Parks & Recreation Magazine - June 2019

JUNE 2019 W W W. N R PA . O R G

VAPING THE NEW EPIDEMIC

Managing the Measles Mayhem | Get Those Butts Outta Here! | The Great American Rail-Trail

Refill with the Most Dependable Bottle Filling Stations

MODEL #

10145 SM

Most Dependable Fountains, Inc.™ www.mostdependable.com • 901-867-0039

never had it so cool ™

Shade When it comes to specifying bleacher shades , insist on the Shade SystemsTM advantages: √ CoolNet shade fabrics in your choice of 15 bright colors for up to 99% U.V. screening.

TM

√ Our patented Turn-N-Slide TM fastening system makes canopy removal and reattachment a breeze.

√ All stainless steel hardware and cables for maximum corrosion resistance and long life.

1.800.609.6066 shadesystemsinc.com

√ Most comprehensive warranties in the industry.

SOUTH PARK RENOVATION

Original fitness equipment installed 2009

SE L NA O I S ES F O PR

RIE

ES

park Tour SI

A GN

R TU

E

AC

C

S ES

IB

™ LE

S

I ER

ES

South Park, Los Angeles

Highlighting Greenfields’ projects across the nation

B

ring communities together in pursuit of healthier living - with Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, you can create the perfect outdoor gym with activities for nearly everyone!

Turn virtually any outdoor space into a fun, fitnessfocused gathering place with Greenfields’ many unique exercise solutions:

wit

h a

s dju

tab

le

is res

tan

ce

• The recently enhanced Functional Fitness line for elite athletes • Greenfields’ Professional Series with the most advanced resistance feature on the market • The Signature Accessible™ line for those with mobility impairments • Body-weight resistance units for a wide range of users Call us today at 888-315-9037 or visit us at greenfieldsfitness.com, and we’ll help you plan your community’s ultimate outdoor gym!

contents june 2019 volume 54 | number 6 | www.parksandrecreation.org

FEATURES

44 The Youth Vaping Epidemic Vitisia Paynich

From 2017 to 2018, e-cigarette use among high school youth rose by an astounding 78 percent. In the past year, more than 1 million additional teens began using e-cigarettes. This nationwide crisis has prompted park agencies across the country to partner with their public health agencies to sound the alarm about youth vaping.

52 Measles: The Childhood Scourge Is Back Richard J. Dolesh

Today, the United States is seeing the greatest number of measles cases since it was declared eradicated in 2000. Learn why the outbreaks are growing and about the effects these outbreaks may have on park and recreation programs, summer day camps, afterschool programs and more.

4

Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

58 Keep America Beautiful® ‘Cigarette Litter Prevention Program’ Jerred Jones

Keep America Beautiful is working with more than 600 community-based affiliates and partner organizations to install 10,000 ash and cigarette butt receptacles across the nation in high-traffic areas, such as park and recreation settings. Take a look at how this initiative is changing littering behaviors and read a few of the success stories.

64 From Dream to National Treasure: The Great American Rail-Trail Laura Stark and Brandi Horton

The Great American Rail-Trail, which will connect more than 125 existing trails — many along former railroad corridors between Washington, D.C., and Washington state — is no longer a dream. How is this dream becoming a reality and what impact will it have on the communities that border it?

Play never told me you can’t or don’t or you shouldn’t or you won’t.

Play never said be careful!

You’re not strong enough.

You’re not big enough.

You’re not brave enough.

Play has always been an invitation.

A celebration.

A joyous manifestation.

Of the cans and wills and what ifs and why nots.

Play isn’t one thing. It’s everything. Anything.

Play doesn’t care what a body can or cannot do.

Because play lives inside us. All of us.

Play begs of us: Learn together.

Grow together.

Be together.

Know together.

And as we grow older.

As the world comes at us with you can’t or don’t or you shouldn’t or you won’t.

We come back to what we know.

That imagination will never fail us.

That words will never hurt us.

That play will always shape us.

©2019 Landscape Structures Inc. All rights reserved.

To see the new Crab Trap™, visit playlsi.com/crab-trap.

contents june

columns 8

departments 14 Research Connecting Communities Through Farmers Markets Kevin Roth, Ph.D.

Does Access to Recreation Centers Enhance Communities?

Special Olympics — Look at Us Now Jennifer Hansen and Scott Weaver

30 Advocacy

32 Law Review Gun Show in Park Rental Facility not ‘Family Entertainment’ James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

22 Member to Member Parks and Recreation and Healthcare Partnerships 22 Lesha Spencer-Brown, MPH, CPH Grant Opportunities Create Possibility in Chanute, Kansas 26 Julie Aikins

70 NRPA Update Meet Me at the Park Brings Healthy Living to Local Communities 70 Parks and Recreation’s Secret Superpower 72 The Baltimore Pre-Conference Workshops 73 Get Out and Explore Baltimore and D.C.! 74 The 2019 Gold Medal Awards Finalists 76 Kenneth J. Smithee: A Life Dedicated to Parks and Recreation 78 Parks & Recreation Against the World! 79 Connect Hot Topics 80 Member Benefit: Check Out the NRPA-Sponsored Insurance Plans 80 Member Spotlight: Molly Lanphier 81 Parks & Rec Crossword 82 Professional Development Calendar 84

86 Operations Protect Your Parks and Your People Jennifer Elliott

90 Products 92 Park Essentials 95 Advertiser Index 96 Park Bench

Parks & Recreation

Déjà vu Sonia Myrick

Summer (Meals) Time!

Jim Bradley

18 Community Center

6

10 Editor’s Letter

12 Letters to the Editor

16 Park Pulse

Berea Kids Eat Martina Leforce

Perspectives . ark Afterschool Programs: A Vital Community Resource P Jack Kardys

Cover image: Photography Kostyantine Pankin, Dreamstime.com

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

38 Conservation Growing Urban Conservationists Priya Cook

40 Social Equity This Pride Month Make a Commitment to Being LGBTQ Affirming Jason Shriner

Page 32

P E RS P E C T I V E S A M E S S A G E F R O M N R PA’ S L E A D E RS

Park Afterschool Programs: A Vital Community Resource In 2008, I was fortunate to be a part of a parks team that partnered with researchers and pediatricians at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to prove one simple concept: park afterschool programs have a positive impact on children’s health.

This was an important benefit that needed a credible body of evidence to ensure the Great Recession would not result in the closing of county recreation centers. While the past 10 years have been a rather circuitous funding journey for many local park agencies, NRPA’s priority of making the case for evidence-based and properly administered programs as the first line of defense in the obesity epidemic helped ensure the survival of afterschool programming nationally.

This month’s NRPA Health and Wellness Issue reminds us that, while park-based physical activity and nutrition programs are proven to be effective for children 6 to 14 years old, it’s teens who are often forgotten. Teens are among those most vulnerable to at-risk behaviors and violence.

Nearly 70 percent of urban youth have experienced some form of direct or witnessed violence in their neighborhood. Teens of color are disproportionately more likely to be exposed to violence and less likely to receive services for their mental health needs. The ongoing insistence that public schools prioritize academics has refocused attention on park afterschool programming as a practical venue for teaching social-emotional skills to teens. Park afterschool programs are uniquely positioned to teach and reinforce the resiliency skills necessary for teens to develop as healthy and productive citizens.

According to the CDC, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States.

Recent data shows that more than 15 percent of high school students reported having seriously contemplated suicide in the preceding year. Suburban Parkland 8

Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Florida’s Recreation and Enrichment Center (P-REC) demonstrates its commitment to mental health through park partnerships and programming after one of the most traumatic mass school shootings in recent history.

Nationally, teen suicides jumped more than 75 percent between 2007 and 2017 and in South Florida alone, five teen suicides — two of which were youth impacted by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting — have occurred in the past six months. Training in how to help teens who experience thoughts of suicide is vital for all afterschool-care park professionals.

Collaborative park programs that include internships, job placement and continuing education are producing the most successful teen outcomes. University and park collaborators are focusing on infusing socio-emotional learning into enrichment activities, such as meditation, which includes a combination of guided imagery, compassion building and relaxation breathing. Teens describe these meditations as helpful in reducing anxiety and staying calm while under stress.

Park afterschool programs are a vital community resource for educational support, job skills and evidence-based mental health promotion for diverse teens. Programs using meditation, sports, recreation, arts and civic engagement to facilitate cognitive growth and development of life skills foster resilience in our youth. This can insulate them from atrisk behavior and provide critical coping skills in the wake of misfortune and tragedy.

Jack Kardys recognizes Stacy L. Frazier, Sarah E. Messiah, Emily M. D’Agostino and Eric Hansen for their contributions to research on behalf of the parks profession.

JACK K ARDYS Chair, NRPA Board of Directors

2 2377 Belmont Ridge Rd. | Ashburn, VA 20148 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 Jack Kardys J. Kardys Strategies Miami, Florida

Chair-Elect Michael Kelly Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois Treasurer Xavier D. Urrutia City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation San Antonio, Texas

Secretary Karen Bates Kress Park Advocate Emigrant, Montana

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

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael Abbaté, FASLA Abbaté Designs Portland, Oregon

Jesús Aguirre, CPRE Seattle Parks and Recreation Seattle, Washington

Leon T. Andrews, Jr. National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Neelay Bhatt PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

Hayden Brooks American Realty Corporation Austin, Texas

Kong Chang

Jack Kardys

J. Kardys Strategies Miami, Florida

Michael Kelly

Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

Karen Bates Kress Park Advocate Emigrant, Montana

& REC Salsbury

The DOGIPOT® line of products combines unparalleled convenience and superior durability to help you do the job you love better and ensure the perfect park experience whether on two legs or four.

Joanna Lombard

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

Carolyn McKnight, CPRP Previously with BREC Dallas, Texas

Joshua Medeiros, CPRP, AFO

City of Bristol Parks & Recreation Bristol, Connecticut

Herman Parker

City of San Diego, California, Parks and Recreation Department San Diego, California

Trash Liner Box 1404

DOGIPOT.com

Junior Bag Dispenser 1002-2

800.364.7681

Roll Bag 1402

DOGIPARK.com

Ian Proud

Playworld Systems Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Nonet T. Sykes

Atlanta Beltline, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia

Xavier D. Urrutia

City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation San Antonio, Texas

Greg A. Weitzel, CPRP

City of Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Las Vegas, Nevada

LIFE TRUSTEES Beverly D. Chrisman

Lexington, South Carolina

Anne S. Close

City of Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Saint Paul, Minnesota

Fort Mill, South Carolina

Kevin Coyle

New York, New York

National Wildlife Federation Reston, Virginia

Rosemary Hall Evans

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Jose Felix Diaz

Earl T. Groves

Ballard Partners Miami, Florida

Gastonia, North Carolina

Charles E. Hartsoe, Ph.D.

Victor Dover

Richmond, Virginia

Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning Miami, Florida

Harry G. Haskell, Jr.

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Richard Gulley

Kathryn A. Porter

City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department San Diego, California

Mendham, New Jersey

Perry J. Segura

Roslyn Johnson, CPRP

R. Dean Tice

Previously with Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

Eugene A. Young, CPRP

PROVIDING A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT SHOULD BE A WALK IN THEPARKS PARK

James H. Evans

New Iberia, Louisiana Round Hill, Virginia Baton Rouge, Louisiana

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

9

EDITOR’S LETTER

Déjà vu In the early 1950s, as the evidence linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer became known to the public, there was a decline in cigarette sales. This decline was short-lived, however, when manufacturers countered with “filtered” cigarettes, which were touted as being safer than unfiltered ones. Another decline would occur in the mid-1960s when a warning about the health hazards of cigarettes was added to the packaging, anti-smoking advertisements began to be aired on television and, in the early 1970s, televised cigarette ads were eventually banned.

Each decline in cigarette sales has resulted in a new type of cigarette that’s touted as being safer than its predecessor. Case in point, the current resurgence of smoking with the introduction of e-cigarettes, which are being promoted as a method of smoking cessation for adults. Unfortunately, as contributor Vitisia Paynich reveals in this month’s cover story, “The Youth Vaping Epidemic” on page 44, the use of e-cigarettes and vaping is reaching epidemic proportions for our nation’s youth. And, once again, this rise in nicotine consumption is being met with an onslaught of information about its ill effects.

This feeling of “we’ve been down this path before,” also resonates with the recent measles outbreak facing our nation. In “Measles: The Childhood Scourge Is Back” on page 52, NRPA’s vice president of strategic initiatives, Richard J. Dolesh, lays out the history of this disease and reasons behind the current outbreak of a disease that the CDC declared had been eliminated in 2000. In both these stories, Paynich and Dolesh address the question: “So, what role should park agencies play in confronting [these] serious epidemic[s]?” and provide some helpful insights.

Since improving the health of our communities is a major focus of park and recreation agencies, an effective way to mitigate these and similar situations is by informing the public about the impacts to their health. We’ve seen how effective this can be in stemming each rise in nicotine consumption — and I’m hopeful this time the results will be the same.

But, it’s not only important to inform the public about the impact behavior like smoking and not getting vaccinated can have on their and their community’s health. They also need to be informed about the impact their actions have on the health of our environment. In “Keep America Beautiful® ‘Cigarette Litter Prevention Program’” on page 58, contributor Jerred Jones highlights an initiative by the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, to reduce cigarette litter. It’s visible around practically every entrance to a building, along our highways and in our open spaces. And I confess, as a non-smoker, I haven’t given those butts much thought — that is, until learning about their impact from this feature.

Thankfully, there are things we, as advocates for parks and recreation, can and are doing to not only improve the health of our communities but of our environment. As we work to help communities get fit and healthy and encourage them to go outdoors to enjoy nature, we can enlighten them to another national treasure that’s in the works: The Great American Rail-Trail! In “From Dream to National Treasure: The Great American Rail-Trail” on page 64, by Laura Stark and Brandi Horton, you’ll learn about the birth of this east- to west-coast trail.

In the midst of some pretty weighty issues — vaping, measles outbreaks, cigarette litter — it’s so gratifying to work in a field that’s focused on physical, environmental and spiritual health.

SONIA MYRICK Executive Editor 10

Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

PRESIDENT AND CEO Kristine Stratton VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLISHING, AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR Sonia Myrick smyrick@nrpa.org ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lindsay G. Collins lcollins@nrpa.org EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR Suzanne Nathan snathan@nrpa.org PUBLICATION DESIGN Kim Mabon/Creative By Design CreativeByDesign.net SENIOR SALES MANAGER EASTERN REGION AND EUROPE Kip Ongstad 703.858.2174 kongstad@nrpa.org SENIOR SALES MANAGER WESTERN REGION AND ASIA Michelle Dellner 949.248.1057 mdellner@nrpa.org SALES COORDINATOR Meghan Fredriksen 703.858.2190 mfredriksen@nrpa.org PHOTOGRAPHY Dreamstime.com or NRPA (unless otherwise noted) MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Michael Abbaté, FASLA Anthony-Paul Diaz Ryan Eaker Robert García Kathleen Gibi Paul Gilbert, CPRP Tim Herd, CPRE Brian Johnson, CPSI Michele Lemons Sam Mendelsohn Maria Nardi Lisa Paradis, CPRP Gil Peñalosa Paula Sliefert Shonnda Smith, CPRP, AFO Anne-Marie Spencer Stephen Springs

John Deere Federal, State & Local Contracts

Meet your new diesel-powered paper shredder.

Say hello to the Z994R Diesel ZTrak™ Zero-Turn Mower. The latest diesel in our lineup offers a powerful Final Tier 4 engine, low vibration and noise levels, and fuel compatibility with other equipment in your fleet. And your local dealer delivers even more—from surprisingly easy procurement to all the ongoing service and support you expect from John Deere. In short, everything you need to cut obstacles down to size.

See for yourself at JohnDeere.com/local

The object is simplicity.

75381

LETTERS TO EDITOR We hope the articles you read in Parks & Recreation are thought-provoking and engaging, and we welcome your opinions about what you read in these pages. Through social media posts, website comments, emails to staff or posts on NRPA Connect, let us know how the magazine’s articles apply to your job and your agency. To submit feedback for this section, email Sonia Myrick, executive editor, at smyrick@nrpa.org.

Comment from Marge Davis, coordinator, TennCan: The TN Bottle Bill Project regarding Richard J. Dolesh’s April 2019 article, “Recycling Is Dead: Now What?”: Dear Richard, I just learned (thanks to a Facebook link from Warner Parks Nature Center in Nashville) about your article, “Recycling Is Dead: Now What?” in the April 2019 Parks and Recreation magazine.

Thank you for bringing this well-researched and important story to the NRPA audience.

Thank you for bringing this well-researched and important story to the NRPA audience. It’s such a vital topic that I hate to fuss, especially to someone I’ve never met.

But given the nature, size and importance of your audience, I wanted to point out two details that I hope merit clarification in a future issue: One is the absence of any mention of “bottle bills” (deposit-return for glass, plastic and aluminum beverage containers). The other is the misleading statement that glass is unrecyclable.

12

Parks & Recreation

1. Any story of the crisis in public recycling should include at least some mention of crisis-resistant bottle bills, in which consumers pay a small deposit (usually 5 or 10 cents) when they buy the beverage and get back the deposit when they return the empty container for recycling. Bottle bills side-step the contamination and market issues that plague municipal recycling, for three reasons: First, the material is kept extremely “clean” because cans and bottles are individually sorted, either electronically or manually, at the redemption point. Second, bottle-bill material is collected in extremely high quantities, because the deposit incentivizes redemption rates averaging 65–90 percent, compared to just 10–30 percent in non-deposit states. Finally, because of these two other factors, manufacturers are hungry for bottle-bill material and are willing to pay a premium for it.

Some other points about bottle bills (and please forgive if you know any of this already): • Deposit laws have existed for decades in 10 U.S. states (and exist or are pending in 40-plus other jurisdictions globally, including

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

most of Canada, most of Australia, much of Europe, Israel, Turkey, part of India, the United Kingdom, and numerous island nations or territories including Guam, Fiji and Jamaica).

• Even though the 10 deposit states represent only 27 percent of the U.S. population, they account for nearly half of all beverage containers recycled.

• Bottle bills are not obsolete. Only one state law has been repealed, while nearly all of the others have been expanded to add more beverages to the program (such as bottled water). Globally, something like 10 new deposit programs have been announced in just the last three years.

• Very few returns today happen inside grocery stores. Most modern bottle bills use a combination of electronic RVMs (reverse vending machines), hub-and-spoke dropoff systems and independent redemption centers. Many redemption programs are funded at least in part by unclaimed deposits and scrap revenue.

• Public support for bottle bills averages 80 percent (two professional polls on a proposed deposit here in Tennessee came in at 80.4 and 83.2 percent, respectively).

• Part of the popularity of bottle bills has to do with their amazing fundraising potential: Millions of dollars’ worth of refunds are donated every year to schools, animal shelters and other nonprofit and community causes — including parks and recreation programs!

2. Leaders in the glass industry are desperate to correct the misperception that “there’s no market for recycled glass.” What they’d like the public (and elected officials) to understand is that “there’s no practical market for the relatively negligible quantities of badly contaminated, broken, mixed-color glass collected in single-stream recycling programs.” However, there is a strong market (and energy need) for reliably large supplies of correctly sorted cullet that can be re-melted and formed into new containers (or extruded into fiberglass), and this is why the glass industry has been supporting deposit laws for at least the last 15 years.

Thanks for the chance to clarify!

Comment from Professor Ron McCarville, faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Ontario; and Arnie Biondo, director, Centerville-Washington Park District, Ohio regarding Barbara Tulipane, CAE, former NRPA president’s Perspectives March 2019 column, “What Happens When Pay-to-Play Replaces Parks and Recreation Programs?”: The March 2019 issue of Parks and Recreation included a message from NRPA President Barbara Tulipane.

It raised an important question regarding “increasing inequities in youth sports….” “Gulfs” between those who can afford sports fees and costs, and those who cannot are deeply troubling, and we congratulate Barbara and NRPA for highlighting the challenge faced by many youth and providers of youth programming. It’s too easy to forget about those who wish to take part but are unable to find ways to do so.

We hope to join the discussion Barbara and NRPA have initiated. We begin with a basic insight. Participation in any sport or recreational activity requires the successful negotiation of many interlocking constraints. Any participation comes about only after participants have successfully negotiated multiple variables like time, skill, facilities, equipment, money and companions.

Constraint negotiation might best be compared to participants assembling a complex puzzle. They must find ways to be at the right place at the right time with the right people and the right skills in order to take part. We providers are at our best when we help participants arrange all the various pieces of the puzzle to create a picture that works for them. We excel when we help them find the resources and provide the flexibility they require to make good things happen.

We hope that Barbara’s message encourages debate among recreation providers. How can we continue to improve opportunities, especially for those who lack resources? Given the complexity of constraint negotiation,

we encourage that the discussions move beyond single variables. It is tempting, for example, to focus on simple solutions (fee levels have been a popular topic in the past), but that sort of simplistic perspective often creates more problems than it solves. For example, will removing fees for hockey registration offer meaningful aid to children living in homeless shelters? Will a low fee help if the child is unaware of the program, cannot travel to the program, has no friends in that program, or has no role models to help make better program-related choices?

Recreation service providers’ great challenge is dealing with the complexity that participants face.

Recreation service providers’ great challenge is dealing with the complexity that participants face. Focusing on single variables, however tempting, may exacerbate the problem, rather than solve it.

Let’s explore together innovative ways of helping participants find all the resources they need to take part. Youth programming is less about providing programs and more about helping youth navigate demands, ranging from transportation to skill acquisition.

Thank you for highlighting this very important issue. We hope that NRPA will create a venue to explore this issue in-depth to generate some answers and tools for park and recreation agencies to use.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

13

RESEARCH Connecting Communities Through Farmers Markets

FARMERS MARKETS

Parks and Recreation Connecting Communities to Healthy Foods

Where healthy food, education, entertainment and community engagement all meet

By Kevin Roth, Ph.D.

O

ver the past four years, NRPA Research has focused its energies on two goals: developing data and benchmarks that help agencies make optimal decisions on operations, programming and spending and identifying insights that make the case for greater, more stable funding. One way we deliver on the latter is conducting studies that highlight the diverse offerings of local park and recreation agencies. Our most recent such study, Farmers Markets: Parks and Recreation Connecting Communities to Healthy Foods (www.nrpa.org/farmersmarket), released this month, looks at the role of farmers markets hosted by park and recreation agencies in local communities.

From centrally located markets in urban communities to main streets in small rural towns, Americans are visiting farmers markets more than ever before. For many people, farmers markets are a fun, family weekend tradition. For others who lack access to healthy food options, they are a critical source of fresh fruit, vegetables and

14

Parks & Recreation

healthy protein. In all communities, farmers markets are a place to bring family, friends and neighbors together through education, entertainment and community engagement.

Local park and recreation agencies play a significant role in bringing this service to many communities. They are well-suited to leverage

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

SURVEY RESEARCH FINDINGS

their role as both trusted providers of health and wellness opportunities and partners in efforts to expand local agriculture initiatives in all communities. One in 5 park and recreation agencies in the country manages a farmers market, according to the 2019 NRPA Agency Performance Review (www.nrpa.org/apr).

Farmers markets are often held on local park and recreation agency property, but that does not mean the agency operates the market. In fact, only half of park and recreation agencies that host farmers markets on their property manage these markets.

For the other half of agencies, a separate entity, such as a local nonprofit, a private company or another local government department, manages markets hosted on their property.

But, even if park and recreation agencies host and manage farmers markets, most work closely with third parties on these events. Specifically, 4 in 5 agencies partner with third parties to ensure these markets are a success. Nonprofits are a frequent partner, working with 44 percent of park and recreation agencies that host farmers markets. A third of park and recreation agencies cooperate with each

of the following partners: • Farmers/rancher organizations (36 percent) • Other departments/agencies of the local government (35 percent) • Community development organizations (34 percent) • Local extension offices (32 percent)

Farmers Markets Offerings Farmers markets bring a wide variety of fresh and nutritious food to their communities. Not surprisingly, virtually all farmers markets feature fresh fruits and vegetables.

Other typical farmers markets offerings include baked goods (88 percent), organic foods (85 percent) and artisanal products (77 percent).

Farmers markets also bring a variety of protein products to local communities, including: • Nuts and other non-meat protein (73 percent) • Meat (66 percent) • Dairy products (61 percent) Since farmers markets are often the only source of fresh, healthy food options in underserved communities, it is critical that they accept all payment options, including those used by residents who receive government assistance. Two-thirds of farmers markets hosted by park and recreation agencies accept some form of supplemental nutrition benefit. Vendors at 56 percent of park and recreation agency-led farmers markets can accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, while a third of farmers markets accept WIC (Women, Infants and Children). Less common are agencies that are able to process benefits from the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (21 percent).

Park and recreation agencies

face a few challenges that prevent them from more widely accepting supplemental nutrition benefits from their residents. These include vendors at the farmers markets being unable or unwilling to do so (43 percent), a lack of equipment needed to process these payments at the point-of-sale (26 percent) and a lack of knowledge about how to accept the benefits (26 percent).

Beyond Healthy Food While fresh produce, baked goods and protein are primary attractions at farmers markets, the selling of food is by no means the only draw that brings attendees to the markets. Farmers markets can also be a place to entertain and educate residents, while building a broader sense of community.

For example, 62 percent of the farmers markets park and recreation agencies host support arts and cultural events, while 37 percent of agencies provide intergenerational/ family activities at their markets.

Just over half of these farmers markets offer educational opportunities, such as library services and health screenings. Similarly, 38 percent of agency-hosted farmers markets teach residents about healthy eating through nutrition education and cooking demos. Forty-three percent

of farmers markets assist in enrolling patrons in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and/or WIC benefits programs.

Conclusions Farmers markets are a staple in many communities throughout the United States. These markets afford thousands of people with the ability to access fresh, local produce, among many other healthy foods. They support the local economy, bring the community together and help families build and reinforce traditions based on healthy living in the heart of their cities, towns or counties.

I encourage you to read the Farmers Markets: Parks and Recreation Connecting Communities to Healthy Foods to gain a better understanding of parks and recreation’s role in bringing farmers markets to their communities. The report concludes with a series of tips, including government grant opportunities, to help agencies that are considering starting or expanding farmers markets. This is good news, as there is no better partner than parks and recreation to bring the many benefits of farmers markets to your town.

Kevin Roth, Ph.D., is NRPA’s Vice President of Professional Development, Research and Technology (kroth@nrpa.org).

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

15

NRPA PARK PULSE WE ASKED THE PUBLIC:

How much do you agree or disagree that having easy access to low-cost/no-cost fitness and educational opportunities, such as those at local recreation or community centers, enhance your community?

People of all ages agree that access to these spaces enhances communities:

Millennials

95%

RECREATION CENTER

Gen Xers and Baby Boomers

90%

91%

of Americans believe their community is enhanced by having easy access to their local recreation or community centers.

Seniors ages 65+

92%

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

Visit www.nrpa.org/Park-Pulse for more information.

2019

ANNUAL CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 24–26 | BALTIMORE, MD

Register by August 2 to Save up to $260 200+ Sessions.

8,000+ Attendees.

400+ Exhibitors.

1 Baseball Legend.

SEPTEMBER 24—26, 2019 nrpa.org/Conference

COMMUNITY CENTER Special Olympics — Look at Us Now

By Jennifer Hansen and Scott Weaver

T

he founder of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, had a vision where people with intellectual disabilities (ID) would be empowered to come out of the shadows and be included in society. Special Olympics has helped that vision become a reality. For the past 50 years, the organization has provided quality sports training and competitions for individuals with ID. Currently, Special Olympics supports more than 6 million athletes and 1 million coaches and volunteers and holds more than 100,000 competitions per year, offering 32 Olympic-type sports in more than 190 countries.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Young athletes at a Special Olympics event hosted in Washington, D.C.

At the first International Special Olympics Summer Games, held in 1968 at Chicago’s Soldier Field, Mrs. Shriver’s, in her Opening Ceremony speech, stated: “The inaugu-

18

Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

ral event proves a very fundamental fact” — that children with intellectual disabilities can be exceptional athletes and that “through sports they can realize their potential for growth.” She pledged this new organization would offer people everywhere with ID “the chance to play, the chance to compete and the chance to grow.”

Special Olympics Unified Sports® As the Special Olympics movement grew, so did the understanding and

acceptance of people with ID. In the mid-1980s, a new way for Special Olympics athletes to participate in sports emerged through Unified Sports (www.special olympics.org/our-work/sportsand-games/unified-sports), an inclusive program that brings together athletes of all abilities to play on the same teams. They train, compete and socialize as equals in a variety of sports, ranging from basketball to golf, bocce and softball. Unified Sports was inspired by a simple principle: training and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.

In Unified Sports, teams consist of people of similar age and ability, which makes practices fun and games challenging and exciting for all. Having sports in common is one of the ways to help sweep away preconceptions and false ideas about people with ID. The participants on Unified Sports teams do what all athletes do — improve physical fitness, sharpen skills, challenge competing teams and have fun.

Hosting Unified Sports in Your Community Unified Sports can be implemented in a variety of ways, but one of the strongest is by forming leagues through partnerships in local communities. Park and recreation agencies and departments have long been supporters and hosts of Unified Sports leagues. It is not uncommon for them to offer Unified Sports leagues as part of their seasonal offerings.

As Unified Sports continues to grow, Special Olympics is seeking to strengthen its partnership with NRPA and its members. This

partnership begins with sharing the Unified Sports message with local agencies and departments, as well as the commitment both organizations have to health and wellness and social equality. The hope is that through information and resource sharing, park and recreation agencies across the country can work with their state Special Olympics Program to implement Unified Sports as part of their dayto-day, community-based programming for people of all abilities.

Benefits of Collaborating with Special Olympics NRPA has made a commitment to support individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities through

Young athletes use play as a vehicle for inclusion.

its Parks for Inclusion initiative.

Special Olympics also supports the initiative by providing curriculum, training and resources to local agencies and departments to help them contribute to the success of Parks for Inclusion. It has been found that by participating in a sports-related, social-inclusion program, athletes with ID are able to grow athletically, connect with their community, increase their self-confidence and social skills, build trust, decrease problematic behaviors and develop friendships with extended social networks.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

19

COMMUNITY CENTER

Teammates smile for the camera at the 2018 USA Special Olympics Games in Seattle, Washington.

What better way to highlight these athletes’ abilities than to work with them in their local community?

Connecting with the Future of Special Olympics Special Olympics sports activities, including Unified Sports, are offered for athletes starting at 8 years old.

Building on the concept of Unified Sports, the Special Olympics Young Athletes program emerged (www. specialolympics.org/our-work/ young-athletes). Young Athletes engages families by highlighting the power of play through a series of structured physical activities, songs and games that teach basic motor 20 Parks & Recreation

development skills to children, ages 2 to 7 years old, with and without ID. Through these play activities, children grow and develop valuable motor skills, like walking and running, while also enhancing social and cognitive skills through interaction with their peers.

Young Athletes opens the door to support families that are learning about and adjusting to their child’s intellectual disability. Often, the time immediately after a child is diagnosed is a tumultuous one for families. There are many feelings, including fear, disappointment, confusion, isolation and anger, which are often mixed with protectiveness, hope, pride and love.

In this time of uncertainty, families strive to find a community that can understand and accept their child,

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

while also supporting them to be successful in the future.

How Can You Host Young Athletes?

Special Olympics provides all the resources required for anyone to implement Young Athletes in schools, communities and even at home. The state Special Olympics Programs provide curriculum, training, equipment and ongoing support for Young Athletes programming free of charge! All that is needed is a location, space and time to host the participating families. What better way to create Parks for Inclusion for the youngest members of your community than by connecting with children, starting at 2 years old, and their families?

Unified Basketball in action.

Positive and powerful experiences with people with ID lead to opportunities for inclusion in education, in the workforce, in healthcare and more. Inclusion is key to ensuring people with ID are successfully integrated into the fabric of society and Young Athletes is helping to change perceptions and attitudes in the community toward these individuals.

Giving children with ID a chance to learn, grow and have fun is not just nice to do — it is critical! During the early years, we have the opportunity to impact lifelong success for our athletes — both on and off the playing field.

In turn, Special Olympics athletes make our communities better by sharing their gifts.

Whether your community has an interest in Unified Sports or Young Athletes, getting started is incredibly easy! For more information on Unified Sports, contact Scott Weaver, Special Olympics senior manager, unified sports and sport education, at sweaver@specia lolympics.org, and for more infor-

mation on Young Athletes, contact Jennifer Hansen, Special Olympics young athletes manager at jhansen@specialolympics.org.

Jennifer Hansen is the Young Athletes Manager for the Special Olympics (jhansen@specialolympics.org). Scott Weaver is the Senior Manager, Unified Sports and Sport Education for the Special Olympics (sweaver@specialolympics.org).

9 EASY STEPS TO MANAGING LIGHTNING AT YOUR FACILITY Join us for a FREE hour-long webinar on lightning management.

TUESDAY

June 25 2019

2:00 p.m.

EST

FEATURING

Steve Prinzivalli,

Meteorologist, Program Manager at Earth Networks

Register at: www.nrpa.org/managing-lightning HOSTED BY NRPA’S

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

21

MEMBER TO MEMBER Parks and Recreation and Healthcare Partnerships Sustainably improving community health

By Lesha Spencer-Brown, MPH, CPH

H

ealthcare entities and community-based organizations (CBOs), such as parks and recreation, share the common goal of improving the health of the communities they serve.

So, it should come as no surprise that community-integrated health strategies — efforts to strengthen coordination and alignment between traditional healthcare and CBOs to improve access to programs and services that help individuals improve their health and quality of life — are on the rise.

In many communities, parks and recreation is leading this work by formally (and informally) partnering with healthcare entities to improve community health. These partnerships build on the complementary skills and expertise that already exist within the community to fill the gaps in needed programs and services and improve access to community-based preventive and

22 Parks & Recreation

chronic-care services, particularly for vulnerable populations. According to the 2017 Healthy Aging in Parks Survey Report (https://ti nyurl.com/y468d5od), 43 percent of local park and recreation agencies are partnering with hospitals and independent medical practices, 42 percent are partnering with local health departments, 41 percent are partnering with health

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

insurance companies and 39 percent are partnering with health plan-affiliated fitness membership programs, such as SilverSneakers® and Silver&Fit®. Among the 43 percent of agencies partnering with hospitals and independent medical practices, some are being used as “community wellness hubs,” while others are working to establish effective referral pathways through which individuals are connected to programs and services in the community.

Community Wellness Hubs In June 2010, Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-forprofit health system in Texas, in partnership with Dallas Parks and Recreation, opened the Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center (BSW HWC) (www. bswhealth.com/locations/healthand-wellness-center) at the Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center in South Dallas. This public-private partnership was established to proactively address the health and wellness needs of Dallas County residents, particularly those with high rates of chronic diseases, as well as with frequent emergency department (ED) utilization and inpatient hospitalizations.

The BSW HWC bridges the gap between community wellness and medical care by providing convenient access to medical care, as well as a variety of nutrition and

physical activity programs and services. The center boasts a primary-care clinic served by two fulltime healthcare providers, social workers, medical aides, nutritionists and community health workers who are assigned as “peers” to residents. These “peers” provide residents with culturally relevant health education, help them navigate the community resources and serve as liaisons to 31 churches in Dallas County. BSW HWC also offers recreational facilities, including tennis and basketball courts, fitness and evidence-based interventions programs, such as diabetes prevention and Tai Chi, as well as a farm stand to provide residents with access to high-quality, affordable fresh fruits and veg-

etables. Throughout the process of creating this wellness hub, Dallas Parks and Recreation and Baylor Scott & White engaged with and incorporated the input of multiple stakeholders, including community residents and organizations, in order to determine the types of programs and services that are needed and would be used.

Since the opening of the BSW HWC, the number of residents using the center has significantly increased. Overall community health has also improved with a notable 21 percent reduction in ED utilization, and a 37 percent reduction in inpatient hospitalizations. “Deployment of services has shifted and impacted how recreation is done,” says Crystal Ross, assistant

Overall community health has also improved with a notable 21 percent reduction in ED utilization, and a 37 percent reduction in inpatient hospitalizations. director for the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. “We are more intentional about improving the health of our residents.” The president of the BSW HWC, Dr. Donald Wesson, also agrees: “We recognize that healthcare is more than just medical care. Physical activity and nutrition are important components, and with this partnership, we are rendering true healthcare.” Both organizations in-

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

23

MEMBER TO MEMBER

For more information

on how to establish this referral pathway, download the recently developed toolkit, Increasing Referrals to Community-Based Programs and Services: Use of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) Referral Process (www. nrpa.org/our-work/partnerships/initiatives/healthyaging-in-parks/health-systems-and-parks-and-rec reation/), which outlines the EHR referral pathway described, as well as tips and recommendations for implementing and sustaining the pathway.

tend to continue the partnership by replicating this model in the city’s other 43 recreation centers, thereby making them additional community wellness hubs.

Referral Pathways The implementation of effective referral pathways is another way in which park and recreation agencies are partnering with health systems.

In 2018, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NRPA collaborated

43

24 Parks & Recreation

with the following organizations to pilot the effectiveness and scalability of a referral process through the use of an electronic health record (EHR): Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation and Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport (previously University Health) in Shreveport, Louisiana; the City of Westminster Parks and Recreation; Westminster Medical Clinic; St. Anthony North Family Medicine; and Arbor Family Medicine in Westminster, Colorado.

This referral process aimed to identify patients with arthritis and refer them to arthritis-appropriate, evidence-based interventions (AAEBIs) offered by park and recreation agencies. Within this process, the healthcare partners used their EHRs to identify patients in two ways: retrospectively and at the point of care. The retrospective referral process involved patient identification based on:

42

PERCENT

PERCENT

of local park and recreation agencies are partnering with hospitals and independent medical practices

are partnering with local health departments

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

• Age (45 years and older, since the majority of people with arthritis are older than 45) • Time frame (patients seen within the past 18 months) • ZIP code (patients living within a ZIP code served by parks and recreation) • Arthritis diagnosis (primarily osteoarthritis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis) Once identified, patients were sent communication packages, including a personalized letter from the referring healthcare partner, detailing the purpose of the letter and encouraging them to enroll in one or more of the AAEBIs. They also received a phone call from the healthcare partner’s staff within one to two weeks of the mailings.

During the point-of-care referrals, the same criteria were used with the exception of the time frame, which was updated to include patients with an appointment the following

41

39

PERCENT

PERCENT

are partnering with health insurance companies and

are partnering with health plan-affiliated fitness membership programs, such as SilverSneakers® and Silver&Fit®.

week. These patients’ EHR charts were then flagged for the healthcare provider to discuss the AAEBIs with them and provide them with a prescription card detailing the AAEBI program offering. Individuals who were referred would then be enrolled in a program once they initiated contact with the park and recreation agency.

Over the course of nine months, a total of 2,635 referrals were made, resulting in nearly 700 referred participants engaging in the AAEBIs, and a referral engagement rate of 26 percent. This referral pathway was particularly beneficial for all parties involved, including the residents. “It made me feel awesome to know they [healthcare provider] cared enough about my health to

recommend an activity that could benefit my health issue,” says a referred participant. In addition, park and recreation agencies were able to engage residents who had never participated in their programs and services. According to one park and recreation staff member, certified to teach the AAEBIs: “I think it has taken the Walk With Ease and all the programs to another level. It opened up an opportunity to reach out to more residents who we previously did not have. It’s overwhelming in a good way. The people are responding. They’re calling.

They’re participating. They’re excited. It’s just been unbelievable to see how it just kind of played out.”

New and existing public health threats, including the increasing

...only when the entire community comes together and works collaboratively will there be noticeable and sustainable improvements in its health status. prevalence of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, cannot and should not be combatted in silos.

At the very core of community health is the community, and only when the entire community comes together and works collaboratively will there be noticeable and sustainable improvements in its health status.

Lesha Spencer-Brown, MPH, CPH, is an NRPA Senior Program Manager (lspencer@nrpa.org).

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

25

MEMBER TO MEMBER

Grant Opportunities Create Possibility in Chanute, Kansas

By Julie Aikins

C

hanute, a small town with a population of 9,200, is located in Neosho County in the rural southeast corner of Kansas, two hours from many of the state’s larger cities, like Kansas City, Wichita and Tulsa. The Chanute Recreation Commission (CRC) has just added four full-time employees, but four years ago, a small but very significant grant started a chain reaction that has impacted the agency and the town in exciting ways! erational programming and additional programs for families, adults and seniors. These programs also needed a wide variety of multiuse equipment to bring this vision to life. So, we applied for and got that initial grant for $9,200 from the Kansas Health Foundation, $7,800 of which was used to purchase the equipment and the re-

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHANUTE RECREATION COMMISSION

Getting the Grants In 2014, the CRC began focusing its efforts on addressing several growing health concerns facing the community, among them adult obesity, diabetes and limited access to recreational opportunities for its children. We saw a need to develop new programs for a wider audience, including more multigen-

26 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

maining funds helped in providing family events and promoting new programs. Almost immediately, we discovered additional possibilities for program expansion.

With permission from city government officials, we repurposed a former public golf course on cityowned land into Lakeview Recreational Area, a multiuse, outdoor facility with 2 miles of planned trekking trails and 18 holes for both disc and foot golf. Two matching grants — one from the Kansas Recreation and Parks Association and another from Cunningham Recreation — totaling $100,000 allowed us to install equipment for an outdoor adult fitness circuit surrounded by five nature-themed children’s play pods, designed so parents could work out while their children play nearby.

Lakeview is bordered on the north by Santa Fe Park and Lake, and on the east by the city ball complex. Grants from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks allowed us to restore much of the land with natural prairie grasses to establish an Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site (OWLS), outdoor education area for pollinators, wetland wildlife, and woods and prairie life.

Our efforts to offer more active opportunities for residents result-

Chanute Recreation Center afterschool participants plant strawberries in the container garden established with funding to promote nutrition literacy and gardening.

ed in award recognition from the Governor’s Council on Fitness, as well as a $2,500 BlueCHIP Community Health Award from the Kansas Recreation and Parks Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.

Reevaluating Our Vision Two years ago, our vision quickly changed when the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation annual county-by-county report ranked Neosho County a dismal and unsatisfactory 98th out of 102 reporting Kansas counties for Health Factors.

We refined our vision to become the southeast Kansas leader in promoting community health, which required strong leadership with a shared vision and a collabora-

tive problem-solving approach. A grant from the Kansas Leadership Center allowed us to provide leadership training to 20 community members, at no cost, and start our community health initiative.

CRC’s partnerships with city officials, civic organizations, economic development and health administrators offered multiple perspectives and provided many possible options for tackling our community’s health issues. Our efforts took a huge leap forward with a three-year, $500,000 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant, which promotes three focus areas (active living, healthy eating and tobacco cessation) and functions through seven different community

One of five Nature Trail children’s play pods at the Lakeview Recreational Area, which surrounds an outdoor adult fitness circuit, designed so parents could work out while their children play nearby.

Oh, the endless days!

Gathered together Reveling in the joy of play.

Where watery wonders excite us Unite us And invite us to set our imaginations free.

©2019 Landscape Structures Inc. All rights reserved.

To learn more and inspire your outdoors, visit aquatix.playlsi.com.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

27

MEMBER TO MEMBER

Some Grant-Writing Insights: Grant writers provide oversight of the funding from the application process to implementing the funds. They’re also the ones who prepare any required reports or summaries for the grant provider. Many organizations have a full-time grant writer, but, often, grant writing is within the job description of an agency employee. Having a dedicated grant writer can be a definite benefit to park and recreation agencies. Following are some insights about the application process: • The standard required information for most grants includes statistics about the town, its location and the agency, along with demographic and budget data. Other information will be specific to the project or grant itself. Some grants target specific areas of need (health-related issues, land conservation or preservation, food insecurity), specific demographics (seniors, youth, under-represented groups) or specific locations (rural, metropolitan, high poverty).

• The grant application process frequently has a quick turnaround time. Once the requests for proposals are published, grant writers may have a few days to a few weeks to complete the application. So, immediate knowledge of your community’s assets and those collaborative relationships can help streamline the application process.

• Careful reading of the requirements and RFP specifications is critically important. Gathering the necessary information and documentation and preparing as much of the application as possible before actually completing it saves time and effort. Sometimes, information from one application can be useful on another application.

• Applications can vary from a single page to multiple pages accompanied by letters of support. Occasionally, photographs, diagrams or map coordinates are also requested.

• Google searches are great starting points for exploring grant possibilities.

Search topics related to the agency’s vision or goals or search local, regional or national foundations and organizations to discover the areas of interest each group funds. Professional publications and media outlets frequently highlight grant opportunities. Talking to colleagues, friends and other professionals at meetings, workshops and conferences usually results in potential funding sources.

• Funded grants require implementation reports and summaries once the project is complete. Grant providers want to see the impact of the funding, how it is benefiting the recipient, successes and accomplishments, and lessons learned. Keeping accurate, ongoing data is important.

28 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

pathways. Each pathway works on an individual aspect of community health, while all work simultaneously toward the goal of improved health. The Pathways grant has allowed us to establish a complete bike route around town; promote healthy eating through a community garden, farmers market and grocery store; implement a community bike share program; and develop worksite wellness programs at 10 local businesses and industries that employ more than 1,000 people.

A missing piece in our community health initiative was a kitchen facility at the Chanute Recreation Center to provide education in food planting, production, preparation and preservation. What’s more, a grant helped us achieve our goal!

Last year, we received a $35,000 Commit to Health grant from NRPA to establish a kitchen facility and to implement nutrition education with children in our afterschool and summer day camp programs.

Successes and Lessons Learned Our grant successes are changing the culture of our community. Establishing Lakeview Recreational Area has provided the community with a place for multiple outdoor activities, from disc golf to hiking to fitness to fishing. There is now an active community bike-share program at Lakeview, along with a Monday night Move It Bike Club with 30–40 riders — the oldest of whom is 93 — consistently participating. Last year, the Move It Bike Club participants rode a total of 3,800 miles from April to October. The NRPA Commit to Health grant has allowed us to successfully implement nutrition education with Rec Center afterschool and

Children at the Chanute Recreation Center participate in the My Plate nutrition education program.

summer day camp participants and to also expand the program through partnerships with the county health department, the local Head Start program and a local faith-based supplemental food program. We reach almost 200 people monthly with nutrition education and information.

Our experience has also provided some great lessons for grant writing. One of the first lessons learned was from our school district’s former grant writer, who consistently told us: “Follow directions carefully. Use their language and back it up with factual data.”

This turned out to be great advice.

Another great lesson is to reapply if the grant repeats annually and if the grant requirements are applicable to your project. Applying a second time almost always provides valuable information. Researching the grantee awards provides insight into worthy projects. Sometimes, there are elements and factors in awarded projects that can be applied or adapted to your current project, and a second application is nearly always more well-written than the first.

Communicating Your Vision Grant opportunities can come from local and state private foundations, government organizations like the Department of Health and Environment and USDA, and state and national organizations like NRPA. No matter which grant you are applying for, it is important to have a clear understanding of the overall vision so it can be effectively communicated.

We know we want to be the community health leader in our little corner of the world, and we know that focusing on active living, healthy eating and tobacco cessation can get us there, so that’s the story I am always trying to articulate in our grant applications. However, what community health looks like for us is totally unique. We are always asking ourselves, “What can we do that will benefit the most people that no community within 100 miles is doing? What areas are trending that we can implement?”

There will always be the grants you apply for and don’t get. For example, I didn’t get an arts grant for a pottery kiln, or one for binoculars for outdoor education, or the Culture of Health prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Most recently, I didn’t get one that I probably shouldn’t have applied for, because we are still clarifying our vision for our newest initiative to promote activity and healthy

eating for seniors.

Grant writing is a process. It’s a journey that pays off in small and big ways, but all of them are important. Each grant leads to another in an exciting snowball effect that brings positive change.

I believe that when the right people work together for the right reasons, good things happen.

That is true for Chanute, and we are grateful for every grant dollar that keeps our momentum moving forward.

Conference Session:

Want to learn the keys to effective grant writing? Sign up for the “Unraveling the Grant Writing Puzzle: Connecting Dreams with Resources” pre-conference workshop scheduled for 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday, September 23 in the Baltimore, Maryland, Convention Center — www.nrpa.org/conference/.

Julie Aikins is a Grant Writer for Chanute Recreation Commission (jaikins.chanuterec@gmail.com). @ChanuteRec

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

29

ADVOCACY

Summer (Meals) Time!

By Jim Bradley

T

o quote the ever-eloquent Alice Cooper, “School’s out for summer!” And that means, it’s prime time for park and recreation agencies that provide summer meals and snacks to the children involved with our programs. This summer, Congress is reviewing the federal programs that help NRPA members provide the food for the bodies and minds of the kids we serve. And, what happens on Capitol Hill will impact your agency and the families you serve.

The good news is that Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) of the Senate Agriculture Committee and his Democratic counterpart Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), are committed to working on a reauthorization of the Childhood Nutrition Act. Chairman Roberts has publicly stated that he would like to move a bill by August. The even better news is that in meetings with NRPA, staff for both senators have said that the Committee members want to hear from impacted stakeholders — like you. Yes, you! You’re the experts, after all!

30 Parks & Recreation

What’s at Stake?

As we all know, the ability to offer meals to kids helps increase participation in the summer programming opportunities park and recreation agencies provide. That programming is critical to producing a safe, enriching place for our kids to learn, play and be healthy.

Positive changes to the Childhood Nutrition Act, like expanding eligibility requirements, improving access to transportation or simply making it easier for agencies to apply for funding, could make it

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Chanute Recreation Commission in Kansas makes the case for the USDA Summer Food Service Program by hosting staff of U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) for a visit to its meal program.

easier to serve even more kids by allowing agencies to serve more meals. Unfortunately, other potential changes to the Child Nutrition Act could also make it harder.

There are members of Congress who are interested in removing the incentives for serving meals at community sites, like park and recreation centers.

That’s where you come in! You can make an incredible impact on the future of summer meal programs by inviting your members of Congress for a visit. Members of Congress appreciate the chance to attend events and interact with constituents, and, let’s be honest, they also love a good photo opportunity. As park and recreation professionals, you have unbeatable photogenic assets at your disposal — beautiful parks, awesome

facilities, incredible staff and cute kids! Ask your members of Congress to attend a summer meal kickoff event or give them the program dates and mealtimes so they can stop by during the summer congressional recesses. Let them know they can simply observe the program, help pass out a meal or even join in on a fun activity! You don’t need to be an expert in nutrition policy to make the case for the Child Nutrition Act: let the programs speak for themselves! It’s hard to argue against the benefits of serving free, healthy meals at park and recreation agencies once you’ve seen firsthand a program — and the kids benefiting from it!

Through the Park Champion initiative, NRPA’s grassroots ad-

vocacy program, NRPA members across the country have invited their members of Congress to visit their summer and afterschool meal programs. The Park Champion Advocacy Toolkit makes it incredibly easy to send an invitation. Included in the toolkit is: • A ZIP code search tool to help you find your members of Congress (hey, it’s okay if you’re not sure!)

• An editable draft invitation to copy and paste into the body of an email • Names and email addresses of the schedulers for each member of Congress • Step-by-step instructions and examples from fellow NRPA members on hosting a member of Congress at your program

It only takes a few moments to send an invitation — and make a huge difference in the fight to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act. It only takes a few moments to send an invitation — and make a huge difference in the fight to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act. So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to www.nrpa.org/park-cham pions to get started today! If you have questions or would like help sending your invitations, reach out to Jayni Rasmussen, NRPA’s advocacy and outreach manager, at jras mussen@nrpa.org.

Jim Bradley is NRPA’s Vice President of Government Affairs (jbradley@nrpa.org).

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

31

LAW REVIEW

Gun Show in Park Rental Facility not ‘Family Entertainment’

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

I

n the case of Florida Gun Shows, Inc. v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26926 (S.D. Fla. 2/19/2019), the city of Fort Lauderdale (the City) had entered into a series of leases over many years with a private entity, Florida Gun Shows (FGS), to conduct several gun shows in an auditorium located in a public park. In light of recent mass shootings at a local high school and airport, the City decided not to honor the 2019 reservation for an upcoming gun show, because gun shows were now considered to be inappropriate in a multipurpose rental facility within a “family friendly” public park.

Defendant FGS petitioned the federal district court to issue a preliminary injunction, which would block “the City from violating its free speech rights and requires the City to issue license agreements to the Plaintiff for the promised future dates for the promotion of gun shows, under the same terms and conditions that the City offers to promoters of

32 Parks & Recreation

events other than gun shows.”

As illustrated by the opinion described herein, judicial scrutiny of governmental decisions involving commercial speech in a revenue-producing, multipurpose facility for designated events is much more deferential than regulations involving free speech activities in a traditional public forum, like a public park. Governmental

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

regulation of free speech activities in a public forum, like a public park, must be narrowly drawn to achieve a compelling governmental interest. On the other hand, governmental regulation of commercial speech in a non-public forum, like revenue-producing leases for a government-owned auditorium, must simply be reasonable to pass constitutional muster under the First Amendment.

Multipurpose Rental Facility In 2012, the City had issued the “WMA Policies and Procedures,” which defined the purpose of the War Memorial Auditorium as follows: To provide a guideline and procedures for the rental of the War

Memorial Auditorium (WMA), a multipurpose rental facility that hosts a wide variety of events to enhance the lives and leisure time of the Citizens of Fort Lauderdale and surrounding communities.

We strive to provide these experiences while operating the facility with no cost to the City taxpayers. Revenue is achieved through facility rentals, equipment rental, parking fees, concession sales, and reimbursement for labor and services.

In addition, the “WMA Policies and Procedures” provided the following guidance regarding “decisions to enter into a lease agreement”: War Memorial Auditorium is a multipurpose facility available to be rented for events, meetings and activities. The Auditorium Manager reviews rental requests on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation Deputy Director. The WMA management reserves the right to decline rental under certain circumstances, including, but not limited to, previous failure to abide by the terms of the contract; failure to pay required fees or costs; illegal or inappropriate activities or subject matters.

The City described the WMA as “an asset which continues to generate revenue for the city” by hosting events that have included “an international collector car auction, bodybuilding championships, PRIDE (serving the LGBTQ community), MMA [Mixed Martial Arts] events and the Orchid Show.” On several occasions, the City had refused to issue licenses for the WMA based on the content of the events, including an

adult toy show and a topless circus. According to the City, “there had been no questions about the appropriateness of gun shows at the WMA until 2012, when the sale of guns increased.”

In past years, FGS had organized and promoted gun shows several times per year at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale.

In 2015 and 2016, FGS presented six shows per year at the WMA, and in 2017 and 2018, there were seven per year. Attendance generally was 3,500 visitors per show, with most exhibitors coming from locations within 100 miles of Fort Lauderdale. FGS earned income from these gun shows through the sale of tickets to the shows and table rentals to the exhibitors and vendors that sold firearms, accessories, knives and gun-related items.

FGS claimed a “perfect safety record with no incidents or arrests occurring at any of its shows.” In addition, it had “10 police officers at every show, some of whom are stationed outside the WMA, to ensure that all guns are in cases and that no illegal activities are taking place.”

FGS had existing license agreements with the City and had signed a license agreement reserving dates for 2019. It had complied with all the agreements with the City but acknowledged that “the WMA is located within a park which includes recreation areas,” and other FGS gun-show venues were not in parks.

While FGS claimed the gun shows were “family friendly,” the advertising for the gun shows did not reflect this, and there were no play areas or activities for children at the shows. On the contrary, gun-

show advertising showed a novelty “grenade launcher” and AR15 semi-automatic rifles without clips.

Ammunition and clips were also sold at these gun shows.

Although FGS and the City had worked out reserve dates through 2025, the City released these dates in October 2018 after FGS’s license dates were not renewed.

FGS conceded that the City had tried to assist in finding a venue other than the WMA for the gun shows. Moreover, there was another FGS gun show scheduled for September 2019 elsewhere in Broward County.

Beginning in 2016, there were protests by a group of about six people at the FGS events. According to the deputy director of the parks and recreation department, the City had received complaints from parents about gun shows being held in a park at the same time as youth sport programs.

The City had received complaints from parents about gun shows being held in a park at the same time as youth sport programs.

Park Appropriate for City Manager The city manager was the chief executive officer of the municipal corporation and made all decisions not specifically reserved to the city commission. In a letter dated August 31, 2018, he notified FGS that the City was declining its request for a license agreement for 2019 and any proposed license agreements for future shows beyond November 2018.

He did not seek guidance from the mayor or city commission regard-

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

33

LAW REVIEW

ing the renewal of the FGS license agreement, but he was aware of comments on this subject that had been made by members of the commission and others.

The city manager acknowledged that one of his reasons for not renewing the FGS license was his subjective characterization of gun shows as not “family-oriented entertainment.” As understood by the city manager, “activities at the WMA should be consistent with those of a park; i.e., events to which one could send an unaccompanied 13- or 15-year-old.” While “family-oriented entertainment” was not a requirement for activities at the WMA, the city manager viewed it as a “philosophy or part of a business plan.” He admitted, however, that licenses had been issued to FGS and its predecessor every year prior to 2018.

34 Parks & Recreation

According to the city manager, his understanding of what activities were considered family friendly had changed over time. While his formulation was a general definition, it primarily applied to the Fort Lauderdale community, and was influenced by community reaction to the mass shootings in Parkland, Florida, and at the Fort Lauderdale airport. After these incidents, the city manager found that the number of negative public comments about the gun shows increased. Before that time, the city manager did not believe the City would have supported banning gun shows at the WMA. The city manager claimed he was not aware that gun shows were being held at the WMA until 2012. In 2013 and 2014, some parents in the community expressed their concerns about the City’s role in “promoting an activity which was not

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

in keeping with other activities in the park.” While the city manager admitted he knew of no illegal gun sales at FGS events, he thought “the emphasis at gun shows has changed in recent years from recreational gun use to self-defense.”

Moreover, the city manager believed “the showcasing of militarized weapons was a factor in transforming gun shows into an activity which does not belong in a municipal park that is supported by taxpayers’ dollars.” Further, the city manager noted the City had bought back 100–200 guns from its citizens in 2018. In his opinion, “a municipality which is buying guns back from people should not, at the same time, be engaged in putting guns back on the street.”

In deciding not to renew the FGS license agreement, the city manager admitted he did not consider any analytical data concerning whether weapons sold at the FGS gun shows had been used in any crimes. Moreover, he did not know how many fewer guns or knives would be sold as a result of eliminating the gun shows. Nevertheless, the city manager did not want the City to contribute to gun and knife violence and believed sales of weapons at least might be slowed by canceling the shows.

The city manager had visited some FGS shows for 10 or 15 minutes and did not recall seeing any children at the shows. He did not interview anyone prior to making the decision not to renew the FGS license agreement.

Preliminary Injunction Requirements This case was considered, and the opinion was issued by a federal

magistrate judge in the federal district court. Federal magistrate judges are appointed to assist federal district court judges in the performance of their duties.

As described by the federal magistrate judge, a pretrial preliminary injunction, blocking the City’s action prior to trial, would require FGS to show “a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its claims” when the case proceeded to trial. In addition, FGS would have to show it would suffer “irreparable damage” if the court did not grant the requested preliminary injunction. Moreover, the threatened injury to FGS would have to outweigh any damage the proposed injunction would cause to the City.

Further, FGS would have to show that the requested injunction, if issued by the court, “would not be adverse to the public interest.”

On the other hand, the court found FGS would not necessarily “suffer irreparable injury,” because FGS had “an adequate remedy at law in the form of damages” to recover

any economic losses associated with the City’s decision not to renew the license agreement for 2019. As a result, in determining whether FGS was entitled to the requested prelim-

Enjoy...with thePilotOutdoors Rock Bike Racks

TM

Simple to Stylish. Traditional to Modern.

Choose your style, color and material.

Single-sided or Double-sided parking.

First Amendment Commercial Speech FGS claimed it would likely succeed at trial on its claim that the City’s ban on gun shows at the WMA violated the “First Amendment right to commercial speech while not advancing any substantial interest of the City.” In response, the City claimed its decision not to license gun shows at WMA was “a permissible regulation of commercial speech.” Further, the City claimed, “the public [has] an overriding interest in not being exposed to military-style weapons in its public facilities and communities at large.”

As noted by the federal magistrate judge, on the First Amendment claim, “the deprivation of free speech rights constitutes an irreparable injury as a matter of law.”

Pilot Rock has a place to park them all!

RJ Thomas Mfg. Co., Inc • Cherokee, Iowa 800-762-5002 • pilotrock@rjthomas.com • pilotrock.com

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

35

LAW REVIEW

inary injunction, the federal district court would determine whether FGS had had its First Amendment commercial speech rights violated by the City’s decision.

FGS and the City both agreed that “the offer for sale of guns, knives and ammunition at the Plaintiff ’s [i.e., FGS] gun shows is lawful commercial speech, entitled to First Amendment protection as long as that speech is not misleading.” Moreover, FGS and the City both agreed on the following point: [O]nce it is determined that an offer of goods for sale is a lawful activity and not misleading, a state or local regulation which restricts that activity must directly advance a substantial government interest and must not be more extensive than is necessary to serve that interest.

That being said, the federal magistrate judge acknowledged that “the Constitution accords a lesser protection to commercial speech than to other constitutionally guaranteed expression.”

Government as Business Within the context of First Amendment protection for commercial

speech, the court examined “the distinction between a municipality acting in its proprietary, rather than its law-making role.” As noted by the court, the U.S. Supreme Court had recognized the “long-settled principle that governmental actions are subject to a lower level of First Amendment scrutiny when the governmental function operating is not the power to regulate or license, as lawmaker, but, rather, as proprietor, to manage its internal operations.”

Specifically, when “the Government operated in its proprietary capacity,” the court acknowledged governmental “actions will be deemed valid, for First Amendment purposes, unless they are unreasonable, or are arbitrary, capricious or invidious.”

Further, in determining “whether the speech in question is protected speech,” the court acknowledged that “even protected speech is not equally permissible in all places and at all times.” According to the court, “nothing in the Constitution requires the Government freely to grant access to all who wish to exercise their right to free speech on every type of Government property.” On the contrary, the court noted: “the Government, no less than a private owner of property, has power to preserve the property under its control for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated.”

Forum Analysis To address the scope and applicability of First Amendment protection, the court found that “the Supreme Court has adopted a forum analysis as a means of determining when the Government’s interest in limiting the use of its property to its intended purpose outweighs the interest of those wishing to use the 36 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

property for other purposes.” This forum analysis established by the Supreme Court draws “a distinction between property traditionally utilized as a public forum for the free exchange of ideas and property used as a nonpublic forum”: [W]hen the property in question is a public forum, speakers can be excluded only when the exclusion is necessary to serve a compelling state interest and the exclusion is narrowly drawn to achieve that interest. However, access to a non-public forum can be restricted by the Government as long as the restrictions are reasonable and are not an effort to suppress expression merely because public officials oppose the speaker’s view.

In assessing reasonableness, the court would consider “the purpose of the forum and all the surrounding circumstances.” While “the Government’s decision to restrict access to a non-public forum need only be reasonable,” the court noted this decision “need not be the most reasonable or only reasonable limitation.”

Credible Business Decision Applying these principles to this particular case, the federal magistrate judge found “the City was acting in its proprietary capacity” when making its decision not to renew the agreement with FGS for 2019. In so doing, the court found the city manager had made a credible business decision that was limited to the gun shows scheduled for the calendar year 2019. Further, the court determined the city manager had decided “based on his belief that gun shows were not the type of family-friendly activities which should be held in an auditorium located in a public park.”

In concluding that the city manager’s action was a proprietary decision, the federal magistrate rejected the FGS characterization of the City’s 2019 lease agreement policy as effectively a legislated “new rule” within the City’s law-making authority. Further, the federal magistrate found this proprietary decision by the city manager not to renew the City’s agreement with FGS was “consistent with the fact that other types of shows have been denied licenses at the WMA based on inappropriate subject matter (as authorized by the WMA’s Policies and Procedures), as well as by the fact that gun shows are permitted elsewhere in the City.”

In the opinion of the court, “treating this decision as a rule of regulation” would be inappropriate and effectively “render the City powerless to use its property for other purposes, such as the proposed uses as a soccer and lacrosse stadium or a concert venue.” As a result, the court found the First Amendment would not mandate an injunction requiring the renewal of the City’s agreement with FGS for gun shows in 2019 and reserved dates in the future.

Non-Public Forum As noted by the court: “When the government acts in its position as a proprietor to manage its internal operations, as opposed to using its power as a regulator or lawmaker, those governmental actions are subject to a lower level” of First Amendment judicial scrutiny; i.e., a showing of reasonableness will suffice as opposed to proof of a compelling state interest.

In this instance, the federal magistrate found the WMA was not a

public forum because “access to the venue is not open to all who apply for a lease.” On the contrary, the magistrate found “the City has in the past found such activities as an adult toy show and a topless circus to be unsuitable to the WMA.” Having found the WMA was a non-public forum, the question before the court was, therefore, whether the city manager’s decision not to renew the FGS lease for 2019 was “reasonable.”

The city manager had cited the following “long-held view” as the primary reason for his decision: [G]un shows, which are held during the daytime and on weekends, are not the type of family-friendly activity appropriate for an auditorium located in a public park with play areas for children.

Moreover, he noted a perceived “shift in gun shows’ emphasis after 2012 from recreational gun use to self-defense, as well as the increasing prominence of militarized weapons at the shows.” Further, the city manager had been receiving “complaints from parents about gun shows in Holiday Park, especially after the recent mass shootings in nearby Parkland, Florida, and at the Fort Lauderdale airport.”

The federal magistrate agreed with FGS that the city manager’s determination that “gun shows are not ‘family friendly’ is a subjective one.” Nevertheless, the federal magistrate found that “common sense clearly supports the concept that activities in public parks which include play areas for children should be suitable for all ages.” In the past, the court further noted the City had refused to lease the WMA for “activities deemed to be inappropriate for the venue.”

The federal magistrate found FGS had “failed to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its First Amendment claim.”

Accordingly, the federal magistrate found that the city manager was “entitled to consider the emotional impact of the recent mass shootings on the parents and children in this community when deciding, at least for 2019, that a gun show was not an appropriate activity to be held at the WMA within Holiday Park.”

Conclusion The federal magistrate concluded that (1) the City’s decision not to renew the Plaintiff ’s lease agreement for 2019 was made in its proprietary, rather than its law-making capacity, (2) the restriction of the Plaintiff ’s commercial speech was in a non-public forum and (3) the decision to exclude the Plaintiff ’s gun show was reasonable.

Based on these conclusions, the federal magistrate found FGS had “failed to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its First Amendment claim.” The federal magistrate, therefore, denied the FGS request for a preliminary injunction. FGS could then appeal this determination by the federal magistrate judge and seek a preliminary injunction based on a full review of the pretrial record by a federal district court judge.

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 articles archive (1982 to present): http:// mason.gmu.edu/~jkozlows.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

37

PHOTO COURTESY OF STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION (SCA)

CONSERVATION

Growing Urban Conservationists

Pittsburgh’s Student Conservation Association and Partner4Work board offer the city’s teens work on local conservation projects.

By Priya Cook

O

n long walks with my grandfather in the Western Ghats of India, he taught me to identify, respect and care for the flora and fauna around me. I have fond memories of the aroma of crushed lemon grass in his gnarled hands as he held it up to my nose, of him waving his walking stick at a valuable medicinal flower aloft in the treetops and his instructions to his grandchildren as we carefully lowered saplings into the ground. He took on the most terrible task of checking for leeches between our toes after our excursions. There, as a child, I first considered biodiversity, the relationship between people and wildlife, and the stressors of agriculture and unplanned development. I developed a sense of belonging outdoors, both in wild places and in the manicured front yard. Like most of my cousins, I didn’t follow in my grandfather’s agricultural footsteps or become an environmental scientist. But, I did become a professional, a voter and a mother with strong conservation values.

Nature in Cities My children are growing up in a city.

Where my grandfather blanketed hillsides with tea, coffee, spice plants and shade trees, we have a few potted herbs and vegetables. Where he replanted 38 Parks & Recreation

forest, we wedged some native trees into small, unpaved patches of dirt.

How will my urban children — and their peers — find nature and their own beginnings as the young conservationists so desperately needed today?

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Although expansive natural spaces in the city may be few, children can engage daily with the nature that abounds in parks, schoolyards and vacant lots. Even at the scale of acorns scattered by an oak on the sidewalk, children can develop an understanding for the larger environment. Experiences in these places can kindle the same relationship to nature that grew on rural walks beside my grandfather.

City leaders, recognizing the multiple benefits of connecting children to nature, are working to ensure that these experiences aren’t limited only to people who own land, can travel easily to nature destinations or whose neighborhoods abound with nature-rich parks. Mayors and other city lead-

ers are driving their local efforts to create equitable nature connection through initiatives, such as Cities Connecting Children to Nature (CCCN), the 10-Minute Walk Campaign and Mayors for Parks, to ensure that a robust relationship with nature can be enjoyed by all.

Conservation Corps One of the strategies cities can employ to connect young people to nature provides unique opportunities for extended time in nature, outdoor mentorship and conservation skill-building. Cities are following in the footsteps of counties and states to partner with youth corps and engage teens in nature experiences and hands-on service that promote personal and environmental health.

In the city of Pittsburgh, leaders partnered with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and the city/county workforce investment board, Partner4Work, to offer local teenagers six weeks of paid work on local conservation projects. In some cases, young corps members entered their neighborhood and city parks — like Frick, Riverview and South Side — for the very first time. Participants enter the corps program with little prior exposure to conservation, environmental education or outdoor recreation and leave the program gaining all three, demonstrating stronger conservation values and increasing their self-identification as conservation leaders. AmaRece Davis served as an SCA Community Crew corps member for two summers and one school year in high school, and the experiences compelled him to pursue community college, internships and return home “to be a beacon

for young people…I’m living the dream now as one of the first African-American park rangers for the city of Pittsburgh.”

Thinking “Outside the Park” To expand the benefits to young people and the environment, citycorps partners can look past the park boundaries. Even nature at the scale of native tree boxes along streets can produce positive health benefits for people, better social outcomes for communities, a critical habitat for birds and insects and reduction of heat islands. The LA Conservation Corps Clean & Green program engages roughly 500 middle and high school students annually. Without even stepping foot in a park, these young people attend to their immediate surroundings — the sidewalks and transit corridors they use daily — to plant trees and establish a canopy. Green City Force in New York City works within Housing Authority properties to build and operate six urban farms in its outdoor spaces, engaging corps members in the most intimate relationship we share with nature, nourishing crops that, in turn, nourish their own bodies and communities.

Park agencies in cities, like Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Austin, Texas, partner with school districts to implement green schoolyards — multifunctional school grounds designed for and by the school community that offer places for play, learning, exploration and growth. A natural and unrealized symbiosis between green schoolyards and corps might exist if, over the summer, cities enlist young corps members to install and maintain the green infrastructure and

stormwater management features, native plantings, pollinator gardens, young trees and urban agriculture beds that benefit children and neighborhoods throughout the school year. The CCCN City-Corps Partnership Guide (https://tinyurl. com/y4u685mu) assists cities in building partnerships that reflect value for both the human and environmental transformations that occur through engaging young people in conservation.

Emergence of Future Stewards Cities exist within and on land and water systems whose health and vitality are intertwined with that of their residents. Protecting those systems, and the associated health and social benefits on which thriving societies depend, can only be sustained through the ability and commitment of future generations.

Children and teens need not stray far from their urban neighborhoods to develop awareness, wonder and care for nature or to find outdoor mentors and guides. Equitable, citywide strategies to advance nature connection sow a seed in the heart of each young person impacted.

Through the recognition and taste of a first serviceberry, the thrill and importance of wielding a weighty hand tool, the sight of pollinators returning to restored habitat, and/or the feeling of agency and interdependence that results from diversifying and promoting life in a neighborhood, budding conservationists will emerge in our cities.

Priya Cook is Program Manager of the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative at the National League of Cities @priya_cook (cook@nlc.org). #CityKids2Nature

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

39

PHOTOS COURTESY METRODC PFLAG

SOCIAL EQUITY

This Pride Month Make a Commitment to Being LGBTQ Affirming

By Jason Shriner

W

hen I first started working in the City of Manassas Park Department of Parks and Recreation in January of 2012, I was a baking instructor. At the time, I was publicly out as a queer person, but I still strategically chose when to disclose that information in person to anyone. I had never worked for a government agency before, and being an instructor was a dream job for me, so I decided that I didn’t want to take any risks and chose to keep my identity to myself.

Today, I am the marketing manager for the department and am open about my identity. As a queer person on staff and an active LGBTQ advocate, I am fortunate to be able to bring ideas to the department’s leadership, which is supportive and affirming, on how we can ensure we are being inclusive of the LGBTQ community.

With June being Pride Month for many localities around the coun-

40 Parks & Recreation

try, I would like to challenge you to make changes to make your department more affirming as well.

Don’t assume that LGBTQ people aren’t already coming to your facilities.

When I advise colleagues on LGBTQ affirming changes, I often hear that some of the changes might be too burdensome for a small demographic. According

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

to a 2017 Gallup poll, 5.3 percent of Americans identify as LGBTQ, which is approximately 17 million people. Gallup also suggests that as society becomes more affirming, people will be more likely to openly identify as LGBTQ (both in person and on a survey). Queer people are already coming to your facilities and even more want to, so making affirming changes will help them feel they belong to the community — a role all park and recreation departments should be working toward.

Make real and visible partnerships with LGBTQ organizations in your community.

You could offer free space for

LGBTQ organizations to host their meetings or partner with them to offer LGBTQ-specific programming. I’m a youth facilitator for the Prince William County community group of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of the LGBTQ community), so when I was looking for creative ways to engage our youth, our recreation services team stepped up and helped me put together a self-defense class and a yoga class just for LGBTQ folks.

It was really rewarding to see the instructors asking for and using the correct pronouns, but also seeing queer folks feeling comfortable enough to be their authentic selves.

Consider hosting LGBTQ socials with your partner organizations. Within the community, a repeated frustration is the lack of alcohol-free places to meet other LGBTQ people. With our focus on health and wellness, park and recreation agencies are perfect for providing those safe spaces without the pressure of alcohol, while also offering creative opportunities to engage beyond meet and greets.

When you establish these partnerships, be sure to advertise them on your website and social media but be aware that you might not be able to share photos from these programs, as not all of the participants may be publicly open with their identity.

Lead the way for inspiring change in your community by providing space for organizations to present to local agencies in your area.

I attended a panel discussion on how to make outdoor spaces more LGBTQ affirming, and as a queer person, it was an uplifting and

Some Gender Terms Explained Heteronormative: The attitude that heterosexuality is the norm, that all or nearly all people are heterosexual, and that there are clearly defined gender roles. Examples: Assuming a man with a wedding ring is married to a woman, having a rigid definition of family (married man, woman and kids) and roles: women cook/men work, forms that say mother/father instead of parent/ parent and gender-specific fragrances (this is a man’s cologne/a woman’s perfume).

Cisgender: When one identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth.

(I am cisgender because I was assigned male at birth, and I still identify as male.)

Cisnormative: The attitude that cisgender is the norm, that all or nearly all people are cisgender, that there are only two genders, and that there is a limited scope on how each of those two genders can be acceptable expressed.

Examples: Assuming pronouns, “all women need pap smears” (people who have a medical need for pap smears need to get pap smears), dating sites (are you a man seeking a woman, without any or very few options to change that setting), gendered bathrooms (focus on contents rather than people), men/ women look a specific way and if you don’t look that way, then you aren’t a man/woman (e.g., women don’t have beards).

There is some overlap between heteronormativity and cisnormativity since gender plays a strong role in both.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

41

SOCIAL EQUITY

your single-stall restroom to say, “all gender restroom.” These may seem like small and, perhaps, inconvenient changes, but if your department is advertising it is LGBTQ affirming and is still using non-inclusive language, it’s going to send mixed signals and LGBTQ people will notice.

Be prepared to accept small changes, but continue to advocate for more.

eye-opening experience. REI hosted five LGBTQ sports clubs, teams and organizations in the D.C. metro area, from cycling to hiking, rock climbing and more. Each organization shared its successes, challenges and goals for the future and how agencies in the area could help it reach its goals. As a result of the event, we are now partnering with TeamDC to encourage LGBTQ sports clubs that need field space to visit our parks.

Update the language throughout your department to be more affirming.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to add sexual orientation, gen42 Parks & Recreation

der expression and gender identity to your nondiscrimination policy.

You should also review your policies and membership handbook and try to remove all gendered language, as well as anything that may appear heteronormative or cisnormative. For example, if you have dress codes for staff or patrons, list out acceptable attire as one list rather than dividing by gender. Instead of having binary options on registration forms for gender, simply use a blank space for participants to write it in, or reconsider asking for that information at all.

Make sure your registration forms ask for parent contact information instead of mother’s and father’s.

Consider changing the signage for

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

For government agencies, change comes slowly. With the LGBTQ community still being treated as controversial, you may need to make incremental changes that slowly become more and more visible over time. We’ve seen a great deal of positive energy for our community — and especially for our staff — as we’ve implemented more and more changes here in Manassas Park. In November 2018, during statewide elections, our city elected Danica Roem, the first openly transgender state delegate, and, without any controversy, passed LGBTQ protections for students and faculty at the schools.

Destigmatizing the LGBTQ community can be very difficult in certain areas. However, bear in mind that as difficult as it is to implement affirming changes, it’s much harder to exist as a queer person in those areas. Lack of community and lack of access to resources can be an isolating experience for LGBTQ people.

Will you join us in being that resource for your community — for your whole community?

Jason Shriner is the Marketing Manager for the City of Manassas Park Department of Parks and Recreation (j.shriner@ manassasparkva.gov). @theMPCC

Park and Recreation Grants Available

WE DO THE RESEARCH FOR YOU!

Check out the latest grant opportunities for park and recreation agencies and affiliated nonprofits. nrpa.org/grants

44 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

The Youth Epidemic How park and recreation agencies are helping to fight e-cigarette use among America’s teens

By Vitisia Paynich

“

V

aping is considered cool in my group of friends,” says one female teen, who was just 13 years old the first time she began vaping. “It might just be the fact that you’re doing the things you know you shouldn’t be doing.” This high school student represents a mere handful of real California youth who shared their real-life experiences using e-cigarettes and other vaping products for a public service video produced by Tobacco Free California, in an effort to discourage others from following in their footsteps. However, this problem among today’s youth is not exclusive to the Golden State or the West Coast. It’s a frightening scenario playing out in towns all across America.

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable illness, attributing to more than 480,000 deaths in the United States each year. Research data from the “2018 National Youth Survey” conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that e-cigarette use among high school youth rose by an astounding 78 percent from 2017 to 2018, while more than 1 million

additional teens began using e-cigarettes in the past year. Acknowledging these startling figures, the U.S. Surgeon General declared vaping a youth epidemic.

This nationwide crisis has prompted park agencies across the country to partner with their public health agencies to sound the alarm about youth vaping by educating parents, preteens and teens about the negative

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

45

YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC

health outcomes associated with e-cigarette use, as well as the added risk of second-hand smoke exposure.

They are also working with their city officials to establish smoke- and tobacco-free park policies.

What Are Electronic Cigarettes?

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are battery-operated devices that release doses of vaporized nicotine, or non-nicotine solutions, that users inhale. Although companies market these products to adults as aids to reduce or quit smoking, recent studies suggest a single vape pod contains as much nicotine as a full pack of cigarettes.

The term “vaping” refers to the use of e-cigarettes or vaporizers.

E-cigarettes are a $2.5 billion industry with more than 460 different e-cigarette brands, according to the

National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Common nicknames for these products include e-cigs, e-hookahs, hookah pens, vapes, vape pens and mods, which are more powerful, customizable vaporizers. The most popular among these brands is JUUL, which sells an e-cigarette device that resembles a USB flash drive.

E-cigarettes and other tobacco products pose many health risks to youth. They contain harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including formaldehyde and acrolein, which can cause irreversible lung damage. They also contain nicotine, which has addictive properties. Other studies show these products can affect brain development in youth.

Health Advocates vs. the FDA Three years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began

regulating sales, marketing and production of these products, especially as they relate to youth. By 2018, the agency proposed strict rules that would ban retailers from selling menthol cigarettes and flavored vaping products. What’s more, the FDA commissioner at the time, Scott Gottlieb, called for additional measures for prohibiting companies from marketing e-cigarettes directly to youth via the internet. However, health advocates contend the agency hasn’t done enough.

In the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2019 report, the nonprofit gives the FDA an “F” grade. “The FDA regulation grade has a few components,” notes Thomas Carr, national director of policy, the American Lung Association. He says the FDA hasn’t moved forward with the prohibition of menthol-flavored tobacco products, which is one reason for the failing grade. “The fact that the FDA hasn’t regulated tobacco products in an adequate way is another reason why,” Carr continues.

“But overall, it’s just been a lack of action in general.”

He also notes that the slow pace at which the FDA seems to be moving on tobacco control isn’t solely reflective of Trump Administration policies. “I think the FDA under the Obama Administration dragged its feet as well on this,” he says. “Back in 2011, [the FDA] said it was going to regulate e-cigarette tobacco products, and then it took the agency until 2016 to get a final rule in place that would allow the FDA to actually do that. I think just that delay alone hurt our abil-

E-cigarettes and other tobacco products contain ingredients, including formaldehyde and acrolein, that can cause irreversible lung damage.

46 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

ity to respond to the youth e-cigarette epidemic we’re seeing now.”

Despite the Lung Association’s admonishment of the federal government, Carr says “The Real Cost” Youth E-cigarette Prevention campaign is “the one bright spot for the FDA.” This newly launched marketing campaign includes a partnership between the FDA and school districts nationwide to spread the word about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes to teens using various marketing tools, including posters. Some movement also has been occurring in Congress. On May 20, 2019, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a bipartisan bill cowritten with Sen. Tim Kaine (DVa.), raising the national legal age to buy tobacco products to 21.

Vaping Fast Facts The number of U.S. high school students who reported being current e-cigarette users increased 78.0 percent between 2017 and 2018 to 3.05 million (or 20.8 percent).

Source: “2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Numbers among middle school students rose 48.0 percent to 570,000 (or 4.9 percent).

Source: “2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey,” FDA and CDC

Four out of five kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product.

Source: American Journal of Preventative Medicine

Spreading the Word When tackling the youth vaping epidemic head on, most park agencies recognize the complexities of this important issue and acknowledge they can’t do it alone — the same could be said for public health departments in cities across the country. Kelsey Fife, health promotions specialist at Mesa County Public Health in Colorado, knows this all too well, especially when examining the numbers.

According to a survey conducted on high school-aged youth in Mesa County, about 50 percent of high school youth admit they’ve tried vaping and approximately 30 percent said they’ve used an e-cigarette or other electronic vaping product in the past 30 days. “That’s a lot higher than what we see with other tobacco products,” says Fife, “and the second-most tried and used substance of all of them after alcohol.” Even more startling, only 45 percent of those Mesa County

Youth report vaping as early as 12 years old.

Source: NBC News

Among middle school and high school students who reported ever using e-cigarettes in 2016, the most commonly selected reasons for use were:

1 2 3

use by “friend or family member” (39.0 percent); availability of “flavors such as mint, candy, fruit or chocolate” (31.0 percent); and

the belief that “they are less harmful than other forms of tobacco, such as cigarettes” (17.1 percent).

Source: “Reasons for Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students” — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2016

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

47

YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC

high school students believe vape products are harmful, while 60 percent said, if they wanted to, they could obtain these products easily or very easily.

She adds that those findings made this a community-wide issue and “was a key reason I was interested in doing education in our community.” Thus, Mesa County Public Health — with the assistance of a state-funded grant program called Communities That Care — collaborated with a number of local agencies to address this growing problem and to dis-

“We know that 90 percent of people start smoking before the age of 18, before the legal age, and 99 percent start before the age of 25. So, all those people are starting before their brains stop developing and that’s also when you’re more likely to become addicted to that substance.” cuss how to educate parents and youth about the harmful effects of vaping and smoking. One of those agencies included the city of Fruita (Colorado) Parks & Recreation. “[Mesa County Public Health] approached us and we agreed to be a partner with them, and we’ve been working through the Communities That Care process,” says Ture Nycum, parks and recreation director, city of Fruita. Communities That Care is a program, funded by marijuana tax dollars, that brings together community members to thwart problem behaviors and adverse health outcomes, such as substance misuse, among youth grades six through 12.

Nycum notes that his agency’s partnership with the Communi48 Parks & Recreation

ties That Care program led to the Fruita Youth Initiative in the city.

“Part of that is to really look at our environment and look at some of our ordinances and the laws we have on the books, as well as just looking at what’s happening in our community regarding substance use around youth,” he explains. “When we were looking at that, we noticed we didn’t really have anything that addressed smoking as well as vaping use within our park system. So, that’s when we looked at updating our smoking ordinance [through] the Fruita Youth Initiative.”

In December 2018, The Daily Sentinel reported the Fruita City Council voted 5–1 to ban smoking of any substance — which includes using vaporizers or electronic cigarettes — in any city-owned park, recreational facility or open space.

Nycum admits that his agency hasn’t witnessed a high rate of vaping among youth in his parks, however, he contends: “We figure if we can address it community-wide, that’ll definitely help reduce it within the park system and in public spaces.”

And since Fruita was updating its park policy around smoking and vaping, Fife says: “We wanted to provide some information to the community members on the ‘why,’ particularly…because…vaping is so new to people and very much a hot topic now. So, we wanted to back up their policy with some education.”

Presenting the Facts On January 30, 2019, Mesa County Public Health, Fruita Parks & Recreation and other partners, including local law enforcement and school district personnel, hosted a Teen Vaping Prevention event for the community. The event drew about 75 people that included parents and some older youth.

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

During the evening, Fife made a presentation encompassing four elements: (1) introduce the numbers, (2) set the scene for how we got here, (3) address the marketing tactics and (4) discuss the local and state policies surrounding vaping/e-cigarette products.

She also discussed the basic components of the e-cigarette and vaping culture, including the different types of products on the market and the language that people might be using to talk about it, “because people who haven’t done it may not understand it,” notes Fife.

Some community members in attendance spoke about how e-cigarettes and vaping directly impacted their own families. Nycum says, “I talked to a few parents who said that they’ve found their kids’ vape pens…and some of them were definitely trying to figure out how to address it with their kids.”

Bringing awareness about the marketing tactics of these e-cigarette brands was another component of Fruita’s Teen Vaping Prevention presentation on January 30. “We know that 90 percent of people start smoking before the age of 18, before the legal age,” says Fife, “and 99 percent start before the age of 25. So, all those people are starting before their brains stop developing and that’s also when you’re more likely to become addicted to that substance.”

Fife says some of the questions they fielded from those in attendance included: • How are young kids getting a hold of vape products?

• Why start vaping?

• What is the data around connection to vaping and increased use of other illegal drugs?

The event proved to be quite informative and helpful to those in

attendance. “I could see us doing it again…maybe, in the next school year,” says Nycum.

Vaping in Parks Fruita, Colorado, represents merely one of many cities throughout the United States that have adopted smoke- and tobacco-free policies. In many cases, these changes begin with the community members themselves. On August 10, 2018, Nevada’s Reno City Council passed an ordinance banning smoking and vaping in its parks.

Those in violation could face misdemeanor charges.

“It was actually a grassroots citizen-led initiative,” explains Andy Bass, director of parks, recreation and community services, city of Reno.

“It started when we had a joint park commission meeting between the city of Reno, our neighboring city, Sparks,

and our county, Washoe County.”

Bass adds that during that joint meeting, attendees listened to a presentation by a professor from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a representative from a health district that addressed the effects of smoking and vaping. The presentation led to the creation of three advisory committees and a larger discussion about banning smoking and vaping within city parks.

“It took about a year and a half, with…each of these three groups working together on what an ordinance would look like, drafting an ordinance and then presenting the ordinance to the different [governing] bodies and gaining their approval, and then taking that to the city councils and county commission for their approval,” Bass recalls.

Although the process took a long time, he says it was a well-thought-

out one that ultimately became an ordinance. Bass adds: “We really should be leading the health discussions of our community as a park and recreation agency, and this [ordinance] was a way that we could impact the health of the community.”

Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District (GHPRD) in West Virginia was another agency that took a measured approach to finally passing its own tobacco-free park policy. The park district manages, operates and maintains 14 parks. “We built eight new playgrounds in the past six years. And each time we did, we created a tobacco-free zone around each playground; basically, to get people who were smoking and vaping away from the kids,” notes Kevin Brady, GHPRD’s executive director. He adds that his district did it by posting thoughtful, yet direct,

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

49

YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC

signs — such as Young lungs at play.

Please don’t smoke.

“Initially, we did only the playground areas, identified a 25-foot perimeter around them and declared that a smoke-free zone by putting up signs,” he says. “We primarily got a very positive response from parents.”

Brady says the next steps were establishing a special committee of the GHPRD Board of Park Commissioners and then working on a comprehensive study of the park district with Marshall University to gauge how community members perceive GHPRD and what improvements they would recommend. Their findings revealed that 87 percent of survey respondents would prefer going totally smokefree and vape-free in their parks.

“Working with our board of directors, we established our policy,” Brady says. The park district consulted with its attorneys and collaborated with its county health department to develop a policy that would make all of GHPRD’s parks smoke-, vape- and tobacco-free, with the exception of the remote 50 Parks & Recreation

parking areas at the parks. The tobacco-free policy officially went into effect May 1, 2018.

Local municipalities aren’t the only ones taking a proactive approach to combating smoking and vaping. Additional progress has been made in this area at the state level. For example, in Maine, a state law was passed banning smoking of tobacco or any other substance in, on or within 20 feet of a beach, playground or restroom in a state park or state historic site.

On May 15, 2019, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 139 into law, allowing the state’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to issue rules restricting smoking in state parks.

The Role of Park Agencies What can park professionals do to educate the community about youth vaping? According to Ture Nycum: “I honestly believe partnering with your local public health department, police department and local schools is invaluable. It’s been invaluable here in Fruita to be able to

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

talk to all those other agencies and come up with strategies on how to educate the community on what’s happening [with youth vaping] and then letting the community members make their own decisions.”

He adds that forging a partnership between your public health department and your park and recreation agency makes perfect sense, because public health departments have a lot of content and research they can provide, while park and recreation agencies have a lot more contact and outreach with the community. What’s more, it’s important to engage the community to get their input, especially about the pros and cons of instituting smoke- and vapefree policies in your parks.

When it comes to funding for tobacco cessation and education, Thomas Carr believes partnerships are critical. “I’d certainly encourage park and recreation departments to work with their local public health departments to talk about how they could work together to reduce tobacco use in parks. I think that would be a great partnership that could be explored in any state,” he says.

So, what role should park agencies play in confronting this serious epidemic? Perhaps Andy Bass sums it up the best: “Our role is to improve the health of our community members and if there are ways to mitigate the harmful effects of tobacco and e-cigarettes, then we should be willing to stand up and fight for it.”

Note: For a glossary of vaping terms, go online to www.parksrecreation-magazine/2019/June/ the-youth-vaping-epidemic.

Vitisia Paynich is a Southern Californiabased Freelance Writer for Parks & Recreation magazine.

HELP RAISE POLLINATOR AWARENESS. Invite your community to a BioBlitz this June and your agency could win $1,000.*

www.nrpa.org/parks4pollinators-bioblitz

*See official rules for details

Measles The Childhood Scourge Is Back

By Richard J. Dolesh

O

f all the infectious and communicable diseases that park and recreation program leaders must be aware of, it is likely no one expected that in 2019 they would have to be worried about preventing measles exposure. In fact, in 2000, a group of experts, including physicians, epidemiologists and public health experts, declared the disease had been “eliminated” in the United States, a proclamation that marked a milestone in the fight against this highly persistent and recurring disease.

Although there have been sporadic and highly localized cases of measles since 2000, they have mostly been traced to international travelers who were exposed while they were on travel and who then returned to the United States to infect others.

The measles outbreaks that are now occurring widely across the nation have been an unpleasant reminder to the medical community and public health agencies that measles has not been eliminated. The primary causes of today’s new cases

52 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

are from international origin by unvaccinated travelers coming into the U.S. and then from individuals in the U.S., mostly children, who are passing the disease to others. In late May, Pennsylvania reported its first case of measles, raising to 26 the number of states reporting confirmed measles cases.

Measles is a highly infectious viral disease that is most common in children, However, it is not a benign childhood illness lasting for a few days and leaving no more than a memory of a fever and blotchy red spots on the face and body. It continues to infect large numbers of people worldwide, affecting up to 10 million people annually causing serious health effects, including infections, pneumonia, and encephalitis. It is especially dangerous to very young children and those with compromised immune systems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100,000 of the more than 10

s e

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

53

MEASLES

Key to prevention has been maintaining a very high vaccination rate of the public, preferably approaching 95 percent or above, but despite steady progress, vaccination rates in 11 states in 2017 were still below 90 percent. million people worldwide who do get measles, mostly children, die from it. Up to 90 percent of those who are exposed to someone with the virus is likely to become infected. Before widespread measles vaccination began in 1963 in the United States, up to 4 million people a year were estimated to have contracted measles, close to

50,000 people per year were hospitalized and up to 500 people per year died from measles.

After a decades-long nationwide education and public health campaign, measles vaccination rates in the United States now exceed 92 percent for very young children. The measles vaccine is often combined with those for mumps and rubella (MMR) and sometimes with a vaccine for varicella (MMRV) and administered during early childhood, usually between 1 year and 3 years old. National medical associations and advisory committees that recommended universal, early childhood vaccinations expanded their recommendation to add a second dose of MMR vaccine in later childhood years. But measles has reared its ugly head again in the U.S. in mul-

tiple locations and is expanding its range rather than retreating.

CDC Declared Measles Would Be Eradicated by 1982 In 1978, the CDC proclaimed the ambitious goal that measles in the United States would be eliminated by 1982. This goal would not be met until 2000 when measles was declared eliminated based on the finding that there was no continuous transmission of the disease for longer than 12 months throughout the country. With widespread medical adoption of the goal and public acceptance of the need for vaccination, the incidence of measles declined substantially, and continued to decline year after year until a brief outbreak in 1989.

The reduction in measles has been lauded as a health victory and

Vaccination Refusal Rates

Percent of infants in all years in study with at least one parental vaccination refusal Metro Area Nassau-Suffolk

State NY

Poughkeepsie

NY

New York

NY

Austin

TX

Fort Collins

CO

Detroit

MI

9.3%

Newark

NJ

9.3%

Bergen

NJ

Buffalo

NY

7.9%

Seattle

WA

7.9%

Phoenix

AZ

7.5%

Tacoma

WA

7.5%

Jersey City

NJ

6.5%

Portland

OR

6.5%

Bloomington

IL

14.2% 10.3% 10.1% 9.8% 9.7%

8.9%

5.3%

Source: BlueCross BlueShield. Early Childhood Vaccination Trends in America, 2018

54 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

a tangible example of how certain diseases can be eradicated with strong public health policies and determined action. Key to prevention has been maintaining a very high vaccination rate of the public, preferably approaching 95 percent or above, but despite steady progress, vaccination rates in 11 states in 2017 were still below 90 percent.

One of the reasons a high vaccination rate is very desirable is that it is believed to enable a phenomenon known as “herd immunity” or “community immunity” to occur. The theory is that when vaccination rates exceed a certain percentage of the population, usually well above 90 percent, transmission of the disease to the most vulnerable individuals, such as to those very young children and those with low or weakened immune systems, is much less likely because there are far fewer pathways for the disease to pass from person to person. So, while highly infectious agents, like the measles virus or pneumococcus bacteria, might be carried by many people, there is less chance they will be transmitted to highly vulnerable people if there are very high rates of vaccination in the population.

Refusing to Have Children Vaccinated There are many reasons some parents resist having their children vaccinated, including non-medical exemptions that are permitted by law in most states. The reasons may be religious in nature, but more often are classified as philosophical. Much of the opposition, sometimes called “vaccine hesitancy,” is centered on the belief that the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine suite (MMR) may cause

4 1 2 3 4

Things Your Agency Can Do Now to Be Prepared for Measles

Be Prepared, be proactive – Measles may not break out in your community, but don’t take the chance that it will pass by. There are commonsense steps you should take now to be prepared.

The most important tasks are to determine your policy for unvaccinated program participants in accordance with your state/municipal laws, to develop awareness among staff about what to look for and what to do if there is suspected exposure and to plan how you will collect immunization records for staff and program participants if there is a measles outbreak.

Contact your health department and create a path for communication – Do you have a working relationship with your local health department regarding communicable diseases? If not, now is the time to begin one. Consider having a designated point of contact for your department and ask your health department for any information it presently has or is developing regarding measles.

Consider whether you will want to require immunization records from day camp, afterschool or other program participants – Even if your locality or state has not yet had a measles outbreak, ask your health department if it will require you to verify immunization status. Decide where you would keep confidential records and who will be responsible for collecting and keeping this information, including verified requests for non-medical exemptions. Remember, you must document missing or incomplete immunization records as well.

Prepare to obtain staff immunization records – Remember that your staff, as well as program participants, will be required to prove immunization if you have an outbreak. For staff older than 25 years of age, records may be more difficult to come by. Plan to allow sufficient time for staff to verify their immunization record. Pediatricians may no longer be practicing and elementary, high school and college records may be more difficult to obtain.

Resources: CDC Measles webpage - www.cdc.gov/measles/index.html Mayo Clinic Measles webpage - www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ measles/symptoms-causes/syc-20374857

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

55

MEASLES

ness of the MMR vaccine and have demonstrated that administration of the vaccine is not associated with VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES TRACKING FORM Staff Immunity Documentation the development of autism…. We List all staff with no documented immunity (immunization or serology/titer) against each of the diseases listed and check the disease column cannot state strongly enough — the for which immunity is not documented. Use as many pages as necessary. overwhelming scientific evidence MMR vaccine TDaP vaccine VZV vaccine [Measles, Mumps, Rubella] [Diphtheria, HepB vaccine No. Staff Name Title/Position Age [Chicken Pox, shows that vaccines are among the [Hepatitis B] if born in 1957 or later tetanus, acellular Varicella] pertussis] (List all with <2 doses) most effective and safest interven0 Doses 1 Dose 1 tions to both prevent individual ill2 3 ness and protect public health.”

4 5 Faced with the prospect of rap 6 idly expanding measles outbreaks, 7 CAMP NAME: ______________________________________________ DATE:_________________ PERSON COMPLETING FORM: ________________________________ 8 many states are moving to curTITLE: _____________________________________________________ 9 tail or eliminate such non-med10 11 VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES TRACKING FORM ical exemptions, and to tighten 12 Day Camper Immunity Documentation 13 record-keeping about who holds List all campers with no documented immunity (immunization or serology/titer) against each of the diseases listed and check the disease column for 14 which immunity is not documented. Use as many sheets as necessary. such exemptions. After an out15 TDaP vaccine MMR vaccine HepB 16 VZV vaccine [Measles, Mumps, [Diphtheria, vaccine break of measles in 2015, which [Chicken Pox, 17 Rubella] tetanus, acellular [Hepatitis Varicella] (List all with <2 doses) B] pertussis] 18 was traced to Disneyland, the state 0 Doses 1 Dose of California eliminated non-mediPage 1 of 2 1 2 cal exemptions. Bills in several oth3 4 er states, including Washington, 5 Arizona, Maine, Minnesota and 6 7 New York, are making their way CAMP NAME: ______________________________________________ 8 Date: ______________________ PERSON COMPLETING FORM: ________________________________ 9 TITLE: _____________________________________________________ through their respective legislatures 10 11 to end non-medical exemptions for 12 VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES TRACKING FORM the MMR vaccine.

13 Overnight Camper Immunity Documentation 14 List all campers with no documented immunity (immunization or serology/titer) against each of the diseases listed and check the disease column for which immunity is Although bills to eliminate 15 not documented. Use as many sheets as necessary.

16 non-medical exemptions are gain17 TDaP vaccine MMR vaccine HepB VZV vaccine [Measles, Mumps, [Diphtheria, vaccine 18 ing traction, they are facing strong [Chicken Pox, Rubella] tetanus, acellular [Hepatitis Varicella] 19 (List all with <2 doses) B] pertussis] political headwinds, especially 0 Doses 1 Dose Page 1 of 2 1 from those who oppose vaccina2 tions on religious or philosophical

3 4

grounds. According to AP News, 5 6 the Maine CDC reported data 7 that showed that philosophical allow their children to be vaccinatWestchester County, New York, provides 8 9 this immunization tracking form to park reasons were listed by parents of ed. Fueled by internet memes, their 10 and rec agencies and privately operated 11 the overwhelming majority of the resistance has continued, if not 12

camps in the county.

13

2,000 Maine students who had exgrown stronger, even in the face of 14 emptions. Some state legislators autism in children. Yet, despite a growing local measles outbreaks.

15 16 appear to loathe being seen voting 50-year history of a high degree of Public health officials are deep17 18 to deny personal and parental freeproven safety, there is a growing ly concerned.

The Food and Drug 19 doms. However, measles outbreaks movement of so-called “anti-vaxx-Page 1 of 4 Administration (FDA) recently isare continuing to expand, and the ers,” who have persistently refused sued a statement by Peter Marks, number of cases is still rising. to have their children vaccinated.

M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s As of this writing, the CDC now Whether because of fear of auCenter for Biologics Evaluation and confirms 26 states with active meatism that is linked to the vaccine Research, supporting the safety of sles cases, and the greatest number or for personal, philosophical or the MMR vaccine. It says, in part: of cases since measles was declared religious reasons, opponents have “Large well-designed studies have eradicated in 2000. Not surprisingbeen passionate about refusing to confirmed the safety and effectiveCAMP NAME: ___________________________________________ PERSON COMPLETING FORM: _____________________________ TITLE: __________________________________________________

56 Parks & Recreation

DATE:____________________

No.

Camper Name

Age

HepA vaccine [Hepatitis A]

Hib vaccine [Haemophilus influenzae type B]

IPV vaccine [Poliovirus]

PCV13/PPSV23 vaccine [Pneumococcal, conjugate/ Pneumococcal, polysaccharide]

No.

Camper Name

Age

HepA vaccine [Hepatitis A]

Hib vaccine [Haemophilus influenzae type B]

IPV vaccine [Poliovirus]

MenACWY vaccine [Meningococcal serogroups A,C,W,Y]

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

ly, those states and localities with the highest rates of non-medical exemptions, such as New York and the Pacific Northwest, correlate with higher rates of measles infections and outbreaks. For those states that find it very difficult to eliminate non-medical exemptions because of political pushback, parents of children who remain unvaccinated run the risk of being required to quarantine their children for 21 days if an outbreak occurs in their community, even if their children have not been exposed to the measles virus.

The Washington Post recently reported that airlines are considering invoking a rarely used “do not board” provision to ban people from flying who have been confirmed to be infected or believed to have a high risk of not being immune. Public health departments are insistent that all such measures may be required to prevent the potential spread of measles to unvaccinated children and adults.

What Measles Mean for Parks and Recreation Park and recreation agencies are rightfully concerned about the impacts the growing measles outbreaks in the United States may have on their programs, summer day camps, afterschool programs and other park and rec-sponsored activities where the potential for exposure to measles could be high.

And no place is closer to ground zero of the measles outbreak than Westchester County just outside New York City.

Dana Mayclim is the superintendent of parks and recreation for the town of Lewisboro, one of 42 towns and villages in Westchester County. She is one of three liaisons from the Westchester Park and Rec

reation Association (WRAPS), the local county park and recreation association, to the county health department. “The county health department regulates and inspects all day camps in the county,” explains Mayclim. “Our 300 day camps are run by a variety of providers — private, religious and, the largest provider, public municipal agencies.

Every camp provider must attend their [the county health department] workshop to get permits. And when it comes to measles information, they have been incredibly helpful in getting us information. It’s a great partnership. They are the gurus of public health knowledge, which they share with us, and our local park and rec association then shares with all our members.”

Mayclim relays that they are expected to collect, verify and keep immunization records for every camper who registers for their day camps.

She adds: “We used to accept a hand-written assertion from parents on the registration form, but now, we must have official documentation of immunization for every child. We then keep these as confidential records on file at every camp for review by the health department, if needed, if there is an outbreak.”

Unlike private day camps and summer programs that may refuse to admit a child to a camp, public agency-run camps in New York cannot deny any child registration. “We can’t just pick and choose who comes to camp,” says Mayclim. “We are not turning kids away and our township has not refused any kids. However, we are requiring rigorous documentation.

Every child must be accounted for, and we must show diligence in seeking their immunization record.

If they are foreign-born and they have no immunization history, we

must document that, too. So, we don’t turn anyone away. However, if there is suspected or confirmed exposure, the health department will require quarantine of any unvaxxed kid for 21 days!”

“Families are really supportive of what we are doing, and parents are glad to provide immunization histories to us. They want to protect their children.”

It is important to note, Mayclim says, that they must provide the same documentation for staff as they do for campers, something that has not always been easy to do for older staff. Right now, they have been focusing on the campers and have not yet dealt with the issue of volunteers.

Mayclim says that the best part of a good working relationship with their county health department is that they are able to maintain a real-time information check for their questions and implementation of any countywide policies. She says the health department maintains a 24/7 contact line and has been incredibly quick to respond to potential outbreaks.

“Families are really supportive of what we are doing, and parents are glad to provide immunization histories to us. They want to protect their children. Parents are glad we are doing this to keep their children safe,” Mayclim says. Responding to the measles outbreak in their locality has required them to be nimble and flexible and to be able to respond to changing conditions. “Be proactive, be prepared!” Mayclim says, “It just takes one kid….”

Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives (rdolesh@nrpa.org).

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

57

Keep America Beautiful

®

‘Cigarette Litter Prevention Program’

58 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL

T

ake a closer look at the public spaces surrounding your community’s park and recreation areas. If you look carefully, you’ll probably notice hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of cellulose acetate plastic — better known as cigarette butts — littering the sidewalks and parking lots.

Keep America Beautiful®, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, has taken aim at aggressively reducing cigarette litter and beautifying communities through its Cigarette Litter Prevention Program® (CLPP), which launched in 2002.

According to “Litter in America,” the Keep America Beautiful landmark national study of litter costs and littering behavior, 38 percent of cigarette litter is associated with the physical environment, including the number of ash receptacles. The presence of ash receptacles correlates with lower rates of cigarette

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | M AY 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

59

CIGARETTE LITTER

This Keep America Beautiful infographic provides some important stats about the impact of cigarette litter.

butt littering. In fact, the study shows that just one additional ash receptacle can decrease the amount of cigarette litter by 9 percent in its respective area. With that in mind, Keep America Beautiful is working with its more than 600 community-based affiliates and partnering organizations to install 10,000 ash and cigarette butt receptacles, or litter stands, across the nation in high-traffic areas, such as park and recreation settings.

As of May 2019, nearly half of the installation goal has been met. However, park and recre60 Parks & Recreation

ation directors can still request up to 100 free durable-quality litter stands for their community simply by contacting Keep America Beautiful at litterstands@kab. org. We do ask that you do the following: • Install the litter stands in an accessible place (e.g., at transition points, such as entrances to restaurants or office buildings, bus stops, parking lots and other places where adult smokers commonly dispose of cigarette butts).

• Maintain the litter stands.

• Share the GPS coordinates for each litter stand’s location with us so we can track where they’re placed. The hardware is included to mount each receptacle.

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Changing Littering Behaviors Cigarette butts may be small, but they are still the No. 1 form of litter in the United States, according to the “Litter in America” study.

Cigarette litter is more than just a blight on our landscape. Litter of all types costs taxpayers a hefty price to clean up, impacts our quality of life, deters economic development and, eventually, pollutes our waterways and oceans. Moreover, a misplaced lit cigarette butt in a park setting can be the unintended source of a fire, especially with highly flammable infrastructure like rubberized playground surfaces.

“Litter is both the smallest and largest problem at the same time,”

Get a free metal cigarette litter stand! says Keep America Beautiful President & CEO Helen Lowman.

“Keep America Beautiful is dedicated to educating consumers on the hazards of littering in public spaces and park settings and providing the tools to reduce litter.

Access to ash receptacles are crucial to changing littering behaviors.

“Litter reduction has a profound effect on communities, improving quality of life for residents and creating an appealing place for businesses and their families to live,” adds Lowman.

“Park and recreation settings are remarkably well-suited for the placement of our litter stands, making a real difference in the communities where the receptacles are placed.”

In addition to encouraging the placement of ash receptacles at transition points, such as entrances to public buildings, Keep America Beautiful advocates the following proven approaches to change littering behaviors and further address cigarette litter: • Encourage enforcement of litter laws, including cigarette litter.

• Raise awareness about the issue using public service messages.

• Distribute pocket or portable ashtrays to adult smokers.

cut cigarette litter by 50 percent based on local measurements taken in the first four to six months after program implementation.

Communities implementing the CLPP reported an average 62 percent reduction of cigarette litter in 2018, even greater than the previous year’s average reduction of 52 percent. Fifty grants, totaling $300,000, were distributed during the 2019 grant cycle to empower communities to mitigate the economic, environmental and quality-of-life impact of cigarette litter.

Following are a few examples of the wide-ranging local benefits participants are recording since using the free litter stands:

Email litterstands@kab.org with the GPS coordinates for where the stand will be located, and it will be shipped to you free of charge!

Keep Golden Isles Beautiful, Brunswick, Georgia Lea King-Badyna, Executive Director

With the recent national dialogue about single-use plastics, such as straws, the time is right for a

national dialogue about cigarette litter. The CLPP begins this dialogue on local levels, patchworking its way across the country and

Success Stories Since its inception, the CLPP program has been successfully implemented in more than 1,800 urban, suburban and rural communities nationwide through a competitive grant program. Over the past decade, participating communities have consistently

Improperly discarded cigarette butts, like these floating in a river near the shore, end up in waterways and, eventually, oceans.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

61

CIGARETTE LITTER

enabling a national platform for this discussion.

Georgia is home to roughly onethird of all remaining salt marshes on the eastern seaboard and is the nursery of the ocean. Cigarette butts in the ocean and in these important estuarine areas negatively impact both the natural resources and their inhabitants. It is our responsibility to make sure these resources remain healthy. Preventing

cigarette butts from entering these spaces is a great step toward enduring resource health.

Littered cigarette butts subliminally signal that it is acceptable to litter with any item; that nobody is the steward of this space. Cigarette butts are gateway litter, encouraging the tossing of additional items.

Removing cigarette litter from our outdoor spaces makes the “outside” better for all to enjoy.

Keep New Hanover Beautiful, Wilmington, North Carolina Dick Brightman, Executive Director

New Hanover County is a sliver of land sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River. If we don’t control cigarette litter, then its toxic residue ends up in the water.

We started in April 2017 with no cigarette butt canisters. Today, we have more than 100 receptacles

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEEP THE TENNESSEE RIVER BEAUTIFUL

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB), the first Keep America Beautiful affiliate to focus solely on a river, has worked with marinas in five states along the 652-mile river’s watershed to install the durable, metal cigarette litter stands with educational art wraps. The art wraps were funded primarily through a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Special Litter grant, and 90 of the 150 litter

62 Parks & Recreation

|

J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

stands will be installed at marinas located in Tennessee. Now, marina users all along the Tennessee River in the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Kentucky will know such repercussions of a littered cigarette.

Keep America Beautiful (KAB) donated 150 cigarette litter stands to KTNRB, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which manages a Clean Marina Program on the Tennessee River, helped KTNRB connect with the 250+ marinas on the river. “The Tennessee River is a booming driver of the Southeast region’s economy, and much of its value — its beauty and appeal — depends on a delicate natural ecosystem,” says Kathleen Gibi, executive director for KTNRB. “In most cases, fish can move away from a toxic underwater cloud brought on by a littered cigarette, but the ecosystem’s foundational species such as plant life and mussels, aren’t so lucky.”

TVA and KAB were instrumental in the formation of KTNRB. It was crucial to work with a network, such as the river’s marinas, because of high visibility, and it guaranteed emptying of the boxes. The energetic responses from marina owners came pouring in. After only two introductory mass emails to the Tennessee River Valley’s 250+ marinas, the orders for the first batch of 150 cigarette litter stands with art wraps were filled.

Marina owners pay nothing, and all of the installation equipment is included with the delivered box. “This is something we can all get behind — cigarette butts on the ground are unattractive, and in the water they’re detrimental to aquatic life,” says Gibi. “We’re just grateful to Keep America Beautiful for making these litter stands available, to our partners at TVA and TDOT for making the art wraps possible and to the marinas for so eagerly committing to protecting our waterways.”

KAB recently awarded KTNRB a $5,000 grant to produce the second batch of 150 art wraps, which will also be made available to property owners with public boat ramps. “These boxes were intended to add a beautification component and to educate, while also serving the important function of offering safe disposal of cigarettes,” Gibi explains.

To order a free cigarette litter stand, contact Keep America Beautiful at litterstands@kab.org. To learn more about Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, visit www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org.

One ash receptacle can decrease the amount of cigarette litter by 9 percent in its respective area.

installed and being maintained by our volunteers and board members.

Further, we have collected and recycled more than 600 pounds of discarded butts.

What we’ve accomplished in a little more than two years — in an area with a population of about 250,000 and the second-smallest county in North Carolina — is remarkable. I can only imagine what can be accomplished by expanding this to other larger areas.

Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful, Pawtucket, Rhode Island Donna Kaehler, Coordinator

Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful works with nine Rhode Island communities in the Blackstone River Valley. I contacted each community to identify cigarette littered areas and made agreements with either the municipality or businesses to maintain any containers that were installed.

It feels great to educate our communities and see the support our municipalities and businesses are willing to do to help solve this issue. Knowing others are also concerned and will act on these issues, gives me the feeling we can make a lasting difference.

We have 90 litter stands, and we know how each stand is helping.

The thought of multiplying this by 10,000 stands will make a big difference that needs to be shared throughout the United States.

Keep Tennessee Beautiful Edmond McDavis III, Affiliate Services & Training Coordinator

Keep Tennessee Beautiful (KTNB) has been directly involved with the

implementation of the CLPP in Tennessee since 2015. During this time, we have partnered with Bristol Motor Speedways, County Music Awards, Downtown Memphis Commission, TDOT, the Tennessee Department of Tourism Welcome Centers, 15 of Tennessee’s Keep America Beautiful affiliates and Tennessee State Parks to place cigarette receptacles in parking lots, green areas, tourist spots, etc., to combat cigarette litter.

Most importantly, KTNB attempts to educate smokers and non-smokers about the dangers of cigarette litter by engaging them at strategically planned awareness events and passing out on-the-go pocket ashtrays and automobile cupholders. These items offer an alternative to flicking cigarette butts on the ground.

Over the past five years, our participants reduced cigarette litter consistent with or above the average national reduction rate of 50

percent. Our programs have been recognized statewide and nationwide with the 2017 Non-Profit Recycler of the Year Award from the Tennessee Recycling Coalition and nominated by the Tennessee Governor’s Office for our efforts. It’s really encouraging to see momentum grow in reducing cigarette litter. The more we participate in this effort, the more our environment and our local property values will benefit.

Note: Through the Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program® (CLPP) and the nonprofit’s other public space recycling programs, Keep America Beautiful educates and engages consumers about the importance of proper disposal of all on-thego items (see “Design Is Key to Making Recycling Work,” in Parks & Recreation, July 2016, pgs. 32-33).

Jerred Jones is the Program Director for Keep America Beautiful (litterstands@kab.org). @kabtweet

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

63

PHOTO BY SCOTT BOHATY

At 219 miles, Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Cowboy Trail, the third longest rail-trail in the country, crosses the Elkhorn River just west of Norfolk and has 100 more miles awaiting future development.

64 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

From Dream to National Treasure: The Great American Rail-Trail

By Laura Stark and Brandi Horton Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the Spring/Summer 2019 issue of Rails to Trails magazine (www. railstotrails.org/magazine/). It is published here in an edited format.

I

t was an idea that changed the world. The creation of Yellowstone National Park nearly 150 years ago established that a country’s iconic natural wonders could be preserved for all to enjoy.

Today, a new bold vision again presents itself: The Great American RailTrail™ (greatamericanrailtrail.org) aims to create a multiuse path across the country, separated from roads for its entirety — a remarkable feat at more than 3,700 miles and a lasting legacy for generations of Americans.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

65

GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL

PHOTO BY DAVID V. JOHNSON

Sunset over Iowa’s High Trestle Trail, which runs from Ankeny to Woodward in central Iowa.

It’s fitting that in 2019 we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike, which marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Like that famed route, the expansive trail will chart a course to connect the country, spanning 12 states and the District of Columbia. This exceptional, uniquely American experience will directly serve approximately 50 million people within 50 miles of the route, as well as the millions of others from across the country and the world who will meet America’s diverse people and explore its diverse places — from parks and green space to historical sites and renowned landmarks — via the trail.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been working closely with local trail partners, state agencies, elected officials and other interested groups to develop the preferred route of the Great American Rail-Trail, which will connect more than 125 existing 66 Parks & Recreation

trails — many of them built along former railroad corridors — between Washington, D.C., and Washington state. While the route is more than 52 percent complete today, RTC is providing the national vision, leadership and expertise to ensure connectivity across state lines and to bring the resources necessary to close approximately 1,700 miles of gaps in the trail.

Turning a Vision into a Movement Founded in 1986, RTC has recognized the potential in America for a cross-country trail almost from its earliest beginnings.

“Since the late 1980s, RTC has been tracking the possibility of a trail that connects the country. At one point, we had a map of the United States on the wall where we literally tracked every new rail-trail project with a pin and began to see a coast-to-coast rail-trail emerge

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

before our eyes,” says Marianne Fowler, RTC’s senior strategist for policy advocacy, and an employee of RTC for more than 30 years.

As new trails emerged across the country, RTC closely monitored the progress of trail development nationwide, advocating for federal policies that continue to provide the largest funding sources for trails, and for state and local policies that encourage and bolster the trails movement. The completion of the iconic route remained an internal drumbeat for the organization for decades.

Analyses of RTC’s GIS data in 2017 revealed several potential routes for the Great American Rail-Trail that were more than 50 percent complete, the threshold RTC had long set for measuring the trail’s viability. With that information in hand, RTC began formally assessing the route and publicly committed to the project in January 2019.

From the nation’s capital — just a stone’s throw away from the National Mall — the Great American Rail-Trail will head through Maryland, the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, continuing through the midwestern heartland of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois before reaching the Mississippi River. Across the majestic river and through central Iowa, the trail will travel westward as the pioneers once did, and through Nebraska and Wyoming, where the route will pivot northward through the Rocky Mountain states of Montana and Idaho before traversing Washington on its way to Seattle’s Puget Sound.

RTC’s goal is to create a national route using criteria that prioritize open trails and the user experience while bolstering state and local trail priorities. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the Great American Rail-Trail route connects several trail-rich states.

For example, Washington State is known for many iconic trails, including the 200-miles-plus Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail (formerly the John Wayne Pioneer Trail), a popular trail for horse riders. The group that spearheads it today, the Palouse to Cascades Trail Coalition, is working on a project to bring even more people together on the trail: the restoration of the Beverly Bridge.

At its center, the Columbia River cleaves the trail in two with no safe way across, so the group’s top priority is opening up this historical railroad bridge over the river. The bridge’s rehabilitation, which will connect eastern and western Washington, will enhance the trail’s role as a tourism draw for the entire state.

But even states that did not have a large railroad infrastructure to build upon for their trail systems — like Wyoming, which has only 2 percent of the planned route completed in the state — have enthusiastically committed to the idea.

In early 2018, when momentum for the cross-country trail was just starting to build, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead appointed a task force to develop recommendations for active transportation and recreation infrastructure investments.

The group’s report encouraged the state to invest $10 million annually and includes the Great American Rail-Trail as a high-priority project to be supported by state agencies.

Indiana is no stranger to dreaming big either when it comes to walking and bicycling projects.

When the state created its first statewide trail plan in 2006, its goal was to have a trail within 7.5 miles of every Hoosier by 2016.

Ten years later, as the state readied to revise its plan, it found that the goal was 98 percent achieved, so a new benchmark was set: to shorten the distance between trails and residents to just 5 miles. The original plan also established an interconnected web of arterial trails across Indiana.

“The Great American Rail-Trail experience will be one of diversity — in the settings, people and culture of the places it traverses — and unity, in that it is envisioned to be a safe, seamless and scenic pathway for all, for recreation, physical activity and transportation,” says

For a full list of the more than 125 existing trails along the Great American Rail-Trail™, and to read more about plans for the completed route, go to greatamericanrailtrail.org.

Ryan Chao, president of RTC. “The coordinated effort to complete the trail is yet another element of what makes it so inspiring.”

Pathway to Opportunities Nestled within the Great American Rail-Trail in Ohio is a developing 326-mile route crossing the state from the shores of one of the country’s Great Lakes to the Ohio River.

The Ohio to Erie Trail is a must-see destination connecting Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, as well as some of the state’s unique natural and cultural treasures.

“We had new sections of the Camp Chase Trail open up on the west side of Columbus, and they are experiencing pockets of eco-

PHOTO BY MATTHEW NISSEN

A Big Dream with Its Feet on the Trail

The Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge is a 3,000-foot footbridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

67

GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL

Tips for Creating Community Bicycle Camps and Hostels

By Saara Snow Bicycle camps and hostels are becoming more common as communities, particularly in rural areas, see the economic development benefits of accommodating touring cyclists. Bike camps can take many forms but are typically community-oriented accommodations with bicycle amenities that are available exclusively for people traveling by bike. Here are a few tips to get started on developing a bike camp in your community.

Build community support for the project before you start. Make sure you engage key stakeholders and partners and get their buy-in. Communicate the benefits of bike tourism, including the significant economic development opportunities and direct spending generated by bicycle travelers (advcy.link/biketourism101).

Keep it simple if you have limited resources. Touring cyclists don’t need a lot — at minimum a place to sleep or set up camp, bike parking, restroom facilities and potable water. But, definitely go all out if you can! Check out Adventure Cycling’s “How to Be Bicycle Travel Friendly” tips for more ideas (advcy.link/bikefriendlytips).

Consider the location. Your bike camp will be most successful along known touring routes, like the Adventure Cycling Route Network or long-distance trails like the Great American RailTrail (advcy.link/routenetwork). The location should be within a mile or two of town and in a safe area. Bike camps can be implemented anywhere that makes sense for your community, including parks, community centers, churches, ranches, historical buildings, fairgrounds, etc.

Show off what makes your community special. Promote the bike camp on the local tourism website and social media, and provide information at the camp to let visiting cyclists know what businesses and attractions to check out and where to find them. If the bike camp is along an Adventure Cycling route, request to list it on our maps (advcy.link/mapupdates).

For more information, go to Adventure Cycling’s website at www.adventurecycling.org, or contact Saara Snow at ssnow@adventurecycling.org.

— Saara Snow is the Travel Initiatives Coordinator for the Adventure Cycling Association (ssnow@adventurecycling.org).

1

2

3

4

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Fletchers Cove in Washington D.C. along the C&O Canal Towpath Trail connecting D.C. and Maryland.

68 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

nomic activity,” says Lisa Daris, executive coordinator for the Ohio to Erie Trail Fund. “In less than a quarter-mile off the trail, you can ride to a coffee shop, an art gallery and a few other businesses that have opened up in that area, and they are big supporters of the trail.”

Bicycle tourism is indeed a revenue generator for many communities along the Great American route, with trails drawing visitors to spend money at local businesses for meals, lodging and supplies. At the trail’s eastern tip, the National Park Service of the National Capital Region knows well the impact of these valuable recreational assets. Its Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, traversed by the 185-mile C&O Canal Towpath from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, sees some 5 million visitors annually who bring in an estimated $128 million to the economies of the surrounding canal towns.

Beyond the landmarks, landscapes and vistas, the cross-country route will also bring visitors to all types of communities — small and large, rural and urban — and the promise for entrepreneurs and economic development is powerful.

“Especially in rural towns, one thing that you’re seeing more and more of are bike camps that are free and municipally sponsored,” says Jim Sayer, executive director of the Adventure Cycling Association.

“They create a comfortable camping environment, or they’ll use a city park. Typically, it’ll have showers or a municipal pool, a place to camp and cook, and a charging station. Communities can create these really inexpensive camps to entice cyclists to spend the night.”

The best part is that new trail amenities, like improved park fa-

cilities, bike racks and wayfinding signage used to attract visitors, are good for residents, too.

“The importance of our trails is that they are causing people to want to stay in our community for much longer,” says Donna Gaukler, director of parks and recreation for Missoula, Montana. “Equally important, though, is that we know how important these are to our local folks. Being part of the Great American Rail-Trail helps us all better understand the value of those linear greenways and transportation corridors where you move slowly and can really appreciate the people, the culture and the environment all at once.”

Putting the (Bike) Pedal to the Metal So, when will the Great American Rail-Trail be finished? Half the route is already open, with many long stretches able to be enjoyed by the public now (find open trails at traillink.com/great-american-railtrail). For the remainder — which will likely take the next several decades to complete — RTC is working collaboratively with partners to close gaps that are in alignment with the trail priorities of the various localities along the route.

A first step in that process was RTC’s work in partnership with states and trail groups to analyze and develop the trail’s preferred routing. The subsequent report (available at greatamericanrailtrail. org) was published in May and will serve as a guiding document for completing the Great American Rail-Trail. RTC will also continue to focus on securing public funding

PHOTO BY TOM BILCZE

Ohio’s The Great Miami River Trail is the backbone of one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks.

for trails, which has been one of the organization’s priorities since its founding in 1986.

“Public money is central to how you get public amenities like trails built, and there are federal, state and local roles in that,” says Kevin Mills, RTC’s vice president of policy, who points to the Transportation Alternatives Program and the Recreational Trails Program as important core trail-funding programs for trails since the early 1990s.

In addition, RTC will directly support trail projects that can catalyze the completion of the Great American Rail-Trail. RTC has identified a series of projects that will most benefit from the organization’s resources and expertise and are critical to closing gaps and securing trail funding — with the potential to hasten the timeline for completing the cross-country route.

The Great American Rail-Trail has been a dream of RTC for a long time, particularly for its late cofounder David Burwell, who envisioned this cross-country trail as a gift to the nation.

“This has been an internal drumbeat for the organization for all these years, and our eye was always on it,” says Fowler. “We knew that it was almost inevitable this trail would happen, but it was going to take time before we were ready for it and it was ready for us. Now that time has come!”

Special acknowledgements to Liz Thorstensen, Kevin Belanger, Amy Kapp and the Great American Rail-Trail Working Group.

Laura Stark is a Lead Writer and Editor for Rails to Trails magazine at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. (lauras@railstotrails. org). Brandi Horton is the Vice President of Communications for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (brandi@railstotrails.org). @railstotrails

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

69

NRPA UPDATE Meet Me at the Park Brings Healthy Living to Local Communities

By Sandy Slater, Ph.D.

A

s part of its commitment to healthy living, The Walt Disney Company has teamed up with NRPA on Meet Me at the Park â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a program that provides opportunities for new, inclusive play spaces that increase physical activity and play for children and families across the country. The collaboration is an opportunity to give back to the places that shape so much of our lives and inspire kids and families to lead active, healthy lifestyles.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS

The program, which began in 2015, works to provide communities with funds to improve local parks through projects that connect kids to nature, inspire healthy living and improve access to sports.

In 2017, the Meet Me at the Park campaign was expanded to include a healthy-living initiative focused on play. The primary goal of this pro-

70

Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

gram is to fund innovative and scalable projects that transform parks and improve access to play spaces for kids (ages 3â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11) and their families in underserved communities.

Since the play spaces component of the project began in 2017, 50 park renovations have been funded in 36 states. They comprise a mix of urban, rural, racially, ethnical-

ly and socioeconomically diverse communities and fit into the following categories: Mobile play vehicle or pop-up play equipment, for example, that can travel to multiple parks and recreation centers and be placed in a location temporarily.

Trail and walking-path enhancements that increase visibility and accessibility, add elements of play and/or improve wayfinding that guides and encourages kids to walk the trail.

A young cyclist goes for a spin on the new Youth Bike Park, the first of its kind for Colorado Springs, next to the Hillside Community Center in Colorado.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREATER HUNTINGTON PARK & RECREATION DISTRICT

Playground fun at the St. Cloud Commons Lodge, Greater Huntington Park & Recreation District in West Virginia.

Play spaces, nature play spaces, pocket-play spaces and/or inclusive play spaces that bring unique play features to new or revitalized parks.

Sport field/court enhancements that improve or create unique sports fields or courts that encourage community use, small-sided play and/or creative games in places that lack opportunities for formal sports participation.

Evaluation As part of the program, NRPA evaluated the impact of these funded renovations to determine if improving access to play spaces in these underserved communities resulted in increased activity at the space and if it led to other benefits, such as increased connection to others and the outdoors. Two primary data activities were conducted. The first data-collection activity involved conducting systematic observations of play and recreation in communities (SOPARC).

SOPARC is an observational tool that measures number and demographics of park users and their type and level of physical activity. The second data-collection activity involved conducting intercept surveys from adults regarding their use of the parks.

Through the SOPARC evaluation, we found that parks with renovated play areas saw an increase in visitors engaging in moderate-to-vigorous activity. In addition, park staff believed that the observation tool helped them learn more about peak use times, which, in turn, was used for scheduling programming and events.

The intercept surveys showed

that the park renovations had a positive impact on nearby communities and an increase in the number of respondents who indicated they and their children were exercising and playing more. Park department personnel indicated that their involvement in conducting the intercept surveys helped them connect with community members, learn firsthand how the renovations have impacted park use, identify additional park improvements that are wanted by community members and understand how to better communicate with the community.

Results of the evaluation show that the play space renovations have had a positive effect on park use and park-based physical activity. The increased exposure to natural settings and improved physical activity can have long-term positive impacts on health outcomes. These large-scale infrastructure improvements are a significant capital investment, but our evaluation suggests that this investment is paying off through increased use of these neighborhood play areas and subsequent community engagement.

2019 Program The 2019 Meet Me at the Park program will empower communities to provide accessible, inclusive play spaces in 25 markets across the United States through creative, innovative and scalable solutions. Adding to the success of the past two years, the 2019 program is expected to exceed NRPA and Disney’s goal of providing 1 million kids and families with greater access to play.

NRPA is also launching the “Meet Me at the Park this Summer” campaign, which highlights the role parks play in summertime fun and important out-of-school activities. This campaign includes “Ten Ways to Get Out and Play This Summer,” full of ideas and activities that families can participate in at their local parks.

By coming together with the Meet Me at the Park program, Disney and NRPA are providing kids and families with access to healthier lifestyles and safe, inclusive and innovative play spaces to enjoy for years to come.

Sandy Slater, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Concordia University Wisconsin (sandra.slater@cuw.edu).

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

71

N R PA U P DAT E

Parks and Recreation’s Secret Superpower

A

s we continue to position our agencies as an essential service in our communities, a newer concept is gaining in popularity and intrigue the idea of parks and recreation as a tonic for mental health challenges. Exercise has long been credited with helping physical and mental health, and its benefits are well-documented. But, what about “forest bathing,” the idea of spending time in nature to improve our mental health? This concept may not be as widely known but is an important addition to the list of benefits our profession provides — a “secret superpower,” if you will.

Attend the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference to learn more about this benefit to our communities’ health and wellness, which will feature the following related sessions, among others: Building Resilient Youth: Responding to Trauma, Substance Use and Mental Health Challenges in Outof-School Time Programs – Local park and recreation agencies are one of the largest providers of outof-school time (OST) programming across the country. With new public health threats and concerns emerging each day, including youth exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma, as well as rising rates of depression and substance misuse, what is the role of the OST field in responding to these challenges? How can park and recreation agencies build additional 72

Parks & Recreation

protective factors into their programs that foster positive physical, social and mental health outcomes? Join NRPA, the Afterschool Alliance and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in a workshop to explore how OST providers can better identify risk factors, apply a trauma-informed care lens to their work and build social and emotional supports into their existing programs that improve health outcomes.

Parks and Recreation Supporting Mental Health Challenges – Mental illness in the United States has become pervasive, with individuals suffering from many disorders. There are opportunities for practitioners in our field to support mental health challenges that many individuals face every day. The session will provide an overview of mental health issues fac-

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

ing us as a society, increase awareness of the myriad disorders that exist, and show how the park and recreation industry can play a role in providing support to mental health agencies, mental health professionals and individuals who suffer from mental illness, as well as those who want to maintain good mental health. New research reveals a clear link between well-being and immersion in nature.

The session will explore examples of agencies from around the country that are doing their part to create better mental health in their communities. Speakers: Barbara Heller and April Chambers.

A Breath of Fresh Air: A Dose of Being Outside to Improve Mental Health – In this interactive, outdoor session, participants will experience, firsthand, the positive impact being outside has on mental health. Participants will learn about current research regarding nature’s effect on mental health while taking part in various outdoor activities that support mental health, including walking meditation, sit spot meditation, mindfulness and more. They will discuss and identify ways to enhance their programs to better address the mental health needs of their patrons and will leave the session with tools and experience to facilitate nature-based mental health programs at their own organizations. Speaker: Stacey Hammond To learn more about the in-depth health and wellness content being featured and to register for the NRPA Annual Conference, visit www.nrpa.org/conference.

The Baltimore Pre-Conference Workshops A great way to kick-start your conference information download

D

ive into this year’s educational opportunities in Baltimore, Maryland, by attending a Pre-Conference Workshop on Monday, September 23. There are several to choose from covering topics, such as leadership, accreditation, certification and marketing, and you can earn valuable CEUs. These hands-on, in-depth workshops are as follows: Agency Accreditation and CAPRA Visitor Training: A Mark of Excellence! (0.4 CEUs) 8 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Prepare your agency to achieve CAPRA accreditation or get qualified to become a CAPRA visitor.

Health Planning for Park and Recreation Agencies (0.3 CEUs) 8:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

This workshop will use local health data from the attendee’s community, allowing them to identify how a park and recreation agency can adapt and integrate its plans, programs and services to create collaborative public health enhancing programs.

Your Data and You: What You DON’T Know About Local Parks and Playgrounds (0.3 CEUs) 8:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Using information gathered from more than 5,000 smart playgrounds, this workshop will examine how to accommodate for future demographic trends, what factors influence a park’s popularity, which equipment is most appropriate for a location and inclusive playground designs.

Marketing Certificate Program: Engage Your Community, Get More People in Your Parks (0.6 CEUs) 8:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Gain the knowledge, skills and strategies needed to build and ex

ecute effective park and recreation marketing and communication campaigns that will help you better connect with your community.

Leadership Certificate Program: Leading to Create Organizational Excellence (0.6 CEUs) 8:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Gain an overview of four key areas of leadership: strategic thinking, human capital management, operational leadership, and diversity and cultural awareness.

NRPA’s Playground Maintenance Course (0.6 CEUs) 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Get an overview of playground safety standards and guidelines, playground owner responsibilities and maintenance discussions on playground equipment, surfacing and site items.

Learn how to achieve the COAPRT Academic Accreditation or how to become a COAPRT visitor.

Unraveling the Grant Writing Puzzle: Connecting Dreams with Resources (0.3 CEUs) 1 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Learn the keys to effective grant writing and the importance of collaboration; unravel the mystery of where and how to locate future funding.

Note: All Pre-Conference Workshops occur on Monday, September 23, in the Convention Center and separate registration is required.

To sign up for the pre-conference workshops or for more information about the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, scheduled for September 24–26, visit www.nrpa.org/conference/.

Choose the Path to Certification – CPRP (0.8 CEUs total, 0.3 on-site) 12:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Prepare to become a Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) — the national standard for all park and recreation professionals who want to be at the forefront of their profession.

Academic Accreditation and COAPRT Program Visitor Training: A Symbol of Academic Excellence (0.4 CEUs) 12:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

73

N R PA U P DAT E

Get Out and Explore Baltimore and D.C.!

B

altimore, also known as Charm City, is a city of firsts. It was the terminus of America’s first federal highway, the National Road, and the place where philanthropist Johns Hopkins endowed the nation’s first research university. It is where operations for the country’s first railroad — the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad — began, and home to the first telegraph message, sent by Samuel Morse. With each of these firsts comes an expansive history, ready to be explored.

The Baltimore Local Host Committee invites you to discover the city’s rich history and culture through several Off-Site Institutes, for which CEU credits will be offered, and Leisure Tours and Activities. Following are a few examples of the off-site opportunities:

The Road to ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ Return to September 1814 to retrace the steps of the Maryland

74

Parks & Recreation

troops and militia as they fended off a British invasion — a battle commemorated in our national anthem.

Our informative tour will start on the Chesapeake Bay at North Point State Park, just a stone’s throw from the site where the British ground troops first landed. Then, we’ll continue to the North Point State Battlefield before finally arriving at the Fort McHenry National Monument. As we retrace this historic event, we will discuss the value of

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

public-private partnerships in meeting the many challenges of preserving and maintaining historical structures, sites and landscapes.

Speakers: Robert Bailey, historic planner, Maryland Park Service; Steven McCoy, central regional manager, Maryland Park Service, Department of Natural Resources

Hidden Gems: Baltimore’s Public Gardens Begin by visiting two community gardens that are part of the City Farms Program, which provides residents with the opportunity to grow and preserve their own food.

Then, visit the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory in historic Druid Hill Park to see the second-­ oldest glass conservatory in Amer-

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

• Gwynns Falls Trail Bike Tours • A Day in Annapolis • Golf Tournament • D.C. Monuments by Moonlight Tour • Sunrise Yoga & 5k Fun Run/ Walk • Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay • Discover D.C. in a Day • Jones Falls Trail/Maryland Cycle Track Bike ica, the Palm House, opened in 1888. Several tour options will be available, including a behind-thescenes operation tour. Finally, visit Cylburn Arboretum for lunch, followed by tours of the tree collections, stormwater management infrastructure, themed gardens, a historic mansion and greenhouses.

Learn about conservation, historic structures and water management on this public garden tour.

Speakers: Harold McCray, city farms coordinator; Melissa Grim, chief horticulturist, Baltimore City Recreation & Parks

Waste to Wealth: Recycling and Marketing Wood from Our Parks and Neighborhoods This tour will afford attendees the opportunity to learn how Baltimore City is at the forefront of a national effort to recycle all usable wood in a municipality, including wood previously discarded, sent to landfills, incinerated or otherwise considered “waste” and placed into a dump site. Baltimore not only markets or recycles all wood generated from public tree and brush pruning and removal projects, but also is now marketing wood nationwide from the deconstruction of its abandoned row houses. At

tendees will see this urban wood reutilization in action at our Camp Small wood-sorting yard, in the field at a tree removal worksite, at a housing deconstruction site and, finally, at a workshop/warehouse where lumber is processed and shipped around the country.

Speakers: Erik Dihle, city arborist, and Shaun Preston, recycling coordinator, Urban Forestry Division, Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks; and J. Morgan Grove, social scientist and team leader, USDA Forest Service

Leisure Tours and Activities include the following – some of which are offered on multiple days: • Inner Harbor Kayak Tours

For more information about, and to sign up for, Offsite Institutes and Leisure Activities and Tours, visit www.nrpa.org/ conference/. Please select the sessions during the conference registration process. Once you have registered, you can also go back and add on one of these special sessions by logging in to the registration site and modifying your record.

Note: NRPA Annual Conference Registration is not required to attend a Pre-Conference Workshop, Offsite Institutes or Local Host Leisure Tours and Activities. Course registration is separate from NRPA Annual Conference Registration.

Baltimore Gardens

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

75

N R PA U P DAT E

The 2019 Gold Medal Awards Finalists

T

he American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA), in partnership with NRPA, is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2019 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management. Musco Lighting LLC has been a proud sponsor of the Gold Medal Awards program for more than 10 years.

Since 1965, the Gold Medal Awards program has served as a testament to the hard work and dedication of agencies that strive to meet the needs of diverse communities. The Gold Medal is a comprehensive award that looks at the many challenges agencies face and at how they are leveraging resources to meet those challenges. The Gold Medal Award Program in-

local and national levels.

Excitement is building as the Gold Medal Finalists prepare for the Grand Award announcement during the September 24 Opening General Session at the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Please join us in congratulating the 2019 Gold Medal Finalists:

CLASS I

CLASS II

CLASS III

• Chicago Park District – Chicago, Illinois

• City of Norfolk Recreation, Parks & Open Space – Norfolk, Virginia

• City of Greeley (CO) Culture, Parks and Recreation – Greeley, Colorado

• City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department – Tampa, Florida

• City of Thornton (CO) Community Services – Thornton, Colorado

• Fairfax County Park Authority - Fairfax, Virginia

• Greensboro Parks and Recreation – Greensboro, North Carolina

• The Woodlands Township (Woodlands, Texas)

• Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities – Mesa, Arizona

• Metroparks Tacoma – Tacoma, Washington

• Waukegan (IL) Park District – Waukegan, Illinois

(population 400,001 and over)

(population 150,001 – 400,000)

• East Baton Rouge Recreation & Park Commission (BREC) - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

(population 75,001 – 150,000)

CLASS IV

CLASS V

State Parks

Armed Forces Recreation

• City of Westerville – Westerville, Ohio

• East Goshen Township Parks and Recreation – West Chester, Pennsylvania

• DEP/Florida State Parks

• Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler – Okinawa, Japan

(population 30,001 – 75,000)

• Coppell Parks and Recreation – Coppell, Texas • Glenview Park District, Glenview, Illinois • Lombard Park District – Lombard, Illinois

76

cludes seven classes: five classes based on population, one class for armed forces recreation and one class for state park systems in odd-numbered years.

A panel of five park and recreation professionals reviews and judges all application materials.

Judges are chosen for their considerable experience and knowledge in parks and recreation on both the

Parks & Recreation

(population less than 30,000)

• Glencoe Park District – Glencoe, Illinois • Rolling Meadows Park District – Rolling Meadows, Illinois • Vernon Hills Park District – Vernon Hills, Illinois

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

• Maryland Park Service • TDEC – Tennessee State Parks • Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission

• Naval Air Station Whiting Field – Milton, Florida • United States Army Garrison Bavaria – Grafenwoehr, Germany • USAG Rheinland-Pfalz – Kaiserslautern, Germany

TM

SAVE THE DATE Save the Date

GRANT FUNDING Applications Open June 24, 2019

The 10-Minute Walk campaign supports the simple idea that everyone should live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Starting June 24, NRPA will open applications for grant funding that supports technical assistance to cities seeking to implement planning, policy and funding strategies that increase access to high-quality, close to home parks and public green space.

Learn more and apply

nrpa.org/10minutewalk

N R PA U P DAT E

Kenneth J. Smithee: A Life Dedicated to Parks and Recreation

By Lindsay G. Collins

K

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARICOPA COUNTY PARKS & REC

PHOTO COURTESY OF GENESEE COUNTY PARKS & REC COMMISSION

enneth J. Smithee, dedicated park professional and ardent conservationist, died April 12, 2019, at the age of 91 in Glendale, Arizona. Throughout his career, Smithee was crucial to the growth and development of many park systems. As director of Arizona’s Maricopa County Parks Department (1957–1965), he grew the agency’s park footprint to 93,000 acres. “Residents of [Maricopa] County owe Ken a huge debt of gratitude for the legacy he left,” says R.J. Cardin, director of Maricopa County Parks and Recreation. “His great efforts of defining and expanding our regional park system is truly exceptional. Our residents enjoy one of the largest regional park systems in the country thanks to Ken’s vision and dedication.”

Ken Smithee (top, left) while serving as the first director of the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission; (above, right) with then-Secretary of Interior Stuart Udall.

78

Parks & Recreation

Before public-private partnerships became the buzzword that it is today, Smithee was using his ability to establish these kinds of close working relationships to develop park and recreation facilities.

From 1967 to 1988, while serving as the first director of the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission in Flint, Michigan, he spearheaded the acquisition of the county’s 11,000 acres of parkland and the development of several park and recreation amenities, such as beaches, trails, campgrounds, an equestrian complex and more.

Smithee’s passion for developing parks also extended to the development of young professionals in the field. “Ken Smithee was a giant in the park and recreation profession when I was just getting started,” says Ron Pies, a retired community service director from Tempe, Arizona. “His wisdom and tremendous experience was extremely helpful to me and probably hundreds or even thousands of young professionals.”

For two years prior to leading the Genesee County Parks Depart-

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

ments, Smithee was NRPA’s public affairs director and county parks and recreation consultant. He was also a member of the organization’s board of trustees in the 1970s and 1980s and served as president of the board in 1981.

Smithee, who received his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Arizona and his master’s degree in recreation from Central Michigan University, played an active part in many professional organizations, including the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association, Arizona Conservation Council, National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials, American Park and Recreation Society and the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. He also garnered numerous awards and recognitions for his exceptional dedication to parks and recreation, including Arizona Parks and Recreation Association’s Fellow Award, the Presidential Certificate from the National Association of Counties, the Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Park and Recreation Society, Michigan Recreation and Park Association’s Fellowship Award and NRPA’s National Distinguished Professional Award, among others.

Ken Smithee was not only a pioneer in the field, but he also touched the lives of many along the way.

Lindsay G. Collins, Parks and Recreation magazine’s Associate Editor

Parks & Recreation Against the World!

I

n early May, Parks & Recreation magazine was literally front and center at the 67th Annual Maggie Awards® ceremony in Los Angeles.

For the first time in its history, the Maggie Awards®, formerly only open to content creators west of the Mississippi, went global and was open to all content creators, no matter the location. From more than 500 distinct brands, representing consumer, trade, student, association print publications and digital media, 257 finalists were chosen (http://maggieawards. com/2018-maggie-awards-finalists/) for their excellence in publishing and digital media.

Parks & Recreation magazine was a finalist in more than a dozen cate-

gories and the competition was stiff.

Other publications in the running were Variety, Sierra, Boys’ Life magazine and Zoo View, among many others. Although we didn’t bring home a Maggie — there’s always next year — we’re proud of those who contributed to our magazine and were named as finalists, such as “Gender-Spectrum Inclusion for Recreation Professionals” by Becky Hertz, senior recreation manager for Sunrise Recreation and Park District in Citrus Heights, California, and “Parks at Our Nation’s Borders”

by Paula Jacoby-Garrett, a Las Vegas-based freelance writer for the magazine, were finalists for Best Feature Article (circ. under 50,000)/

Trade Editorial and Best News Story/Consumer & Trade Editorial, respectively. From our ongoing series about parks transforming cities, towns, etc., “A New Vision for Atlanta, Detroit’s Rebirth, Investing in Parks” by Vitisia Paynich, our Southern California-based freelance writer, along with “Coyotes Have Moved into Parks Across the U.S.” by NRPA Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Richard J. Dolesh were also in the mix. And, the cover of our October 2018 Social Equity Pillar issue was a finalist for Best Cover (circ. under 50,000)/Trade. While we didn’t bring home any bling, for our first time out, this accomplishment was indeed exciting.

The Latest Park and Recreation News and Trends

On the Go

Available on iTunes and Google Play

www.openspaceradio.org

The Official Podcast of NRPA

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

79

N R PA U P DAT E

Hot Topics

NRPA Connect (www.nrpaconnect.org) is the only online professional networking platform for park and recreation professionals. With more than 62,000 members in Connect, someone is sure to have an answer or a suggestion for whatever situation you’re facing. Check out one of the topics being discussed this month: Memorial Park Bench Program – If your agency runs a memorial park bench program, how do you decide certain factors, such as price, location, longevity and installation of the bench?

Several NRPA members offered the following suggestions: We charge $2,000 for a DuMor memorial bench, install, with the understanding that we choose its location, and guarantee maintenance for 20 years.

Our pricing ranges from $1,100 for a standard bench to $2,500 for a wooden bench. We take recommendations from the donor and determine if the area they want is viable. If it is not, we recommend potential sites within a park.

Donors can meet with our park staff to discuss a location, but we have final say. We purchase, install and provide plastic engraved plaques; if requested, we purchase brass plaques and charge the extra fee. We estimate a 10-year life span, and when the bench needs to be replaced, if we can contact the donors, they can opt to purchase a new one.

We charge $2,100 for a new bench or $350 to dedicate an existing bench, and donors can pick a location from a pre-determined list we set. We do the install, provide a 10year guarantee and have a local company do the engraving.

If something needs to be removed, we retain the engraved plaque at a nearby location.

Log in to NRPA Connect (www.nrpaconnect.org) today to see resources mentioned in the discussion, which include examples of the program policies.

80 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Check Out the NRPA-Sponsored Insurance Plans

N

RPA offers its members risk management solutions through NRPA-sponsored insurance programs, provided by K&K Insurance, covering most team sports, as well as coaches, volunteers, instructors and interns!

So, what type of coverage does NRPA offer?

Team Sports: This combined liability and excess accident medical coverage provides valuable protection to youth and adult sports teams for multiple risks, on and off the playing field.

Football: This combined liability and excess accident medical coverage provides protection to youth tackle, flag and touch football teams.

Instructors and Interns: Important general liability protection for instructors and interns while acting within the scope of their duties, granted to them by the sponsoring organization, typically a park and recreation department.

Blanket Accident: Blanket Accident insurance is typically purchased by park and recreation departments or municipalities to provide protection for participants engaged in both

sponsored athletic and non-athletic recreational activities.

Equipment Property: Provides property coverage for team inventory of sports equipment. It covers all equipment owned by the insured organization while in the building specified for storage.

Directors’ and Officers’: Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance protects directors, officers, volunteers and the nonprofit sports organization against claims alleging mismanagement of the organization and other exposures.

Send teams and leagues utilizing your fields and facilities to www.nrpainsurance. com and require that they supply you with a certificate of insurance. In addition to general liability coverage, the teams/leagues can purchase excess accident medical coverage for injury to participants. Also, for those activities your agency officially sponsors, we can offer stand-alone excess accident medical coverage for the participants — a way for you to provide enhanced value and an incentive for increased participation. It’s a win-win for everyone! It is not only a valuable protection for you, but also for your community!

For more information, email info@nrpainsurance.com or call 800.722.5676.

Member Spotlight: Molly Lanphier

By Vitisia Paynich

G

rowing up in Colorado, Molly Lanphier spent many winters outdoors skiing. But, it wasn’t until a sixth-grade field trip to Moab, Utah, that she first experienced the enjoyment of camping and hiking. It was in high school, however, that she gained a better understanding of parks and trails by volunteering for Volunteers Through Outdoor Colorado.

“That was kind of my first exposure to that world by learning what it takes to actually build trails and maintain parks,” notes Lanphier.

She adds that those two informative experiences in elementary school and high school made her fall in love with the outdoors and appreciate what parks and recreation does for people.

However, Lanphier didn’t follow a straight career path toward parks and rec. Instead, she pursued the public health profession, working for several member organizations in Washington, D.C. In April 2017, Lanphier joined the Anchorage Park Foundation in Alaska, as its community outreach director. Parks & Recreation magazine recently talked to her to learn how her background has influenced her parks and rec career and the biggest challenges to getting people to think about their own health.

Parks & Recreation: As someone formally trained in public health, how has it informed your approach to working in parks and recreation?

Molly Lanphier: When I lived in Washington, D.C., I worked for the American Academy of Family Physicians and then the American Nurses Association for most of the time I lived there. What I liked about coming to Alaska and getting this job as community outreach director for the Anchorage Park Foundation is that our

executive director is really forward thinking in terms of the programs that we do. These are public health programs — even though we may not typically think that they are.

Public health is all about getting people healthy by whatever means necessary, so, it wasn’t that big of a leap going from the public health sector to the park and recreation field.

Parks and trails are really good tools for getting people more active and helping them to take control of their health in a very accessible way. Here in Alaska, we have great trails in our backyard. And, it’s so easy and affordable to just put on some walking shoes and go on a walk in your local park and trail. We have a vast system of trails that’s really cool and unique to Anchorage.

P&R: What are some challenges to getting people thinking about their own health?

Lanphier: While many park professionals may not think in terms of public health, what they’re doing is health-related. Our biggest challenge in public health and parks and rec is trying to get people active, whether it’s outside or inside. It’s about overcoming the perceived barriers people think they have.

I believe it’s a misconception a lot of times, to think a certain trail or park is unsafe due to homeless people or that ‘stranger-danger’ type of

thing. While there are some incidents that happen, of course, I think the perception that parks are unsafe is misconstrued and often exaggerated.

Through the work we’ve done with NRPA, we are targeting people who may not feel as comfortable on the trails, aren’t as healthy and who tend to be middle to lower income. They may have two jobs and a family, and time is a real barrier for them. We’re still wrestling with that to see how we can make events and programs family friendly and exciting so people really make the time to participate. So, I’d say, safety and time are two big challenges for us.

P&R: What do you see as the biggest opportunity for park professionals to improve health outcomes?

Lanphier: What excites me and what’s an easy sale, so to speak, is that anyone can go outside and into their parks and trails for free. Parks and trails are literally the most accessible thing for anyone. You don’t have to pay for a gym membership. In Anchorage, we’re really lucky to have the outdoors, literally, in our backyard.

Not too many places can claim that 74 percent of their city is within a 10-minute walk to a park. So, I’d say that our greatest strength is that we have the assets. The most accessible means to good health is through your local parks and trails.

— Vitisia Paynich, Freelance Writer for Parks & Recreation magazine

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

81

©MYLES MELLOR

Parks & Recreation Crossword

Across 1. Protects from the sun 4. Colored part of a flower 8. Shaft of sunlight 9. College website ending 10. Recently retired NRPA president and CEO, first name 12. Places for rare or endangered wildlife, in environmental science 14. Felled tree segment 16. East River Park locale, abbr.

18. Inclusion of different races and genders 21. Show to the public 22. Indoor game that can be played outdoors in parks 25. Colors 27. Historically significant building 30. “___ sky at night, shepherd’s delight” 31. Golf shot 32. Belt of parks or rural land surrounding a city

Down 1. Covering a wide area 2. Sky color 3. Go out as a tide 4. Equipment for kids 5. Hiking or biking path, now being used to link diverse communities 6. Airline, abbr.

7. Stretched out 11. Bringing back to life and activity 13. Whirlpools 15. Available to the public 17. Musical event sometimes performed in parks 19. Frozen pool surface 20. Sure!

23. Source of solar power 24. Check around for the best provider prices 26. Arranged 28. Rowboat need 29. “Don’t give up!”

Complete the crossword and visit www.nrpa.org/crossword to verify your answers and to enter into a drawing for some Park and Rec Month swag. A winner will be randomly selected June 28, 2019.

82 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

GIVE YOUR COMMUNITY

THE VERY BEST Prove that your agency meets the highest standards by getting accredited today.

nrpa.org/CAPRA

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.

NRPA DIRECTORS SCHOOL: REGISTER NOW! NRPA Directors School, an exclusive, two-year professional development opportunity that prepares new and potential park and recreation directors to be effective leaders, will take place August 18–22. The curriculum has been updated and reorganized to provide a clear narrative across all topics covered and all courses and associated events have been redesigned to maximize impact and engagement. Topics covered include budget and finance, leadership and development, politics and the director’s functions and strategy and communications identified by park and recreation thought leaders. Students will leave the Directors School with an understanding of how they can maximize their impact on their communities and leave a lasting legacy within the profession. Applications are open for year-one candidates; registration is open for year-two students. Visit www.nrpa.org/Directors for more information.

13-15 Fayetteville, New York 14-16 Littleton, Colorado 21-23 Hobbs, New Mexico

JUNE

9-11 Raleigh, North Carolina

Durango, Colorado King of Prussia, Pennsylvania Orlando, Florida Doral, Florida King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

27-28 Doral, Florida 12-13 Gainesville, Florida 20-21 Sacramento, California

www.nrpa.org/CPSI

84 Parks & Recreation

13-14 19-20 20-21 22-23 25-26

JULY

5-7 Hillsboro, Oregon 18-20 San Francisco, California

AFO PROGRAM

AUG

AUG

JULY

JUNE

CPSI PROGRAM

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

www.nrpa.org/AFO

SCHOOLS AND CONFERENCES

August 18–22, 2019

Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook, Illinois www.nrpa.org/Directors

September 24–26, 2019 Baltimore, Maryland www.nrpa.org/Conference

November 3–7, 2019 Wheeling, West Virginia www.nrpa.org/SMS

www.nrpa.org/education

Preparing Park and Recreation Leaders For the Challenges of Tomorrow Hyatt Lodge | Oak Brook, Illinois | August 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;22, 2019

Apply Today at nrpa.org/Directors

OPERATIONS Protect Your Parks and Your People Preparing for the threat of an active-shooter event in your community

By Jennifer Elliott

2017

was a shocking and terrifying year that brought some of the most severe and devastating natural disasters in modern American history. It also saw the deadliest mass shooting that has ever occurred in the United States when a gunman opened fire on concert goers in Las Vegas from his position inside a nearby hotel. Sadly, the Las Vegas shooting was only one of 317 active-shooter events that took place that year. According to Gun Violence (www.gunviolencearchive.org/pasttolls), in 2018 there were a total of 340 mass shootings and, so far this year, there have been more than 135.

The increasing frequency of active-shooter events and the variety of open, public locations where shooting events have occurred is raising awareness of the threat that communities face from violent individuals aiming to endan-

ger the lives of large groups that have gathered in outdoor locations. While many of the latest, devastating mass-shooter events have occurred at schools and places of worship or business, local park and rec departments are

now asking themselves how they would react if a mass-shooting event were to occur in a public park or during a local event where hundreds or thousands of citizens have gathered.

No matter the location of your community, every single city, county, village and township across the nation needs to have a plan in place in the event of a local emergency or act of terrorism.

While no municipality can fully protect its citizens from dangerous situations, all are empowered to work with local law enforcement agencies and communicate with citizens in the event of local terrorism. Such planning reduces the risk of citizen exposure to life-threatening situations and enables an expedited and efficient response.

The Importance of a Proactive Plan An emergency response plan may not seem like the responsibility of a park and recreation department, but in an era where an active shooter could threaten citizen lives in any open public setting, park and recreation departments should work on a proactive response plan with their public safety officers. Safety experts consider all public spaces, including churches, shopping malls and chain restaurants where mass casualties have occurred, to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;soft targets,â&#x20AC;? which means they pose a high risk of mass casualties 86 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

should an active shooter event occur. Collaborate with safety experts to not only build an emergency response plan, but also to provide adequate safety and response training to all members of your department. The plan and any correlated training should outline the steps needed to: • Contact emergency response teams and provide actionable details to expedite assistance • Evacuate the scene and quarantine the shooter to minimize citizen-risk exposure • Issue mass communications to all citizens in the vicinity or traveling toward it

• Incorporate the following steps into your emergency response planning initiatives:

Outline Active Shooter Scenarios Work with your public safety office and police or sheriff ’s department to assess all the public spaces under your department’s purview that may be considered a soft target. This process should include your public parks and large community facility venues. Build safety evacuation plans for each venue and ensure that there is not only a way for victims to quickly escape from a

Include emergency evacuation maps on your website, along with your facility and parks descriptions, so citizens can familiarize themselves with all major and alternate evacuation routes that lead out of public areas.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

87

OPERATIONS

Once your team has effectively established emergency response protocols, you will need an effective masscommunication system to notify citizens when a disaster has occurred or is imminent. shooter, but also multiple ways for emergency personnel to reach the scene. For example, if a public park only has one main pedestrian and vehicle entrance road, scope out other possible private access routes emergency personnel can use to bring po-

88 Parks & Recreation

lice, fire and medical vehicles to the scene.

Establish and Communicate Evacuation Procedures In the event of a disaster that requires the evacuation of event attendees or facility users, your park and recreation department will need established mass-evacuation procedures that are intuitive or easily facilitated during a crisis. Include emergency evacuation maps on your website, along with your facility and parks descriptions, so citizens can familiarize themselves with all major and alternate evacuation routes that lead out of public areas.

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Practice Emergency Notifications with Your Public Safety Office Once your team has effectively established emergency response protocols, you will need an effective mass-communication system to notify citizens when a disaster has occurred or is imminent. If your public safety office is already utilizing a mass-notification system, work with it to create templated emergency evacuation messages, and test those messages at least twice per year. Remember, if an active-shooter event does occur in one of your facilities or parks, you will need to notify the individuals physically located in or near the

area, as well as those who live or work nearby and may be heading toward the scene.

Encourage Emergency Notification Sign-ups Work with your public safety office to encourage citizens to sign up for your emergency notification system. Together, you can expand the reach of sign-up reminder education and increase the number of citizen subscribers.

Include a sign-up link in all facility registration materials and educate citizens, especially parents, about the importance of receiving emergency notifications if an emergency unfolds in your public areas or during a community event.

Prepare to Provide Details to Emergency Responders

Hold Regular Active Shooter Drills

Make sure all coaches, facility supervisors and public park staff know who to contact in the event of an active-shooter event. Personnel should first ensure they are in a safe location and should then call 911 and provide as much detail as possible, including: • The location and number of shooters • A detailed description of the shooter(s) • Their current location • A description of the events that are occurring • The number and types of weapons used • The number of people in the impacted area • Any actions taken By sharing this information with all employees during required safety training seminars, you maximize the opportunity for a life-saving phone call to quickly reach emergency responders.

Coordinate an active shooter drill with your local law enforcement to allow staff to practice the safety precautions and responses outlined in your emergency response plan. Like a fire drill, an unexpected active-shooter drill will test employees’ recollection of the safety skills they learned and will be an impactful way to recall safety measures in the event of an actual emergency. Involving citizens so they can also become familiar with the steps needed to take cover and safely evacuate in a dangerous situation.

Final Advice No community can predict a mass-casualty event, but every community should be prepared for one. By developing an emergency communication plan you hope never to use, you can confidently focus on delivering en-

gaging, educational and valuable public events, activities, leagues and classes to citizens, so they can safely take part in your community offerings.

Additional Resources For more information and expert guidance on how to protect your community from an active shooter, visit the resources below: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Active Shooter: How to Respond (www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/ assets/active_shooter_booklet.pdf) Ready.gov Active Shooter Guidance (www.ready.gov/ active-shooter) FEMA Active Shooter Training (https://training.fema.gov/is/ courseoverview.aspx?code=is-907)

Jennifer Elliott is the Product Marketing Manager for CivicRec® and CivicReady®, both part of the CivicPlus® (jelliott@civicplus. com). @CivicRec_CP

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

89

PRODUCTS Non-Tire Rubber Mulch Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch is a virgin, non-toxic, pre-consumer playground rubber mulch specifically compounded for children to play on. It is the only 100 percent non-tire playground rubber mulch available that is manufactured from non-toxic, sterile and latex-free rubber tiles originally produced for schools. The rubber is vulcanized, therefore, durable and long-lasting. Installation can be done by any landscaping or volunteer crew. It does not have to be replaced regularly to maintain compliance, will not rot, clog drains, cause allergies or attract insects. There is no paint used in creating mulch, so the color does not leach. The fun color mix is the natural color of the rubber! JELLY BEAN RUBBER TIRE, 877.249.8818, WWW.JELLYBEANRUBBERMULCH.COM

In-Ground Fountain

Self-Serve Popcorn Popper Gold Medal introduced the ReadyPop™ to provide a selfserve solution for dispensing popcorn. Stadiums and other high-traffic venues face the challenges of long lines, saving on labor and keeping customers satisfied. A popper and self-serve station in one, ReadyPop™ is the simplest way for operators to offer popcorn.

The 16-oz. kettle pops the popcorn, which is then held in the cabinet until it is dispensed.

Operators can pop multiple batches early in the day, then customers are able to fill cups and bags without causing any food-safety concerns.

The compact footprint allows ReadyPop™ to conveniently fit into any available space. GOLD MEDAL, 800.543.0862, WWW. GMPOPCORN.COM

90 Parks & Recreation

Fountain People has added a new line of fountain effects to its Fountain-in-a-Can™ series. The new FIAC-1000 provides a single-piece construction that is designed, engineered and fabricated as a “pour-in-place” assembly, containing a flush-mount spray effect, 360-degree low-voltage LED light fixture, internal throttling valve and ADA-compliant grate. The assembly can be used for plaza-style water features or may be used for interactive splash pads. Fountain-in-a-Can™ allows for multiple options for water effects within the same housing. Patterns include vertical water columns, crown jets, shower jets and arching streams. Effects may operate simultaneously or may be sequenced independently.

FOUNTAIN PEOPLE, 512.393.5263, WWW.FOUNTAINPEOPLE.COM

Handmade Walking Sticks Brazos Walking Sticks is a family-operated business located in the Brazos River Valley area of Central Texas. Brazos has been producing high-quality, handmade walking sticks, hiking staffs and walking canes for nearly 20 years. The walking sticks are designed to increase your balance and mobility during treks and can be customized with walking-stick accessories and laser engraving. There is an option to add a compass, spike ferrule, a combination spike or the Lee Valley Spike system. Serious hikers might be interested in Brazos’ Traveler’s Hiking Stick that can be taken apart, or the Fitness Walkers that can be used as trekking poles. BRAZOS WALKING STICKS, 800.581.4352, WWW.BRAZOS-WALKING-STICKS.COM

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT SUMMER EMPLOYEE? At NRPA we believe in unicorns. Not just the mystical, horse kind, but the elusive employee who possesses all of the qualities that any employer could ever dream of.

This summer, find your park and recreation unicorn in a field of thousands of unique and qualified candidates with the NRPA Career Center.

NRPA Member Discount: 33% off job posting packages FREE 30-day season & internship postings

nrpa.org/careers

park essentials

AmishGazebos.com Gazebos, Pergolas, & Pavilions

Music Play That Moves You Get your FREE 200-page catalog & price guide

1-800-700-1777

Foster social, emotional, and cognitive development with Burke’s New PlayEnsemble™ Collection BCIBURKE.COM Trademarks are the property of BCI Burke Company. BCI Burke Company 2019. All rights reserved.

800-356-2070

The Easiest Way To Build

Precast Concrete Buildings For All Your Park & Rec Needs VERSATILE • DURABLE • FAST • ECONOMICAL • SECURE Standard and custom plans, styles, colors, finishes • Sizes from 10’ x 12’ to 50’ x 250’ Pre-engineered, Pre-assembled, Pre-plumbed, Pre-wired • Minimal site preparation Outperforms all other materials • Resistant to rot, vandalism, fire, blast, and storms Installation in just hours • Available nationwide from a network of Licensed Producers Concessions • Dugouts • Electrical/Mechanical • Hazmat • Maintenance Sheds • Offices • Press Boxes Pump Houses • Restrooms • Locker Rooms • Field Houses • Security Shacks • Shelters • Storage & more!

NRPA 1-2pg 2019 7.625x4.75.indd 1

92 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Online Quote Form

EasiSetBuildings.com 866.252.8210

1/14/2019 10:51:18 AM

s ice e Pr st rvic ers e e w Lo eat S stom Gr c Cu rrifi Te

Recycled site furnishings â&#x20AC;¢ park signs Rosecrans Park Los Angeles, CA

EQUIPMENT SOLUTIONS DESIGNED TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE PLAY SPACE. WWW.GAREDSPORTS.COM Vermont Square Park Los Angeles, CA

Bright Idea Shops, LLC Akron, Ohio 800-886-8990 fax 330-258-0167 www.brightideashops.com www.park-signs.net

Lake View Terrace Park Los Angeles, CA

NATURAL DOG PARK PRODUCTS

GymsForDogs.com sales@GymsForDogs.com 800-931-1562

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

93

park essentials

Whether it’s snow removal, field and trail preparation, mowing or anything else, our wide range of powerful, versatile Massey Ferguson branded tractors can handle virtually any specification requirement!

1-800-972-2426

www.masseyferguson.us S TA I N L E S S S T E E L , E V E RY T I M E

THE HIGHEST QUALITY GOAL MARKET ON THE MARKET.

Build and quote your fountain online!

Outdoor Bottle Filler & Water Fountain CWBF-2-RPB-HC

FIND US AT

WWW.SCOREMASTER.COM

EMAIL

SALES@SCOREMASTER.COM

TOLL FREE

1-888-726-7627

ADA Compliant

REVIT details available at our website.

Our goals meet or exceeds ASTM F2056 and ASTM F2673

800.428.4065 | WilloughbyStainlessFountains.com/PR

94 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

© 2018 Willoughby Industries Inc.

Aerospace quality TIG welded construction.

Our commercial grade allstainless-steel fixture is built to last and helps to reduce waste from disposable water bottles.

Resistant to sunlight, heat, and vandalism and available in 11 striking powder-coated colors!

Water You Waiting For? Complete the Online Splash Pad Certificate Program to Become a Splash Pad Expert nrpa.org/SplashPad John Deere.................................................................................................... 11

Aquatix by LSI.............................................................................................27

Kay Park Recreation Company.............................................................. 94

BCI Burke Playgrounds............................................................................ 92

Landscape Structures Inc.........................................................................5

Bright Idea Shops, LLC. ........................................................................... 93 Cemrock........................................................................................................ 31 Classic Recreation Systems.................................................................. 23

Massey Ferguson/AGCO Corp. .............................................................. 94 Most Dependable Fountains ................................................................. C2 Pilot Rock/RJ Thomas Mfg. Co. ............................................................. 35

DOGIPOT...........................................................................................................9 Easi-Set Buildings..................................................................................... 92 Gared Sports.............................................................................................. 93 Goldenteak/The Wood Carver, Inc. ...................................................... 93

Playcraft Systems/PlayCore.................................................................. C4

advertiser index

Amish Country Gazebos.......................................................................... 92

Poligon......................................................................................................... 25 Salsbury Industries.....................................................................................9

Greenfields Outdoor Fitness............................................................... 2, 3

Scoremaster Goals................................................................................... 94

Gyms For Dogs/Livin the Dog Life........................................................ 93

Shade Systems..............................................................................................1

Hustler Turf Equipment/Excel Industries............................................. 7

Willoughby Industries............................................................................. 94

(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 Š2019 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: $46 a year in the U.S.; $56 elsewhere. Single copy price: $7. Library rate: $58 a year in the U.S.; $68 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.

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 9 |

Parks & Recreation

95

Park Bench

In the foothills of Appalachia, Kentucky, sits Berea, a small rural town that was incorporated with the founding of Berea College in the late 19th century. It boasts a rich history of educational and community-centered commitments and, as a gateway community connecting the Western Bluegrass to Eastern Kentucky, is a geographic hub and convergence point for the challenges and solutions that affect the well-being of the region’s families.

Grow Appalachia is a strategic initiative of Berea College, and for nearly a decade, it has served as a resource to help Central Appalachian communities grow, prepare, preserve and market as much of their own food as possible. In 2016, Grow Appalachia focused on addressing food insecurity affecting Berea’s youth and launched Berea Kids Eat as a solution. Berea Kids Eat, the first college-sponsored USDA Child Nutrition program, provides summer and afterschool community meal opportunities to youth ages 18 and under at dozens of community sites.

Berea Kids Eat not only aims to address hunger, but also to develop neighborhood-based solutions to increase access to healthy food and encourage a safe space for physical activity. It established a community garden meal site in 2016 at a blighted lot, with issues of water pollution, litter, invasive species and drug use. Within just a few years, the garden has started to revitalize the neighborhood and has expanded to provide youth gardeners the opportunity to market their own produce.

With the support of the NRPA and Walmart Foundation’s 2019 Increasing Access to Healthy Foods grant, Berea Kids Eat will further expand partnerships between the community garden, Berea Parks and Recreation Department and Berea Farmers Market to increase accessibility to healthy produce in underserved neighborhoods. It will also establish a summer meal site and Junior Farmers Market, which will provide support and space for kids and teens to sell backyard produce, self-created art and value-added products, as well as scholarships for them.

Through these expanded initiatives, Berea Kids Eat aims to enhance the daily lives of families, while also inspiring children to discover their potential future as farmers, professional chefs, public servants, home gardeners and cooks.

– Martina Leforce, Berea Kids Eat Coordinator for Grow Appalachia

96 Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTINA LEFORCE

Berea Kids Eat

Start dusting off your camerasâ&#x20AC;Ś

The Park and Recreation Month Video Challenge Is Coming!

Details available soon at nrpa.org/July

#GameOnJuly

PARKS & RECREATION JUNE 2019 ◆ THE HEALTH & WELLNESS ISSUE ◆ VAPING: THE NEW EPIDEMIC ◆ MANAGING THE MEASLES MAYHEM