Administration Launches Conservation.gov
Courtesy of the River Management Society
As part of the America the Beautiful initiative, this new website helps connect people with information, tools, resources, and opportunities to support land and water conservation projects in communities across the country. Built through an interagency partnership between the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the website is a public information hub for staying updated on conservation efforts across the country, finding places to recreate outdoors or to volunteer on public lands, and applying for financial assistance in support of conservation projects.
Read more:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/news-updates/2024/04/19/biden-harris-administration-launches-conservation-gov-showcasing-and-supporting-the-rapid-acceleration-of-locally-led-efforts-to-conserve-protect-and-restore-lands-and-waters-across-america/
Outdoor, play-based learning supports school curriculums and unlocks new worlds for children
Courtesy of Parks and Recreation Business Plus
By Jefferey Spivey
GEORGIA - In Gwinnett County where STEM and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) programs have been offered for over a decade, learning opportunities didn’t initially incorporate play. Much of what was offered took place in a more formalized setting at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center. But, in recent years, program offerings have expanded to include public parks and playgrounds.
On the 233-acre Environmental and Heritage Center campus is a treetop adventure course, which leads to a dynamic science experience for visitors.
“We looked at the physics behind the design of the course,” says Jason West, Deputy Division Director of Collaboration for the Gwinnett County Department of Community Services. More than providing ziplining and chasing adrenaline rushes, he says the course helps visitors understand concepts about moving from point A to point B.
Read more:
https://www.prbplus.com/playgrounds-and-parks-become-ground-zero-for-stem-education/
San Diego just OK’d a sweeping plan to remake northeast Mission Bay. Does anybody like it?
Courtesy of the San Diego Union-Tribune
By David Garrick
CALIFORNIA - San Diego City Council members unanimously approved an ambitious plan Tuesday to transform much of northeastern Mission Bay into climate-friendly marshland that can fight sea-level rise and pull carbon from the air.
Supporters said the plan, which follows seven years of community debate, is a fair compromise between environmentalists and advocates for camping and other recreation like tennis, softball and water skiing.
Read more:
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2024-05-14/san-diego-oks-plan-to-remake-mission-bays-northeast-corner-that-nobody-else-seems-to-like
Study: Lack of Safe Infrastructure Keeps People Away From Active Transportation
Courtesy of Planetizen
By Diana Ionescu
A consumer study from outdoor retailer REI Co-op highlights barriers to active transportation participation that transportation planners can use to fill gaps in service networks and encourage more multimodal transportation.
Unsurprisingly, “The majority of respondents, 68%, said their frequency of bike trips would increase if dedicated infrastructure were present, while 62% expressed it’s hard to find safe infrastructure for active transportation in their respective cities.”
Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2024/05/129018-study-lack-safe-infrastructure-keeps-people-away-active-transportation
Swing Sets Aren’t Just for Kids Anymore
Courtesy of Bloomberg.com
By Alexandra Lange
Swings can be sociable, but they are also physical. This inviting duality has often been undermined by public safety standards, which discourage swings for more than one person and mandate that they be far apart. After a certain age, swinging solo loses its thrill.
But at Anna C. Verna Playground at Philadelphia’s FDR Park, on the south side of the city, the largest swing set in North America was designed to test those limits. Not by creating unsafe play, but by transforming those standards into something challenging, unusual, beautiful and rewarding for swingers of all ages. The playground, which opened in October and was designed by WRT Design with Studio Ludo as play consultant, features two acres of nature-based play, including seven slides of increasing height and speed, two steel-and-rope “birdhouses” ascended by climbing nets, three log climbers, and assorted shady picnic tables, rock circles and sittable logs.
Read more:
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-us-playgrounds-mega-swings/
Economic Contribution of Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation in Colorado and Wisconsin
Courtesy of American Trails
Colorado:
https://www.americantrails.org/resources/economic-contribution-of-off-highway-vehicle-recreation-in-colorado-2023
Wisconsin:
https://www.americantrails.org/resources/wisconsin-atv-utv-2023-economic-impact-report
Green Revolution
Courtesy of NRPA
By Christina Hudson
MARYLAND - Five years ago, Montgomery Parks Deputy Director of Operations Gary Burnett had a vision for Montgomery Parks: replace noisy gas-powered landscaping equipment with the quiet hum of electric tools in public parks.
Some staff had concerns about the switch, unsure if electric equipment would prove as powerful as the gas-powered versions and whether it might potentially require more time to complete their work. A committee was formed to research the equipment options and vendors were brought in to demonstrate equipment to those who would be using it.
Read more:
https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2024/may/green-revolution/
State of Play: What’s in Demand in Today’s Playgrounds?
Courtesy of NRPA
By Scott Roschi
There is perhaps no better refuge for kids from social media and screen time than their local playground. And with today’s bigger, more colorful and more engaging playground equipment, kids are enjoying richer play experiences than ever.
But building the playgrounds that people want isn’t just about picking equipment from a catalog. Communities must consider how they can create fun and unique spaces kids want to come back to while addressing the diverse needs of community members. And, at the end of the day, they’re creating not only better playgrounds, but also better communities.
Here are some of the things that communities are trying to achieve in their playgrounds today.
Read more:
https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2024/may/state-of-play-whats-in-demand-in-todays-playgrounds/
Bikeway Selection Guide
Courtesy of American Trails
The Bikeway Selection Guide from the Federal Highway Administration will help planners make informed decisions about the selection of bike-way types. This guide emphasizes engineering judgment, design flexibility, documentation, and experimentation.
Read more:
https://www.americantrails.org/resources/bikeway-selection-guide?blm_aid=24243
All-Gender Restrooms Foster Inclusion
Courtesy of NRPA
By Cassandra Ruport
Today’s demand for all-gender public restroom buildings runs parallel with the trend of transitioning from multiuser restrooms to multiple single-user restroom spaces within the same building. The multiuser designs have declined in popularity except in applications involving a high number of users per hour. This type of design is ideal for maximizing the allowable floorspace to provide use to the largest number of occupants at a given time — for example, during half time at a big football game, at a concert or entertainment venue, or at the airport — whereas the “single user” layout has grown in popularity in many designs.
Read more:
https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2024/may/all-gender-restrooms-foster-inclusion/
Call for Proposals for the 2024 Global Outdoor Health Summit
Courtesy of ActivEnviro
November 17 - 20, 2024 - San Antonio, TX
Submit a presentation proposal for the 2024 Global Health Outdoor Summit and tell us a story about how you worked to solve a problem in your community.
We are looking for case studies about community collaboration, the latest in scholarly research, and best practices you've discovered at the intersection of outdoor
recreation, conservation, environmental economics, social justice, and public health.
Deadline for proposals: July 8, 2024
https://www.activenviro.org/gohsummit
New Grant Opportunities
Courtesy of the National Special Districts Coalition
FY 2024 Pool Safely Grant Program (Consumer Product Safety Commission)
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to prevent drowning and drain entrapment of children in pools and spas.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? State and territory governments, local governments, and Indian tribes and organizations
WHEN'S IT DUE? July 12, 2024
For more information: https://www.poolsafely.gov/grant-program/
FY 2025 North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) Standard Grants Program (second round)(Department of the Interior)
WHAT DOES IT FUND? The purpose of this program is to support projects that involve the long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and associated uplands habitats for the benefit of all wetlands-associated migratory birds.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? State and local governments, special district governments, independent school districts, institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments, nonprofits, and small businesses.
WHEN'S IT DUE? July 11, 2024
For more information:
https://www.fws.gov/service/north-american-wetlands-conservation-act-nawca-grants-us-standard-program
FY 2025 Public Humanities Projects (National Endowment for the Humanities)
WHAT DOES IT FUND? This program supports projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life for general audiences through in-person exhibitions and historic site interpretations, as well as in-person, hybrid, or virtual discussions and other scholar- or staff-led programming.
WHO'S ELIGIBLE? States and local governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments.
WHEN'S IT DUE? August 14, 2024, January 8, 2025
For more information: https://www.neh.gov/grants/public/public-humanities-projects
