The Friday Letter | December 7, 2018

The

Accounting Tip for the week:

Please ensure signatures are on Deposit Ticket copies sent to Accounting.

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources North American Beavers- Important “Employees� of Mecklenburg County!

If you have been on a Greenway lately, you have likely seen the handy work of the North American beaver (Castor canadensis), a native species to Charlotte.

Beavers are often misunderstood and considered a nuisance; however, beavers have many positive impacts on water quality and can even help protect our resources from the impacts of climate change.

Beaver ponds were more commonplace before Charlotte was settled. Their populations are on the rise however, and their wetlands create deeper cooler water supporting increased biodiversity of plants, fish, ducks and other animals. Additionally, their dams raise the water table which helps control flooding downstream by slowing the flow of water. This process also reduces erosion downstream. A beaver dam can filter out as much as 80-90% of dirt and silt that is found in our water, helping to reduce drinking water treatment costs.

Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Latta Nature Center Muddy Boots Program Latta Nature Center took their Muddy Boots program to the Torrence Creek Greenway this week with an added twist: Bikes! Muddy Boots is a bi-monthly recreational program for home schoolers where self-directed play and discovery is the focus. In addition to meeting at Latta Nature Preserve every other week, participants from our 10 – 14 year old group have the opportunity to attend Muddy Boots Hits the Road, an offsite program that encourages a sense of place by exploring different natural spaces throughout the county.

Community & Recreation Centers Therapeutic and Inclusive Recreation Services: Young Adult Day Trippers Young Adult Day Trippers is a program designed for individuals 18 years and older with a disability to spend one day a month going on an adventure with friends. On November 17th, we had the opportunity to go to Millstone Creek Orchards to the Fall Carnival. We got to enjoy a hayride, listen to live music, taste apple cider & baked goods, and much more! This program provides the opportunity for participants to work on socialization, independence skills, and money management skills.

Carina.Castro@MeckNC.Gov

Community & Recreation Centers Therapeutic and Inclusive Recreation Services: Paralympic Boccia Paralympic Boccia is a strategic lifetime sport for persons with gross motor impairments. Paralympic Boccia can be played by throwing the ball, kicking the ball, or using an adapted ramp to propel the ball. Players work each week on improving their accuracy either via attack moves or defensive strategies. Sometimes they work in teams, pairs or individually depending on objectives of that week.

Stacey.Thomas@MeckNC.Gov

Community & Recreation Centers Therapeutic and Inclusive Recreation Services: TIRS Team Building Day! On Thursday, November 29th, TIRS spent their day working together to complete fun team building activities. We started the day in uptown charlotte with a selfie scavenger hunt! We had an hour to find unique landmarks and take a group selfie in front of them. The group that won reached 9/10 locations in a little less than an hour! After that, we enjoyed lunch and traveled to our second team building location: NoDa Escapes! We successfully escaped from the “Jurassic Bone� with 10 minutes to spare!

Community & Recreation Centers Albemarle Road Recreation Center: “Let’s Eat Together” Community Celebration The Albemarle Road Recreation Center and “I am WE” Foundation partnered together to host its free annual community event “Let’s Eat Together”. This program brings the entire Albemarle Road community together to enjoy entertainment, games, giveaways, self-help workshops, children activities, and Great Food. This wonderful event provides an outlet for community members to showcase their artistic talents with musical and dance performances. The youth from the community also had the opportunity to display their athletic ability while competing in basketball games throughout the day. This year’s event also featured an Entrepreneurial and Financial Literacy workshop. The day ended with providing a wholesome meal to all those who attended this outstanding event. Join us next year and “Let’s Eat Together”!!!

For more information about programs at Albemarle Road Recreation Center, contact 980-314-1101 or email AlbermarleRoadRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Community & Recreation Centers Ivory/Baker Recreation Center: Drop-In Disc Golf Always looking for fun and unique ways to help neighborhood kids engage the outdoors, staff planned a new experience. With Charlotte being considered the mecca of disc golf, we borrowed a portable disc golf basket and discs to offer the opportunity to experience the game without traveling to a permanent course. Due to cold and rainy weather conditions, first we set up the basket in one of the multipurpose rooms, then moved it outside to the covered walkway. Throwing the discs from various distances and competing against one another, all participants enjoyed trying something new.

For more information about our programs, please call 980-314-1112 or email: IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MeckNC.Gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Ivory/Baker Recreation Center: Anita Stroud Afterschool Recreation Specialists from IBRC provide students in the Anita Stroud Afterschool Program with weekly 4H and Physical Education activities. Recently, during our 4H activity, we dissected owl pellets with the 6-8 graders. Students were very determined to match the bone fragments found in the pellets to the correct animal on their worksheet. For our PE activity, participants had a blast playing Rock, Paper, Scissor Remix using luck, speed, and hula hoops! This game is one of their favorites. We will definitely play it again during the school year.

For more information about our programs, please call 980-314-1112 or email: IvoryBakerRecreationCenter@MeckNC.Gov.

Community & Recreation Centers Mallard Creek Recreation Center: Senior Connection Mallard Creek Senior Connection enjoyed their social hour by learning some healthy alternatives for Thanksgiving Dinner and playing Guest that RecipeSmoothie Tasting. After understanding easy ways to improve their health on a daily basis, we reflected and shared what we all are thankful for. As a result, we created our very own Thankful Tree. With a lot to be thankful for, we also made some beautiful pictures for the kids at the Levine Children Hospital to encourage and uplift their spirits (Pictures & Group Photo were dropped off Wednesday at the Atrium Health). We had lots of fun! From trying new and different smoothies to giving back to others made all of our week. We hope to see you next time at Senior Connection.

For more information about our programs like Senior Connection, please contact the Mallard Creek Recreation Center at 980-314-1121 or email Mallard CreekRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.Gov, and don’t forget to check out www.ParkAndRec.com for more fun activities county wide.

Community & Recreation Centers West Charlotte Recreation Center: Catawba Queen The seniors of West Charlotte Recreation Center enjoyed a wonderful trip up to Lake Norman to ride on the Catawba Queen. The boat was beautiful, and the weather was great! The seniors enjoyed mingling with one another and listening to the tunes on the water. During our tour on Lake Norman, we enjoyed a great meal, refreshing beverages and learned all sorts of interesting facts about the area, various residences, celebrities and much more! We look forward to coming back again next year!

For more information about our programs here at West Charlotte Recreation Center, call us at 980-314-1120 or email us at WestCharlotteRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Community & Recreation Centers West Charlotte Recreation Center: Lioness Cheerleading The time has finally come! Basketball season is officially here, and West Charlotte Recreation Center has a group of wonderful cheerleaders ready to go with lots of spirit! The girls have been preparing their cheers, chants, motions, and smiles for this season and are excited to start cheering on the WCRC Lions.

They will cheer along the sidelines and have a chance to perform at various halftimes this season. The girls have worked hard so we look forward to seeing them shine on game days!

For more information about our programs here at West Charlotte Recreation Center, call us at 980-314-1120 or email us at WestCharlotteRecreationCenter@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Volunteer Services/Commemorative Events HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS! Volunteers have constantly given us the valuable gift of their time all of this year! Here’s how the numbers for 2018 stack up to date: Approximately 5730 Volunteers joined forces with Park & Recreation from January through November, to support and supplement the efforts of the hardworking staff in our Parks, Recreation Centers, Senior Centers, Nature Preserves and Nature Centers, and on our Greenways.

Volunteers have given more than 40,740 HOURS of their time, as Youth Sport Coaches, program assistants, tutors/mentors, Park project/event volunteers, Nature Center volunteers, and much more.

We truly believe that involving Volunteers in our Department helps to educate the whole community about the outstanding facilities, natural areas, events and programs that our entire Department works so hard to make the BEST that they can be…and that this involvement builds “ownership” as well as PRIDE among the residents of Mecklenburg County and the surrounding areas!

We look forward to the coming year, with the expectation that we will continue to build a dynamic Volunteer Program of EXCELLENCE!

WATCH FOR A NEW YEAR OF COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS COMING IN 2019!

For information about Volunteering for any Park & Recreation program or event, contact Karen Howard at 980-314-1046 or Karen.Howard@MeckNC.gov For information about upcoming Commemorative Events, contact Pamela Thomas at 980-314-1059 or Pamela.Thomas@MeckNC.gov

Recreate All Year!

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to learn of new and exciting way stop 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 8 • Issue 47 • December 7, 2018

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 Lee Jones, Director Peter Cook, Deputy Director Renea Barber, Human Resources Liz Morrell, Strategic Planning and Evaluation Lorraine Bias, Sr. Fiscal Administrator Vacant, Capital Planning Terri Stowers, Community and Recreation Center Services Vacant, Park Operations Chris Matthews, Nature Preserves and Natural Resources