 8-12 weeks or longer) and achieve changes in physical fitness/function parameters (e.g., weight, BMI, strength, flexibility).

With age, it takes longer for these changes to happen.

• Reformat nutrition classes to incorporate recipe sharing, healthy cooking techniques and competitions, and use community resources including gardens, garden centers and farmers’ markets as local subject matter experts and resources in the program.

• Use online forums and social media (e.g. Facebook, MyFitnessPal), text messages and devices to track progress (e.g. accelerometers) and increase involvement.

• Use data, surveys and outcomes to assess the impact of and tailor programs to participants and specific diseases. If personnel resources are scarce to utilize this data for the organization’s benefit, partner with a community college faculty member and/or students to leverage the data for organizational benefit.

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Community Center

Online Support for EBPs Many resources are available to offer guidance on evidence-based practice and programs: • The Administration on Aging (AoA) and National Council on Aging’s list of EBPs can be found via the following links: www.aoa.gov/AoA_programs/HPW/Evidence_Based/index.aspx and www.ncoa.org/improve-health/center-for-healthyaging/about-evidence-based-programs.html.

• Each division of the CDC has resources for EBPs. Physical activity program resources can be found here: www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/strategies/community.html.

• The Arthritis Foundation offers an EBP called Walk with Ease, which is appropriate for people with arthritis and the general population. More information is available at www.arthritis.org/we-can-help/community-programs/walk-with-ease.

In addition to implementing sound programs that are evidence-based, rural communities are often constrained financially from participating in continuing education where EBPs are showcased and urban areas usually benefit first from large grant-funded programs focused on diffusing EBPs. Additional education, training and resources must be channeled to rural communities to ensure quality health and wellness programming. The CDC’s Understanding Evidence guide notes that it is crucial not only to use the best available research to design programs, but also experiential and contextual evidence, which are both obtained from feedback from participants and community members. Understanding Evidence also gives suggestions of evidence-based practices that 18 Parks & Recreation

can serve as a model for programs.

Instead of inventing new programs to address widespread health issues and chronic diseases, using established, evidence-based programs like Active Living Every Day can improve health and be more cost-effective overall for communities without many resources.

Using technology such as text messages or phone apps can also enhance social support and facilitate self-management behaviors, such as counting calories and physical activity, while improving program retention. Instructions for selecting and preparing healthy foods or getting involved with community gardens or farmers’ markets could increase program reach, as well as provide a community context promoting health and well-being.

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Many communities are constrained by lack of both monetary and human resources, as well as lack of communication and commitment to a common cause. Programs should ideally involve previous program participants and others as volunteers, increasing program capacity and creating a culture of health and activity.

Reunions and follow-up programs such as walking clubs and water aerobics classes could also help engage participants after the programs end.

Building a healthier and involved community will also require the involvement of faith-based organizations, service organizations, parks and food providers including farmers and grocery retailers.

Getting feedback and assessing outcomes is also critical to program effectiveness. Rural communities like South Town continue to struggle with resources, activities, attrition and adherence to EBPs, which compromise program effectiveness and participant outcomes. Health and social service organizations should connect more with recreation centers to raise awareness and increase funding, education and training in rural areas. These steps will lead to needed program improvements, translating to better participant health outcomes.

Detailed references for this article can be found online at www.parksandrecreation.org/2014/November/Research-Update-Evidence-Based-Programs-and-Practice.

Mary Christoph is a doctoral student in Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (mchrstp2@illinois.edu). Laura Payne is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign (lpayne@illinois.edu).

Notable News n Lifelong conservationist and public servant Dwight Fay Rettie, 84, died September 28 at his home in Morehead City, North Carolina. Retiring from the National Park Service (NPS) in 1986, Rettie was a 30-plusyear federal employee who lived, taught and exemplified the highest level of civic service to his country.

Rettie’s career spanned professional assignments with the NPS from 1975 to 1986, the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1966 to 1971, the office of the Secretary of the Interior from 1964 to 1966, the Bureau of Land Management from 1957 to 1963, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1963 from 1964. In earlier years, Rettie worked in the U.S. Treasury Department and for the U.S. Forest Service in western Montana as a lookout and smoke chaser during summers at college. Apart from his government service, Rettie served as NRPA’s executive director from 1971 to 1975, as well as on several other boards and commissions.

n Civic leader and conservation champion Jean R. Packard, 92, died October 21 at her home in Fairfax, Virginia. A

dedicated champion of her community and country, Packard served on many municipal and advisory boards including the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Sierra Club and the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, to name but a few. Packard is perhaps best known for leading the effort to down-zone the Occoquan Watershed, resulting in the protection of the Occoquan Reservoir.

In recognition of her work and in her presence, on September 27, NOVA Parks broke ground on the new Jean R. Packard Occoquan Center” at Occoquan Regional Park. n Miracle Recreation donated a brand-new, state-of-the-art playground to the Staten Island neighborhood of Midland Beach, which was severely battered when Hurricane Sandy made landfall two years ago. The storm destroyed one of the neighborhood’s few playground areas — Midland Playground — which has been closed ever since, leaving families with fewer public areas for safe, active play. It also destroyed the playground’s infrastructure, ruining the safety surfacing, submerging the area in several feet of water and littering the grounds with debris. The adjacent basketball courts, also a community fixture, were damaged as well. The playground refurbishment was a joint effort with NBA Cares, the National Basketball Association’s global social responsibility program, which provided new basketball courts alongside the playground.

For more news from around the industry, visit www.parksandrecreation.org/2014/November/Notable-News.

NRPA Connect Hot Topics

T

here are great conversations happening on NRPA Connect!

Below are a few of the topics being discussed on the only professional networking platform dedicated to the park and recreation profession: 1) Not Allowing Headers in Soccer: Does playing soccer lead to more concussions than football? Do female soccer players suffer more injuries from heading the ball than male soccer players? Participants discuss whether headers should continue to be allowed in children’s soccer leagues.

2) Organizing Parades: Do you charge businesses to participate? How long should your parade last? How do you handle crowd control? Read how your colleagues handle their events and offer suggestions on how to make your parade run smoothly.

3) Use of Drones: How is the park system handling the increase in the use of drones? Check out this discussion to see what policies may soon be put in place to regulate launching, landing or operating unmanned aircrafts in public areas.

4) Park Visitation Counts: How do agencies calculate park visitations?

What is the most accurate multiplier for patrons per car? See what your colleagues suggest, including the latest technology counters, trail cameras and intercept surveys.

Please stop by and contribute at www.nrpaconnect.org! Need help with a login? Contact NRPA Customer Service at by phone at 800.626.6772, by email at customerservice@nrpa. org, or by clicking the Live Help button on www.nrpa.org.

— Hayley MacDonell, NRPA’s Membership Programs Manager

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By the Numbers

Wild for Water

Today, aquatic sports and activities rank high among Americans’ favorite ways to recreate. Not only do we love to splash and play on a hot summer day, we’re also more keen than ever to support professional swimmers during big events like the Olympics. Still, a surprising number of folks across the country don’t know how to swim. We’ve gathered some striking stats on the way swimming as sport and recreation has changed over the years — the numbers might surprise you.

660,000: Gallons of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool.

25-27: Hours the American Red Cross requires for a certification in lifeguarding.

309,000: Number of public swimming pools in the United States as of 2004.

91 million: Number of people over the age of 16 who swim in oceans, lakes and rivers each year in the United States.

4: 301 million: Number of visits by persons

Where swimming ranks on the list of most popular recreational activities in the United States. over the age of six to a swimming facility during 2009.

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2,500: Number of private in-ground pools in the United States in 1950.

5.2 million: Number of private in-ground pools in the United States in 2009.

65: Percent of Americans who do not know how to swim.

650: Calories burned during one hour of constant swimming.

1896: The year swimming became an Olympic event.

Sources: http://water.epa.gov, www.redcross.org, www. cdc.gov, www.huffingtonpost.com and www.swimmingpool.com.

Meet the Mayor Hernando, Mississippi’s Chip Johnson

By Kevin O’Hara

C

hip Johnson has championed some major changes in Hernando, Mississippi, during his three terms as mayor. Before taking office in 2005, his town was often identified as one with embarrassingly high obesity rates in a state renowned for its overweight population. But, in 2010, Johnson helped to reverse that perception as Hernando was dubbed the “Healthiest Hometown” by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation. The accolade is reserved for one city in the state that is determined to be doing the most to promote a culture of health through sustainable policy changes. That same year, he was one of only two mayors in the country selected to help First Lady Michelle Obama kick off her Let’s Move! campaign to reduce childhood obesity. Adding to his health and wellness bonafides, Johnson is a board member of Bike Walk Mississippi, the state’s bicycle and pedestrian advisory group, and he has presided over several related citywide initiatives, including supporting sidewalks, signage and the Complete Streets and Safe Routes to School programs. We were able to coax Johnson off his bicycle long enough to learn more about what health and wellness in Hernando looks like these days.

Parks & Recreation Magazine: In 2006, you decided Hernando needed a park and recreation department.

What factors influenced your decision? How have your measured your city’s return on this investment?

Mayor Chip Johnson: The citizens of Hernando told me that they wanted a parks and rec department when I was serving as alderman from 20012005. When I ran for mayor in 2005, I listened to the voters and made the parks and rec department a major piece of my platform.

P&R: What lessons learned or advice would you have for other mayors or city leaders interested in creating a parks department?

Mayor Johnson: My advice is to just get started on something today.

If you wait for all of the stars to align perfectly, you will never start

a parks department. You will find that as you finish one portion of the department, a new need will move to the forefront, and before you know it, you will have a full-fledged parks and rec department.

P&R: What other policies have you and your council implemented that have allowed Hernando to lead in promoting healthy, active living?

Mayor Johnson: We have enacted a Complete Streets policy in Hernando. We also work very closely with our school district on joint-use agreements. If we weren’t able to use the school gyms, there would not be a Hernando basketball league. We were also the seventh city in the state to become comprehensively smoke-free in 2007. The Board [of Aldermen] has also enacted a policy that allows our em-

Mayor Chip Johnson

ployees to be paid for four hours while they go to the doctor for their annual wellness visit, which does not even cost them a copay.

P&R: I loved your quote, “It’s my job to create an atmosphere and an opportunity for good health. If you want to take advantage of it, that’s great; if you want to stay at home on your couch, go ahead.” Does it seem as though your constituents have taken advantage of this opportunity?

Mayor Johnson: We have found that as we build or repair sidewalks and stripe new bike lanes, people immediately start taking advantage of the opportunity to safely exercise.

P&R: Quality of life means a lot of different things to different people, but in Hernando, it seems that

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Meet the Mayor

, Mayor ing enthusiast An avid bicycl lly takes part in Johnson typica to Work Day. Hernando’s Bike

creating the infrastructure to foster healthy active living is a key determinant of quality of life. In your region, residents and businesses are voting with their feet and seeking out Hernando to live, work and play. Is the broader business community in your region taking notes from Hernando? Have you seen “peer cities” adopting similar “livability” strategies?

Mayor Johnson: We have just had a major business from Germany expand into Hernando with very few incentives. We are finding that creating a high quality of life, with health and wellness as a cornerstone, will attract business leaders who understand that a healthy workforce is more desirable than monetary incentives.

P&R: Many elected officials question the role of the government in providing support for infrastructure, like parks, trails and streetscape improvements. In your experience, what is the proper role of government at all levels in creating this infrastructure, and what role can the 22 Parks & Recreation

private sector play in creating this type of infrastructure?

Mayor Johnson: I think that the role of local government is to facilitate whatever the majority of the people in the city decide that they want to fund with their tax dollars. The people will let you know very quickly if they think you are spending their hard-earned money unwisely on things that they don’t want. I am very firm in my belief that the government should never get involved in dictating your personal health choices. However, if you decide that you want to be healthier, we should provide you an atmosphere and an opportunity to make the healthy choice.

We also posed a few questions to Dewayne Williams, CPRP, who serves as director of Hernando Parks and Recreation.

P&R: We are impressed by your H.E.A.L. program; tell our readers a bit more about this initiative.

Dewayne Williams: The Healthy Eating Active Living Program was created because I realized my inside numbers were not good. I looked healthy outwardly but inwardly I was not well. I thought, “How can we bring awareness to people about the importance of knowing their numbers?” We don’t want to just celebrate a person for losing weight — we want to promote and celebrate overall wellness.

We get instructors from local gyms and the community to lead classes. If a person connects with an instructor, they are more likely to enroll in that particular gym so they can continue their wellness journey.

We also have the local hospital and others to educate us about healthy

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living. One of the best byproducts of the H.E.A.L. program is the relationships that are created. People become friends and inspiration for each other, come out of their shell and share in the wellness journey.

P&R: What should other park and recreation directors take away from the Hernando experience in helping to create a culture of health in their communities?

Williams: Parks directors should see parks and recreation as a leader in combating obesity. We connect with entire families so we have opportunities to impact children, their parents and other relatives. A culture of health goes beyond children, race and economic status, so there is an opportunity to connect and provide essential services to a diverse population.

Lastly, your community will see you as a person who cares about them.

P&R: As a park director in a relatively new department, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

Williams: I started Hernando Parks just eight years ago, and we have grown from zero programs to 23 programs with only three staff members.

We went from 25 acres of park land to almost 140 acres of park land with only three maintenance men. All of this with a total budget of approximately $666,000. We have just over 28 percent of our population participating in our programs. I am most proud of us providing essential services with diverse programs, serving diverse groups of people, being financially responsible and improving the community’s quality of life.

Kevin O’Hara is NPRA’s Vice President of Urban and Government Affairs (kohara@ nrpa.org).

Member to Member Teaching Tolerance

Oakland Parks and Recreation’s zero-tolerance anti-bullying policy takes a proactive approach to teaching youth and teens respect for one another

By Michelle Doppelt

A

s recreational professionals, we are not strangers to the antics of children and youth, yet over time the level and variety of abuse in our recreational programs has escalated beyond the standard playground fights over a ball. Today’s children and youth see a plethora of adults modeling unacceptable behaviors in media, the news and in person. What used to be an individual’s internal thoughts are now blasted over social media platforms, often accompanied by disturbing language and attitudes, under a veil of anonymity. The City of Oakland and Oakland Parks and Recreation (OPR) pushed forward to create and implement a zero-tolerance anti-bullying policy as of 2010. This includes bullying behaviors as well as abusive or hateful language and actions in our programs and facilities.

The bullying situations that children experience in nearby schools often spill out into after-school recreation programs. Instituting a mutually beneficial policy between agencies is key to training young minds to be open and understanding, and knowing the impact of their words and actions. Training family members in the “it takes a village” mentality often proves to be more of a challenge, but teaching adults how to deal with bullying behaviors in youth and teens is well worth the effort.

The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) has a strong anti-bullying policy, and OPR has adopted and mirrored much of its expectations.

The OPR policy is a contract shared with parents and families so everyone involved understands the program’s expectations. It is read with and signed by the child and his or her guardians, and is then kept on file for the year. We refer back to the contract when issues arise so we can remind the child of the rules to which he or she agreed. The contract lists expectations and the consequences of falling

short of those guidelines should they be needed. Each OPR site creates its contract to fit a specific program’s needs using basic departmental expectations. Centers with gyms often face a different set of bullying issues than sites that have public swimming pools or preschool programs.

OPR aims to use conflict-resolution techniques to teach tolerance when a negative incident has occurred. We conduct large group activities early in the program to inform all participants of the rules.

Younger children are asked to help write the rules so they can discuss in a group setting why some words hurt and need to be avoided. As the younger children grow, we hope that much of what we teach, preach and outreach sticks with them through their development. Since implementing the anti-bullying policy, we are seeing many bad situations turn into opportunities for forgiveness and training. In 2013, a teen riding on a city bus was lit on fire by another student who found his skirt disturb-

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Member to Member ing. The Oakland community came out and supported not only the youth who was burned, but the teaching opportunity for the boy who caused the pain and his family. We see this as a success, hopefully preventing fu-

ture harmful acts and simplifying the response of responsible adults.

Several nonprofit groups have offered training services to schools, parks and even corporate businesses to teach staff and patrons about that entity’s

rules and requirements when it comes to anti-bullying or anti-discrimination protocols. OPR has used San Francisco, California-based No Bully (www. nobully.org) for its staff training for the past four years. No Bully’s training provides OPR workers with the minimum required legal and moral information so as an entity, we know our staff understands what we can and cannot do in our programs. Another group, Stand for the Silent, fights in memory of those who committed suicide after bullying left them feeling hopeless (www. standforthesilent.org). We are hoping to prevent this sort of tragedy by being proactive with our policies and training.

OPR aims to use conflictresolution techniques to teach tolerance when a negative incident has occurred.

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OPR’s anti-bullying contract lists two basic rules: 1. Never hurt others with my words or body, and 2. Inform adults if I see bullying or have been bullied by another person.

This is about as simple as it can get.

Kids, staff and parents can all agree and adhere to treating everyone with respect or they may turn to the process in place to correct any issues. Bullying is not something that should be ignored, accepted or neglected, ever.

Michelle Doppelt is a Recreation Supervisor for Oakland Parks and Recreation in Oakland, California (mdoppelt@ oaklandnet.com).

advocacy

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Turns 50

By David Tyahla

T

his fall, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) marks its 50th anniversary. It was in 1964 that, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the House and Senate passed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. However, with the LWCF scheduled to expire in September 2015, what will the next year have in store?

Will it provide us reason to celebrate a bright future and continued lasting legacy? Or, will the LWCF look more like a program in midlife crisis?

First, let’s reflect on just how forward-thinking and successful this landmark policy has been. While we may lament the good old days of strong bipartisan cooperation on Capitol Hill, the political process that produced the LWCF was decades ahead of its time. For instance: • At the time, Congress felt providing funding to preserve, develop

and ensure recreational opportunities was essential for the “health and vitality” of existing and future generations of Americans, a need that is more relevant now than ever.

• In another forward-thinking move, the LWCF was created to be budget-neutral, having been authorized with a dedicated funding source of outer continental shelf (OCS) offshore oil and gas leasing revenues for almost five decades. Therefore, the LWCF includes its own means of being paid for — and always at no cost to the American taxpayer.

• The LWCF was viewed as a way to balance the environmental

impacts associated with resource extraction by ensuring that new parks and open spaces are accessible to all Americans.

• The LWCF also intended to strike a balance between the acquisition of lands for federal parks and providing resources to the states to meet the nation’s growing need for access to close-to-home outdoor recreation. Who would have thought that Congress could foresee, five decades later, an America where four out of five citizens would be living in predominantly metropolitan areas?

• The LWCF State Assistance Program was established to provide matching grants to state, local and tribal governments to create and expand parks, develop recreation facilities and further community recreation planning.

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ADVOCACY

Ranging from active recreation facilities to natural areas, these funds are a vitally important tool to renovate existing sites, develop new facilities and acquire land for state and local parks.

• States and localities are required to match these federal funds dollar for dollar. Today, the idea of requiring federal grant funds to be leveraged with other public or private dollars is pretty much a given. It wasn’t in 1964.

• Finally, land used for LWCF State Assistance projects must remain in recreational use in perpetuity. This ensures that the federal, state and community investments remain available for future generations of Americans.

While everything on the surface may look marvelous and sound so positive, the next year — LWCF’s 51st anniversary — will be critical to its continued success and future legacy.

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Since 1965, the LWCF State Assistance Program has: • Provided more than $4 billion to states, territories and local communities • Funded more than 42,000 community and state projects in every corner of America • Supported the permanent protection of 3 million acres of recreation lands and more than 29,000 recreation projects.

Each of these initiatives was driven by community priorities and matched with local dollars, providing close-tohome recreation opportunities that are readily accessible to all Americans.

This leveraged investment in state and local park and recreation projects also stimulates active outdoor recreation, which contributes $646 billion to the economy annually — supporting 6.1 million jobs, as well as generating almost $40 billion in federal tax revenue.

Further, the 725 million annual visits to America’s state park system — a recipient of LWCF State Assistance funding — contribute $20 billion to local and state economies.

While everything on the surface may look marvelous and sound so positive, the next year — LWCF’s 51st anniversary — will be critical to its continued success and future legacy. Consider that the State Assistance Program has been extremely successful the past five decades in spite of never enjoying the benefit of being funded at the approved amount.

No less than $900 million should be deposited each year into the LWCF account from federal offshore oil and gas leasing revenues, and those funds should be permanently

dedicated to this purpose. Yet, in fiscal year 2013, the Department of the Interior collected more than $9 billion from offshore energy production, and LWCF was funded at $306 million total in 2014. The State Assistance Program was funded at a paltry $40 million to cover all 50 states and the territories. This is barely one third of the amount deposited at the Treasury Department for this purpose. In fact, over the life of the program, more than $18 billion of LWCF’s funding has been diverted into general revenues for other, unintended purposes.

Congress should ensure that at least $900 million, consistent with the underlying principle of the LWCF, is dedicated annually to longterm protection of our nation’s land and water resources with the State Assistance

Over the life of the program, more than $18 billion of LWCF’s funding has been diverted into general revenues for other, unintended purposes.

Program receiving an equal distribution of funding compared to our federal counterparts.

The calls for Congress to act to secure a permanent reauthorization for LWCF before it expires in September 2015 have increased as the 50th anniver-

sary has been celebrated. NRPA and our State Assistance Program partners, including the National Association of State Park Directors, National Association of State Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers, U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Governors Association, join hundreds of national conservation, wildlife and recreation organizations in supporting a permanently reauthorized and funded LWCF. When LWCF was enacted in 1964, the rising demand for outdoor recreation was recognized. Today, this demand is growing faster than we could have imagined. Now we must work together to set a conservation direction to meet our country’s needs for the next 50 years.

David Tyahla is NRPA’s Senior Government Affairs Manager (dtyahla@nrpa.org).

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L AW R E V I E W

Bible Believers Target Arab Festival

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

I

n the case of Bible Believers v. Wayne County, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16533; 2014 FED App. 0208P (6th Cir. 8/27/2014), the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit grappled “with claims of the right to disseminate ideas in public places” against “claims of an effective power in government to keep the peace.” In this particular instance, a group of Christian evangelists were proselytizing at a city festival when an angry crowd of youths began hurling debris at them. Law enforcement officers told the group of evangelists to leave the festival or be cited for disorderly conduct. (See the street preacher’s point-of-view video of the incident at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOL_ommK3qg).

The federal district court rejected claims that governmental action under these particular circumstances violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, prompting an appeal to the federal circuit court described below.

Facts of the Case The City of Dearborn in Wayne County, Michigan, had hosted the Arab International Festival (“Festival”) every summer from 1995 until 2012. The

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three-day event, which was free and open to the public, welcomed roughly 250,000 attendees and featured carnival attractions, live entertainment, international food and merchandise sales. Over the years, Christian evangelists had targeted the Festival, including the Bible Believers.

Bible Believers is an unincorporated association of Christian evangelists who desire “to share and express their Christian faith with others, including

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Muslims, through various activities, including street preaching and displaying signs, banners, and T-shirts with Christian messages and Scripture quotes.”

For the Bible Believers, Dearborn was “an important place for their evangelical activities because of its large Islamic population.”

The 2012 Festival ran from June 15 through June 17 along several blocks in Dearborn. The Wayne County Sheriff ’s Office (WCSO) was the Festival’s exclusive law enforcement agency. According to WCSO’s Operation Plan for the Festival, the overall mission was to provide “Wayne County citizens, festival patrons, organizers and merchants with law enforcement presence and to ensure the safety of the public, and keep the peace in the event there is a disturbance.” The Plan further noted that

“past festivals had attracted Christian evangelical groups, including “a radical group calling themselves the Bible Believers.” As characterized in the Plan, “[t]hese groups will possibly show up at the festival trying to provoke our staff in a negative manner and attempt to capture the negativity on video camera.”

On June 15, 2012, the Bible Believers came to the Festival “bearing strongly worded T-shirts and banners,” including: “Jesus Is the Judge; Therefore, Repent, Be Converted That Your Sins May Be Blotted Out,” “Turn or Burn,” “Jesus Is the Way, the Truth and the Life. All Others Are Thieves and Robbers,” and “Islam Is A Religion of Blood and Murder.”

One Bible Believer carried a severed pig’s head on a stick, which purportedly “protected the Bible Believers by repelling observers who feared it.”

After arriving, the leader of the Bible Believers (Ruben Chavez) began preaching, castigating the crowd for “following a pedophile prophet.”

As the Bible Believers moved deeper into the Festival, the crowd — a good portion of which appeared to be minors — continued to gather and yell. Some people started throwing debris — including rocks, plastic bottles, garbage and a milk crate — at the Bible Believers. Someone in the crowd also shoved one Bible Believer to the ground.

Some WCSO officers detained debris throwers while other officers hovered at the edges of the crowd. Eventually, after about 35 minutes, the Bible Believers temporarily stopped preaching and stood as the crowd harangued them and hurled objects. Several officers, including some mounted units, attempted to quell the crowd.

After about five minutes of standing quietly, the Bible Believers began to move and preach again. As they

did so, the cascade of objects intensified. WCSO officers then advised the Bible Believers that they should leave because their safety was in jeopardy and “not enough officers were available to control the crowd.” The Bible Believers, however, continued to preach, followed by what had swelled into a large crowd.

No Bible Believers were cited or arrested at the 2012 Festival itself.

Peacekeeper Plan Bible Believers alleged that Wayne County through the WCSO had “violated their First Amendment right to freedom of speech by either suppressing their speech ab initio [i.e.,

The appeals court acknowledged that the government has a right to prevent a speaker from urging his opinion upon an audience with an intent to incite violence.

The officers then noted “Chavez was bleeding from where a piece of debris had cut his face.” The officers were concerned that “Chavez’s conduct was inciting the crowd” and advised Chavez that they would “escort the Bible Believers out of the Festival.”

Chavez asked if the Bible Believers would be arrested if they refused. The officer replied: “Probably we will cite you” because “the Bible Believers were a danger to public safety.” In response, Chavez snapped: “I would assume a few hundred angry Muslim children throwing bottles would be more of a threat than a few guys with signs.”

WCSO officers then told Chavez: “You need to leave. If you don’t leave, we’re going to cite you for disorderly.

You’re creating a disturbance. I mean, look at your people here. This is crazy!”

Officers then escorted the Bible Believers out. Overall, the Bible Believers preached at the Festival less than one hour. The WCSO’s Post-Operation Report indicated that officers arrested and cited several people for disorderly conduct and gave others verbal warnings.

from the beginning] or by permitting the hostile mob to effectuate a socalled ‘heckler’s veto.’”

As noted by the court, both parties agreed that Bible Believers had “engaged in protected speech” and “the Festival constituted a traditional public forum” in which free speech rights are exercised. Wayne County, however, maintained that the First Amendment did not empower the Bible Believers “to act as they pleased.” On the contrary, Wayne County claimed “the Bible Believers were not free to create a disturbance or cause a threat to public safety.”

Initially, under the circumstances of this case, the federal appeals court considered “whether the government has adopted a regulation of speech because of disagreement with the message it conveys.” In other words, were the governmental restrictions of free speech rights content-based or content-neutral? If content-neutral, that is, the government regulates all messages alike without regard to content, then the government could impose “reasonable restrictions on the time, place or manner of protected speech.” In

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L AW R E V I E W

so doing, however, such governmental restrictions would also have to be narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information.

Applying these principles to the facts of the case, the federal appeals court held “WCSO’s Operations Plan was content-neutral.”

The Plan merely stated that the WCSO would ensure safety and keep the peace. Although the Plan mentioned that Bible Believers might appear and attempt “to provoke our staff in a negative manner and attempt to capture the negativity on video camera,” it said nothing about regulating the content of their speech and nothing about imposing any prior restraints on Appellants. Instead, it merely flagged a potential source of conflict before emphasizing professionalism and the need for an even temperament.

The Plan did not require that the WCSO take any actions other than keep the peace. Accordingly, the Plan did not create any content-based restrictions on speech.

Having found the Plan was content-neutral, the court determined “WCSO could impose reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on protected speech that were narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest and that provided alternative channels for communication of the information.”

Heckler’s Veto The federal appeals court then considered whether implementation of WCSO’s content-neutral Plan nonetheless abridged freedom of speech for the Bible Believers based on the First Amendment’s ban on the “heckler’s veto.” As described by the court, “[t]he heckler’s 30 Parks & Recreation

veto principle recognizes that listeners’ reaction to speech is not a content-neutral basis for regulation.”

[H]ostile public reaction does not cause the forfeiture of the constitutional protection afforded a speaker’s message so long as the speaker does not go beyond mere persuasion and advocacy of ideas and attempts to incite to riot.

Accordingly, the question before the court was whether the hostile public reaction to the Bible Believers’ speech had effectively prompted WCSO’s threat to cite the Bible Believers for disorderly conduct if they did not leave the Festival. If so, the Bible Believers contended WCSO’s actions effected an unconstitutional “heckler’s veto” on their First Amendment free speech rights.

by removing the speaker if the officers’ conduct was reasonable and undertaken in good faith”. Moreover, the federal appeals court noted: “Courts should not ‘second guess’ police officers who are often required to assess a potentially dangerous situation and respond to it without studied reflection.”

In this particular instance, the Bible Believers had argued “they did not incite the crowd at the 2012 Festival to violence.” As a result, the Bible Believers claimed WCSO had “effectuated an impermissible heckler’s veto when they threatened to cite the Bible Believers if they did not leave.” The district court had rejected this argument.

In the opinion of the federal district court, “the actual demonstration of vi-

According to the appeals court, freedom of speech principles do not sanction “incitement to riot.”

According to the federal appeals court, police “must take reasonable action to protect from violence persons exercising their constitutional rights.”

In so doing, the appeals court acknowledged that the government has a right to prevent a speaker from urging his opinion upon an audience with an intent to incite violence.

[T]he law does not expect or require officers to defend the right of a speaker to address a hostile audience, however large and intemperate, when to do so would unreasonably subject them to violent retaliation and physical injury. In such circumstances, they may discharge their duty of preserving the peace by intercepting his message or by removing the speaker for his own protection.

Accordingly, the court found “individual officers could prevent hostility…

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olence here provided the requisite justification” for WCSO’s intervention, “even if the officials acted as they did because of the effect the speech had on the crowd.” Further, the federal district court found WCSO was “not powerless to prevent a breach of the peace in light of the imminence of greater disorder” engendered by the Bible Believers’ speech. The federal appeals court agreed. According to the appeals court, freedom of speech principles do not sanction “incitement to riot.”

When clear and present danger of riot, disorder...or other immediate threat to public safety, peace or order appears, the power of the State to prevent or punish is obvious…[A] speaker can incite to violence even if no such eventuality be intended by making statements “likely to provoke violence and disturbance of good order.”

Applying these principles to the facts of the case, the federal appeals court determined a video of the 2012 Festival had demonstrated that the speech and conduct of the Bible Believers was “intended to incite the crowd to turn violent.”

Within minutes after their arrival, Appellants began espousing extremely aggressive and offensive messages — e.g., that the bystanders would “burn in hell” or “in a lake of fire” because they were “wicked, filthy and sick” — and accused the crowd of fixating on “murder, violence and hate” because that was all they had “in their hearts.”

These words induced a violent reaction in short order; the crowd soon began to throw bottles, garbage, and eventually rocks and chunks of concrete. Moreover, members of the crowd can be heard to shout “get them” and “beat the s*** out of them”; one Bible Believer was pushed to the ground.

Chavez’s face was cut open and bleeding from where he had been struck by debris. And the crowd itself continued to swell and swarm, undeterred by the WCSO’s attempts to contain it.

Under these circumstances, the federal appeals court found “the situation at the 2012 Festival went far beyond a crowd that was merely unhappy and boisterous.” On the contrary, the court accepted WCSO’s explanation provided to the Bible Believers at the time that “the threat of violence had grown too great to permit them to continue proselytizing.”

In so doing, the federal appeals court acknowledged “a state must not unduly suppress free communication of views, religious or other, under the guise of conserving desirable conditions.” However, in this particular instance, the court found WCSO had “a reasonable good faith belief that the threat of violence was too high because the Bible Believers had already been subjected to actual violence.”

[H]ad the WCSO wanted merely to preserve desirable conditions, they could have intercepted the Bible Believers shortly after their arrival at the 2012 Festival. Instead, they allowed the Bible Believers to proceed until the threat of “violent retaliation and physical injury” became too great, at which point they discharged their duty of preserving the peace...by removing the speakers for their own protection.

court in favor of defendants WCSO and Wayne County.

(Note: This three-judge panel decision is not necessarily final. On September 8, 2014, a petition was filed for a “rehearing en banc” (i.e., by all of the judges) on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. If reconsidered by the entire Sixth Circuit, the three-judge panel decision described herein could be modified for reversed. Moreover, while unlikely, there is slight possibility that that the U.S. Supreme Court could eventually accept this case for review to clarify and/or redefine the general constitutional principles governing the “heckler’s veto.”)

Links to additional YouTube videos of 2012 Arab Festival incident: www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4Ws1YWuzyQ, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOL_ommK3qg, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLKarYXjG4c, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkfVAeG3rn4.

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

Conclusion Accordingly, the three-judge panel of the federal appeals court, with one judge dissenting, concluded WCSO’s threats to cite the Bible Believers “for disorderly conduct if they refused to leave do not amount to effectuating a heckler’s veto.” On the contrary, the court found WCSO’s conduct was “objectively necessary under the circumstances” and did not violate the free-speech rights of the Bible Believers. As a result, the federal appeals court affirmed the judgment of the federal district

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FUTURE LEADERS

Networking and Sharing Ideas: Setting the Park and Recreation Field Apart

By Jay Tryon, CPRP

A

s park and recreation professionals, we are always looking for new program ideas, special events, summer camp themes, trends or initiatives to bring to our departments. Outside of programming, we may be searching for information about the process of seeking a request for proposals (RFP) for a concession stand, how to maintain synthetic turf fields, creating an emergency management plan, developing an operation manual for a day camp or finally creating a plan for independent contracts. But have you ever thought about other industries and how they seek similar content? I can assure you it is not done the same way our industry does things.

The idea of sharing in our field is just one of the many attributes that constantly amazes me. We don’t just offer up the theme of a successful program; we go above and beyond to help other organizations implement it. We share what worked and what did not and recommend any changes that could improve the program.

With the help of networking avenues

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such as Facebook, LinkedIn, NRPA Connect, NRPA Congress, and NRPA’s many schools and professional development opportunities, we are able to gain access to new ideas while also sharing success stories with professionals from all over the world. Many state associations offer an avenue to seek information and share best practices with one anoth-

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er. This can be a better source of information since we are able to get a regional look.

One of the most popular outdoor programs offered in the Charlotte, North Carolina, region is a Segway tour through more than 1,300 acres of parkland. This concept came from nearby Asheville when staff visited a botanical garden for a conference, and the idea has been a huge success ever since. This program is now available year round with different benefits for participants during different seasons. With the help of the Asheville staff, the program was implemented in Mecklenburg County and has been a hit since the beginning.

When a department is building a new facility and they need guid-

ance of additional RFPs or maintenance concepts, staff from other agencies are generally willing to share documents that have helped their departments succeed. This is very common practice within the newly revamped NRPA Connect (www.nrpaconnect.org).

This forum has proven to be a great asset to departments all over the country with the ease of common questions being answered and documents shared.

With the help of networking avenues such as Facebook, LinkedIn, NRPA Connect, NRPA Congress, and NRPA’s many schools and professional development opportunities, we are able to gain access to new ideas while also sharing success stories with professionals from all over the world.

Why does this matter? We, as professionals, understand the bigger picture. It is our job to provide opportunities to the public that not only enrich the lives of the participants but also the community. I am constantly impressed with the amount of knowledge and materials shared within our profession. People are more than happy to share changes to programs to help other departments on the other side of the country implement the same program. We live in a world with a high demand for results, yet as park and recreation professionals, we put aside our personal platform for the good of the field. It is a concept that has not only helped hundreds of departments grow through the experience of others, but has also given staff an outlet to “pay it forward.” What better compliment can be given to staff or a department than someone wanting to implement your program, camp or concept that they think will be successful? You may have not invented it, but during the process there was probably a change that made it your own. Changes will naturally happen in the program’s adopted home, but the overall theme will remain the same.

Another aspect beyond the concepts being shared is that during this process of sharing ideas, concepts or examples of documents, we are networking. We may not realize it at the time or it may not be deliberate, but we are communicating with other professionals and we never know what that will lead to. In some cases, you will build a friendship and communicate throughout the years about the similarities or differences among departments. You may look forward to that one time a year when you attend Congress and meet the professionals with whom you have shared. Better yet, maybe it will lead to a promotion or a new position due to a contact that was made because you wanted to expand your athletic offerings to include pickleball.

No matter what, I am constantly reminded about and impressed by the good we as park and recreation professionals do not only in our own communities, but also by sharing information with others throughout the country.

Jay Tryon, CPRP is the Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation for the Town of Indian Trail, North Carolina (jtryon@admin_indiantrail. org).

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C O N S E R VAT I O N

Planting Native is a Matter of Life or Death

By David G. Davis

A

s dramatic as the headline of this article may sound, the statement is true for many species. To paraphrase Doug Tallamy from his book Bringing Nature Home, native insects have evolved to eat native vegetation and cannot survive on non-native plants. Since insects are food for a host of critters like birds, toads, salamanders, lizards, fish and foxes, they’re critical to the food web. Millions of Americans have a birdfeeder. Unfortunately, baby birds don’t eat seeds — they eat insects. Man’s activities have displaced native plants in favor of roads, farm land, lawns and landscape plants from other parts of the world.

Although Tallamy’s observations seem basic enough, there really hasn’t been much information on the matter until his book debuted in 2009. The point is to use more native plants and spread the word about the importance of using native plants. So, now that the truth is out and we can do something about it — what next?

The cure is simple: Plant more native plants. Some folks balk at the idea of planting native as images of unruly landscapes or the wildflower experiment that went wrong dance in their heads. Native plantings don’t have to look, for lack of a better word, wild.

There’s an immense selection of native plants available — many are as well suited in a formal setting as a natural

34 Parks & Recreation

one. Anyone from a homeowner to the park superintendent can be successful with natives. Forget stereotypes, take stock and get started.

Begin by assessing the site. It’s not only important to know what native plants are already there but also what invasive plants are there. It’s critical to be aware of these alien invaders like kudzu, English ivy and porcelain vine be-

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cause they gobble up woodlands, vacant lots, stream banks and other areas that would support native plants. So it’s very important to remove invasive plants to allow room for natives. Many landscape architects include invasive plants in their plans. Insist that these not be included.

Most states have an invasive species list online. Removing all invasive plants may not be practical, but not continuing to plant them is a no-brainer.

For the park manager, landscape professional or guy down the street, the opportunities for using natives are limitless. There are native plants that do well in almost any situation. A favorite pro tip is to get outside and see which plants grow well in what areas.

Observing nature is way to sharpen understanding of plant communities.

Even a golf outing or fishing trip is an opportunity to observe plants. Public gardens, parks, schoolyards and

university grounds are perfect venues for educating the public regarding the need for native gardening. Consider demonstration gardens or theme gardens. These are a great way to draw visitors. A quick and easy idea is to add a butterfly garden — or simply get an existing site certified as one. Butterfly gardens capture the imagination of children, will be loved by people of all ages, and are beautiful and good for the environment. Use water-loving ferns, sedges and perennials in wet areas. This might be a simple solution, but it is often overlooked in lieu of expensive drainage work. Likewise in dry areas, use natives suited for dry sites. Using faux or dry streambeds and bioswales is a really stylish way to handle stormwater, and it offers ideal growing conditions for many natives.

Common native perennials like black-eyed susans and coneflowers do well across much of the U.S. These look great in mixed borders, mass plantings and wildflower meadows and are readily available. There is a plethora of wonderful native grasses like the drought-tolerant, sweetly fragrant prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis, the beautiful purple muhly grass, Muhlenbergia capalaris, or one of the cultivars of switchgrass, Panicum species. Grasses, sedges and rushes look especially good when used near boulders or hardscape features and soften the landscape. They also introduce sound and movement as their foliage rustles in the wind.

For butterflies, a genus to include is the milkweed or Asclepias genus (see www.parksandrecreation.org/2014/ March/Can-Parks-Help-Save-theMonarch for more information). Plants in this genus are the only host plants for the caterpillar of the monarch butterfly. Asclepias tuberosa, or butterfly weed, is a bright orange summer bloomer

Our native fauna depend on native plants for their survival. and probably the most well-known of the group. For moist areas, the attractive pink-blooming swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, works well. Just be careful about using common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. Although native, it can be unruly in the garden and is better suited to the meadow.

Another wonderful plant for moist to semi-moist areas is Joe Pye weed, Eutrochium. There are many smaller cultivars available now that fit nicely into the landscape. A diverse group of plants that grow across the country with many beautiful native species is the ferns. So when planting ferns consider a native one. With shrubs and trees there are a number of beautiful genus native to the U.S. like Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Cor-

nus (dogwood), Cercis (redbud) and Amelanchier. In recent years, many exciting new cultivars of redbuds have been developed with leaf colors including green, chartreuse and maroon with forms in weeping, spreading and vase-shaped. “Pee Wee” and “Munchkin” are dwarf cultivars of the popular oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia.

There are many more native plant choices available these days for the garden with limited space.

Our native fauna depend on native plants for their survival. We must plant more native plants and tell others about the importance of doing so. As with recycling, making a big difference takes a collaborative effort. Imagine if every park, school yard, church yard and home landscape planted more natives. Our landscapes would be full of life. With the wide variety of beautiful native plants available today, there’s no reason not to go native. So spread the word, get out there and plant a native garden today.

David G. Davis is the Associate Director of Landscaping Services at Wake Forest University (davis@wfu.edu).

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HEALTH AND WELLNESS

The University of Utah’s Rio Mesa Center, located along the Dolores River in southeastern Utah, provides an outlet for environmental and recreational education in partnership with programs like the Salt Lake Center for Science Education.

Changing Reality A park and recreation professional reinvents physical education in a Utah public school

By Keri Schwab, Ph.D., and Daniel Dustin, Ph.D.

I

n Salt Lake City, Utah, Larry Madden, principal of the Salt Lake Center for Science Education (SLCSE), a grades 6-12 Title I charter school with a multicultural student population, took a leap of faith. With the support of his superintendent, and inspired by his own daughter’s disdain for gym class (while loving hiking), he hired Cavett Eaton, a park and recreation professional, to reinvent the school’s physical education program.

Upon his hiring, and while securing his Alternative Route to Licensure as a Utah public school teacher, Eaton wasted little time in creating a healthy lifestyle and outdoor adventure curriculum as a stand-in for the traditional physical education program. While still meeting the Common Core state standards, he cut back the time and attention given to traditional sport-skill instruction and focused instead on the development of lifelong recreational

36 Parks & Recreation

pursuits characterized by team- and character-building. In five years, Eaton has created a working bike shop, secured a small fleet of kayaks, installed indoor high- and low-rope climbing elements, and purchased a used van for field trips. SLCSE students — capped at a maximum of 400 because of building size — have learned new and lifelong recreational activities that will serve them well beyond their years in the public school system.

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A visitor to the school would likely be surprised and impressed with the way Eaton has reconfigured the space Madden allotted him. Much of it is taken up by a bicycle repair shop, where students learn how to maintain bikes as well as fix them when they break down. There are close to 100 bicycles in the shop that are used on a regular basis. A stationary bike powers a blender that makes healthy fruit smoothies, while also being affixed to the school’s bee hive for honey making. The boys’ locker room is full of kayaks and canoes, and the girls’ locker room is full of tents and sleeping bags. The gymnasium includes a ropes course and a climbing wall is well under construction. The

school’s courtyard provides a safe haven for students to try out their newly acquired camping skills in preparation for multiday trips to Rio Mesa, a recently developed outdoor education center near Moab, five hours away from the hubbub of Salt Lake City. There is no shortage of parents who want to come along on the day or overnight field trips. Other SLCSE teachers, interested in Eaton’s program, are always willing to work with him to make crosscurricular connections, such as incorporating physics, geometry or biology lessons into an adventure outing. Equipment, which can be an expensive component of outdoor recreation programs, is often donated by companies looking to offload last year’s models or from local nonprofit agencies or community members.

Developing lifelong recreational interests in the context of physical education just makes good sense.

Although Eaton’s adventure-based physical education curriculum is only a few years old, Principal Madden believes the benefits are manifold: There is a powerful cultural impact in taking students away from the brick and mortar of a public school building and putting them in an unfamiliar environment (nature) where they have to work together as a team to overcome new challenges. The outing has a leveling effect. The students return to the classroom more willing to help and rely on one another to solve

problems in the same way they learned to help and rely on one another in meeting challenges in the out-of-doors.

Developing lifelong recreational interests in the context of

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Grade 6-12 students at the Salt Lake Center for Science Education have fun while learning in the school’s adventure-based physical education program.

4

those events upon graduation from The resurgence in recent years of high school? Why not focus instead an emphasis on math and science on developing recreation skills and in the public schools at the expense of interests that can lead to a lifetime other so-called ancillary subject matters of health promotion through physi(music, dance, art, physical education) cally active lifestyles? is short-sighted. Properly thought out, these subject matters can complement The promise of a recreation-cenwhat teachers hope to achieve in math tered curriculum as opposed to and science as well as contributing a traditional physical education-cengreatly to the education of the whole tered curriculum rests in the intrinsichild in preparation for a lifetime of accally rewarding nature of recreation tive, healthy living. pursuits. Physical fitness becomes a byproduct of doing what students find To replicate the kind of impact joy in doing rather than being someEaton has enjoyed requires school thing they have to do. This was the administrators who are: lesson Madden’s daughter taught him. a) Devoted to the long-term health She was not interested in physical fitand well-being of the community NiceRink-NRPA-1-6HP 1:22 PM Page 3 they serve; ness.

She was interested7/25/14 in hiking.

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b) Willing to hire classroom teachers who embrace a healthy lifestyle focus and are eager to work collaboratively across the curriculum to cultivate the skills and abilities necessary for their students to live active, enjoyable and sustainable lifestyles after graduation; c) Committed to do their best to ensure the safety of adventure-based programming while simultaneously understanding life’s inherent risks; and d) Dedicated enough to the promise of a healthy lifestyle to do whatever is necessary to overcome any institutional or bureaucratic barriers to change (Eaton and Madden are rarely told they cannot do something for risk or liability reasons, and to date no one has been injured during any of the activities.).

Principal Madden understands all the reasons why others might balk at what he has set out to accomplish at SLCSE. He understands the convenience and comfort of the status quo.

He understands how school size and class size might complicate matters.

Indeed, he, too, might have been reluctant to take his leap of faith had not one of his students challenged his thinking. In response to Madden’s pronouncement that of all of SLCSE’s students would one day graduate, one of his charges replied starkly, “That’s just not reality.” Jolted by the reaction, Madden quickly adopted a new motto for SLCSE: “Changing Reality.” Welcoming Cavett Eaton into the fold has been a major step in that direction.

Keri Schwab, Ph. D., is an Assistant Professor in the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (keschwab@calpoly.edu). Daniel Dustin, Ph. D., is a Professor in the Department of Parks, Rereation and Tourism at the University of Utah (daniel.dustin@ health.utah.edu).

SOCIAL EQUITY

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Hunter Greg Brandner takes the first turkey of the season at the Oahe Downstream Recreation Area in Pierre, South Dakota.

Back in the Game A South Dakota public lands partnership offers physically challenged hunters accessible opportunities for shooting sports

By Danielle Taylor

F

or a hunter, there’s nothing like getting out into the field, getting a prime target in your sights and taking a successful shot. Photos like the one above don’t happen easily — they take years of researching and carefully selecting firearms and gear, training with your weapon, finding a quality spot away from anything that might distract wildlife, setting up and waiting for hours for your quarry to come along (often in freezing temperatures), taking your shot, and praying that your aim was true and that you didn’t just scare away your quarry and waste all that effort.

It’s an addicting passion, and one that millions of recreators across the country carry with them for life.

However, injuries and disabilities often leave hunters feeling as if they aren’t able to continue with their sport.

In South Dakota, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the State Department of Game Fish and Parks (SD GFP) have teamed up

Injuries and disabilities often leave hunters feeling as if they aren’t able to continue with their sport.

to get physically challenged hunters back in the field and pursuing a pastime they love.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is well-known for the design, construction and operation of locks, dams and flood-containment systems around the world, but due to their management of public lands, they’re also involved in the realms of recreation and environmental protection.

About 20 years ago, former USACE Natural Resources Specialist Michael Stanley conceived a program to support disabled hunters at the Oahe Downstream Recreation Area, which is located just north of the state capitol of Pierre. Although the area is generally limited against hunting, the

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infrastructure in place for the USACE worked well to help support accessible hunting blinds that could accommodate hunters with physical limitations. Over the years, USACE and SD GFP worked together to improve the program.

“The hunters used to be out in (hay) bale blinds,” says Russ Somsen, a natural resource specialist with USACE at Oahe. “We got a lot of donations from different agencies and built 10 accessible blinds. They’re semi-enclosed, and you can put a heater in them,” which Accommodations such as vehicle access, wheelchair ramps and the ability to plug in can make a major difference for a mo- heaters make the hunting blinds at Oahe Downstream Recreation Area very attractive to disabled hunters. bility-limited hunter.

Each fall, up to 12 disabled hunters can participate in unteered to help with the hunt. Pat Buscher, Oahe Downa two-day rifle deer season at the recreation area. This stream Recreation Area district park supervisor, helps seyear, the program expanded to also include a turkey hunt cure the tags and organize logistics for interested hunters. in April. Stanley secured funding from the National Wild For the debut year of the turkey program, five South DaTurkey Federation to establish food plots for the area’s kotans drew tags in hopes of taking a male turkey. turkey population, and members of the organization vol-

Although the area is generally limited against hunting, the infrastructure in place for the USACE worked well to

help support accessible hunting blinds that could accommodate hunters with physical limitations.

Now Accepting Proposals for 2015 Education Sessions Gather up your great ideas and develop a session proposal for the 2015 NRPA conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Use the online submission form and send in your proposal by November 24, 2014.

www.nrpa.org/Proposals

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Hunter Greg Brandner of Pierre harvested the first turkey of the year on April 18 at about 9:30 a.m. “He came running toward the blind when he heard the call,” Brandner says. “My adrenalin was flowing. He came within 20 yards of the blind.”

Somsen says he’s not sure how many tags SD GFP will issue for the turkey hunt in coming years, but he expects interest will increase as eligible hunters take notice. “It was the first year, so word wasn’t really out on it. It was the same way with our deer hunt. The first year, we only had maybe half the tags get filled, but after we had the hunt, the word got out that it was a pretty good program and everybody loved it, and now it’s always full. It’s got a lottery. It’s become pretty popular.”

Danielle Taylor is the Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine (dtaylor@nrpa.org).

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Ma Sports: It’s (Still) a

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an’s

In 1967, Katherine Switzer flouted the rules of the Boston Marathon, which stated that women were not permitted to participate in the event, by entering under her initials as K.V. Switzer. This so enraged one race official that he assaulted Switzer as she ran in the event, but, supported by her teammates, she escaped the attack and finished the race. Today, distance running is one of the top sports for women. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 201,968 girls participated in high school cross country from 2009-2010.

World The state of women in sports has improved since the mid-20th century, but we’ve still got a long way to go to close the equity gap in participation, pay and perception

By Sage Learn

P

ark and recreation agencies are one of the largest providers of youth sport programing and thus play a critical role in the lives of our younger generations. But in that role, are we doing enough for young women? Are we providing equal opportunities, safe environments, effective leadership and mentors to help our youth achieve their full potential? If we go beyond park and recreation and look at what role society at large plays in providing these opportunities equally for boys and girls, perhaps we can start to answer these important questions.

When examining the current state of advancement of women in sport, one must look at three components. The first and biggest piece of the equation is: Are we currently providing equal opportunities for women and girls to play and compete in sports? Second, opportunities aside, how do we look at and treat girls and women

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SPORTS EQUITY

in sports? Finally, when we talk about women in sports, we must look at the cultural implications of how women are treated with regard to men’s sports.

A Spot on the Team To address the first question, it is important to think about the lack of opportunities our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers had available to them and examine those athletes who led the way for equality. The United States has come a long way since Title IX was signed into law in 1972, but have we done enough to advance women’s equal treatment? Title IX was a piece of legislation that put into place protections against sex discrimination for federally funded schools to provide equal opportunities for women and men in educational programs and

activities. For the first time, public high schools and universities were legally required to provide equal opportunities for women to participate in sports. Even today with Title IX in place and risk of a penalty that would withdraw federal funds from noncompliant organizations, reporting and enforcement of the law is still spotty. Despite the fact that most estimates indicate 80 to 90 percent of all educational institutions are not in compliance with Title IX as it applies to athletics, such withdrawal of federal moneys has never been initiated.

There have been many women who were and are champions for this cause who helped get us where we are today. Two of this writer’s personal heroes who broke barriers for so many women after them are Billie Jean King and Joan Benoit Samuel-

son. King started playing tennis well before Title IX when opportunities for women were scarce. King would go on to win 12 Grand Slams, including 12 singles, 16 women’s doubles and 11 mixed-doubles titles and has been a very vocal leader in advocating for women in sports, founding the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974.

Who can forget the legendary “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between King and Bobby Riggs on September 20, 1973? The televised event was watched by 90 million people worldwide and became an iconic win for women’s athletics. One wonders how many little girls watched King win numerous matches and thought, “I can do this too!”

Samuelson raced her way into the running scene as Title IX was being enacted and women’s running still

PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO SAY SPORTS ARE A BIG PART OF WHO THEY ARE

GIRLS

BOYS

ALL GRADES

ALL GRADES

34

61

%

GRADES 3 TO 5

GRADES 6 TO 8

GRADES 9 TO12

%

GRADES 3 TO 5

GRADES 6 TO 8

GRADES 9 TO12

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had major strides to make on the equality front. At that time, it was commonly believed women were not physically capable of running long distances, justified by such silly notions as a women’s uterus would fall out and it would affect her reproductive ability. These beliefs may have stemmed from writings penned prior to modern understandings of medicine and anatomy. In 1898, a doctor in Berlin wrote in the German Journal of Physical Education that, “violent movements of the body can cause a shift in the position and a loosening of the uterus as well as prolapse and bleeding, with resulting sterility, thus defeating a woman’s true purpose in life, i.e., the bringing forth of strong children.” This was used as logic against women running long distances, such as in the 1960 Rome Olympics when women did not participate in running events exceeding a distance of 800 meters. It was not until 1984 that the women’s marathon was introduced into the Olympics — Samuelson was the first to take home the gold. Samuelson held the American marathon record for years and her career is studded with many wins

including the Chicago and Boston Marathons. Throughout her life, she has been a tireless advocate for Title IX, and her leadership for advancing women’s running has inspired many.

These dynamic women are but a small sample of the leaders that helped get us to where we are today.

The number of participation opportu-

At that time, it was commonly believed women were not physically capable of running long distances. nities for girls in high school athletics grew from fewer than 300,000 before Title IX to more than 3.2 million by 2012, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. While we have made leaps and bounds, even in 2014 we are still looking at major inequities in both sports participation and women in leadership roles around sports. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation,

Although opportunities have opened up for women and girls to participate in many more sports than former generations enjoyed, a number of barriers still exist before true equality can be achieved.

girls have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play high school sports than do boys and there are 12 million 3rdthrough-12th-grade boys playing sports while only 8 million girls do so. Sadly, economic disparities also play a role in the numbers — it is often in impoverished and urban neighborhoods where girls are left behind.

Some of the largest inequities can be observed in specific sports that offer few opportunities for women’s teams or report low female participation numbers. Leading the way in female participation for organized sport is track and field, which sees near equal participation numbers to its male counterpart. Yet there are still many sports where women have limited opportunities or there are different rules imposed for females.

Young girls aspiring to compete in sports like football or wrestling often find significant barriers to even participate on a team. In sports such as track and field or baseball, there are

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SPORTS EQUITY

divergent events or rules for each sex.

In track and field, women compete in the heptathlon, while men compete in the decathlon. We often see softball teams provided for young women, but not baseball.

At the highest international level of sport, we have seen incredible progress — in the Olympics, women began competing in 1900 and were only allowed to participate in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrian and golf. The Olympics has gradually progressed to add more women’s sports programming almost every cycle, including the most recent Olympic competition, when women competed in ski

jumping for the first time. Today at the Olympic level, we have almost reached equal opportunities and all new sports added to Olympic programing must include women’s events. As bright a mark as this is, there is still progress to be made in order to increase participation, whether in toddler T-ball or senior programming for women.

Changing Attitudes The second component involves the culture of women in sports and how we view and treat girls and women.

This point is to highlight prejudices in society that underlie why opportunities and participation are not equal.

Most Frequent Physical Activities (Girls) Physical activity

% participation

GIRLS Dancing

61

Swimming/diving

56

Basketball

55

Jogging/running

53

Volleyball

47

Bowling

47

Soccer

40

Baseball/softball

38

In-line skating

33

Camping/hiking

29

Ultimate Frisbee

29

BOYS Basketball

71

Football

65

Soccer

51

Jogging/running

49

Swimming/diving

48

Baseball/softball

48

Bowling

48

Weight training

42

Bowling

48

Weight training

42

Cycling/mountain biking

33

Skateboarding

29

Ultimate Frisbee

29

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We have all heard the following “insult” hurled at both men and women: “You run like a girl!” When did it become a negative to simply run as a young woman? Or, some may remember in 2007 when radio talk show host Don Imus called the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, a winning NCAA program, “nappy-headed hoes.” The reaction was strong because the sexism and racism of the remark offended many people — unfortunately, there are far too many of these public examples that persist in disparaging women in sport. What in our modern society is still lacking that these types of attitudes prevail? Are girls not participating in sports because of these attitudes, and if so, how can we change this? We should be allowing girls to be proud of their athletic achievements so they can take their abilities and talents to the highest levels.

The visibility of positive female role models at high levels of sport surely plays a role. While the opportunities for female professionals in sports are slowly improving, again we have gains to make. The current number of coaching and officiating opportunities to which girls can aspire is small. A common argument is that there is not enough demand for women’s sports, and thus attendance and ticket sales are low. This may be true, but what we need to look at is why do we not have enough support for women in all levels of sports and how can we change this?

Part of the answer may lie in the fact that the culture of women in sports is affected by those who run women’s sports — the coaches, athletic directors and owners. With mostly male-run programs, we are missing an important voice. Sadly we have actually seen a decline in female coaches of women’s teams at the collegiate level since Title IX passed. In 1972, more than 90 percent of the people coaching women’s

teams were women. Today, that number is 43 percent, according to a 2012 Acosta/Carpenter report.

But even when the opportunities are available, the pay inequities are staggering. The average salary for the coach of an NCAA Division I men’s team in any sport — including universities in the Football Bowl and Football Championship Subdivisions — increased by 67 percent to $267,007 from 2003 to 2010, according to statistics from the Department of Education. By contrast, the average salary for the coach of a women’s team increased by 16 percent to $98,106, as reported in a 2012 New York Times article examining the subject of pay inequity in collegiate sports coaching. In men’s sports, just this year, a woman became the first full-time member of a National Basketball Association coaching staff when the San Antonio Spurs hired Becky Hammon as an assistant coach. If we truly want our girls to excel, we need to make sure that they have inspiring role models to which they can aspire, as well as opportunities to follow their sports dreams.

Finding Respect The final piece of this important discussion is the culture of women in men’s sports and what messaging girls receive about their standing in society. If athletes are given preferential treatment and don’t receive the full repercussions of criminal offenses against women such as sexual or physical assault, what kind of value is being assigned to women as a whole? We have seen convicted rapists such as Mike Tyson continue to compete at high levels of sport, and the news has been filled with recent events regarding domestic violence allegations. The list is sadly too long to include here, but in recent months alone, we have seen violence against

women and children in the headlines involving athletes Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson. In 2013, Lindsay H. Jones, reporting for USA Today, wrote that in the NFL dating back to 2000 there were 84 arrests for domestic violence and no player received more than a one-game suspension. Profes-

The Pivotal Role of Parks and Rec The work done at park and recreation agencies is critical in developing these young girls to succeed in sports and life.

Across the country, programs are available at park and recreation agencies for young women to develop skills and gain confidence. Youth sport leaders are

We as a society lose if we tolerate violence against women or similarly marginalized populations for any reason. sional and college football programs have entire teams of public relations staff that play the role of “damage control” to minimize or conceal incidents when they arise. We have players with charges pending or convictions who return to their respective teams while the victims’ stories are silenced. Worse yet, women are often revictimized by sensationalized media reports. Progress is being made — the National Football League has strengthened its policies on domestic violence in recent months and there will likely be more changes to come across the sports spectrum with increased pressure from fans and corporate sponsors. While these strides are positive signs, they were only made possible through the rising role of women as football consumers and heavy media coverage. Women and girls need to know they are valued regardless of financial motivations that may inform an administrator’s decision to not bench an offending player. We as a society lose if we tolerate violence against women or similarly marginalized populations for any reason. Athletes male and female are looked up to as role models, and we want younger generations of girls and boys to view women as equal and deserving of respect.

encouraging young women to participate and are taking into account such important factors as not giving preferential access to facilities for boys even when there is a precedent; providing gender-, age- and skill-level-appropriate coaching to enable girls to develop in their sport; providing the opportunities in safe and comfortable environments; involving women at all levels of coaching and leadership; ensuring girls are encouraged and supported; and adopting zero-tolerance policies for violence and sexist attitudes and behaviors.

We have come a long way since the days before Title IX when few opportunities existed for women and girls in sports, but it is important to continue to reflect on the current state of this demographic. Park and recreation agencies are champions in providing opportunities for our youth, and there are so many young women who had their start in sports in youth recreation leagues. However, as these inequities persist, the best thing we can do for our female sports heroes of tomorrow is to look at what more we can do today. I leave you with this question: Are we doing enough to encourage and protect our up-and-coming female athletes?

Sage Learn is NRPA’s Government Affairs Manager (slearn@nrpa.org).

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Student-designed and student-built parks offer a creative learning process for young professionals while benefiting communities nationwide

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Learning by

By Kevan Williams

T

he conventional curriculum for aspiring architects takes place in the studio, with long nights at the drafting desk, or increasingly in the computer lab, with each student working independently on hypothetical projects. In recent decades, some architecture professors have challenged that model, pulling students out of the classroom and into the community, asking students to take the skills they’ve learned to not just design, but build real buildings for real and often needy clients. Known as “design-build” programs, today more than 100 architecture programs in universities around the country include some form of this collaborative, hands-on service-learning model.

Programs like the well-known Rural Studio, run by Auburn University, often focused in their early years on providing affordable housing, gaining an international reputation for the bold and inspiring student-built structures that Rural Studio founder Samuel Mockbee called “shelter for the soul.” But in recent years, these programs have taken on public-interest projects, working with neighborhoods, community groups and municipalities to build everything from

small pavilions and arbors to entire parks and community centers.

Picking Up Skills in the Pacific Northwest On the smaller, more tactical end of the spectrum is the University of Washington’s Howard S. Wright Neighborhood Design/Build Studio.

Led by Steve Badanes, known for his work with the eclectic “Jersey Devils” collective of architects and builders, the Neighborhood Design/Build

Studio takes place each spring quarter. Over an 11-week course, students must design and build elements for a local community project. The studio often works with community garden projects throughout Seattle, providing structures like trellises, arbors, pavilions and benches.

“This is a class that gets a chance to make things and work for a community group,” says Badanes. “It gives students some exposure to making things. They become better designers because of their practical experience.

They also learn to work in a team.”

The program is challenging, but it’s also popular. “It’s the reason why most [of the school’s architecture] students come to the University of Washington,” says Badanes.

One such project was Bradner Gardens Park in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood. “It was an old park

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l e a rnin g b y d e si g n

that was virtually abandoned in terms of maintenance,” says Badanes. The neglected park was going to be sold by the city for housing, but the neighborhood stepped in to save it, successfully lobbying the city to change the ordinances that would have allowed the property to be sold. Following that victory, the community began looking for grants to redevelop the park and approached Badanes about coming to work on the site. Over two years, the students built numerous structures, including a dramatic leafshaped pavilion. “When you look up toward the ribs of the roof structure, it looks like a cherry leaf, with the parallel veins,” says community member Joyce Mote.

Funding was a challenge for the park, but the students’ labor provided essential momentum. “It was a $50,000 structure that we got for $10,000 worth of materials,” says Mote. That labor also counted as a matching contribution for grants, making the park project especially competitive. Mote estimates about $450,000 was raised, and volunteers have contributed around 40,000 hours to the park.

Most recently, the Neighborhood Design/Build Studio worked with

the Beacon Food Forest, a permaculture demonstration garden and teaching space in Seattle’s Jefferson Park. Because of the course’s tight timeline, students worked offsite in a warehouse, fabricating structures that would eventually be taken apart, moved by truck, reassembled and craned into place onsite. But the effect when installed is dramatic. “It was a really nice moment for [the Beacon Food Forest], because they were just getting out of the ground with the project, and suddenly they had structures and covered seating for the gardeners,” says Jake LaBarre, an instructor with the studio. “It made the community feel like something’s really happening here,” he says.

Although many of its projects take place in parks, typically the studio works directly with local organizations, rather than the city government, which can move a little too slowly for the course’s 11-week timeline. “It’s usually the nonprofit who makes the deal with us,” says Badanes. “Also, they don’t have any money,” he jokes.

Developing Structural Intelligence in the Deep South At the other end of the spectrum is

Jared Polesky

The unique pavilion in Seattle’s Bradner Gardens takes its cue from the natural beauty of a cherry leaf.

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the Rural Studio, which operates far from Auburn University’s main campus. Students live in the small town of Newbern, Alabama, and take part in a year-long immersive program. Over the course of two semesters, small teams of students will design and build a single structure all on their own.

Initially, the Rural Studio took on small public projects: a park pavilion here, a playground there. In 2001, it began a multiphase project for Perry Lakes Park, a 600-acre nature preserve near Marion, Alabama, on the Cahaba River. The park, first established in the 1930s by the CCC, shuttered in the 1970s. Between 2001 and 2005, four student teams constructed a pavilion, restrooms, a massive covered suspension bridge and a 100-foot-tall birding tower, recycled and reassembled onsite from a decommissioned fire tower. The park reopened in 2002 when the Rural Studio’s first phase, the pavilion, was completed.

The next big project was Lions Park in Greensboro, Alabama. The local Lions Club chapter purchased the property that would become the park in the 1970s, and baseball fields and an arena for equestrian events were built, but the park wasn’t well-managed. To retire debt on the purchase, the Lions Club sold portions of the property to the county and city governments, leaving the park in three sets of hands. Other portions were sold off for industrial development, and it seemed more might be, threatening the future of the park. “The Lions Club got together and said ‘We’ve got to do something. Greensboro doesn’t have another park,’” says Bill Hemstreet, a member of the Lions Club. He and others formed the Lions Park Development Committee in 2001 and began to plan for the future of the park.

“The park was just kind of out here and was not being utilized very

Student-run renovations of Lions Park in Greensboro, Alabama, included these custom gates proclaiming the name of the community space.

Students build almost everything that goes into the structures, learning the consequences of the lines they draw in the studio. “You name it, they’ve done it,” says Hemstreet.

Another, more intangible lesson that students take away is the relationship they form with community members. Students and stakeholders work closely to identify community needs and develop structures that are closely attuned to those needs. That relationship with the community doesn’t end when classes are over. “They’ll get their degree and stay on another year to see that the project’s finished, just out of the moral and ethical commitment that they’ve made to these projects,” says Hemstreet. “They’ll work through the coldest winters I’ve seen, and the hottest summers.”

And that commitment is something that Hemstreet is working to honor.

The Lions Park Development Committee is working to recombine the park’s ownership in the hands of the City of Greensboro, and establish the community’s first dedicated park and recreation department. “The investment that the students have made, we have to make sure that that’s protected,” Hemstreet says.

Beyond the Classroom These studios aren’t just important teaching tools for architecture students, they’re important outreach tools for the state-funded universities

Kevan Williams

well,” says Hemstreet. “Little League would come out and use the ballfield, but the park just kind of languished.

There wasn’t anything going on out here.” The committee approached the Rural Studio for help.

In the fall of 2005, just after wrapping up Perry Lakes, the Rural Studio began the first phase of its renovation of Lions Park. First up was the ballfields. A team of students set about rearranging the fields into a hub-andspoke configuration, with a central shaded gathering area under some large trees in the center of the park.

The project received a $500,000 grant from Baseball Tomorrow, the first of many grants to come for the park.

“The amount of money they’ve found to put into this park has been absolutely phenomenal,” says Hemstreet.

Since that initial project, the Rural Studio has carried out another nine projects within the park, including a pavilion, restrooms, park furnishings and a playscape. This year, students, parents, alumni and community members gathered in the park to celebrate the opening of three new phases: a meeting space for the local Boy Scout troop, a fitness trail and landscaping for the park.

The Studio’s long-term relationship with Lions Park has turned it into a teaching space as well. “It allows the students to come and see what’s already been done and evaluate…you can see what works and what doesn’t work,” says Cameron Acheson, a Rural Studio alumna who worked on the playscape project before serving as a Rural Studio instructor for several years. The park has grown organically, with students responding to work that’s been done previously while incorporating lessons learned into the new park elements. “It’s really amazing to see how it transforms each year,” Acheson says. “There’s a skatepark there, and that’s something that the first team wasn’t even thinking of.”

that house them, whose missions are often defined in three parts: teaching, research and service. “We are a public university; we belong in the public arena,” says Badanes.

The values that students learn in programs like the Rural Studio and the Neighborhood Design/Build Studio are lessons that they’ll take with them and incorporate in other places. Many of Badanes’ students have stuck around the Seattle area, working in community organizations instead of conventional architecture firms. Even more impressive, the current that has started in these educational studios has slowly trickled into the larger profession. Organizations like Architecture for Humanity and the Make It Right Foundation have raised the profile of public service architecture and made it an increasingly compelling alternative to the celebrity-focused “starchitecture” culture that many inside and out of the profession have criticized in recent years.

Most compellingly, these programs have made architecture relevant again and brought beautiful design to communities that big firms will never think about. “Architecture’s not just about building, it’s about people,” says Hemstreet.

Kevan Williams, MLA, is a Park Planner for the Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department in Athens, Georgia (kevanjwilliams@gmail.com).

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Invest in Your Career It’s the professional thing to do

Are you looking for a way to demonstrate your commitment to the field, lead your employees by example, gain greater respect, and advance the profession? The Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) program is your answer.

Are there multiple people in your agency that want to get certified?

We offer group certification discounts.

Get CPRP Certified Today! www.nrpa.org/CPRP

nrpa Update Investing in People

The Chicago Park District implements a professional development overhaul to support and advance the careers of its park and recreation professionals

By Samantha Bartram

H

ere at NRPA, one of our primary directives is to provide extensive professional development opportunities. Whether a member is looking for additional certification or to expand their skill set, we do our best to offer classes, seminars and webinars that fit the bill for continued education.

Implementing comprehensive, effective professional development within a department can be a daunting task requiring a significant investment of time and resources. However, the Chicago Park District (CPD) has been tweaking its educational opportunities for almost 20 years, recently arriving at a centralized plan intended to benefit all its employees.

Back in the mid-1990s, CPD received grants to establish the Neighborhood First and Chicago Park District University (CPU) programs. These were conducted in partnership with Chicago State University to provide ongoing training for specific areas of expertise including landscape management, sports officiating and other disciplines.

At the time, trainings were mandated, and while some employees believed CPU was very useful, others felt a lack of buy-in by all participants damaged the program’s efficacy. Nonetheless, CPU continued to evolve and became CAPRA-accredited, with a continued focus on employee development.

“Then, in the early 2000s, CPU was dismantled and our priorities kind of changed a bit,” Nikki Ginger, CPRP and professional development manager for CPD, explained in a recent NRPA webinar. “We didn’t really focus on accreditation and honestly kind of let our accreditation go.” It wasn’t until late 2009 that her agency began to reassess professional development and come up with a new plan that would truly support the educational needs of all employees.

Supporting a Workforce CPD never abandoned training for its employees, but there was recognition of a “need for a centralized program led by one individual who would partner with managers across the community recreation department to ensure consistency and increase quality,” Ginger says. To accomplish this, the agency, under the direction of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPD General Superintendent and CEO Michael Kelly, adopted a strategic approach to retool its professional development offerings.

“It started with a needs assessment that included interviews and a detailed survey,” Ginger continues. “This assessment — which hadn’t been done in recent history — asked employees what they would like out of their professional development program. It doesn’t focus solely on training, but also organization policy, mentorship and support.

The data we gathered from both the interviews and survey helped create a foundation that we could rely on to launch the program.”

By no means was this a small undertaking — revamping a program to provide educational support to CPD’s

31,000 year-round, full-time employees, not to mention the thousands who are seasonally employed, took careful planning to address all the needs identified. But, says Ginger, the effort is well worth the reward. “Professional development is a worthy investment in your employees,” she says.

And, facilitating certification for CPD workers is an impactful sign to the community and the field at large of the value placed in park and recreation professionals. “Certification is the backbone of our professional development initiative,” Ginger says. Indeed, that spine is quite strong now — before implementing the new professional development protocols, the agency boasted only four Certified Park and Recreation Professionals (CPRPs) — today, there 120 and growing.

“There are certainly many challenges to any new initiative, but that’s what makes the program so valuable,” Ginger says. “This was not an effort of one individual — it took a community of professionals. Does that mean if you have a small agency that it’s not possible to deploy a professional development program? Certainly not! Take small steps and set achievable goals.”

For Ginger’s tips for agencies looking to centralize or reboot professional develoment, visit www.parksandrecreation.org/2014/November/Investing-in-People.

Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine (sbartram@ nrpa.org).

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NRPA Update

Combating Hunger through Parks and Recreation

By Travis Smith, Ph.D., and Rishma Parpia

D

espite our society’s efforts, childhood hunger remains a reality in the United States. In fact, 16.2 million children struggle with hunger in America. During the school year, school lunches often feed children in need. The Food and Research Center reports that in 2012, 31.6 million kids were fed daily by the National School Lunch Program. However, when the school year ends and summer begins, millions of low-income children lose access to school breakfasts and lunches. For many of these children, these may be the only nutritious and healthy meals they enjoy on a normal day. So when school is out, who feeds these kids?

In many communities, the answer is the community park and recreation agency. Park and recreation agencies also participate in the federal Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and are the largest public provider of healthy meals and snacks outside of schools. Data from PRORAGIS™ illustrates that almost 50 percent of park and recreation agencies that offer summer camps are sites for feeding programs. Research estimates that park and recreation agencies serve 560 million meals to children through

summer and after-school programs each year. The SFSP is designed to replace regular school year feeding programs by providing low-income children access to the nutritious meals they need to prevent hunger and remain healthy throughout the summer. Furthermore, summer nutrition programs offered at park and recreation sites play an important role by involving children in educational and recreational programming to keep them engaged, active and safe during the summer months.

Summer Camp Feeding Programs

In recent years, federal summer nutrition programs have struggled to meet the need because of budget cuts to state and local programs that support underlying summer programs for children. NRPA continues to work with national partners to address children’s hunger during out-of-school times. As the largest public provider of children’s meals during the summer months, our agencies have clearly shown the capacity to effectively reach children in need of nutritious meals.

For a full list of references, visit www.parksandrecreation.org/2014/ November/Combating-Hunger-through-Parks-and-Recreation.

Travis Smith, Ph.D., is NRPA’s Vice President of Research (tsmith@nrpa.org). Rishma Parpia is a Research Consultant at The Research Workroom LLC (rishma.parpia@ researchworkroom.com).

After-School Programs

of park and recreation agencies

offer summer camps

9

weeks

Average length of camps offered by these agencies

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These agencies serve an average of of these camps offer feeding programs for participants

133 campers per week

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of agencies offer beforeor after-school programs that feed children These agencies feed an average of

participants per week

Building Teams and Advancing Careers at a Discount!

N

eed another reason to sign up for NRPA’s Premier Membership Package? With the Premier Package, your entire team can take advantage of membership benefits with NRPA, including research, advocacy, networking and professional development at a discounted rate with the Premier Certification Package.

When you sign up your agency as a Premier member, you are investing in your employees. Once a Premier member, your agency will have access to the Premier Certification Package.

This provides the opportunity to earn the Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) and/or the Certified Park and Recreation Executive (CPRE) at the best group-rate pricing. By taking advantage of this great deal, you are showing you value your employees and your agency’s overall success. Aside from the monetary value your agency will receive, the package discount en-

courages your team to apply, study and test together for the certification. The more candidates your agency has, the larger the reduction in cost. Study materials such as the CPRP Study Guide, CPRP Practice Exam and Management of Park and Recreation Agencies text are also included at a discounted rate.

Not a Premier member? Visit www. nrpa.org/premier to learn more and sign up today. Already a Premier member and ready to take advantage of the certification discount? Complete the Premier Agency Application at www. nrpa.org/uploadedFiles/nrpa.org/Professional_Development/Certification/ CPRP/Premiere-Agency-Application. docx and submit via email to certification@nrpa.org or fax 703.858.0794. For questions about membership, contact 800.626.NRPA (6772) or customerservice@nrpa.org.

— Hayley MacDonell, NRPA’s Membership Programs Manager

Call for NRPA Board of Directors Nominations

H

ave you ever thought about being a board member or know someone you think would excel as one? NRPA is looking for both professional and citizen leaders who are passionate about parks, recreation and environmental conservation. Candidates should be active leaders who wish to further the mission of the association and who have demonstrated talent and expertise in the field or in their community. NRPA values and seeks diverse leadership as defined by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, sexu-

al orientation, nationality, disability, appearance and geographic location.

We also encourage all types and sizes of park and recreation organizations.

For more information and to apply, please visit www.nrpa.org/leadership, where you can find the Class of 2018 Nomination Book. All nominations must be submitted or datestamped by January 30, 2015. If you are interested in serving, know someone who is or have questions about the nomination process, please contact Michele White at mwhite@nrpa. org or 703.858.2144.

Test Your Park and Recreation Knowledge The following is a sample Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) examination question: The inclusion of a library and/or resource center in a neighborhood recreation facility should be based in the belief that a park and recreation agency should do which of the following?

A. Encourage leisure education B. Improve the agency’s image C. Encourage democratic ideals D. Promote self-directed activities Calling all beginning to midlevel professionals! The Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) is the national standard for all park and recreation professionals who want to be at the forefront of their profession.

For more information on the CPRP certification program and the answer to the above question, please visit www.nrpa.org/cprp.

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NRPA Update

Member Spotlight: Shalon Lewis

I

n her role as Shreveport Public Assembly Recreation (SPAR) manager at Valencia Park in Shreveport, Louisiana, Shalon Lewis has a lot on her plate. She makes sure youth and seniors in her community have access to a top-notch facility packed with fun and interesting programming. She wrangles volunteers — including her own mother — to work at the park’s impressive community garden, which yields piles of veggies during Louisiana’s long growing season. During the past nine years at Valencia, Lewis makes a daily effort to share her pride and infectious energy with the larger community, trumpeting her facility’s amenities to anyone willing to listen. We recently caught up with the 34-year-old to get a more detailed sense of her deep commitment to the park and recreation profession.

Parks & Recreation Magazine: Tell us about some of the programmatic highlights at Valencia Park.

Shalon Lewis: Hosting successful job fairs; creating a Referral Center for patrons to come and receive useful information; conducting the largest after-school program in SPAR where we pride ourselves on education, teambuilding and respect for self and others; providing senior citizens a place to come daily and relax, learn and participate in fun activities such as arts and crafts and table games (a favorite of our “Senior Valencia Golden Girls and Boys” is Mexican Train Dominoes); health and wellness seminars; and field trips. We also award the youth in the neighborhood with summer jobs in our community youth garden — the first of its kind in northern Louisiana.

P&R: Valencia Park’s youth community garden is clearly a highlight and point of pride for the park — talk a bit about how that program works and how the community is involved.

Lewis: The garden is a wonderful partnership between the LSU AgCenter and the City of Shreveport.

We teamed up with Dr. Grace Peterson from the LSU AgCenter to do a nutrition program in 2008. Six

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years later, we now have a year-round garden, berry bushes (10), a fruit orchard (12 trees), a herb garden and a flower bed. The youth are the main ones who are involved [in the maintenance of the garden]. They learn responsibility, ownership, teamwork, how to eat healthier and to have pride for themselves and their community.

P&R: What sort of fruits and veggies do you grow in the garden, and which are your favorite?

Lewis: Our garden is year-round, so we grow a variety of fruits and vegetables that thrive in Louisiana’s warm climate — figs, watermelon, tomato, spinach, okra, lettuce, kale, broccoli, pepper, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and eggplants, just to name a handful. My favorites are everything we grow, but if I had to pick a few it would be the broccoli, sweet potatoes and cucumbers, and I love to see the sunflowers bloom.

P&R: We understand you’re great with volunteers, even enlisting your mom to help out in the garden. How did you convince her to become involved?

Lewis: I have a saying at Valencia: Once you come to visit, you will want to come back. The volunteers are great!

They come and help because they

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want to be there; they love to see the smiles on the kids’ faces, and the fact that they love gardening plays a big role too. My mother Belinda (Coley) Lewis is the biggest supporter of the garden — day in and day out, she is there. For Mother’s Day this year, she didn’t want to go out to eat or anything like that — she wanted all her kids (eight of us and many grandkids) to meet at the garden to work, so we did. I think she was happier about starting a garden than I was.

Growing up, she would always say, “I want a house with a big backyard so I can start a garden.” Well, she has her garden now and I am proud to know I was able to give her that.

P&R: What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job at Valencia Park?

Lewis: Giving back to the community, especially the youth.

P&R: What advice would you give to other park and recreation professionals?

Lewis: We can and we are making a difference in the lives of others.

Thank and appreciate your staff and volunteers. You are only as good as the people who work with you.

— Samantha Bartram, Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine

Staff Spotlight: David Wenner, MBA, PMP

A

s one of NRPA’s “behind the scenes” staff members, AMS Administrator Dave Wenner may not be the most visible face to members, but every member and staffer of NRPA has benefited from his work. In his four-plus years at NRPA, the “database guy” has pushed through a number of system improvements that have made NRPA’s information easier to navigate, access and apply, and he has automated a number of processes to make everyone’s jobs easier to manage.

Like NRPA, Wenner will be turning 50 in 2015. We learned more about his career, his life as a swim dad, the origin of his famous chicken costume and his notorious obsession with bacon.

Parks & Recreation Magazine: Tell me a little about your work as NRPA’s AMS (Association Management Software) administrator.

Dave Wenner: I basically work with our internal database and see my job as making sure anyone here can use the data we have to make the right decisions. Members, nonmember purchase history, anyone who has worked with NRPA — we have info in the database about that, and we can use it to make decisions for programming, decisions for products we want to implement, etc. The other part [iMIS Specialist Cara Bracamonte and I] do is to implement tools that make staff more efficient so they don’t have to do tedious things.

P&R: What are some of your biggest projects and accomplishments in your time with NRPA? Wenner: The biggest thing was that we implemented a tool that really advanced and automated a lot of processes, like renewal notices. A lot of our certification processes are automated as well, which took the responsibility out of the users’ hands and lets the system do it for them. We also implemented a better solution for the

online store and did a lot of cleanup.

P&R: What first drew you to work at NRPA, and what are some of your favorite things about working here?

Wenner: I was looking to get out of consulting — I had done not-forprofit consulting for 13 years. Also, working for NRPA has given me the opportunity to become a better dad.

I live 1.4 miles away from the office, so I can do carpool in afternoons and have more time to become involved in my kids’ activities. Also, I have worked with 40 to 50 not-for-profit companies with my consulting work, and we have top-notch staff here.

P&R: You are well-known as the staff’s resident bacon aficionado.

What’s with the bacon obsession?

Wenner: It started in college. When I came home for summer, maybe four nights a week I’d fry up a pound of bacon and put it all in one sandwich. Last Thanksgiving, we did 15 pounds of bacon. We’re big fans of pork products.

P&R: You’ve also appeared in internal staff videos wearing a chicken costume. Where did that come from?

Wenner: When my son was about 3, I asked him what he wanted me to be for Halloween, and he said a chicken. I always wanted [a chicken costume] — you never know when you might need it!

P&R: Finally, tell me a little about

your family and your personal life.

Wenner: My wife, Kelly, and I will have been married 20 years next January. My daughter, Jordan, is 14, my son, Teddy, is 12, and we also have two dogs. Outside of work, I’m pretty much a swim dad. My wife and I heavily volunteer for the summer swim team — for six weeks a year we’re doing that nonstop, and one to two weekends a month I’m at a local park facility for swim meets.

I’m one of eight kids and had more than 50 foster brothers and sisters.

My dad was a minister, and we always had a few foster siblings with us. Four of my siblings are adopted, including three former foster siblings.

P&R: Anything else?

Wenner: Members can help us a lot by filling out their profile when they connect to our website — we’re trying to understand members as well as we can. We just finished a database project to understand who our members are so we can better serve them.

— Danielle Taylor, Executive Editor, Parks & Recreation Magazine

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

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

The Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) certification program provides the most comprehensive training on playground safety standards and the credentials to inspect playgrounds for safety compliance.

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Take this course to prepare for an upcoming AFO class or certification exam, or just as a quick overview for staff working in or managing aquatic facilities. CEUs: 0.4

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online learning Online Learning is a cost-effective and flexible way to educate staff, provide training and earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) without leaving the comfort of your home or office. Visit NRPA’s Online Learning Center and choose from one of our many courses.

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Schools and Conferences NRPA Conferences and Schools are forums where the park and recreation community comes together to exchange ideas and information. Register now for these upcoming events. All NRPA Schools are held at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia, unless otherwise indicated.

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Operations Mighty Moss

Using sphagnum moss to aid in filtering pool water could be a green, cost-saving alternative to pool chemicals

By Samantha Bartram

C

onservation-minded park and recreation professionals are always looking for ways to “green” their operations. We want to offer our communities the healthiest options when it comes to wellness, exercise and fun, while conserving water and energy in the process. Unfortunately, this is more easily accomplished in certain areas of a facility than others. Indoor and outdoor community pools are buzzing hubs of activity all year long, and that often means a lot of labor and chemicals to keep our pools pleasant and, most importantly, sanitary. But, some agencies have found a more earth-friendly filtration option that reportedly helps keep pool water clean, cuts down on chemical and water use and makes for a more enjoyable swimming experience. At pools across the country, sphagnum moss is proving to be a well-equipped, natural water conditioner that could soon be coming to a facility near you.

Having a Moss Moment Sphagnum moss filters are already in widespread use at many pools operated by the City of St. Paul, Minnesota, as well as at all four University of Maryland-operated pools. This, thanks to Creative Water Solutions (CWS) founder and CEO David Knighton. In addition to being an

entrepreneur, Knighton is also a surgeon. While poring over books about medical treatment for soldiers during World War I, a nugget of information popped out at him. Namely, that solders whose wounds were packed with sphagnum moss saw faster, more effective healing, versus those who were given cotton packs. “I knew from my

years working with wound healing that [the moss] had to be antimicrobial,” Knighton explained in a 2012 interview with Discovery News.

As luck would have it, Knighton is also a pilot, and one day while flying over Minnesota, the “Land of 1000 Lakes,” he had an epiphany. “As I went north, [the lakes] got cleaner and cleaner,” he continued. “I wondered, ‘Well, maybe it’s the moss?’”

Knighton put two and two together, and decided to test how effective natural moss could be as a filter and water conditioner in his own home spa.

Within just 10 days, he says, the moss stabilized troublesome pH levels and expertly tidied up his personal oasis.

Soon after, Knighton called on the expertise of his longtime colleague, business partner and microbiologist Vance Fiegel, and together the two developed the SpaNaturally and PoolNaturally water conditioning systems, making primary use of the antimicrobial, absorptive properties of sphagnum moss.

Taking On the Scum CWS’ sphagnum moss filtration systems, available for home or commercial use, seem to be particularly effective at dealing with biofilm, a scummy, bacteria-laden residue that is the primary culprit when it comes to causing illness or infection from pool water. Biofilm is basically a group of microorganisms that are stuck together, forming a thin layer on surfaces. The Centers for Disease

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Encouraging Feedback Operators at the Oxford Community Center in St. Paul say since implementing the sphagnum moss filtration system, patrons notice softer, better-hydrated skin after their swim and a conspicuous absence of the “chlorine smell” that was sometimes present at the pool. “People started stopping me [to ask], ‘What are you doing? The water is great,’” Lynn Waldorf, aquatics director for the City of St. Paul, commented in the Discovery article. She estimated using the sphagnum moss filters saved her facility approximately $35,000 in chemical costs during the summer 2012 swimming season, while revenue increased substantially as word of mouth spread and more community members visited the pool.

Meanwhile, at the University of Maryland, Campus Recreation Ser

Andrea Pokrzywinski

Control and Prevention has identified biofilm as being linked to several infectious diseases, and it’s the beast aquatics facilities operators are battling daily with various cleaning techniques, filtration systems and chemicals, most commonly, chlorine.

With the CWS systems, sphagnum moss comes packaged in tea bag-like packs, which are then placed inside a contact chamber, allowing them to interact with and treat the water. The moss packets’ antimicrobial properties go to work making the water and pool surfaces less hospitable to biofilm while simultaneously releasing natural buffers into the water, stabilizing pH and alkalinity levels. It also binds metals like calcium, magnesium and iron, which helps diminish scaling and staining in pipes, pumps and bulkheads.

Less gunky buildup and surface damage means lower maintenance costs — music to a facility operator’s ears.

Creative Water Solutions uses a specific variety of sphagnum moss in its water conditioning systems.

vices (CRS) staff are engaged in an ongoing practice of using sphagnum moss filtration systems. In 2010, CRS received an almost $65,000 grant from the University Sustainability Fund to support the installation of a sphagnum moss swimming pool water treatment system for its two indoor pools. Today, “the sphagnum is currently used on all four of our swimming pools,” says CRS Manager of Pool Operations Matthew Quigley. “Initially it took some convincing for our staff to get on board, as to the typical ‘pool guy,’ the moss was a far-fetched idea and it’s fairly hard [for new products to] break into the pool world, especially with all the benefits the moss was claiming to have.” But, Quigley was able to rally his staff, and, as in St. Paul, reports came back positive. “On average, we save 750,000 gallons of water per year through backwashing our filters about one-third less, and use 40 percent less chlorine,” he says. His staff found no accumulations of biofilm where before it was present, and a few swimmers “describe the water as ‘softer’ or less harsh on their skin and hair. We have a few patrons who visit our facility specifically because of our ability to run our chlorine at lower levels due to the moss — they have harsh reactions to high chlorine.”

These results do come at a cost, however. Quigley reported a savings of $44,000 for CRS after implementing the sphagnum moss filtration

systems, but adds, “the grant paid for our first year’s supply. We have continued to purchase the moss through department funding and currently spend approximately $46,500 per year for a 12-month supply of moss for all of our pools.”

Still, Quigley says he would absolutely recommend pool operators give sphagnum moss a try. At the moment, CWS is the largest player in the game, but as demand increases for green, cost- and water-saving alternatives to typical pool maintenance, one expects the market to expand. “[Sphagnum moss] has proven to be beneficial to human health, the environment, our equipment and our budget,” Quigley says. “The bottom line is that the moss is a very low-risk/high-reward treatment system that offers no hindrances to operations beyond cost.”

For those agencies that wish to be on the forefront of conservation and sustainability throughout their operations, the cost may well be worth the reward. “CRS decided to undertake this experiment because we are always looking for ways to be cutting-edge in recreation,” Quigley says. “The university has been pushing to increase sustainability efforts, and swimming pools are by nature very wasteful. We believed the moss would help reduce that waste while still allowing our aquatic facilities to be top-notch.”

Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine (sbartram@ nrpa.org).

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Operations

Why Waste?

By Elizabeth Lowell

W

hy waste? It’s a question with an easy answer — throwing stuff out means wasted money, wasted resources, wasted time and wasted energy. Ditto to why we conserve. Most of us recognize that the less we toss, the more we save, and the more we reduce and reuse, the better off are our communities, not to mention the planet. But inevitably, stuff still does wind up in the trash can, especially organic materials. How can parks and recreation areas not only promote more sustainable waste management but also reap the benefits — yes, BENEFITS — of turning organic waste into something more? And what in the world can rotten food do to sustain and advance environmental preservation? New distributed waste management technologies, like modular, scalable anaerobic digestion and compost systems, offer a way forward in promoting conservation at a local level while providing monetary and social benefits to the communities in which they operate.

Organic Waste 101 First, what is organic waste, and what exactly does anaerobic digestion and composting actually do?

Organic waste is any carbon-based material, but in particular, it means

common stuff we throw out, like logs, grass, leaves, branches, banana peels, pizza crusts, egg shells and coffee grounds.

Anaerobic digestion describes a process by which microorganisms, liv-

ing in an environment without oxygen, decompose organic waste. As a byproduct, these microorganisms burp out a gas called biogas, which is a mixture of methane (natural gas) and carbon dioxide. This biogas is a valuable and useful product that can be converted into electricity, heat, vehicle fuel or renewable natural gas.

Composting describes a similar process, but the microorganisms decomposing the organic waste live in an oxygen-rich environment, and they produce a nutrient-rich compost soil.

This compost contains macro- and micronutrients that can be used by plants — Mother Nature’s fertilizer.

Compost also provides a great deal of benefits to soil and landscape health, promoting water retention and reducing runoff, improving drainage and rebuilding soil structure lost over time. Composting may happen after anaerobic digestion, or be implemented alone.

Distributed, small-scale anaerobic digestion and composting technologies promote and enhance these natural processes.

Wasting Away National, state, county and community parks promote conservation through the protection of open space and natural landscapes and all the ecological services such environments provide. Each and every visitor benefits from the experience of entering such a space. But they leave something behind, and managing the impact of visitors is a major focus of recreation stewards.

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Disposal costs and the environmental impacts of transporting waste are real issues faced by park managers every day. At the same time, urban park operators maintain many cultivated landscapes, from play fields to community gardens.

This often requires the input of fertilizers, pesticides and other products to maintain these landscapes.

Not only can these inputs be expensive, they often offer no benefit to, or can even hinder, the conservation of soils and water use.

Finally, many parks use energy for lighting facilities into the night, and heating and powering community centers, restrooms and other buildings. Power sources are often from fossil fuels and add more cost to budgets.

Disposal costs and the environmental impacts of transporting waste are real issues faced by park managers every day.

What Can Organic Waste Do for You? Distributed energy systems and local waste management solutions like anaerobic digestion and modular composting can offset these negatives, while providing even greater benefits. Biogas may be used onsite for electricity, heat or even fuel for maintenance vehicles. Compost can serve as a great source of nutrients to landscapes and community gardens and promote excellent drainage in play fields. For areas being rehabilitated back to a natural state,

compost can aid growth of natural vegetation while controlling erosion and runoff, and conserving topsoil, important nutrients and water. And of course, these useful products are made onsite from waste that would otherwise have to be trucked to distant disposal sites.

Finally, waste management solutions located within the boundaries of parks offer an opportunity to impact visitor choices beyond their borders through signage and tours, school field trips and any other visitor engagement.

Get Started!

So then, really, why waste? Why waste an apple core that can power a building? Why throw away leaves and grass that can conserve and protect our natural environment? Why dump in a landfill a ham sandwich that could teach us all a thing or two about how we can each take part in the solution?

I can’t think of a reason either. If you are interested in taking part, the first step is to understand your park or recreation area’s needs: 1. Perform a waste audit. Sort out what your visitors leave behind to estimate what could be diverted to composting or anaerobic digestion.

On average in the U.S., 2.2 pounds of organic waste per person is sent to the landfill every day.

2. Evaluate your site. In particular, urban park operators should get to know their neighbors and assess their space constraints. Some

of the smallest anaerobic digestion and modular composting models can fit on 800 square feet.

3. Calculate your cost. Find out how much you spend on waste collection and disposal, fertilizers and other landscaping products, and energy. Avoided costs and new income streams can lead to a positive return on investment in five years.

4. Find your footing. In addition to promoting the central tenant of conservation, sustainable waste management can be leveraged for education, job creation, training and a host of other activities. What value-adds apply to you?

For more information, and to explore the possibilities at your park or recreation area, visit www.impactbioenergy.com.

Elizabeth Lowell is an Advisor and Urban Organics Subject Matter Expert to Impact Bioenergy (info@impactbioenergy.com).

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Products Excavator Bobcat’s new zero-tail-swing E20 Compact Excavator features a retractable undercarriage and improved cab design. The excavator is equipped with an economical 13.9-horsepower engine and features unmatched cab comfort, increased uptime protection, attachment readiness and an ease of serviceability. With its exceptional reach, the Bobcat E20 is an ideal machine for efficiently tackling small projects.

This excavator pairs well with many genuine Bobcat attachments to handle tough jobs where space is at a premium. It is capable of working effectively when flush against walls while simultaneously reducing the chance for damage to building surfaces.

BOBCAT, 800.743.4340, WWW.BOBCAT.COM

Sound System AmpliVox offers a wide variety of compact and lightweight portable public-announcement systems that provide sound coverage indoors and out. The SW915 Digital Audio Travel Partner has been a particularly popular choice — in Illinois alone, the SW915 was selected by the Belvidere, DeKalb, Oak Park, Lemont, Bolingbrook, Wheaton, Glenview and Hinsdale Park Districts as well as the North Suburban Special Recreation Association. The Digital Audio Travel Partner includes a 250W amplifier, a 16-channel UHF wireless receiver, Bluetooth connectivity and the ability to install up to five wireless devices into the unit. The SW915 provides sound coverage for audiences of up to 5,000 people and is available in bundles that include speakers, microphones, mic stands and other accessories. AMPLIVOX, 800.267.5486, WWW.AMPLI.COM

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Outdoor Lighting Power management company Eaton and its Cooper Lighting Division introduce the new LumaWatt Outdoor Wireless Control and Monitoring System. The system minimizes power consumption and energy costs by providing lighting where and when it’s needed, and is specifically designed for area, roadway and parking garage/canopy applications. The LumaWatt system employs four control strategies to automate luminaire behavior, including scheduled on/off modalities, scheduled dimming, occupancy detection and daylight harvesting, whereby the overall system can automatically adjust to maintain a balance of artificial and natural light for a constant light level throughout the space. System operations are monitored and reported, enhancing quality through luminaire failure detection and notification, as well as self-diagnostics to assist in network troubleshooting.

EATON, 800.386.1911, WWW. EATON.COM

Solar Utility Vehicles Polaris Industries Inc., well known for its GEM line of all-electric compact utility vehicles, is embracing the green wave of the future. The company’s new partnership with SolarDrive US is designed to provide customers the ability to improve battery performance and further reduce carbon footprints by harnessing the power of the sun. Available in two models — Ra Power Pro 220 and Ra Power Pro 410 — the solar panels provide 220-410 watts of energy daily to the vehicle’s battery system resulting in increased drive time between charges. The panels can be factory installed on 2005 and newer models or can be fitted by one of GEM’s more than 250 authorized dealers nationwide. GEM vehicles are ideal for use by cities, municipalities and government offices, college and business campuses, hotels and resorts, athletic and recreation venues or for neighborhood commuting. POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC., 888.704.5290, WWW.POLARIS. COM

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Parks & Recreation

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United States Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation 1.

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Publication Title: Parks & Recreation Publication Number: 422240 Filing Date: October 2014 Issue Frequency: Monthly Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 Annual Subscription Price: $30.00 for members; $36.00 for nonmembers Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication (not printer): National

Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148-4501

Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Offices for Publisher (not printer): National Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Road,

Ashburn, VA 20148-4501

Full Name and Complete Mailing Address of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: > PUBLISHER—Gina Cohen, National Recreation and Park Association,

22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148-4501 > EDITOR—Gina Cohen, National Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148-4501 > MANAGING EDITOR—Danielle Taylor, National Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148-4501 Owner: National Recreation and Park Association 22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148-4501 Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders: None Tax Status: The purpose, function, and nonprofi t status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes has not changed during the preceding 12 months.

Publication Title: Parks and Recreation Issue Date of Circulation Data Below: September 2014

15. Extent and Nature of Circulation

a. Total Number of Copies (Net press run) (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies) b. Paid Circula- (2) Mail In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (include paid distribution above nominal tion (By Mail rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies) and (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mail Including Sales outside Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Countthe Mail) er Sales, and Other Paid Distribution outside USPS® (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS (e.g. First-ClassMail®)

66 Parks & Recreation

Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months

No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date

13,256 12,297

13,933 12,027

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598

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c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)) d. Free or (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Nominal included on PS Form 3541 Rate (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Distribu- Included on PS Form 3541 tion (By Mail (3) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies mailed at other classes through the USPS Leg. and Outside First-Class Mail Included on PS Form 3541 the (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside Mail) the Mail (Carriers or other means) e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4)) f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) g. Copies not Distributed (See instructions to Publishers #4 (page #3)) h. Total (Sum of 15f and 15g) i. Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100) 16. Electronic Copy Circulation a. Paid Electronic Copies b. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) c. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Lines 16a) d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c x100)

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12,779 85%

12,725 85%

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12,679

12,625

99.73%

100%

I certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print) are paid above nominal price.

14. Issue Date of Circulation Data Below: September 2014 17. Publication of Statement Ownership. If the publication is a general publication,

publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the November 2013 issue of this publication.

18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: Gina Cohen, Publisher, September 26, 2014 I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fi nes and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).

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Park Bench

Kids and Olympian Take the Single-Track Trail As the mother of a 3-year-old son, it’s no surprise that two-time Olympic gold medal cyclist Kristin Armstrong saw the perfect opportunity to improve the health and safety of local kids in the city of Boise, Idaho, with the addition of a brand-new single-track mountain biking trail. The executive director of community health for Boise’s St. Luke’s Health System, Armstrong knows that parks and trails are ideal for children learning to ride bikes, which is why she was such an advocate for the .6-mile trail in Boise Hill Park that contains small bumps and switchbacks.

Adults traveling at faster speeds may not enjoy those features as much, but Armstrong says the challenges are beneficial to the children, adding that she “felt that there weren’t really any safe places that were not either uphill or downhill, or [where] people were blasting by you at super-fast speeds.” Boise Mayor David Bieter has supported Armstrong’s initiatives as another driving force behind new parks and amenities for the city, acknowledging they are a great way to get kids active and involved outdoors.

“I am pleased to report that neighborhood leaders are recognizing that they have a role in helping to combat childhood obesity and provide kids with fun, healthy activities close to home,” Beiter says.

— Amy Stahl, Community Relations Manager, Boise Parks and Recreation, and Marissa Bracamonte, Editorial Intern, Parks & Recreation Magazine 68 Parks & Recreation

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