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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.
Welcome New Members
Mr. Hezekiah Allen
Park and Trail Operations Manager
Pinal County Open Space and Trails, Arizona
Mr. Kevin Boehm
Director of Parks
Waushara County Parks, Wisconsin
Mr. Bennett Knox
Director
Whatcom County Parks & Recreation
Bellingham, Washington
Member News
County parks see big pandemic visitor boom, stresses
Courtesy of NACo
By Charlie Ban
As the threat of COVID-19 transmission indoors became clear, Americans flocked to outdoor spaces, driving up park visitation across the country.
Those trends forced 2,900-county level parks departments to shuffle staff and resources and manage relationships and expectations among park users. And in many cases, undergo growing pains.
Analysis of cell phone data, overlaid with geofences indicating park boundaries, showed a 16% growth in park visitation in urban and suburban parks in 2020, compared to 2019, according to Jonathan Vlaming, superintendent of the Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota and representative of the National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials. Exurban parks saw a 30% increase. While the increase slowed as the pandemic came under control, growth continued.
Read more:
https://www.naco.org/articles/county-parks-see-big-pandemic-visitor-boom-stresses
PBC Parks Incoming Director Earns Achievement Award
Courtesy of Palm Beach County
FLORIDA - Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department (PBC Parks) incoming director, Jennifer Cirillo, was awarded the Florida Recreation and Park Association (FRPA) Achievement Award on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 during FRPA’s Annual Conference in Orlando.
FRPA’s Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have provided special or unusual service to the Association and the parks, recreation and leisure services profession.
Jennifer has served Palm Beach County for more than 17 years, the most recent 11 as assistant director for PBC Parks. On October 1, she will take leadership of the department after Director Eric Call retires.
Jennifer was instrumental in the process that led to the department becoming back-to-back finalists in 2017 and 2018 for the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management and for bringing home the award in 2018. Since then, she has served on the National Gold Medal Award Committee, reviewing applicants from top agencies across the country.
Read more
Ohio Is Getting the Country’s First Urban Via Ferrata
Courtesy of Outside Online
By Amelia Arvesen
OHIO - Five miles northwest of downtown Columbus, Ohio, a once unremarkable limestone cliff is about to make an innovative mark on the world of outdoor recreation.
The wall, part of a defunct quarry, sits at the center of a new 180-acre park that has been transformed over the past few years into a recreational refuge: Quarry Trails Metro Park, which is just the latest addition to the state’s large (though little publicized) collection of outdoor-adventure opportunities. As for that limestone cliff, it’s set to become the site of an 800-foot horizontal traverse designed for a mountaineering style of climbing called a via ferrata—the very first such urban route in the country.
Read more:
https://www.outsideonline.com/business-journal/brands/ohio-first-urban-via-ferrata/
Here’s what you need to know about the Maricopa County Parks 'BOGO' promotion
Courtesy of ABC15
By Nicole Gutierrez
ARIZONA - If you’re looking to escape the city and enjoy the outdoors this fall, you’ll want to check out this “buy one, get one camping promotion” offered by the Maricopa County Parks; the deal starts October 1!
“As prices continue to rise on goods and services, our agency agrees it is more important than ever to continue the Buy One, Get One campaign this fall,” said R.J. Cardin, Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Director, in a press release sent to ABC15. “With the evening temperatures starting to cool down, everyone is eager to return to the outdoors and enjoy time with their family and friends.”
Read more:
https://www.abc15.com/entertainment/events/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-maricopa-county-parks-bogo-promotion
Research and Resources
How These Parks Are Helping Color-Blind Visitors Enjoy Fall Foliage
Courtesy of Conde Nast Traveler
By Daliah Singer
Approximately 13 million Americans—and 350 million people around the world—have color vision deficiency. The vast majority identify as male. Color-blindness isn’t a literal term: People with this condition don’t actually see the world in black-and-white, which is why many prefer the term color vision deficiency.
State parks, wilderness areas, and national refuges throughout the United States are working to bring out fall’s true pigments for color-blind visitors. At least 10 states—from Oregon to Alabama—have, or will soon have, adapted viewfinders that make those hues clearer and more distinct.
The special lenses (attached to viewfinders made by SeeCoast Manufacturing) were invented by EnChroma and provided to states through its Color Accessibility Program. The California-based color vision technology company also manufactures everyday color-blind glasses.
Read more:
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-these-parks-are-helping-color-blind-visitors-enjoy-fall-foliage
In the News
There Oughta Be a Law! (And Now There Is)
Courtesy of GP RED
According to Newsweek and other sources, the State of Colorado has codified the right of children to play outside by themselves. The bill was drafted in response to increasing accusations of parental neglect, even though the number of substantiated cases has fallen. It was signed into law by this past March by Governor Jared Polis. The new law clarifies that it is not considered neglect for a “reasonable and prudent” parent or guardian to allow children to engage in certain independent activities, such as traveling to school or stores, playing outdoors, and staying home alone.
Read more:
https://www.newsweek.com/kids-can-now-play-alone-outside-state-punishing-parents-colorado-1693950
NYC to Plan a Network of ‘Greenway’ Corridors for Bike and Pedestrian Improvements
Courtesy of Planetizen
By James Brasuell
NEW YORK - Mayor Eric Adams is targeting areas with a lack of good transportation and jobs for an expansion of the city’s greenway network, using $7.25 million in federal infrastructure funding to plan for the new bike paths,” reports Kevin Duggan.
The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE grant program, announced in August.
NYCDOT, NYC Parks, and the New York Economic Development Corporation will work together to create a comprehensive greenway vision plan, the city’s first in 30 years, to guide future projects and measure the growth and other trends related to biking in the city. The plan will first identify five corridors for pedestrian and bike infrastructure upgrades, prioritizing low and moderate-income areas outside of Manhattan.
Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2022/09/118599-new-york-plan-network-greenway-corridors-bike-and-pedestrian-improvements
Serena Williams’ Legacy for Public Officials — and for the American Dream
Courtesy of Governing
By Jabari Simama
Serena and her sister Venus are not just role models and icons for women and kids of all backgrounds who play tennis; they are the best argument for why local governments should invest more in parks and recreation. Right now, somewhere in the U.S. on a public tennis court — perhaps like the one the Williams sisters started on in Compton, Calif. — may be a future athlete who will change the sport and redefine greatness like they have.
Beyond social issues, it’s hard to overstate the Williams sisters’ impact on sports and American society in general. In fact, the Williams sisters saved women’s tennis — maybe tennis overall — by making it exciting.
Read more:
https://www.governing.com/now/serena-williams-legacy-for-public-officials-and-for-the-american-dream
Oysters and Students May Revive New York's Famed Harbor
Courtesy of Governing
By David Kidd
NEW YORK - As its name implies, the Billion Oyster Project aims to replenish the once-plentiful bivalve in and around New York Harbor. But the lofty goal represents only a fraction of what once was.
The young oysters will be piled atop Soundview Reef, an existing five-acre reef made from shells dropped into the water on previous trips to the site. This is just one of several locations around the city where new oyster reefs are being established by the Billion Oyster project with the help of an army of volunteers and area students. The renewed population of oysters will not be suitable as food. But they are expected to serve a more important purpose: naturally filtering the water, attracting other underwater life and protecting shorelines from future storms.
Read more:
https://www.governing.com/community/oysters-and-students-may-revive-new-yorks-famed-harbor
How Miami’s new linear park is using ‘community-centered technology’ to bridge the digital divide
Courtesy of Brookings
By Meg Daly
FLORIDA - Just a few years ago, no one would have called the vacant land underneath Miami’s elevated Metrorail particularly inviting, let alone transformative. But today, the city is reimagining this 10-mile corridor as a dynamic linear park: the Underline. The park will feature walking trails, biking infrastructure, and local art while also providing approximately 250,000 residents and 9 million transit users with free and contiguous high-speed internet.
While people often associate parks and other outdoor public spaces with escaping technology, the Underline is part of a growing movement to leverage “community-centered technology” to transform public spaces into more accessible, inclusive, and responsive community assets, as well as provide the vital public service of free high-speed internet and technical innovations for more residents. In a city like Miami, where over 30% of households lack internet access, the potential of utilizing public space to bridge the digital divide is especially ripe.
Read more:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2022/08/30/how-miamis-new-linear-park-is-using-community-centered-technology-to-bridge-the-digital-divide/
Training
Webinar: Effective Communication with Elected Officials
Date: September 29, 2022
Time: 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm ET
Cost: Free
Organization: American Trails
This webinar will discuss successful tactics and strategies employed by trail programs across the country to engage lawmakers in securing public funding and innovative policy initiatives that support the development of trail networks in leading communities. These political and trail community leaders discuss the importance of recreational/active transportation trails in helping communities to thrive via economic development, health & safety, environmental sustainability and inclusiveness/diversity. This webinar will highlight best practices for collaboration among advocates, decision makers, and key stakeholders in their efforts to facilitate transformative trail projects, emphasizing critical lessons learned.
For more information:
https://www.americantrails.org/training/effective-communication-with-elected-officials
SORP announces new Training Series: Centering Indigenous Futures in Outdoor Recreation
Courtesy of the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals
October 12, 19, 26 and November 2 from 12:00 to 1:30 pm PT
U.S. public land and water management are grounded in settler colonialism, including Indigenous land dispossessions and violations of Tribal Treaties. This free training series features four sessions that bring Indigenous scholars and land managers into conversation about reimagining outdoor recreation through decolonization, Indigenous value systems, and Indigenous futures.
Each 90 minute session will feature a panel presentation from Indigenous leaders and breakout discussions with participants to further the dialogue around outdoor recreation professionals’ role in decolonization.
Registration opening soon
Driving Change through Leadership and Collaboration Workshop
Courtesy of City Parks Alliance
Tuesday, October 25 | 2:00 - 5:00 pm ET
The ever-evolving need for public space to serve multiple vital functions in our modern lives has made it critical for park leaders to drive change with vision, innovation, flexibility, and a collaborative spirit. Learn about different organizational change models, hear from park leaders who have successfully driven transformative change using these models, and talk with your peers about your challenges and successes in driving change in your own organization and community. Registration will open soon. Click the link below to add your name and contact information here to be notified first.
For more information:
https://cityparksalliance.org/event/driving-change-through-leadership-and-collaboration/
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