Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities Through Parks—A Guide To Success www.NRPA.org National Recreation and Park Association © 2011 All Rights Reserved 67 • Three times a year a park cleanup is sponsored by the neighborhood association Basic support (trash cans, garbage bags, rakes, and so on) comes from the public park agency, and at least three community groups participate • Two local community groups (such as a parent-teacher organization, scout group, or church) conduct a fund-raising project, with proceeds going to a small park improvement or program • Once a year, five community groups, using $200 in seed money from the public park department, sponsor and deliver a special event designed to bring members of the community into the park Internal Indicators of Sustainability The following local park and recreation examples involved citizen input in the park project, and they are already demonstrating indicators of future sustainability McKoy Pool Starting in 2005, there were several discussions and public meetings in the southern area of Decatur, Georgia, concerning the future of McKoy Pool For many years this pool was in disrepair and disuse The pool barely brought in $1,000 over the summer months from May to August The Decatur Active Living Department sponsored several community meetings in the Oakhurst Community and got the very clear message that the pool should be a facility that families could enjoy Several meetings with designers and the community resulted in the city’s building a brand new pool in 2007 with zero-depth entry and water features Since that time, the pool use has increased tremendously, with parents and children lining up at 9:30 a m to enter the pool—a half hour before it opens The pool grossed more than $30,000 this past season McKoy Pool is an asset to the community because this is where people connect and families get the opportunity to bond It is within walking distance for many residents and has been featured in workshops across the country The ongoing public support for this asset to the neighborhood speaks to its potential for sustainability Petersburg Park Petersburg Park in Louisville, Kentucky, is filled with individuals, families, and groups that use its picnic facilities One sign of ongoing sustainability that surfaces is that all groups clean up after their outing and place their tied trash bags next to the trash receptacles, facilitating the paid park cleanup Aera Park Aera Park, the 11-field baseball complex that was jointly designed and paid for by the local nonprofit youth baseball group and the city of Bakersfield, California, fully operates without the city’s assistance This is sustainability at its finest || AERA PARK – BASEBALL COMPLEX – CITY OF BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTkzMzk=