Mark Your Calendar!
2009 ARPA Annual Conference & Energize Workshop
October 29-31, 2009
The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Visit the Conference website for more information! |
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 Upcoming report to highlight the importance of afterschool recreation programming
With the support of a grant from Alberta Tourism, Parks, and Recreation, ARPA recently contracted CDC Consultants to complete a study examining the state of afterschool recreation programming in Alberta and elsewhere. This research also seeks to identify the relevance and feasibility for engaging recreation practitioners and allied stakeholders in developing a provincial strategy for action. The study was commissioned in response to the pressing need for current research and anaylsis on how the "critical" afterschool hours can optimize a student's physical, social,
emotional, and academic development.
Presently, the dynamics of family life
mean that many children and youth are without adult supervision for
hours at a time. Unsupervised children and youth are engaging in a
wide range of unhealthy and even high-risk behaviours after school.
Researchers regularly report measurable increases in juvenile crime,
antisocial behaviour, inactivity, screen time, and poor eating habits during this time period. A
growing chorus is calling for quality afterschool programs as a way to
use those hours for good rather than ill.
To further elaborate upon these themes, components of the study include:
- review of relevant literature;
- interviews with recreation practitioners and others providing afterschool programs at local and provincial levels;
- an online survey sent to 120 municipal recreation departments;
- a macro analysis of community/school joint use agreements in Alberta;
- review of promising cases and extrapolation of best practices;
- a discussion forum to review the preliminary research and consult on next steps for the sector, and specifically for ARPA.
A related trend is the move toward community schools, in which schools become hubs for community services, including afterschool programs. Alberta does not yet have a provincial strategy encouraging community use of schools, although the Provincial Commission on Learning identified this need, and a recent AUMA resolution urges the province to adopt a community school concept and supportive program.
Stay tuned to the ARPA listserv for further details on the release of the full report. For further information on this research, please contact Denise Gariépy at dgariepy@arpaonline.ca or
780-644-1779.
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 ARPA selected to administer Communities ChooseWell through 2010
ARPA is pleased to announce that funding for Communities ChooseWell, one of the most successful Healhty U initiatives, has been awarded by Alberta Health and Wellness for another year.Since 2005, Communities ChooseWell has grown to support and recognize 171 different communities for their efforts to promote healthy living. Many communities in Alberta are working hard to help their residents improve their health; Communities ChooseWell gives those communities a chance to share the new and exciting ways they are innovating to make Alberta a healthier place to live.
Communities ChooseWell provides community leaders, recreation practitioners, and other stakeholders with additional education and resources needed to promote physical activity awareness and understanding of good nutrition. The program empowers recreation leaders and others to encourage families, and especially children, to become engaged in a number of areas that include:
- Getting outdoors more often
- Participating in healthy living activities as a family
- Creating a sense of neighborliness/connectedness through recreation pursuits
- Recognizing the importance of sport and recreation as it applies to holistic wellness and development
Please be sure to check out the newly revamped Communities ChooseWell website at http://communitieschoosewell.com/
For more information on the Communities ChooseWell program, please contact Colleen Pirie at cpirie@arpaonline.ca or 780-644-6977.
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 Congratulations to the 'June is Recreation & Parks Month' Champions!"
Prize winners announced
Congratulations to 81 Champions of Recreation and Parks Month who celebrated the vast benefits that recreation and parks offer towards enhancing the quality of life for Albertans.
This year's Champion prize draw winners are Maureen Shenher and Carrie Warren. Maureen and Carrie will each receive limited edition Fred the June Bug bobbleheads as prizes. For more details on how these Champions celebrated in June, please visit www.june.arpaonline.ca.
Congratulations also go out to those who completed the children and nature activity passport, with a special acknowledgment of the Town of Warburg for completing their passports together as a school project. Theresa Johnson and Jeanette Bailey each won an electric bicycle for submitting their complete passports, while Tyler MacPhail, Jorgia Lawrence, Keira Potts, and Bode Hagan are the lucky winners of the nature kits this year.
Tune-in June, but Live it Everyday!
Even though June is over we encourage you and your community or organization to continue celebrating the benefits of recreation and parks. The event calendar will remain on the website so you may continue to promote your recreation and parks events all year long. To submit your events, or view other events happening in the province, please visit the calendar here. Also watch out for a comprehensive list of parks by region within Alberta coming online soon.
If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback on how ARPA may improve Recreation and Parks Month in the future, please contact Heather O'Hearn at hohearn@arpaonline.ca or 780-644-8440, or Victoria Poschadel at vposchadel@arpaonline.ca or 780-638-2916.
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| Update: ARPA Governance and Strategic Plan Review
The PERC Consulting group is continuing its work with an ARPA Task Group in the review of the Association's governance structure and strategic plan. Thanks to all of the members and allied stakeholders for input received through the recent online surveys. Thanks also go out to the focus group participants that assembled on June 12-13th in Edmonton to provide strategic input and analysis.
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 Ten more rural communities supported to focus on quality of life initiatives
ACE Communities, a unique community development initiative developed and managed by Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA), will support another 10 enthusiastic rural Alberta communities in becoming more active, creative, and engaged.
The Town of Trochu, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Town of Vulcan, Town of Nanton, Town of Killam, City of Cold Lake, Town of Innisfail, Village of Longview, Town of Chestermere, and the Hamlet of Entwistle were selected to receive $10,000 in seed funding and in-kind support estimated at $45,000 in value over a two year period.
The calibre of the community applications prompted ACE Communities to also provide support of a lesser value to another 30 communities who applied.
ACE Communities is designed to enhance the quality of life in rural Alberta by strengthening community leadership, collaboration, and innovation through recreation, parks, arts, culture, and heritage. A focus on supporting the development of local leaders, community projects and long term planning is utilized to involve more citizens in making their community a better place to live, work, and play. The intent is to build on each community's existing expertise and resources particularly in the areas of collaboration and innovation.
The ACE Communities initiative is made possible as the result of generous support by Rural Alberta's Development Fund (RADF), EnCana, and CanWest MediaWorks. For further information about the ACE Communities initiative, please visit acecommunities.ca, or contact Brenda Herchmer at 780-415-7915 or bherchmer@aceleaders.ca.
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 Nominate a deserving corporate individual or group for the Recreation Industry Awards of Excellence!
On November 26th the Recreation for Life Foundation, ARPA, and their many sponsors and supporters will present the Recreation Industry Awards of Excellence at the inaugural awards showcase and fundraising event.
The Awards will recognize and celebrate individuals or working groups within Alberta's corporate and business sector for their creativity, innovation, excellence, and overall contribution in designing, building, and providing services to support recreation, parks, and wellness in our province and its communities. The nomination process has now officially opened, and nominations will continue to be accepted until August 28th.
The Recreation Industry Awards of Excellence initiative is intended to be a fund development event, and therefore will require corporate sponsorship, donors, and the
support of attendee registration sales to help ensure its success.
Please visit the following links to view the Recreation Industry Awards of Excellence brochure, nominations form, and sponsorship opportunities. All of these materials, along with additional information on the awards categories, may also be found on the Awards website at www.Awards.RecreationforLife.org.
For more information on the Recreation Industry Awards of Excellence, please contact Kathleen Badry at 780-422-8103 or kbadry@recreationforlife.org.
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 Recreation for Life Foundation golf tournament raises over $80,000
The 7th Annual Recreation for Life Foundation Golf Tournament, which took place June 15th at the Derrick Golf & Winter Club, was another huge fundraising success for the Recreation for Life Foundation. The tournament raised over $80,000, which will support the efforts of the Foundation and ARPA's programs into the future. This year's incredibly successful tournament could not have be made possible without the support of all the sponsors, players, and volunteers - a sincere thank-you goes out to all who participated, and we look forward seeing you again in 2010.
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| ARPA to provide leadership on provincial and national initiatives
ARPA's Executive Director Rick Curtis will participate as a member of the newly formed Program and Policy Advisory group for ParticipACTION (www.participaction.com) and, as well, to provide input on the provincial steering committee for the build-out of Alberta Arts Days (www.albertaartsdays.ca).
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 CPRA makes significant progress toward new organizational model
At a special meeting of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) on June 22nd, new constitutional and by-law changes were approved which will impact operations of the national voice for parks and recreation in Canada. The new CPRA will have a Board of Directors composed of representatives from each Provincial or Territorial Parks and Recreation Association across Canada. This new structure will provide CPRA with a renewed governance model, offer shared leadership across Canada, and ensure members from provincial/territorial associations are members of the national association.
The renewed CPRA has four primary roles or responsibilities:
- To educate and advocate for the field nationally on issues of major concern in much or all of the country
- To promote a national research agenda to support education and advocacy efforts and to improve practices in the field.
- To develop and ratify national policies and standards where these are appropriate and helpful.
- To liaise and collaborate with national and international organizations aligned with or sharing parts of the CPRA mandate.
The first meeting of the new CPRA Board takes place on July 14th. The Board is very excited about the opportunities this new alliance model offers for parks and recreation nationally, and will report more on these developments over the next few months as they begin to shape CPRA's new vision.
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| ARPA invited to participate in two recent provincial government events
ARPA recently provided representation for the recreation and parks sector at two provincial government functions. The first event on June 25th was a pre-budget presentation/consultation hosted by the Honourable Lloyd Snelgrove, President of the Treasury Board. The second event on June 29th was an inter-agency focus group hosted by Alberta Tourism, Parks, and Recreation and centred around the review of a draft "provincial recreation policy."
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