Parks & Recreation

From the Editor: Reaching Out

Although we do our best to capture everything that you, the reader, is looking for in your monthly publication, we can't assume to know everything that is happening in the park and recreation field. That's why we'd like to regularly receive feedback on how we're doing, if we are meeting your needs and what you'd like to see in your member publication, Parks & Recreation.

Seattle Park Shoreline Caters to Salmon

When the city of Seattle created its Olympic Sculpture Park that opened Jan. 20, more thought was placed on the project than just landscaping and local art exhibits.

A Playground for the Older Generation

Did You Know?

National Historic Trail Established

Start Your Engines

Car shows offer a benefit-based mission focused on offering a recreation opportunity that can simultaneously create a big economic impact for a community. [...] in 2002, a Carlisle, Pa., automobile show attracted more than 500,000 visitors, generated more than $90 million in the local economy and increased business for local convenience stores, restaurants and hotels by 35 percent. Local individuals regularly attend these car shows that are generally located in parking areas of churches, sh...

Losing the Wait

In 2001, Parks & Recreation reported that the crucial after-school hours are those during which "children are more likely to become victims of violent crime, get killed by household or other accidents, get hooked on cigarettes or experiment with drugs." The adoption of fees for parents who are late to pick up their children should be developed to alleviate the impact on management, fulfill any state regulations, cover the cost of additional staffing, encourage good parental habits, ensur...

Dodging Cuts

Thirty years ago, before young Tim Merriman became executive director of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), he was an interpreter for Illinois State Parks and one of four survivors of a budget cut. Nevertheless, interpretation has been introduced to reduce visitors' leaving food that attracts black bears in Yosemite National Park, Wyo.; feeding squirrels at Crater Lake State Park, Ore.; trampling young forest regrowth at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Wash.; pil...

Property Rights and Wrongs

Outrage ensued, and litigation soon followed, but in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London that the city could, in the name of economic development, condemn the homes and turn the land over to private developers. The wildly unpopular Kelo decision provoked a firestorm of opposition from private property rights advocates across the country as well as a large measure of concern by communities who feared the far-ranging precedent of the Kelo decision on their local la...

A Blueprint for Your Budget

"Suspended drywall costs almost twice as much as a suspended acoustic ceiling or painted drywall directly applied to the underside of the roof structure," says John Dzarnowski, a principal at PHN Architects in Wheaton, Ill, which specializes in recreational facilities. The Bolingbrook Park District's (Illinois) Annerino Center uses an exposed metal structure for similar cost savings, and a completely different architectural look than with wood trusses.

Cepae: A Tool for Change

The CEPAE evaluation tool, if implemented by a trained assessor, can provide important information to community planners, recreation administrators and facility designers on how to revitalize existing recreation facilities to effectively promote active living for a changing clientele that includes participants from early childhood through aging and aged adults. The property has an outdoor pool, ninehole golf course, ball diamonds, newly renovated football field, an outdoor basketball court, ...

New York: Westchester County Finds a Miracle

The Miracle League also pairs teens with the players to serve as buddies, or "angels in the outfield," that assist them one-on-one during the game.

Kansas: New Assistant Aquatic Director Surfaces

Virginia: Park Authority Receives Trail Award

Improvements include clearing a four-mile river trail north of Riverbend Park that was impassable due to overgrowth; acquiring land to develop a route at Occoquan Regional Park; and creating an alternate route when a trail was closed by private owners.

A Message From Nrpa's Leaders

Perspectives: Defining a Movement

In February, NRPA, along with the YMCA and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), launched a new initiative called the Partnership for Play Every Day that will ensure children have access to places to play, and the opportunity to engage in the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

Making Parks And Recreation A Priority

Advocacy Update: The Power of Citizens

Among the developments that have been made are an administrative reorganization of staff and the hiring of new positions to better serve citizens; a renewed commitment on the part of the Board of Trustees to address the important role citizens play in NRPA governance; and a reaffirmation of the central role citizens play in our organization's leadership. The professional may become the "trusted provider" of information for staff and members and have easy access to the district and D.C. offic...

Tip-Off

Utah State Parks Provides Seniors with Easier Access

Tpl Adds 2,500 Acres to National Forests

New York City Redefines Playtime

[...] upon closer inspection of an artist's rendering, you'll not only see strange equipment that will encourage childlike imaginations (like big foam blocks), but adults wearing bright yellow caps and shirts.

Yosemite's Attendance Dips

Despite a new, improved camping reservation system and a number of recent open houses, fewer people are visiting.

Nuisance Species Found in Recreation Area

Legal Issues That Affect The Field

Law Review: Age-Appropriate Playground Guidelines

Accordingly, Ossip claimed the monkey rings were unsafe because the rungs were "spaced too far apart" and too high, measuring "79 inches from the ground below," far in excess of "the maximum allowable height of four feet to five feet" specified in the CPSC playground safety guidelines. In the opinion of the state court, despite Ossip's "protestations to the contrary," the Village had presented sufficient evidence that "the playground had been maintained in a reasonably safe condition and tha...

Nrpa In Action

Ifpra Offers Livable Communities Awards

Many delegates at the LivCom Finals have reported that participation in LivCom has been a major positive professional experience with further benefits accruing from continued exchange of information within the International Community.

Nrf Awards Umoja for Student Development

Celebrate National Aquatic Safety Month in May

There are more than 100 organizations across the country dedicated to educating both professionals and the public in best practices that have up-to-date research data on drowning statistics, unintentional injuries and attitudes, as well as resources, safety tips and recommendations for members of the community when participating in aquatic activities.

Mark Your Calendars

Inspiring Case Studies

Leave It Better: Seattle Park Renews Its Purpose

Powell-Barnett Park, built in 1969, showed decades of deterioration, from the play equipment in disrepair and the sloped ball field, to the kinds of illicit activities taking place in the shadows. Building materials were shaped to make the free-standing facility look like a castle, while a plaza area was created in the park where volunteers laid more than 80,000 square feet of sod.

Tips And Training For Managers

Playbook: Confidentiality in the Workplace

A disgruntled employee's first instincts may be to go after the company, but if the company can demonstrate clear and well-communicated management policies specifying the manager's responsibilities to maintain confidentialities, and the manager chose to disregard them, the attorneys will turn their attentions to the individual manager. The millions of dollars employers spend on EPLI (Employment Practices Liability Insurance) policies each year protect the company if they are sued, but these ...

The Academic Perspective

Research Update: Social Change Through Leisure

For example, the continuation of stereotypical beliefs about people of color, persons with disabilities, single parents, older adults, immigrant populations or people living on social assistance limit life opportunities, as do traditional and narrowly constructed views about gender, gender roles and sexual orientation. Other studies have focused on how participation in activities normally thought of as "masculine activities," such as ice hockey, motor bike riding, weight training and other f...

People Making A Difference

Trailblazers: Paving the Way for Leading Women

Other proud moments were receiving the highest award that my state society gives (CPRS Fellowship Award, 1971) and getting the Distinguished Professional Award from APRS (1985) and NRPA (1998)-and, of course, the Ralph C. Wilson Award (1999).