Programs to Highlight from Cobb County Recreation Forum

The following are some of the exemplary programs that were presented at the Recreation Forum in Cobb County, Georgia, on March 9, 2007. Please feel free to comment on how these programs could be furthered or replicated.

I had a vision of a "campus concept" in recreation when I was a department head and pushed to implement it when I became County Manager. In Cobb you will find the campus concept. Aquatic centers, art places, libraries, senior centers, fire stations, rec centers, and health agencies have consolidated and share their resources; joint facilities allow families to be truly engaged together.
David Hankerson, Manager of Cobb County

We are directing a program focusing on children and parents called "Discovering Alabama in Your Own Backyard." We train parents to take their kids outside and reconnect to their child.
Shirley West, Turtle Point Environmental Science Center

The Connecticut State Park System was on a death spiral when Gina McCarthy, Commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, came to office two years ago. Instead of going to the legislature for more money, she decided to increase visitation. They took "Amazing Race," adapted it to the "Great Park Chase," and invited families to go to 8 state parks on 8 successive weekends. They even got the media onboard. The Hartford Current, which had ignored the state parks for years, now runs a full page story on the hidden gems of CT’s state parks each month. McCarthy’s visitation is now up 80%, which means her budget is up over 50%. Bank of America wanted to support McCarthy’s park initiatives with $10,000. She asked them to instead buy an annual state park pass for every family in CT caring for a foster child. She gave out 8,000 passes and brought in an entirely new constituency to CT's state parks.

Connecticut has copyrighted "No Child Left Inside." McCarthy has done an array of programs in connection with the Connecticut State libraries. You can check out a state park pass just like a book. In exchange for getting these passes, each library has to do a display that features a different state park each month. Makes sense because this is where families with young children go.

The head of Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation decided to waive fees to public swimming pools for everyone who can show a public welfare card. He increased his margin and found more sponsors.
Derrick Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition

How do you attract families with so many other competitors for their time to come to the outdoors? With our "Evening in the Parks Program," we made the parks accessible at night so working families can come. We hold a Fall and Winter "Owl Prowl." "Sunset in the Swamp"allows people to wade into the wetlands. We even have "Frog Frolics." There's a great need to have parent-child adventures. You give kids the illusion of high independence and make parents even more comfortable to come back during the day.
Jerry Hightower, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

At the state level we need dynamic new programs like Governor Sonny Perdue’s "Go Fish Georgia" initiative, which seeks to improve fishing opportunities, quality, and access for Georgia’s 1.5 million fishermen.
Noel Holcomb, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Our Life Skills Program teaches work ethics through gardening. We contract with juvenile courts and put kids who are in trouble to work in the gardens. Two hours in the classroom teach better decision-making and then work in the gardens fulfills community service requirements.
Sheldon Fleming, Wonderland Gardens

The "Earth Parent Program"is about parent volunteers; it provides an Earth Parent for every classroom. Parents go into the classroom every month and teach an environmental/science/social studies lesson that gets kids outside. Has to conform to education standards. They do habitat studies, pollution, life cycle studies, etc. It also involves other partners such as Cobb County.
Brenda Hottinger, Ford PTSA Elementary School

Little Rock, Arkansas, has a new piece of trail called "The Medical Mile." A group of cardiologists banned together with Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Catholic hospital, and spent $1.5 million to build the Medical Mile that connects people with the trial system and urges people to get outside. The important thing is that the doctors brought resources to the table: money, knowledge, enthusiasm, political contacts. We need these people as allies. We don’t have to do it all ourselves!
Derrick Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition

Kids today are just as interested in the outdoors as they have been in the past. What’s lacking is someone to teach them, someone to take them, and somewhere to go. We have the Mentor hunting program. One-time events aren’t enough, so we have a nine step process that links experienced hunters with access to young people; includes woodmanship skills. Our "Living with White-tailed Deer" is a high school course that includes science, civics, and environmental science. It teaches young people to deal with difficult environmental management issues.
Brian Murphy, Quality Deer Management Association

Collaboration is the key to encourage communities to rally around the concept of connecting youth to the outdoors. For example, the Forest Service and various organizations partnered with the Talladega Board of Education in Alabama to design the state’s first environmental/forestry themed elementary school. Partners came together to sponsor interactive (hands-on) exhibits located throughout the school’s interior. Students in K-6 learn about nature daily through the use of exhibits, outdoor classrooms, and instruction. The design of the school’s exhibits correlates with the State of Alabama science curriculum.
Tammy F. Truett, US Forest Service