NACPRO News - August 3, 2021

NACPRO News

August 3, 2021

In This Issue...

Best Practices Forum
A Word from our Sponsors
Member News
Research and Resources
In the News
Training
Job Announcements

About NACPRO

The National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials is a non-profit professional organization that advances official policies that promote county and regional park and recreation issues while providing members with opportunities to network, exchange ideas and best practices, and enhance professional development.

Learn more about us at: www.nacpro.org

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE

The next issue of NACPRO News will be delivered on August 17, 2021.

If you have news or an article to share, please send it to the editor by August 16.

EDITOR
Brenda Adams-Weyant
(814) 927-8212
[email protected]

NACPRO's Sponsors

Job Announcements

NEW - Executive Director
Belvidere Park District
Belvidere, Illinois
Salary: $93,000 - $116,000 /yr
Closing date: Sep 15, 2021

Parks Superintendent
Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Department
Port Washington, Wisconsin
Salary: $27.96 Hourly
Closing date: Aug 13, 2021

Trails Program Manager
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Olympia, Washington
Salary: $84,000 - $110,000 /yr
Closing date: Aug 6, 2021

Senior Design & Development Supervisor
Whatcom County Parks & Recreation
Bellingham, Washington
Salary: $6,259 - $8,430 Monthly
Closing date: Aug 17, 2021

Assistant Director - Parks and Recreation
Coconino County
Flagstaff, Arizona
Salary: $74,684 - $82,152 /yr
Closing date: Aug 20, 2021

Executive Director
MetroParks of Butler County
Hamilton, Ohio
Salary: $115,255 - $153,675 /yr
Closing date: Aug 16, 2021

Executive Director of Parks and Recreation
Village of Lincolnwood, Illinois
Salary: $110,490 - $145,847 /yr
Closing Date: Aug 15, 2021

Got a vacancy to fill? NACPRO will post your vacancy on our website and email a copy to our mailing list of over 1100 parks and recreation professionals for a fee of $100 for NACPRO members and $200 for non-members. NACPRO membership is $90/person.

For more information:
https://nacpro.mcjobboard.net/jobs

Best Practices Forum

Got an issue you need advice on? Or a best practice you want to share? Send us the details and we will publish it in the next NACPRO News.

A Word from Our Sponsors

New Ways to Manage Outdoor Recreation
Courtesy of NIC Outdoors

By Meredith Trimble

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, nature provided a safe space for activities and recreation. Individuals and families flocked to the outdoors in record numbers over the last 18 months. Even with indoor entertainment and leisure options returning, outdoor recreation activities continue to see record numbers. Diversity of participants has increased, too, with outdoor recreation use spanning all incomes, ages, backgrounds, and geographies.

Hunting and fishing licenses, for example, have increased by double digits with park visits seeing an uptick like never before, according to data from YourPassNow and NIC hunting and fishing states.

This is precisely what outdoor advocates have wanted for decades, yet such a surge is not without implications. The pressures on outdoor management are growing right along with the crowds.

Fortunately, technology that facilitates digital park management is easy and quick to implement.

Member News

This park department's new mission is anti-racism
Courtesy of Fast Company

By Nate Berg

CALIFORNIA - In Los Angeles County, the pandemic has underscored the importance of parks. Use jumped about 300%, according to the county’s parks department, and the organization quickly found itself balancing open-space management with pandemic response–hosting and running food pantries, homeless shelters, COVID-19 testing centers, and vaccination sites. In a county of 10 million that saw more than 1.2 million COVID-19 cases, parks became a physical part of the front line.

“COVID-19 has shown us that we are a key safety net for our most vulnerable populations,” says Norma Edith García-Gonzalez, the director of the Los Angeles County Parks Department.

As the region continues to recover from the pandemic, García-Gonzalez is leading the department in a new, more expansive direction. Instead of just thinking of itself as a provider of recreation opportunities, the parks department is making equity and youth engagement its mission.

Should you bike on roads or trails at Cleveland Metroparks?
Courtesy of Cleveland.com

By John Pana

OHIO - Riding a bike on the road can be intimidating. In fact, if you do it often enough, you may even have drivers honk horns or yell out their window at you. Cleveland Metroparks offers more than 100 miles of paved all-purpose trail at locations throughout the park system. There’s a perception by some motorists who use roads like Valley Parkway that cyclists should stay on the trail next to the road.

To demonstrate some important laws and safety tips, Knabe teamed up with Cleveland Metroparks police to take me on a 17-mile ride on Valley Parkway. The video above has 10 safety tips shared by Knabe and officer Patresa Biggs.

Research and Resources

Heat-Related Illness Protection
Courtesy of Parks and Recreation Business

By John Engh

What the McNairs are doing to help prevent the loss of young lives in sports is an amazing tribute to a son who was gone too quickly. While putting together this training, NAYS has been fortunate to speak with some outstanding experts. Below are some important tips to keep in mind for your programs, courtesy of Stacy Carone and Jay Sabol, who are among the experts featured in the training and have shared their insights. Carone is the Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Sabol is the Head Athletic Trainer for the Miami Heat.

Conserving & Restoring America the Beautiful: Now is the Time
Courtesy of SORP

The Mountain Pact, an organization that works with local elected officials in over 80 communities across the Western U.S., released a report that highlights examples from all eleven Western states on what Western mountain communities are doing to conserve nature and contribute to the America the Beautiful Initiative. The report offers recommendations for on-the-ground conservation work, policy recommendations, as well as new strategies and projects to help achieve the goals of the America the Beautiful effort.

Promoting Bone Health through Water-based Exercise
Courtesy of PlayCore

It is well-established that lack of mechanical stimulation may lead to an irreversible decline in bone density, which is well exemplified in studies of underweight and immobility. Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of various exercise programs (such as walking or strength training) in improving bone density or decreasing the rate of decline in bone density in the population observed.

There are still contradictions in literature when it comes to water-based exercises for promoting bone health. Water sports athletes normally show lower bone mineral density compared to other modalities. These data have questioned the ability of aquatic exercises to improve or even maintain bone health. On the other hand, despite a reduction in gravitational forces, water-based training programs have also been shown to be beneficial in the prevention and/or treatment of osteoporosis. It is possible to develop osteogenic potential through specific muscle strength training in the aquatic environment.

2021 SHIFT Summit: Apply now to join the SHIFT Emerging Leaders Program
Courtesy of GP RED

We invite early career leaders between the ages of 21-33 who have distinguished themselves in outdoor recreation, conservation, land management, cultural relevancy and public health to apply.

Led by Dr. Morgan Green, the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) will be held October 15-17 prior to the SHIFT Summit.

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) trains early career leaders to help develop our work at SHIFT and throughout the world. Our vision is to build a diverse coalition of career advocates and professionals who can champion the health benefits of nature and promote a more sustainable future for the planet. Our team celebrates diversity, equity, and inclusion and is committed to ensuring that our mission, vision, culture, and practices reflect and embrace this commitment.

The application deadline is August 31st, and space is limited.

In the News

Parks and Recreation: The Public Health Breakout Star of COVID-19
Courtesy of NRPA

By Allison Colman

One of the greatest challenges within many of our systems and institutions, including our public health, healthcare and social-service systems, is actually somewhat straightforward — struggling to reach people. We know what makes us healthy and we know what resources people need to thrive. Although we have a long way to go to address the inequities that exist within our systems, there are many evidence based, evidence-informed, and proven health and social service interventions out there. But if these programs are not reaching community members, they are not viable nor scalable solutions.

Parks and recreation has proven that it offers a solution to that challenge. Throughout COVID-19, park and recreation professionals have leveraged their role as accessible, trusted and welcoming spaces, and led and supported efforts to ensure that community members had access to the services, resources and programs that they needed. Models have emerged that have co-located needed services in existing settings that meet community members where they are.

An American Buys an E-Bike Every 52 Seconds
Courtesy of StreetsBlog USA

By Kea Wilson

As Washington gears up to pour billions into getting Americans behind the wheel of electric cars, demand for electric bicycles is soaring — and advocates say that demand would be even stronger if U.S. cities were building bike infrastructure to match the revolutionary emerging mode.

In response to a recent revelation from the U.K. Bicycle Association that retailers in Great Britain had sold an e-bike roughly once every three minutes in 2020, advocates here crunched the numbers to reveal that 600,000 e-bikes were sold last year in the U.S. — a rate of about once every 52 seconds.

From the U.S. Economic Development Administration
Courtesy of SORP

Under the American Rescue Plan Act, EDA was allocated $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks. This historic appropriation will support bottom-up, middle-out economic development projects and activities that are focused on advancing equity, creating good-paying jobs, helping workers to develop in-demand skills, building economic resilience, and accelerating the economic recovery for the industries and communities hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday, July 23rd, EDA published six (6) separate Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) soliciting applications for its ARPA funds. In order to help facilitate participation in these programs, EDA will begin hosting a series of webinar presentations for EDA grantees and partners beginning next Monday, August 2nd.

For more information:
https://www.eda.gov/arpa/

The Buzz in the Burg
Courtesy of NRPA

By Kelly Adams, Keith Thomas and Jeremy Herold

VIRGINIA - “The Friendly City” is a motto that the city of Harrisonburg, Virginia, takes to heart. The city strives to be as welcoming as possible — to both human visitors, as well as a plethora of other species the city wants to attract as part of their new pollinator program. The key is to create a pollinator habitat with plenty of plants. To accomplish this, Mike Hott, the city’s landscape supervisor created a custom palette of native flowers that will be “in bloom from spring through fall” — making Harrisonburg a pollinator-friendly city by nature.

The city’s new pollinator program was established in the fall of 2017 by Hott. As a beekeeper and certified arborist, he brought a lot of pollinator knowledge with him as he began his journey with the Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation Maintenance Division. He immediately recognized the traditional annual pallet of landscapes around the parks. Within the first season, he started to convert traditional landscapes to pollinator habitats, which is more sustainable as the plants come back every year once they are established and require less care and maintenance — but not less visual beauty. Hott was able to utilize his prior experience purchasing pollinator plugs from nurseries in bulk to jumpstart the program while keeping costs low for the city. The plugs arrived in late February and were nurtured for 12 weeks inside our greenhouse before staff began planting them around the city. The parks department already had one small greenhouse, but soon expanded by adding a second, larger one.

The Newest Bike-Friendly County in the U.S. Is In…Suburban Idaho?
Courtesy of StreetsBlog USA

By Kea Wilson

IDAHO - A massive transportation authority in Idaho is promising to build protected bike lanes whenever they resurface the most dangerous multi-lane roads in its region, and some advocates think state DOTs across the country should follow that lead.

Earlier this month, Idaho’s Ada County Highway District announced that it would no longer build paint-on-the-ground cycling “infrastructure” on arterial roads, prioritizing separated bike lanes or buffered multi-use paths instead. That commitment is unusual for any American transportation agency, but it’s a particularly rare for a large regional agency that oversees roads in six predominantly suburban communities where over 80 percent of commuters drive alone to work (the national average in roughly 76 percent).

Maryland Zoo Says it’s Now Free of Single-Use Plastics
Courtesy of CBS Baltimore

MARYLAND - The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore announced Wednesday it is free of single-use plastics, including drinking water.

All bottled drinks, including water, now are sold in recyclable aluminum.

Zoo officials also have made the following changes to remove single-use plastics from its concessions:

Dippin’ Dots and ice cream cups are paper;
Condiment portion cups are paper;
All food containers are paper products. In the near future, the Zoo will use washable plates, bowls and utensils at concession stands;
The Zoo has three refillable water bottle stations and encourages guests to bring their own reusable water bottles when they visit.

Denver Art Installation Doubles as Skate Park and Stormwater Mitigation
Courtesy of Next City

By Vignesh Ramachandran

COLORADO - A new art installation in Colorado is more than just sleek design. At first glance, the “Community Forms” project might just look like shaped concrete made to intrigue passersby. But it’s also been designed to be played with — and it has a key infrastructure job for its Denver neighborhood.

Artist and skateboarder Matt Barton merged public art, play space and stormwater mitigation at a 25-acre former Yellow Cab site near the Globeville neighborhood just north of downtown Denver. It’s an area known for flooding concerns adjacent to the region’s South Platte River. The site, now a work-live development called TAXI, has an asphalt parking lot that was turning into a lake when it rained hard. The stormwater mitigation was not working.

So Barton, in partnership through his fellowship with the nonprofit, experimental art museum Black Cube, designed a concrete public art installation and skate park that also diverts rainwater. The result is a unique space, about 100 feet by 30 feet, that invites play. Construction broke ground in April and the permanent installation opened in May.

Training

Mid-America Trails and Greenways Conference
Courtesy of the Federal Lands Transportation Institute Training Newsletter

DATE: August 17, 2021
LOCATION: Online
ORGANIZATION: Mid America Trails and Greenways (MATAG)

The Mid America Trails and Greenways (MATAG) Conference is an opportunity to connect with trail advocates typically from a nine-state regional area, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. If you’re not from one of these states, don’t let that stop you from attending. MATAG is a biannual conference that brings together hundreds of high-level decision- making trail advocates from local, state, and federal government agencies, citizens, non-profit organizations, and industry leaders who have an interest in the development and management of trails, greenways, and blueways. Learn the latest trends and techniques in trail development, maintenance, and promotion. Nine breakout sessions that cover rail trails, water trails, mountain bike trails, hiking trails, ORV, and more! CEUs are available!

For more information:
http://www.matag.org/

Webinar: Path to 30 x 30: Aligning Conservation, Equity, and Recreation
Courtesy of SORP

DATE: September 15, 2021
TIME: 10-11am PT
COST: Free

As a means to address the impacts of climate change, President Biden issued an executive order establishing a national goal to conserve at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and freshwater and 30 percent of U.S. ocean areas by 2030, in an initiative commonly referred to as 30x30. In follow-up last month, The Department of the Interior, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, and the Council on Environmental Quality, recommended a ten-year “America the Beautiful Campaign” in a report to the National Climate Task Force on how the Biden-Harris Administration should implement 30x30. Several states are also actively engaged in working toward 30 x 30. Join our expert panel in a discussion centered on the progress and implementation of this audacious initiative - highlighting opportunities for advancing outdoor recreation and access equity as it all moves forward.

REGISTER

Webinar: Civilian Climate Corps
Courtesy of SORP

DATE: September 22, 2021
TIME: 10-11am PT
COST: Free

A part of a proposed American Jobs Plan calls for $10 billion to launch a new large-scale 21st century CCC to combat the 21st century problem. The Civilian Climate Corps, as it would be called, would employ thousands of young people to address the threat of climate change, strengthen the country's natural defenses and maintain its ailing public lands. A number of congressional bills related to a civilian climate corps have been introduced recently. Join our panel in sorting through what's on the table, what's on the horizon, where there is alignment with outdoor recreation, and potential steps to implementation.

REGISTER

NACPRO | PO Box 74, Marienville, PA 16239 | (814) 927-8212

Quick Links

Our Sponsors