April 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 12

EDITOR'S LETTER
PRESIDENT AND CEO
Barbara Tulipane, CAE

Every Little Bit Helps
When I moved from Boston to the Washington metropolitan area
back in the late 1980s, tornadoes were not on my radar. I knew
there was an area of the country nicknamed " Tornado Alley, " but
in my mind, it wasn't something I really needed to worry about.
As time has gone on, however, tornadoes are no longer a rarity
here and their frequency, in my opinion, seems to be increasing.
Is this the result of climate change? Depending on who you ask,
the level of certainty can range from a resounding " Yes, it definitely
is! " to " There's no such thing! " No matter where you fall on the
spectrum, we all need to look for ways we can possibly help put
Mother Nature in a much better mood. When you look at the severity of the fire season out West, which seems to be lasting longer
and burning hotter than ever before, and the rising cost of disaster
relief - in response to the 2017 weather events, total federal disaster spending was more than $130 billion - if collectively we do
small things, like using paper straws instead of plastic or remembering to take reusable bags to the
grocery store, maybe we could start to see some improvement.
Of late, the mainstream media has been ringing the death knell for the recycling industry. China
recently ended its 25-year practice of accepting plastic waste from many developed countries and
it's estimated that 111 million metric tons of plastic waste will be displaced by 2030. As a result,
there's growing concern about where this trash will now go. But, is recycling really dead? On page
56 of this, our Conservation Pillar issue, Rich Dolesh, NRPA's vice president of strategic initiatives, poses this question in the " Recycling Is Dead. Now What? " article and offers some recycling
solutions and suggestions on what park and recreation agencies can do to help themselves and the
public recycle in smarter ways.
Also, in the news recently are the devasting floods affecting at least five Midwestern states. Fires,
floods, sea-level rise: what's being done to make our communities more resilient to these weather events? Parks and recreation is already on the forefront of this issue and on page 50 in " The
Vision Plan for Boston's Moakley Park, " contributors Amy Whitesides, Elaine Stokes and Alex
Marchinski share the vision plan for Moakley Park, which, combined with Fort Point Channel, is
part of the flood pathway for portions of the city's South End and Roxbury neighborhoods. This
vision not only incorporates the park as an important part of the city's coastal resiliency strategy,
but also includes upgrades to the park's facilities and programs that will benefit some highly vulnerable communities, addressing access and equity for all.
The story of how parks and recreation helps enhance not only the physical, but also the environmental health of communities is an exciting one that we should take every opportunity to share.
Every little bit - even if it's simply switching from plastic to paper straws - helps. And the work
you, our members, do each and every day, some of which is highlighted in this issue, is a bright
light in what may at times seem like a not so rosy global outlook. So, thank you for all you do and
keep up the great work!

SONIA MYRICK
Executive Editor

Parks & Recreation

| A P R I L 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING,
COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLISHING,
AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Gina Mullins-Cohen
gcohen@nrpa.org
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Sonia Myrick
smyrick@nrpa.org
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Lindsay G. Collins
lcollins@nrpa.org
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR
Suzanne Nathan
snathan@nrpa.org
PUBLICATION DESIGN
Kim Mabon/Creative By Design
CreativeByDesign.net
SENIOR SALES MANAGER
EASTERN REGION AND EUROPE
Kip Ongstad
703.858.2174
kongstad@nrpa.org
SENIOR SALES MANAGER
WESTERN REGION AND ASIA
Michelle Dellner
949.248.1057
mdellner@nrpa.org
SALES COORDINATOR
Meghan Fredriksen
703.858.2190
mfredriksen@nrpa.org
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dreamstime.com or NRPA
(unless otherwise noted)
MAGAZINE ADVISORY
BOARD MEMBERS
Michael Abbaté, FASLA
Anthony-Paul Diaz
Ryan Eaker
Robert García
Kathleen Gibi
Paul Gilbert, CPRP
Tim Herd, CPRE
Brian Johnson, CPSI
Michele Lemons
Sam Mendelsohn
Maria Nardi
Lisa Paradis, CPRP
Gil Peñalosa
Paula Sliefert
Shonnda Smith, CPRP, AFO
Anne-Marie Spencer
Stephen Springs

April 2019 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2019 - Parks & Recreation