The National Recreation and Park Association has created a data-based Youth Mentoring Framework to guide departments in their efforts to mentor young people, writes Lauren Kiefert of NRPA. The framework includes 16 weeks of lessons and is suitable for one-on-one and group settings, Kiefert writes.
A 1.5-mile-long section of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail in Falls Church, Va., has opened one path for bicyclists and another for walkers and runners, separated by a median. "The idea is over the next decade, hopefully, we will start transforming all of the urban areas with something like this," said Paul Gilbert, executive director of NOVA Parks.
Moline, Ill., is planning a $7.1 million renovation of the Riverside Aquatic Center that includes tennis courts and parking areas. The project will also upgrade concessions and shade structures and add various water features, family restrooms and parks and recreation offices.
The Open Space Institute has purchased a 59.62-acre parcel in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., that will likely be used for trails connecting parks and a lake. A state agency will likely buy the property from the institute.
The Sioux Falls, S.D., Parks and Recreation Department's plan for 2020-24 emphasizes equity in park development with the goal of providing neighborhood parks within 0.5 miles of people's homes. Separately, the department has worked with city schools on co-located parks for more than 40 years.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is forming a Parks and Recreation Division that will oversee state parks, recreation and access programs and other services. The move was spurred by an increase in people participating in outdoor recreation.
Salt Fork State Park in Ohio has been awarded a $1.5 million Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, which will pay for new changing facilities and bathrooms at Salt Fork Beach, a new nature center and other improvements. Seventeen other grants worth about $10.2 million collectively were awarded statewide.
Teams can be better about completing tasks by understanding what's routine and what's urgent, with each group of to-dos receiving deadlines that "schedule the finish," writes David Dye. Leaders, meanwhile, must be aware that employees will tune out someone who is shouting about the urgency of every single activity.
Not all communities have access to safe, well-maintained, and programmed parks and green spaces. Prevention Institute's new study lays out three key dimensions of producing more equitable outcomes in the park and green space arena. Read more.
