The Friday Letter | September 25, 2015

The

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house." a

[Notebook, Oct. 10, 1842]”

― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks

Mecklenburg County News

Park and Recreation Commission Vacancies As of September 4th, the Park and Recreation Commission (PRC) will have 2 vacancies and we are looking for folk to apply that would be strong advocates for all things Park and Recreation! The Park and Recreation Commission is a BOCC appointed board and acts as an advisory council to the Park and Recreation Department. Duties include but are not limited to monthly PRC meetings, leadership on Park and Recreation Citizen Advisory Councils, attendance and participation in Park and Recreation events, ground breakings and grand openings. PRC members advise and advocate for the Department’s master plans, budget requests, park naming petitions, fees and charges and strategic planning and long range financing.

If you know of someone that would be a great fit for the PRC, please ask them to go to the link below and complete an application. Vacancies are in the following park regions:

Central Region 2 North Region 2 http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/CountyManagersOffice/BOCC/AdvisoryBoards/Pages/BoardApplication.aspx

Mecklenburg County News

2 Vacancies as of September 4, 2016 Central 2 North 2

Partners For Parks

Partners For Parks

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Local Volunteer Naturalists Awarded for Conservation Impact On behalf of the Central Carolinas Master Naturalist Program, Staci Clark, Master Naturalist Program Coordinator, accepted numerous awards for outstanding contributions of volunteer Central Carolinas Master Naturalists to the community of Mecklenburg County and beyond.

Outstanding Volunteer Service Project of the Year Award.

For the second year in a row, the Mecklenburg County group has received the Outstanding Volunteer Service Project of the Year Award. In 2014 Mecklenburg County’s NestWatch Project was recognized. This year’s award was granted for the work of Master Naturalist volunteers and instructor, Angelique Hjarding.

Angel’s Butterfly Highway is a community based citizen science and environmental restoration project based in Charlotte, NC. The aim of the Butterfly Highway is to help communities address sustainability through creating native pollinator gardens; building social equity in disempowered communities and improving pollinator ecosystem services in urban areas. To date, 70 pollinator gardens have been built with the help of over 15 Central Carolinas Master Naturalists.

The goal of the Butterfly Highway project is to begin the process of transforming community gardens, backyard gardens, green space and park fragments into new habitats for butterflies and other wild pollinator species. These resources will be managed through a community-based effort. The project engages participants in citizen science butterfly monitoring. They will be encouraged to engage in the Charlotte conservation community and will be given the opportunity to participate in the Central Carolinas Master Naturalist Program. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation centers that are garden hosts have used the Butterfly Highway Gardens as outdoor classrooms for their recreation programs.

For more information please contact Staci Clark, Master Naturalist Coordinator at 980-721-9154 or email: Staci.Clark@MecklenburgCountync.gov Staci Clark (right) receiving 2015 Outstanding Volunteer Project Central Carolinas Master Naturalist Program, Butterfly Highway from ANROSP Vice President, Amanda Tedrow.

Staci Clark (right) Outstanding Team Award - Central Carolinas Master Naturalist Program, Crown Chapter from ANROSP Vice President, Amanda Tedrow.

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources The Outstanding Team of the Year Award The Outstanding Team of the Year Award for 2015 was granted to CROWN (Charlotte, Reconnecting Ourselves With Nature). CROWN is the Charlotte chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. The all-volunteer leadership team, along with their partners, transformed Charlotte into a certified Community Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation, making Charlotte the largest city east of the Mississippi with this special designation. Charlotte now has over 900 certified wildlife habitats, ranking our City third in the nation for the most certifications.

Three of CROWN’s leadership team members are Central Carolinas Master Naturalists through the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s Natural Resources Division, and at least 9 other master naturalists have played a role. The accomplishments are the result of CROWN’s dedication to its mission which is "to educate and engage the citizens of the greater Charlotte region about the benefits of creating wildlife friendly communities."

These awards were presented in Nashville, Tennessee at the 11th Annual Conference for Alliance of Natural Resource and Outreach and Service Programs (ANROSP).

The Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs is a national network of natural resource education and service programs which provides leadership, information, and resources to support the establishment and expansion of its member programs.

ANROSP promotes active stewardship by supporting science-based outreach and service programs in the field of natural resources. Our partnering programs train conservation volunteers to enhance and expand natural resource conservation and education across the nation, and include programs such as: Master Naturalist, Certified Citizen Naturalist Volunteer, Master Watershed Steward, Coverts Programs, Master Conservationist, and many more programs nationwide. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s Central Carolinas Master Naturalist Program has been an active member since 2012. The goal of the Central Carolinas Master Naturalist Program is to train community members intensively to actively participate as volunteers in one of three ways: Environmental Education, Stewardship, and/or Citizen Science. To date over 80 volunteers have participated in over 7,000 training hours to later support 30 partnering organizations but first and foremost the Division of Nature Preserves and Natural Resources within Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation.

GC/MS, Youth & Adult Athletics

Community & Recreation Centers

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 336-8840

Recreate All Year!

Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to learn of new and exciting way sto continue recreating during the spring and summer months. Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to stay up to date on activities that may be available to you.

www.parkandrec.com Please submit all news for the Friday Letter to your Division Director for review and routing.

Park Partners may contact The Friday Letter Team at Richard . McNeill @MecklenburgCountyNC.gov for publication assistance.

The Friday Letter Volume 4 • Issue 12 • September 25, 2015

CHARMECK ALERTS The CharMeck Alerts Notification System relays accurate and timely emergency notifications. You control how you’re contacted— whether it’s on your cell, work or home phone, via text, email or voice message. You can receive up-to-the-minute notifications about events and emergencies that may affect your home, workplace or other points of interest—anywhere in Mecklenburg County. Sign up here or call CharMeck 311. To receive CDOT-specific alerts, you must sign up for that item in the list.

Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Senior Leadership Team Jim Garges, Director Michael Kirschman, Deputy Director Renea Barber, Human Resources Mario Chang, Budget Administration Lee Jones, Capital Planning Terri Stowers, Community and Recreation Center Services Jeff Robinson, Park Operations Chris Matthews, Nature Preserves and Natural Resources