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A Word from the Director
Come outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather while taking advantage of one of our many parks. I was at Butler Springs Park for lunch today, and saw people out walking on the trails--some with their four-legged friends (on a leash of course), as well as several young moms and their kids on the playground, and others on the tennis courts. Each evening the park is used for baseball and softball games, and this summer Butler Springs will host a day camp for kids. Check out the recently renovated park, we are proud of it and hope you will be as well!
Executive Director
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| Butler Springs Park Opening |
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 We have added more green to our park system with the acquisition of Oak Grove Lake located in the Dove Tree subdivision. This beautiful 23 acre fishing lake surrounded by mature trees and a walking trail was formerly owned by the SC Department of Natural Resources. We recently held a community meeting to learn what the area residents would like to see happen on the property and heard a lot of excellent suggestions. We are delighted to steward this site and ensure that it remains a public recreation area for all to enjoy for many years to come.
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| Great Events Coming Your Way in May and June... |
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May 17: Discovery Island Opens at Southside Park. Check out the website for hours of operation and other details.
June 7: Join us at Furman University for the Greater Greenville Scottish Games & Highland Festival. We'll be hosting "Wee Scotland", the children's area.
June 13-14: Celebrate African-American history and culture at Sterling  Community Center by joining us for our Juneteenth Celebration. This is the third annual Juneteenth Celebration. For all ages.
June 14: TRAM (Travelers Rest Art Mission) Day at beautiful Poinsett Park. This is a fun event with a creative spin for youth ages 12 and under. The event features arts, crafts, drama, and music.
June 16: Recreation District Summer Day Camp Programs begin. The progam will serve an estimated 1,100 children.
June 17: George's Club at the Pavilion. A ride on George the Train, crafts, snacks, and story time all make for a great morning out for preschoolers and their parents or grandparents. |
| Getting in the GREEN |
 Fountain Inn Elementary School has a beautiful new courtyard garden made possible through the efforts of Trees Greenville, the Greenville County Planning Commission, and the students and staff at the school. The Recreation District helped by preparing the soil for these beautiful plantings. The garden was officially dedicated on April 30.
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| Did you KNOW... |
that much more than summer day camps, afterschool programs, and senior activities happen at our five Recreation District Community Centers? In addition to these programs our center leadership works diligently on a variety of community issues ranging from health & wellness to inclusion. Sterling Community Center Director Sylvia Vandross, for example, is working with Adela Medoza from ACCH, a coalition of Hispanic professionals, to encourage and welcome the Hispanic community to all of our facilities.
that Mt. Pleasant Community Center Director Furman Gatewood is working closely with Paul Guy, Director of Beyond Differences, on community based solutions to gang related issues that are interfering with safety and lifestyles of area residents? |
| An Update on TRAC Projects |
Huge progress is being made on many of the projects that are being financed by the hospitality tax. Here's a quick update.
 *Camp Spearhead: Roads and other infrastructure are completed and we will put the project out to bid this summer.
*Northside Park: Construction begins this summer on a family water park.
*Corey Burns Park: Parking, lighting, & concessions are completed and hundreds of youth are playing ball there every day.
*David Jackson Park: Additional parking, playground, and walking trail that will go in this summer making this park a showpiece.
 *Greenville Hospital System Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail: Incredible progress has been made on this project and parts of the trail will be open this summer.
*Berea/Travelers Rest Sports Complex: We're ready to bid for athletic field grading for this new site located at Greenville Tech's NW Campus.
*MeSA: Sodding will begin this summer on eight newly constructed soccer fields.
*Southside Park: By the summer of 2009 we will be surfing at Discovery Island. Part of the current expansion project there is the addition of a dual surf rider.
 * Lake Conestee Nature Park: The park is open and we invite you to plan an outing there today. The yellow primrose should be in bloom now so don't forget your camera. |
| A New Recreation Partner |
 Recreation for our agency is much broader than merely providing parks and programs. For this reason we are proud to partner with the Cliffs Communities and Zest Quest. This initiative, that currently involves 14 schools in the Carolinas, focuses on creating solutions to child obesity. We are supporting this program by providing incentives, like passes to Discovery Island, and are looking forward to becoming even more involved in the effort as it progresses.
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According to the National Recreation and Park Association ...
Park users who are more physically active and who make frequent contact with friends through their leisure time are less likely to report feeling depressed. |
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