Up on Play
Parks and Recreation
Issue 4
Pushing inclusive play fo r w a r d Earlier this summer, the Star Tribune published an article about parents of children with special needs pushing for more inclusive playgrounds. Admittedly, cities throughout the Minneapolis metro are updating their playgrounds to meet ADA requirements, but parents want more. They want inclusive playgrounds that are fun, functional, stimulating and interactive for everyone—from children with special needs to their siblings, parents and grandparents. Reporter Aimee Blanchette included interviews with a variety of people involved in the creation of inclusive playgrounds including city representatives, parent advocates for inclusive play as well as playground manufacturers. John McConkey, Landscape Structures market insights manager, explained that while ADA requirements, which are required by federal law, address physical accessibility they don’t accommodate a broader range of diagnoses and disabilities, such as autism and sensory processing disorders, to make the play experience truly inclusive. See the full article here. Also included were great supplements including a video interview with Blanchette, a list of inclusive playgrounds around the Twin Cities, and a 3D of a playground, which recently opened in Minneapolis, with highlights of the inclusive elements. The publication of this story leads us to ask: How are you addressing inclusive play in your community? Share your story with us on Facebook or Twitter using #MyPlayStory. And learn more about inclusive play including our recent inclusive play survey results on playlsi.com.
Supporting Parks & Recreation Associations with Scholarships We are proud to announce that once again we are offering the Parks and Recreation State Association Speaker Scholarship program. The 20142015 program will support the appearances of keynote speakers at state parks and recreation associations’ annual or regional conferences. State associations that are chosen will receive a scholarship of up to $2,500 to support conference speakers whose messages are focused on topics related to play, environmental stewardship or other professional development topics. Scholarship applications are being accepted now through July 31, 2015, and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. This is the sixth year that Landscape Structures has offered this program to state park and recreation associations. continued on next page
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Below are recipients of the 2013-2014 program as well as examples of past speakers: 2013-2014 scholarship recipients: • Colorado Parks & Recreation Association
• New York State Recreation & Park Society
• Connecticut Recreation & Park Association
• North Carolina Recreation & Park Association
• Florida Recreation & Park Association
• North Dakota Recreation & Park Association
• Indiana Parks & Recreation Association
• Northern New England Conference
• Iowa Parks & Recreation Association
• Ohio Parks & Recreation Association
• Kansas Recreation & Park Association
• Oklahoma Recreation & Park Society
• Maine Recreation & Park Association
• Rhode Island Recreation & Park Association
• Maryland Recreation & Park Association
• South Carolina Recreation & Park Association
• Massachusetts Recreation & Park Association
• South Dakota Recreation & Park Association
• Michigan Recreation & Park Association
• Tennessee Recreation & Park Association
• Midwest Regional Conference
• Utah Recreation & Park Association
• Minnesota Recreation & Park Association
• Vermont Recreation & Park Association
• Missouri Parks & Recreation Association
• Wyoming Recreation & Park Association
• Nebraska Recreation & Park Association • New Hampshire Recreation & Park Association Past speakers: • Walter Stasinski, The Power of Fun at Work • Jodi Rudick, Little Red’s Big Ideas • Jeff Evans, world-renowned climber, adventurer and author • Bob and Martha Manning, authors of Walking Distance: Extraordinary Hikes for Ordinary People • Dr. Richard D. Brynteson, professor at Concordia University • Mark Fenton, public health, planning, and transportation consultant • Jan Neitzert, executive director of Missouri Park & Recreation Association • Shellie Pfohl, executive director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition • Dr. John Crompton, distinguished professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University • Paul Assaiante, men’s squash and tennis coach at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. • Eileen Soisson, president/owner of The Meeting Institute • Matthew Cullen, chairman of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy • Corey Ciocchetti, associate professor of business ethics and legal studies at the University of Denver • Aron Hall, director of programs for the National Inclusion Project’s “Let’s ALL Play” partnership • Matt Jones, world-class professional speaker and author • Lori Hoffner, Supporting CommUnity • Mike Shellito, former city manager and parks & recreation director for the City of Roseville in northern California • Tom O’Rourke, executive director of the Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission
Complete your application for Landscape Structures’ 2014-2015 State Association Speaker Scholarship at playlsi.com/2014Scholarship.
Leave it to the professionals Landscape Structures is so honored to work with parks and recreation professionals around the world. We’re constantly learning about fun and unique projects on which you’ve worked, obstacles that you face and innovative solutions that you create to overcome challenges. In this feature, we’ll spotlight a professional, and offer a glimpse into implemented projects. Our featured professional is Darin Krueger, executive director of the Williston Parks and Recreation District, in Williston, N.D. Read below to learn more about Darin and his experience in the field of parks and recreation.
Darin Krueger
Q: How long have you been involved in the park and recreation industry? A: I started working for the park system in Jamestown, N.D., when I was about 12-years-old. I was given odd jobs like dragging fields and picking up bases, and was able to continue helping out the park system throughout high school. I went to Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) and got involved with intramurals right away, and became the director of intramural sports my last two years of school. I also worked part-time for both Fargo and Moorhead’s parks and recreation departments through college. fter leaving MSUM, I got a job as recreation director at the Perham Area Community Center in Perham, Minn. A I loved working with kids, so during my time there I coached 9th grade basketball, girls high school fast pitch and Babe Ruth baseball in the summer. After being in Perham for a couple of years, we relocated to Denver where I worked as sports coordinator for Highlands Ranch Community Association, the largest homeowners association in the country. I was in charge of youth and adult recreation and family programming, during which I learned a lot… that it’s not just about sports and recreation. I then transitioned to the South Suburban Parks and Recreation District to manage their indoor sports dome. The Denver Broncos often used the facility for practices, and one day when they were in to reserve space they offered me a job. I worked for the Denver Broncos for three seasons as a facilities and operations coordinator. It was great, but I decided that I wanted to get back to recreation and working with kids. That’s when I saw this position with Williston Parks and Recreation District, and I was fortunate enough to get it. Q: What have been some of your favorite initiatives to tackle since moving into parks and recreation? A: G etting the community of Williston to support the new recreation center that was so needed is probably my biggest accomplishment. There was so much negativity surrounding Williston with the oil boom that the community was looking for something positive. And the team with which I worked on the project achieved that on March 28, when the Williston Area Recreation Center (A.R.C.) opened. e were a poor park district, but since the oil boom our budget has increased by nearly $6 million. The oil is W great, it’s a good thing for Williston if we take advantage of it. We’re beginning to grow with it and our quality of life is growing, too. The Williston Parks & Recreation District and the huge team of people involved in the A.R.C. had big dreams, and we made them come true. e lost the first vote to increase our funding for the district by 31 votes in 2011, but we weren’t ready to give W up. We came up with a new plan, continued presenting to anyone that was interested and held community forums. The vote passed in November 2011, and we went on to build an approximately $75 million recreation center, one of the largest owned by a park district in the country. And now I’m able to sit in my office and watch people of all ages enjoying it. It’s great! And it has changed Williston for the better. The A.R.C. as well as replacing 13 playgrounds and other capital projects throughout the past three years has been an amazing journey; I can’t wait to see what comes next for WPRD.
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Williston Community Builders Playground, Davidson Park
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Q: How are you addressing challenges you’re seeing with the huge growth of the community? A: The population growth is so crazy, and we’re trying to stay ahead of the curve. We’re adding programming for kids and adults, and provide quality-of-life activities that meet everyone’s needs. The biggest challenge we’re faced with is that our new population is coming from all over the country. What they do for fun in Houston and/ or Oklahoma can be very different from what we do in North Dakota, but we’re trying to fulfill everyone’s requests. And our goal is to make sure that all of our programming is affordable. dditionally, we’re making sure that we’re acquiring park land as the city grows. We’re working with developers A as they’re planning our new housing so that there is park land available to those residents; we want to ensure that everyone in Williston has a park within a mile of their home. Within the past two years, we’ve acquired three new parks—6-, 10- and 150-acres. key to our success as a park district has been to partner with organizations across the community. We’ve had A a long-standing partnership with Williston State College—the A.R.C. is located on campus, and many students are working for the park district. Additionally, we have an agreement with the school district so that physical education classes and athletics teams can use the A.R.C., which is one of the reasons we included the 50-meter swimming pool. Working with the City of Williston and the Williston Convention and Visitors Bureau has helped us make huge impacts on our community. Having relationships across the community has made us stronger. Q: What are some of your hobbies? A: I ’ve been married to my wife, Amy, for nine years, and we have a chocolate lab named Mulligan. Our biggest hobby is watching the local youth sports teams, and traveling to support them in games around the state. I play softball, and golf when I can get it in. I referee college fast pitch and high school basketball. I’m also involved in the North Dakota Babe Ruth League as a state commissioner.
Learn more about Darin and his work at the Williston Parks & Recreation District by visiting http://www.willistonparks.com/index.html.
The importance of outdoor play and physical activity during school hours Both outdoor physical activity and indoor classroom time are important for kids’ growth and development. School provides students with the education they need to have a successful career, and physical activity gives them a chance to stay healthy. Unfortunately, not all kids get their daily 60 minutes outside. Read how schools can supplement the lack of physical activity kids get at home by requesting our new whitepaper.
Industry News Learn about the latest happenings in the playground industry below, and then join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google+. Let us know what you think about the following topics: • Playground program getting national recognition After 70 years, the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Playground Program is being recognized. The program, which invites kids to gather nearly each weekday for play at 20 playgrounds throughout Sioux Falls, S.D., and Program Coordinator Susie Garry will be featured at the National Recreation and Park Association Congress in Charlotte, N.C. Read more.
Calendar of Events Looking forward to seeing you at the following events: SEPTEMBER • North Dakota Recreation & Park Association, Minot, N.D. • New Hampshire Recreation & Park Association, Concord, N.H. • South Dakota Parks & Recreation Association, Spearfish, S.D. • Vermont Governor’s Conference on Recreation, Fairlee, Vt. OCTOBER • National Recreation & Park Association, Charlotte, N.C. • SPD Foundation, Charlotte, N.C. NOVEMBER • Oklahoma Recreation & Park Society, Lawton, Okla.
• Park prescriptions: New treatment for obesity More than 74 million people in the U.S. are considered medically obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the healthcare system is working with national public lands departments on a new treatment for the obesity epidemic: park prescriptions. The Park Prescriptions program is a national movement to get people to be more active and take advantage of underused parks and public lands. Read more. • Local parks bring $175.5 million to southwestern Utah Despite a two-week government shutdown in 2013, visitors to Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Pipe Spring National Monument still brought $175.5 million to the area. Those tourism dollars supported 2,155 jobs, according to the annual visitor spending report released last week by the National Park Service. Read more.
• National League of Cities, Austin, Texas • American Society of Landscape Architects, Denver, Colo.
Join us in Charlotte for the 2014 NRPA Congress and Exposition.
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