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The NEPA Spring 2014 Issue

EXCHANGE Newsletter of the New England Park Association

America’s Oldest Park Association - Established in 1898

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From the President By Judith Sumner Did you get out to ski, skate, snowshoe, or go ice fishing this winter? This past winter has been great for recreational activities in the parks. Hopefully, you had the opportunity to do more than shovel and clear snow off the roof. We have certainly had our share of weather cold enough to freeze the ponds and plenty of snow. After a long cold and snowy winter, I am looking forward to spring. Hopefully, we won’t need the roof rake, ice melt, snow blowers, plows and shovels until next winter. As we spring forward into warmer weather, we can take out the tools and equipment needed to start preparing the grounds and fields for outdoor activities and projects. We also need to get out and network to learn what other park professionals are doing and what is new in the industry. The New England Park Association and NESTMA can help you with your upcoming field preparations and projects. Turf educational session and spring meeting will be held in Hampton, New Hampshire on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. Save the date. The turf sessions will be held in the morning with the spring NEPA meeting held right after lunch. You will have the opportunity to network with other park professionals and vendors during lunch or after the meeting to seek information and help on your projects. You can also e-mail your questions to see if other members can help you. Information on the spring meeting and turf educational sessions will be available on our new updated website www.newenglandparks.com. Kate Hodges, Colin Drury and Glenn Marston did an excellent job redesigning and loading information on the new website making it an easier process for knowing NEPA leadership, obtaining information on membership dues, history, recent photos, archives, etc. If there is information you would like to see on the website, please let a member of the executive board know. Kate also set up our accounts to use a paypal app at conferences and events to take memberships on the spot with an ipad and card reader. Save the date to attend the 2014 Annual Fall Conference September 10

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House Inn, West Dennis, MA. The NEPA executive board is now in the process of putting together the fall conference with great educational sessions. If you have suggestions for topics and speakers or would like to do a presentation, please let a member of the board know. Last fall the board honored several members that helped to make NEPA a great organization. Congratulations to the 2013 award recipients: Marcia Noyes from Yarmouth, ME, received the Robert "Bill" Sharkey Award. Marcia has been a member of the association for at least ten (10) years and has rendered outstanding service, accomplishment, and contribution to the park and recreation movement and the association. Glenn Marston from Avon, CT, received the John Howard Award; the most prestigious honor accorded to a member of the New England Park Association. Glenn has displayed exemplary and meritorious service in the park field. Kate Hodges from Littleton, MA, received the President’s award. Kate’s efforts have significantly aided the President and the Board to perform their duties and mission. Rick Peruzzi from South Portland, MA, received the New England Park Association Award. Rick demonstrated continuing leadership in his efforts to improve and protect the quality and quantity of opportunities through park and recreation programs and projects. This newsletter is another great source of information to help professionals with keeping current on park and recreation issues. Eric O’Brien always gathers information that will enlighten you with a variety of park and recreation topics. I hope you enjoy reading this issue. As always, I look forward to seeing you at the NEPA Spring Meeting, June 18

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Editor’s Message By Eric O’Brien I recently had the pleasure of attending the 2014 US Play Coalition conference on the Value of Play. The US Play Coalition is an international collaborative of individuals and organizations that recognize play as a valuable and necessary part of a healthy and productive life. Our membership is diverse in including individuals with a commitment to increase awareness of the value of play; educators, physicians, health scientists, park and recreation professionals, psychologists, and landscape architects. The coalition is under the Clemson University’s Park, Recreation, and Tourism Department. I also had the pleasure on February 17

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Pennsylvania. The Playground Project presents some of the most outstanding and influential playgrounds from Europe, the US and Japan from the mid-to-late 20

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a reconsideration of our time and the way we approach childhood, risk, public space, and education. The exhibit took place at the Heinz Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art. I found both of these events to be very informative. The article on Page 11 by Sonja Hakala is a wonderful tribute to the town of Hartford, Vermont. It is very informative and something that can be given with relative ease to someone moving into town. It is very impressive. Congratulations to Glenn Marston, Director, Avon Parks and Recreation. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award at the CRPA conference last fall. In addition, kudos to Robert P. Dlugolenski, recipient of the Connecticut Recreation and Park Association Hall of Fame.

Save the Date The MRPA Annual Conference will be held in Portland, Maine, March 23

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The NRPA Legislative Forum will be held in Washington, DC, March 25

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NEPA spring meeting will take place June 18th, 2014, in Hampton, NH. NEPA fall meeting will again be held at the Lighthouse Inn, September 10

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NRPA Congress and Exposition will be held October 14

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“Little parks can sometimes be more important to users than larger parks,”

by Thomas Balsley, FASLA.

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Items of Interest By Eric O’Brien

Montreal Mosaiculture Exhibition I recently came across an interesting article on a fantastic exhibit that took place in Montreal this past summer illustrating living artworks made primarily from plants with colorful foliage (generally annuals, and occasionally perennials). Please click on this link to see some wonderful ideas – http://myvirtualgarden2.blogspot.com/2013/09/mosaiculture-exhibition.html.

YMCA Tags Swimmers Youngsters who swim at YMCA summer camps must wear wristbands color-coded to their skill level under a policy prompted by the near-drowning of a child last month, officials said. The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh recently implemented rules that also seek to reduce the size of groups of children at play in the water. In addition to improving safety, the measures will allow more interaction between campers and counselors, said Todd Brinkman, district vice president of camping services. "And that's been a priority of our camps always," he said. The YMCA has worked to strengthen its pool safety for at least a year, but the Baierl YMCA incident hastened the process, Brinkman said. "We decided to make it universal across the board for (the new rules)," he said. The policy breaks swimmers into smaller groups - five children to each counselor, as opposed to 15 children with three counselors, he said. Children will wear wristbands that denote their swimming skills: red for nonswimmers, yellow for middle-level swimmers and green for advanced swimmers.

From Park(ing) Day to permanent parklets Change is happening. In 2008, LivableStreets helped create the first Park(ing) Day in Boston. Park(ing) Day celebrates and rethinks urban design by temporarily transforming parking spaces for one day. In September, dozens of Park(ing) Day spots all across the region organized by local individuals and groups as part of a one-day international Park(ing) Day. And, Boston and surrounding cities are now making these transformations permanent with parklets - transforming parking spaces for parked cars to open spaces for people. Join LivableStreets in celebrating these changes that make our streets safer and communities more vibrant. Post and share your photos of these changes on Twitter and Facebook.

Invasive Plants – Issues, Challenges, and Discoveries Webinar Series: January – May 2014 The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station recently announced a new webinar series on invasive plants. This free interactive series provides attendees with cutting-edge information about invasive plants and their management. The series started in January, but you can make the next webinar on March 13

th, 2014 called Merging plant-insect chemical ecology

with weed biocontrol to better predict efficacy and climate change impacts by Justin Runyon. To participate in the presentations, please log in to Adobe Connect and dial in by telephone. To join the webinar, click on the link and select Enter As Guest, then type your name. http://rmrs.abodeconnect.com/invasives/. No prior registration is necessary. For audio, dial 1-888-844-9904 and the access code is 8405053#.

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City Parks Alliance Job Bank Need to relocate? Looking for a change? Be sure to check the City Parks Alliance Job Bank regularly for job postings at www.cityparksalliance.org/job-bank.

New Act You may wish to investigate the bipartisan Community Parks Revitalization Act of 2013 which assists communities in creating new, and rehabilitating existing, parks and recreation spaces.

Park Board to Experiment with Organic Weed Control Village of Sussex - The ongoing controversy over weed spraying in the village is likely to continue when the Park and Recreation Board considers hiring, on an experimental basis, a Madison firm that uses natural, organic weed control rather the more conventional chemical sprays. The village presently sprays for weeds on athletic fields and medians in streets and around municipal buildings such as Village Hall and the library. The village does not spray for weed control in municipal parks with the exception of the Coldwater Creek residential development where the homeowner's association reimburses the village for the cost of the weed control, according to Village Administrator Jeremy Smith. Smith said some village trustees have asked the village staff to explore using nonchemical methods of controlling weeds in an effort to reduce what the trustees perceive as a possible health and public safety threat posed by chemical weeds spray. If the experiment works, the Village Board may consider using the firm's weed control methods more extensively in the village. "I could see next month’s meeting having broader implication," Smith said. Smith said the community appears to be evenly divided over park land spraying. "The Park Board recently did a survey and the results were pretty much 50-50," he explained. "There are some people who think we should spray weeds in the parks. There are others who do not think we should spray either because of perceived public health reasons or to save money," he added.

Park-Based Rec Center Expansion OK’d Amid Protestations Although Camelot Park already closed for the beginning of what will be a $6 million renovation, some residents came to the Arlington Heights Village board to speak out against the park district project. The board unanimously approved plans from the Arlington Heights Park District for part of the Camelot renovations that will use public land such as a parking variance and a special use to allow the community center on public land. Brian Huckstadt, director of parks and planning for the park district said there were at least six community meetings over several years and that concerns from residents were taken into consideration. But some residents disagreed. "I'm very disappointed that the people of Camelot Park were not listened to," said Marion Sherman Behzad, who lives across from the park. "They had all these meetings, but the decision was already made." Behzad said she is concerned that there will be so little green space left at the park after the expansion. "I have attended every single meeting and there were a great many people who did not want this to happen," Behzad said. "Please just leave us a park, not a big recreation theme park." The park facility closed last week for the $5.83 million project, which is funded in part by a $2.5 million grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, according to the Arlington Heights Park District. The project will more than double the size of the community center building, adding 13,842 square feet of space including a new gymnasium with an elevated walking track, a new preschool room, and a new main entry way and lobby, as well as more programming space and additional parking. The current facility at Camelot Park, 1005 E. Suffield Drive, is more than 40 years old. The facility is expected to reopen in fall 2014, according to the district.

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Before voting unanimously to approve the project, village trustees distanced themselves from the actual planning and funding of the project, which was done by the park district. "What we have before us is a very narrow question," said Trustee Thomas Glasgow.

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce Bill a Prescription for Wellness for Obesity-Related Health Conditions Individuals with obesity-related conditions which may be treated with exercise WOULD BE GIVEN FREE ACCESS TO STATE PARKS PROVIDED THEY HAVE A PHYSICIAN’S PRESCRIPTION under legislation introduced by Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce. The bill, A-4490, would create ―Prescriptions for Parks,‖ which would allow practitioners to write a prescription for a New Jersey State park pass for individuals diagnosed with obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and heart disease, which may be treated with exercise. ―Healthcare practitioners cannot emphasize enough the importance of exercise as part of an individual’s treatment program especially for those with metabolic, respiratory, and cardiac conditions,‖ said DeCroce. ―This measure provides those suffering from these diseases an incentive to not only exercise, but an opportunity to do so outdoors, surrounded by the beauty of our state’s natural resources. Treadmills and exercise bikes are great for physical fitness, but there’s nothing like a hike, a jog, or swim in the forests and lakes or rivers found in nature.‖ The special pass would be valid for free entrance and parking to all 50 State park facilities. A prescription would be good for two 12-week sessions and would have to be renewed; otherwise, an individual would be required to pay regular entrance and parking fees. The bill also calls for the Division of Parks & Forestry to develop a brochure for suggested workouts within park facilities, utilizing already established activity programs and trails. ―Our State parks are an underutilized resource,‖ stated DeCroce. ―By incentivizing residents to exercise and visit State parks, citizens will be healthier, insurance companies will shoulder less of a burden, healthcare tax dollars will be saved and New Jersey’s beautiful parks will be highlighted and enjoyed.‖ According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adult Americans are considered obese and at risk for numerous health conditions, including diabetes, coronary disease, respiratory disorders and osteoarthritis. It is estimated that at least 10 percent of the nation’s healthcare costs are caused by obesity. The program proposed by DeCroce is similar to others implemented in New York, Chicago, Indiana, New Mexico, and California.

THE ADVOCATES DILEMMA: When The Need for Action is Immediate, But the Pace of Change is Slow (this is from Steve Miller’s Blog and was written on August 14th, 2013) There are situations where the danger is so great, the potential damage so devastating, the outrage to decency so powerful that you feel that immediate, radical change becomes an emotional and moral imperative. And you do everything you can to advocate, to make the world take notice, to make people in power take action. Right now. But, with few exceptions, change happens slowly. Creating change requires getting decision-makers to act, attracting the support of powerful interests, or mobilizing important enough segments of the media and/or the public - none of which usually happens quickly. And then implementing significant change requires transforming systems, which almost always have enormous inertial drag towards the status quo. And having an impact requires the changed processes and outcomes to replace current conditions, which can be incremental and uncertain.

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Advocates are sometimes wrong. The problem may not be as big or as bad as they believe. Or it is; but decision-makers, even those who want to address the issue, are not free to act as decisively as needed. It is true that in moments of transfixing emergency - a devastating hurricane, a terrorist attack, a spreading pandemic - the government is able to command the entire society and mobilize a broad response; although George Bush showed us that such efforts are not necessarily well done and can create as many problems as they solve. But in more ordinary circumstances, public (or even corporate) leaders are remarkably constrained. At last year's Boston Bicycle Update, when someone asked Nicole Freedman why she was talking about paint and signs when we needed to redesign our streets to stop the killing of cyclists, Nicole said, "paint can be laid down in months, moving curbs takes years." And that's true, even were Mayor Menino to order it done. Still, the more drastic the consequences of non-action the stronger the tension. For some people, the distance between what should be and what is causes them to lose touch with reality and end up in violent dead ends that violate the very values that originally motivated them. Other people are inspired to leap over the gap through symbolic action of ethical heroism. However, most of the time, for most people, a belief in the possibility of change gives them the fortitude to endure the countless conversations, endless meetings, and repeated disappointments that are the necessary foundation for their eventual partial success - although they often hope for the emergence of a mass movement capable of driving their issue through the swamp of transformation. In fact, it is exactly in the intolerable space between what ought to be and what is that advocacy (and most of life) occurs.... CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS POST...

CTASLA Launches OlmstedLegacyTrail.com Website Reprinted with permission from the Fall 2013 edition of The Connecticut Landscape Architect - visit www.ctasla.org.

The Connecticut Chapter of ASLA is pleased to announce the launching of a new website dedicated to the exploration of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Connecticut heritage. Olmsted (1822-1903) — long recognized as one of America's greatest landscape architects and, in fact, the father of the profession — is a Connecticut native, born in Hartford and buried in the city’s Old North Cemetery.

Olmsted’s famous works include many of the nation’s beloved parks and outdoor spaces including Central Park in New York City, the U.S. Capital Grounds, Boston Fens, Stanford University campus, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, the grounds of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, and many other important places.

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He left his mark in Connecticut as well. Parks and properties designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (with various partners) include: • Walnut Hill Park (New Britain) • Seaside Park (Bridgeport) • Beardsley Park (Bridgeport) • The Institute of Living grounds (Hartford) Olmsted’s career was no doubt nurtured by his Connecticut roots. One of his joys as a child was traveling with his family ―in search of scenery.‖ The family traveled often by horse and carriage through the Connecticut River Valley and to New York State and the Maine coast. Olmsted once wrote: ―The happiest recollections of my early life are the walks and rides I had with my father and the drives with my father and mother in the woods and fields. Sometimes these were quite extended, and really tours in search of the picturesque.‖ He attended schools in several Connecticut towns, and received a good basic education. In 1840 he studied surveying in Collinsville, and later attended lectures at Yale and worked at a farm in Waterbury. This was an opportunity to learn first-hand the skills of grading and drainage. In 1846, his father bought him a 70-acre farm on Sachem’s Head in Guilford, which went down to the rocky edge of Long Island Sound. As Olmsted matured, his interests and his work took him away from Connecticut. Olmsted had lofty goals and aspired to bring the rural countryside to urban dwellers. He believed that the parks he created were a place where people from all walks of life could come together to enjoy fresh air, panoramic views, and the inspirational beauty of nature. He further believed in the transformational power of nature and the ability of public parks to enrich people’s lives. He eventually married and had a son, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. He also raised his stepson, John Charles Olmsted. They both eventually joined him in his practice. The Olmsted Brothers continued the legacy of the Olmsted firm well into the mid-20th century and were responsible for the design of several additional notable Connecticut landscapes. ―The goal of this new website is to provide education about Olmsted’s life, accomplishments, and influences in Connecticut,‖ says Eric Rains, past president of the Chapter, who worked on the project. ―Olmsted is a Connecticut native and, therefore, we are the stewards of his birthplace, his burial site, early influences, and body of work located in the state.‖ Other goals for the website and trail include: • Support the study and preservation of historic landscapes in Connecticut. • Drive tourism activity to Olmsted sites and communities, similar to other ―trail‖ concepts. • Promote landscape architecture in Connecticut and the value of parks and other public spaces. While this first phase of the website focuses on the four core ―Olmsted, Sr.‖ sites, CTASLA hopes to expand the trail in future years to include the projects of the Olmsted Brothers and any other landscapes that fall under the Olmsted Legacy, and to eventually tie in neighboring states with Connecticut as the nexus to the trail. We also hope to install signage at the sites to let visitors know the landscape is on the Olmsted Legacy Trail. Please visit the new site at www.OlmstedLegacyTrail.com.

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What it takes to turn a massive Staten Island Landfill Into a Park By Sarah Goodyear, Appeared in Next City on 9/17/2013

Credit: Freshkills2030 Sponsored by Friends of the High Line For generations, Staten Island’s Fresh Kills Landfill was a dump, the receptacle for solid waste from all over New York City. From the time it opened in 1947 until closing in 2001, Fresh Kills was synonymous with its stench, a sad reminder of how our society is drowning in its own refuse. It was a place to avoid, the butt of a thousand jokes. Today, Freshkills Park — the reengineered 2,200-acre site on the western shore of Staten Island — is well on its way to becoming one of the most innovative urban parks in the nation. ―It’s the largest landfill-to-park transformation in the world at the moment,‖ says Eloise Hirsh of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Hirsh serves as the administrator of Freshkills, a position she has held since 2006. Hirsh will be one of the speakers at the final talk in the ―Beyond the High Line‖ series on September 23. Along with landscape architect and urban designer James Corner of James Corner Field Operations, lead designer on the Freshkills Park project (and High Line Park), Hirsh will present ―Transforming Fresh Kills, Staten Island.‖ The process of creating Freshkills Park is not a quick fix, and capping the massive piles of garbage — which give off both gas and liquid waste as they decompose — will pose a significant

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engineering challenge. (The city’s Sanitation Department is already harvesting the methane gas and selling it to a local utility. It’s enough to heat 22,000 homes and nets the city about $12 million in annual revenue, a sum that will decrease as the process of decomposition winds down.) In 2006, the parks department assumed responsibility for implementing the Field Operations master plan. It expects construction to continue through 2030. The park will open in phases over that time. The vision for the park’s future is a grand one. It includes a wide variety of uses — a partial list includes structured play spaces, open lawns, event venues, wildlife habitats, kayak launches, mountain bike trails and floating gardens. So far, the only portion to stay open on a regular basis is the Schmul Playground, an environmentally sensitive redesign of a traditional asphalt playground at the park’s periphery. Hirsh says that part of her mission is to showcase the developing park in as many ways as possible. On September 29, her department will host its annual Sneak Peak at Freshkills Park, opening the gates for a daylong series of events and activities that allow the public to preview a park that, when complete, will be nearly three times the size of Central Park. ―We want to allow people to experience the site in some kind of focused way,‖ Hirsh says. ―It allows the park to become real before it actually becomes a park.‖ School groups have visited and scientists have used the site to study bats, turtles and birds. Education and scientific research are a main component of the park’s mission. ―These things will grow,‖ Hirsh says. Already, Freshkills is proving its worth. With its wetlands under restoration and its mounds of refuse now becoming hills integrated into the landscape, the park took the hit of Hurricane Sandy and diffused the storm surge, protecting inland neighborhoods and suffering very little damage itself. ―Freshkills Park is a very good example of what resilience should look like,‖ Hirsh says. Even before the park’s completion, she says, it can serve as a model for combining the reclamation of an environmentally damaged landscape with public recreation. ―It’s a project that a lot of people look to for ideas about what to do,‖ Hirsh says. ―Everybody has landfill, and everybody wants to do something with it.‖

Parks Providers Respond to a Growing Interest in Community Gardening By Nicholas Brown Yielding obvious benefits at relatively minimal costs, urban community gardening has had its champions for decades. But according to most people who’ve spent careers digging in the public dirt, it’s only been within the past few years that the movement reached full bloom. ―This is the biggest crest I’ve seen, as far as interest in community gardening and locally grown food,‖ says MayLynn Pulscher, environmental education coordinator for the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation board, who helps oversee the city’s community garden programs. Luci Beachdell, a coordinator of community gardens and programs for Five Rivers Metroparks, which serves Dayton, Ohio, says urban and suburban gardening in the past three or four years alone ―has been getting huge.‖ Ask Pulscher, Beachdell and other gardening experts why interest in the subject has been blossoming, and they’ll point to any number of growing economic and societal problems to which community gardening responds – a disconnect from nature, unprecedented obesity rates, and the escalating costs of food production. ―The issue of food tackles a lot of these issues at the same

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time,‖ says Beachdell. ―There are a lot of people who have some money and some influence who are suddenly interested in community gardens, and that hasn’t always been the case. The local food movement overlaps with community gardening. People want to know where their food is coming from and how it’s grown.‖ Most public parks and recreation providers in the urban and suburban areas are naturally well suited to establish community gardens and associated programming for several reasons, not the least of which are core missions to enrich the lives of their citizens. But parks agencies also have the programming expertise, particularly with children, as well as access to open and potentially fertile green space. ―In places where you’re not rich in land, a community garden run by a park district makes a lot of sense,‖ Beachdell says. ―That park district likely has access to space that would be difficult to find or even secure for a long period of time.‖ More forward thinking agencies serving communities with little available space are including gardens in site plans for other facilities, such as recreation centers or sports fields. Land and associated irrigation and security fencing, however, represent only one part of the equation when establishing community gardens that can flourish for years. As with any recreation facility or program, the parks department will have to offer some level of gardening experience. Those are usually self-organized volunteers, often what we call ―friends‖ groups. Parks and recreation may be providing the land, the water, and the security, but those volunteers are actually providing the green thumb. That reality can actually work toward another goal of public community gardens: community-building through intergenerational relationships. ―These days, people are always looking for ways to get kids outside, and what’s a relatively easy thing you can do outside? Gardening,‖ says Pulscher. ―It’s really good for intergenerational connections – parent-child, grandparent-child – and it works across cultures as well.‖

Park and Ride, Swim, Play, Boat, Hike, Skate…and More! It’s all here at the parks in the five villages of the town of Hartford, Vermont

By Sonja Hakala The summer sun is just starting to crack the horizon when the morning ritual begins. The White River picks up the eastern light as its waters speed, riffle, and foam past Clifford Park. As clouds pick up the colors of dawn, misty dancers rise from the river’s surface, gracefully twisting in the air as they waltz their way to the sky. A nesting robin sings then dives to the grassy field in search of a wormy breakfast. A fisherman pulls into the parking lot and stops by the new playground equipment that replaced the swings and slide swept downstream by Hurricane Irene, the engine of his car breaking the silence. He pulls on waders, pushes a hat onto his head, and then heads past the picnic tables to the riverbank where he’ll drop a line in the water. Depending on your taste and inclination, you can enjoy any kind of morning scene among the parks, conservation areas and recreation facilities that enrich the five villages that make up the town of Hartford, VT. You can sip coffee from a nearby bistro as you watch folks bustle through the doors of the county courthouse or wheel their luggage into the Amtrak station from a bench in Veterans Memorial Park in White River Junction. You can launch your boat for a morning breakfast on the Connecticut River from Kilowatt Park South in Wilder. In Quechee you can jog around the perimeter of the green or paddle a kayak at Dewey’s Landing. In Hartford village, you and your dog can visit with neighbors at the dog park in Watson Memorial Park.

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To appreciate the scope of Hartford’s natural assets, let’s start with a few facts. The town of Hartford encompasses 24,851 acres of land. It shares miles of river frontage along the Connecticut with the city of Lebanon, N.H. The three branches of the White River — a broad watershed that drains a third of the state of Vermont — join one another just to the north of Hartford so this sometimes rambunctious stream widens considerably as it courses through town. In addition, the Ottauquechee River snakes through the village of Quechee then thunders into a gorge that bills itself as ―the Grand Canyon of the east‖ before heading to the Connecticut. In other words, Hartford’s geography, its history, and to a large extent, the location of its parks are determined by its waters. According to the Hartford Historical Society, the town’s interest in preserving open land for public use dates back to the late 19th century. It all started with a complaint in an 1890 edition of a local newspaper called the Landmark from the ―ladies of the town‖ about an unsightly ditch between the railroad depot in White River Junction and the hotel across the street. In 1898, the Central Vermont Railroad cleared the refuse, filled in the ditch, and let the town use the land for a park. Filled with trees and a fountain, it made a much better welcome mat for White River Junction than the ―pile of elegant red and yellow labeled fruit cans in a beautiful setting of coal ashes and broken bottles‖ described by the ladies. That acreage not only represents a historic step in the public interest, it represents the beginning of a pattern of park development in Hartford that includes strategic partnerships among the town, the state, the federal government, corporations, nonprofit organizations and private individuals. Kilowatt Park South and Kilowatt Park North A good example of these partnership arrangements are the two Kilowatt Parks — North and South — adjacent to one another just north of the Wilder Dam. Accessed via roads off Route 5, this land is now owned by TransCanada. In cooperation with the town, Kilowatt Park South provides a public boat launch big enough for outboards and a large field where over 3,000 people gather to watch Hartford’s spectacular fireworks every Fourth of July. Arguably the most beautiful park in Hartford, the adjacent Kilowatt Park North is an idyllic picnic area tucked under a canopy of pine and hardwoods that includes picnic tables, grills, and swimming access to a portion of the Connecticut that’s more lake-like than river. Watson Memorial Park and the Upper Valley Dog Park Named in honor of a local doctor who donated this pie-wedge of ground between the White River and Route 14 in Hartford village, Watson Park is one of the liveliest spots in Hartford on any given day when there’s no snow on the ground. The large, flat field (flat is so hard to find in Vermont; that fact alone makes this space a gem) is host to a large group of ultimate Frisbee aficionados who practice, play pickup games, and compete in teams as far away as New York City. But for many, the best part of Watson Park is tucked in its far downstream corner. The Upper Valley Dog Park may represent the best partnership deal that Hartford’s ever made. According to the director of Hartford Parks and Recreation department, Tad Nunez, the town was approached by a group who wanted to build a dog park in 2007. ―They’d been turned down by every other town they’d approached,‖ Nunez says, ―but we thought this was a good idea.‖ There was one stipulation, however. With a staff of only six, the town rec department could not add the responsibility or expense of such a facility to its roster. Enter the Upper Valley Dog Park Supporters, a volunteer group who raised $30,000 to create the large fenced-in area (large dogs on the left, small dogs on the right) and maintain it. According to its many fans, it’s quite the scene on a summer evening.

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Neighborhood Parks: Frost Park and George Ratcliffe Park According to Nunez, Frost Park (located in Wilder on South Street) is the oldest neighborhood park still in the Hartford system. Oval in shape, this well shaded site is surrounded by homes, so it functions as a common space for all the local children. Owned and operated by the town, there’s playground equipment, a pavilion covering picnic tables, a place to play tag, and a basketball hoop. Ratcliffe is located on the Connecticut River in White River Junction on Latham Works Lane. Bigger than Frost, Ratcliffe’s facilities include a baseball field and a community garden managed under an agreement with Upper Valley Coop. Public pocket parks: Lyman Point, Veterans Memorial Park, Fred Briggs Park Lyman Point Park surrounds the town hall, fingers down to the White River, curves under a railroad bridge then slopes up behind the new Listen Center. It hosts any number of programs, including a summer concert series in its outdoor performance area. Across the river from Lyman Point, Veterans Memorial Park echoes its riverside ecology and includes a sculpture by Jeffrey Sass of Quechee. This elegant memorial to the fallen depicts five geese, each caught in a different moment of takeoff.

As you continue walking toward the center of White River, you'll pass through a pocket of land, Fred Briggs Park, named in honor of the longtime owner of the building that houses Northern Stage, and then it's on to Engine 494 Park. This park includes the restored locomotive that becomes a center of an annual celebration in September called Glory Days that attracts more than 2,000 enthusiasts to downtown. Quechee Green and Dewey’s Landing The Quechee Green is an example of a different kind of park partnership. Located just off Main Street in Quechee, this park hosts the annual balloon festival in June. The land is owned by the Quechee Lakes Landowners Association (QLLA), but under a long term lease agreement, the town maintains the Green and regulates public activities in it, including a series of summertime concerts. There’s also a jogging trail around its perimeter and space for a community garden.

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Just up the road from the Green, Dewey’s Landing is a pond area formed at a bend in the Ottauquechee River. The land is owned by the town, which started buying up this area when the Dewey’s woolen mills closed in 1952. The Corps’ holdings extend downstream to the North Hartland Dam and include Quechee Gorge and Quechee State Park. While the state operates and maintains the park and gorge, the pond waters on either side of the causeway at Dewey’s Landing are maintained by the town. In summer, this area welcomes kayakers to paddle among its plentiful water lilies, as well as hikers who want to walk a scenic trail up to the gorge. In winter, a village of bob houses settles on the pond’s ice, and the town hosts a popular ice fishing derby for kids every year. David Chang Conservation Area If you’re familiar with Hartford’s parks but don’t know about this 6-acre site, you’re probably not alone. Perched on the line between the villages of Quechee and Taftsville, this pocket of green gives anglers access to a loop of the Ottauquechee River. Hidden in plain sight, you’ll find the Chang along Route 4. Your best access is to park at the top of the driveway leading to Shepard Construction, then walk down through the grass and wildflowers to the river. Please be sure to pull well off the driveway surface so that you’re not blocking the comings and goings of the commercial establishments. Meeting House Common This small curve of a park, located on Center of Town Road in White River Junction, is the emotional heart of Hartford. A large, plaque-bearing stone sits in the deep shadow of a juniper tree at the back of the park, marking the birthplace of the town. The plaque reads: This memorial marks the center of the town of Hartford determined by survey in 1774. Here was the parade or convenient green on which were drilled Hartford’s soldiers in the Revolution. Here stood the meeting house built by the town in 1784, used for religious services until 1828 and for town meetings until 1872. Here on meeting house square was held the annual June Training Day until 1844. Nearby stood Freegrace Leavitt’s Tavern and, until 1840, the town clerk’s office. In the quiet on that hill, you can almost hear the clop of horses’ hooves and the bustle of a long gone town meeting day. Sherman Manning Pools and Wendell A. Barwood Arena Located on the same campus as Hartford’s high and middle schools, these two recreational facilities provide an impressive array of programming that’s open to anyone who wants to join in the fun. Sherman Manning’s two pools are surrounded on three sides by the high school building while the Barwood Arena sits on one side of the football field. Managed by the town parks and recreation department, the arena opens in October. Here you can learn to skate, wield a hockey stick, watch a high school game, or drop in for a pickup game of your own. During the summer, you can learn how to swim at the pool, buy a season pass, join in the fun for a poolside pizza party, or train to compete on a swim team. In yet another example of the Hartford park’s cooperative efforts on behalf of its residents, the pool extends its swimming lessons to all second graders in cooperation with the Upper Valley Aquatic Center in White River Junction. For Hikers: Maanawaka Conservation Area, Hurricane Forest & Wildlife Refuge, Hartford Town Forest If stretching your legs on a woodland trail is your kind of exercise, there are short and long hikes in all three of these parks. Maanawaka (which means conserve or protect in the Abenaki language) is one of Hartford’s newest open spaces. Located .7 miles south of the Dothan Brook Elementary School between Route 5 and the Connecticut River, this town-owned property completes a hiking corridor that begins in the small Maanawaka parking lot, and depending on which route you choose, meanders along the Connecticut River on the Hazen Trail to the

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Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich. Part of the property includes land conserved by the Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT). Maps of the trail system are available at http://www.uvlt.org. White River Junction is not only the confluence of two great rivers, it is historically the confluence of several railroads, and now Interstates 89 and 91 cross here as well. This is arguably the busiest area of Hartford with its many hotels and the sprawling VA hospital complex. But if you head south from the interstates on Route 5 and zip under the underpass you’ll find Wright Reservoir Road on your right. Drive uphill and you’re a world away from traffic in the Hurricane Forest Wildlife Refuge. Once the home of the town water system, this refuge has a short trail around the last of the three town reservoirs (where bass are plentiful) as well as longer trails that fan out from this area. This refuge shares a common border with the Hartford Town Forest, managed by the town conservation commission. The trailheads for the town forest are most easily accessed from Kings Highway. The Hurricane Forest and Hartford Town Forest welcome hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, snowshoers and cross country skiers. ATVs and snowmobiles are welcome on some trails. Maps are on site as well as at the town hall. The Maxfield Sports Complex In late June, officials finally broke ground on the town’s newest recreation facility, the Maxfield Sports Complex. Located on Route 5 to the south of the interstates in White River Junction, this 72-acre parcel was donated by Louis Maxfield. When Maxfield first approached the town with his gift, he wanted to have it used as a municipal golf course. But after studies and plans that changed and changed again, this new recreation area will include a jogging/walking path, tennis and basketball courts, ball fields for all sorts of games, and three pavilions that will serve the town’s schools as well as the public good. Did You Know? Hartford Department of Parks and Recreation is a national agency accredited department. ―The management and practices of maintaining our parks are a direct correlation to maintain our accreditation and service to the public,‖ says Tad Nunez, director. A Guide A program guide about all of the town’s recreation parks and recreational programs is available on the town website, www.hartford-vt.org. Copies are available at the town hall in White River Junction. Many of the town park spaces and facilities are available for rental for private parties or sporting events. You can make inquiries at (802) 295-5036.

Risky Play is Good Play – Risk An essential ingredient in children’s play By Joan Almon Play without risk is like a hotdog without mustard. It’s better than nothing, but so much tastier when the two are together. Play without risk still has some value, but it quickly becomes rather boring. In play children continually extend their boundaries and strengthen their abilities. This means taking risks, which they do, by assessing their own abilities and matching them to the conditions of their environment. Are the branches strong enough so that I can climb higher? Can I jump from the swing into the sand pit? Can I climb the ladder to the tall slide; can I jump from the high

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diving board? Play is full of such choices, but when it is sanitized and nearly devoid of risk, as happens so often today, children become disinterested. There is widespread agreement that today’s children are playing less, becoming more sedentary and overweight, and seem less able to work out social difficulties with peers. Creativity scores among children have been falling since 1990, despite the recognized need for greater creativity in the 21

st century. Education gives less and less opportunity for play and creativity, and home life

tends to be dominated by screen time and/or organized, adult-led activities. While some of these activities are fruitful for children, they should not replace time for child-initiated, child-directed play. In such play children get to know themselves and the world around them. In such play children take chances and learn to cope with risks. Children’s ability to access risk Risk assessment is the child’s means of matching the demands of the environment with their own sense of inner capacity. Watch them climb a tree or a jungle gym, testing every step of the way. Few children are foolhardy and plunge ahead without testing a situation. Nonetheless, we treat children as if they are all daredevils like Evel Knievel or as if they are incapable of assessing risk. Research indicates that children as young as six months proceed with caution when a new and potentially dangerous situation appears before them. They back up or gingerly feel their way forward. Already at this young age they know how to assess risk. In my own work with young children I saw them continually risk-assess, especially in new situations. When I took them to a new park, for instance, I went first to become familiar with the possibilities and risks. Then I rarely needed to give them instructions other than defining the boundaries for roaming. They explored eagerly, but not foolishly. And while we occasionally experienced splinters and scrapes, there was rarely anything more serious. Injury is always a concern, and one needs to protect children from serious injury while not wrapping the child in cotton wool. How much injury is acceptable? This varies by age and circumstance, but it’s best to see lesser injuries as a normal part of children’s exploration of the world. As the excellent publication, Managing Risk in Play Provision states, ―In a playground, bumps, bruises, scrapes, and even a broken limb are not necessarily warning signs of greater dangers, as they might be in a factory or an office environment. They are to be expected as part of everyday life for children growing up.‖ In an effort to protect children from all injuries, well-meaning parents and litigation-minded professionals have created a different problem – the children who do not know how to handle risk because they are given too little opportunity to practice that skill. University professors, for instance, report that today’s students need everything defined with clear outcomes. They cannot tolerate any uncertainties. A course can be highly structured to meet their needs, but life itself comes in a variety of unexpected forms, including major storms and social upheavals. Many of today’s young people lack the resilience and ability to cope with risk that life inevitably brings, and that can be truly dangerous for them.

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NEPA Leadership

Judith Sumner, President Director, Recreation Department, 25 West St, City Hall, Leominster MA 01453 (978) 534-7529, FAX (978) 534-7549 Email: jsumner@leominster-ma.gov J. Brett Simmons, First Vice President CPRP, Superintendent, Park & Recreation Dept., 153 South Main Street, Torrington CT 06790 (860) 489-2385, FAX (860) 489-2588 Email: brett_simmons@torringtonct.org Kate Hodges, Treasurer Director, Parks, Recreation & Comm. Education, 33 Shattuck St, Littleton MA 01460 (978) 540-2490, FAX (978) 952-6053 Email: khodges@littletonma.org John Howe, Secretary Superintendent, Park Department, 77 Main St., New Canaan CT 06840 (203) 594-3100, FAX (203) 594-3101 John.howe@newcanaanct.gov Colin Drury, Second Vice President Recreation Director, E. Longmeadow Recreation, 328 N. Main St., E.Longmeadow MA 01028 (413) 525-5437, FAX (413) 526-9740 cdrury@eastlongmeadowma.gov Glenn Marston, Member at Large Director, Recreation & Park Department, 60 West Main St., Avon CT 06001 (860) 409-4332, FAX (860) 409-4334 Email: gmarston@town.avon.ct.us Matt Tobin, Member at Large Pioneer Manufacturing Co., 5 Chelsea Circle, Saco ME 04072 (207) 229-4801, Fax (800) 877-4801 Email: mtobin@pioneerathletics.com Gerard Toner, Past President Director of Culture, Parks, & Recreation Dept., P. O. Box 495, Simsbury CT 06070 (860) 408-4682, FAX (860) 408-9283 Email: gtoner@simsbury-ct.gov EDITORS Eric W. O’Brien (M. E. O’Brien & Sons, Inc.) Phone: 800-835-0056 / E-mail: Eric@obrienandsons.com Nick Caggiano (Nashua, NH Superintendent, Parks & Recreation Dept.) Phone: 603-589-3370 / E-mail: caggianon@ci.nashua.nh.us Patricia Carey (Needham MA, Director, Parks & Recreation Dept.) Phone: 781-455-7521 / E-mail: pcarey@needhamma.gov