P&R Now

A Tree (Sometimes) Grows in Brooklyn

The May issue of Parks & Recreation offers a first-person look at how New York City is tackling a number of ambitious "greening" efforts by way of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC initiative. One of those undertakings is the planting of 1 million new trees across the city by 2017, as explained by author Adrian Benepe, director of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Now, you might think that most folks would jump at the opportunity for the city to plant a tree in their front yard. After all, an urban canopy of trees provides air conditioning, increases home values, and naturally filters and cleans the air. But evidently, some New Yorkers haven't taken such a shine to the idea.

In fact, as urban forester Arthur Simpson tells the New York Times, he's received a particularly unfriendly welcome from some residents. Check it out here.

Running (a Business) in Parks

Melissa Clary, business specialist for the city of Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services, posted a thought-provoking questions on the NRPAnet e-mail listserve recently. Clary, who is researching the topic of running a personal business in a city park, says that her agency has an innovative entrepreneur who wants to run her fitness business in its parks.

Clary asks specifically of her fellow NRPAnetters:

Do you allow a private business of any kind to be run in your parks?
If so, how do you license them? Do you charge any other fees, or take a percentage of sales?
Have you ever discussed having private businesses in the parks with your governing body? And, if so, what were the issues, either for or against?

Have some feedback? Shoot Melissa an e-mail, or give her a call at 702.229.4616.

State Parks: Meeting Expectations

Interesting story in Monday's USA Today about state parks battling hotels and conference centers for business from company meetings. Evidently, state parks are offering facilities "from a one-room schoolhouse at Utah's Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park to mansions and full-service lodges like the one at Alabama's Lake Guntersville State Park" to attract meeting-goers.

The main selling points the state park facilities have going for them, the article continues, include affordability, usually breathtaking surroundings, and seclusion from the noise of daily life (read: no cellphones, pagers, and so forth).

Check out the full story online.

Today Show Covers Special Recreation Program

Al Roker, the jovial meterologist/television personality who makes NBC's "Today Show" worth watching, recognized the Eldora Special Recreation Program in Nederland, Colorado, as part of the Today Show Lend a Hand initiative.  Watch the video to learn more.

Online Green: City Parks Foundation

An independent nonprofit, City Parks Foundation offers programming in parks throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Across its nearly 20 years, the organization has created arts, sports, and educational programs in some 700 public parks, helping to not only revitalize parks but also the neighborhoods surrounding them.

David Rivel, the foundation’s executive director, wrote the feature article “Learning, Naturally,” which appeared in the May issue of Parks & Recreation magazine. In Rivel's article for P&R, he writes specifically about his organization’s innovative education programs that offer participants an opportunity to engage with the natural world around them.

These programs--which include Seeds to Trees, Coastal Classroom, and Learning Gardens--are meeting head-on the environmental challenges facing the city, such as air and water pollution, and are helping to prepare thousands of New York City’s youth to become the environmental stewards of tomorrow.

Listen below as Rivel and foundation education director Claudia DeMegret discuss their organization's programming efforts, and the impact they have on city residents.