July 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 22

Community Center

Notable News
n The bipartisan National Discovery Trails Act of 2015 (HR 2661)
would create a system of recreational trails crossing state boundaries
to link urban, suburban, wilderness
and country sites that could be built
on federal and non-federal land with
the consent of the owners. Non-federal entities that own any property
linked to or considered such a trail
would still maintain control. The
bill would also classify the existing American Discovery Trail as
part of the National Trails System.
The roughly 6,000 mile trail runs
from Cape Henlopen State Park in
Delaware through Maryland, the
District of Columbia, West Virginia and Ohio, splits into a northern
and southern route in Kentucky (the
northern route goes through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska;
the southern leg traverses Illinois,
Missouri and Kansas), and meets up
again in Colorado where it continues as one route through Utah and
Nevada before reaching California.
Any new national discovery trail
would have to be walkable and cross
state lines.
n At the end of May, Maine primary care providers who participate in
the state's Let's Go! Program began
handing out state park passes to their
young patients to encourage families to be active while experiencing
the state's beauty and history. Let's
Go!, a childhood obesity prevention
effort, emphasizes physical activity
and healthy food choices. Participating practices use the 5-2-1-0 program
with their patients: five servings of
fruits and vegetables each day; two
hours or less of screen time each day;
one hour of physical activity daily;
20 Parks & Recreation

and zero sugary drinks in favor of
water. This is the fourth year that
the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is
providing the passes to medical practices. With the exception of Baxter
State Park, which is not administered
by the state, the one-time use passes are good at any of the state's 48
parks and historic sites and are valid
through December. This year, the department expects to distribute 13,000
passes to 148 medical practices.
n AquaClimb, a leading manufacturer
of aquatic climbing walls, recently donated $5,000 to the American Childhood Cancer Organization to coincide with this year's annual Childhood
Cancer Action Days, June 15 and 16,
hosted by the Alliance for Childhood
Cancer. According to Laura Grandner, general manager of AquaClimb,
" Childhood cancers get just 4 percent
of funding from the National Cancer
Institute, and that needs to change. "
Making childhood cancer a national health priority would ensure that
more treatments and techniques were
developed to specifically address cancers in children, and thus improve
survival rates and other outcomes.
The action days center around activities in Washington, D.C., during
which cancer organizations from
around the nation join together to
make their voices heard in Congress.
The campaign is called #StepUp:
Make Childhood Cancer a National
Health Priority. More than 300 advocates were expected to attend.
For more news from around the
industry, visit www.parksandrecreation.org/2015/July/Notable-News.

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NRPA Connect
Hot Topics

RPA Connect allows you to
network and share resources,
ideas and inspirations with
your peers in the park and recreation
field. Haven't checked out Connect yet?
Here's a preview of what you're missing:
Park Ambassador program: Your
colleagues discuss ideas to start a program that will help staff engage with
participants and park visitors. Want
to start your own park ambassador
program? Descriptions and handbooks are shared in this discussion to
help get things underway!
Rules for e-cigarettes: Does your
no-smoking ordinance include the use
of electronic cigarettes? As e-cigarettes
become more popular, there may be a
need to update your no-smoking policy. Participants discuss their current
policies and plans to amend them to
include this new trend.
Lifeguards on deck during swimming lessons: Does your aquatic facility have lifeguards on deck during
swimming lessons? Read this discussion to learn how other professionals
address this question and share their
best safety practices.
Remote-control planes: Requests
for permission to use remote-control
devices is growing. Your colleagues
address how they are handling the
demands, including designated locations to use these devices, age restrictions for operators, special permits
and developing hobby clubs.
It's easy to stay in touch. Connect
is now 100-percent responsive on all
devices! Don't get left behind - visit www.nrpaconnect.org to join the
conversation.
- Hayley MacDonell, NRPA's Membership Programs Manager

July 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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