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Conservation + Recreation: 
Sustainability, Water Trails, & Summer Fun
 
In the News

 

For the Love of Water Trails. National Park Service community planner Sue Abbott provides an in-depth exploration of the benefits of water trails and how to create a water trail in Parks & Recreation Magazine's Blue Issue.You also can view the beautiful digital print edition (just skip to page 48 or search water trail).

 

National Trails Day. 135,000 people participated in 2,255 National Trails Day activities among all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico this year.

 

Volunteers celebrated on trails across the country, in addition to Denali National Park and Preserve, Yosemite National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Zion National Park, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

 

National Trails Day volunteers in Zion National Park

 

24,300 volunteers contributed 109,500 hours working on 528 trail stewardship projects that resulted in 2,084 miles of trail maintained. This was the work equivalent to $2,426,000 of sweat equity (based on independent sector $22.14 per hour)

 

See the full report online soon at www.americanhiking.org.

 

National Trails Day is devoted to appreciating America's trails and the hard-working individuals who build and maintain them. The National Park Service and other land management agencies cooperatively partner with the American Hiking Society to support National Trails Day.

 

 
Findings and Publications

 

Keep It Sustainable. The Youth Ambassador Program is back again, showing you easy ways to make everyday life more sustainable.

  

 

Keep it Sustainable
 
 

13 in 13. Georgia River Network celebrates Georgia's rivers by challenging people to take 13 people paddling who might not otherwise go on their own.

 

Would you be happier living in a greener urban area? This 18-year study builds on past research to evaluate the relationship of urban green space on well-being and mental distress.

 

Human Infographic! Why should people in Los Angeles switch to biking or walking? Presenting data does not have to be bar graphs and pie charts. The interplay of statistics, video, and people creates something that is refreshing and memorable.

 

A Chat with the Secretary. Department of the Interior Secretary Jewell and Richard Louv held a discussion at the Center for American Progress about children, conservation, and the future of America's Great Outdoors.  Check out the video.

 

 

 
Upcoming Events

 

July is Park and Recreation Month! Have you shown your love, found events, or entered the photo contest. If not, there's still time. 

 

Senior Corps Virtual Conference (August 6-7). This virtual conference, free and open to the public, will provide information on the Corporation for National and Community Service Senior Corps performance measures to help organizations develop programs that demonstrate measurable impact. 

 

Healthy Parks Healthy People International - Call for Proposals (by September 4). From June 8-12, 2014, the National Park Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will host the second Healthy Parks Healthy People International Congress and EXPO, the premier international forum connecting thought leaders, practitioners, agencies and organizations to explore, examine, and extol the role of parks in contributing to people's health and well-being. The NPS and CDC invite you to submit ideas for sessions, plenary speakers, and posters. Please visit the Conference Page and click on the "Call for Proposals" to submit your ideas now through September 4, 2013.

 

 

News and Events. Does your organization have news or an upcoming event that we can help you share?  If so, tell us about it and we'll add it to our recent news and events.
 
Tools

 

Nature Rocks! School's out, now give the kids (and yourself) a summer they'll never forget. The Activity Finder on The Nature Conservancy's new site lets you filter by time, age, location and weather to find fun ideas that will get the family outside and can help foster a love of nature that can last a lifetime. Find Your Fun!

 

A toolkit for reaching Latino communities. Developed by Environment for the Americas who received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the barriers to participation in nature and science programs and to develop tools that organizations may use to better reach this audience. The researchers used the studies to establish general strategies that were effective for reaching Latino audiences.

 

 
 
Grants and Job Opportunities

  

National Service Agency Announces $14 Million Funding Opportunity to Engage Volunteers 55+: (Due 8.9.13) The Corporation for National and Community Service released a Notice of Funding Opportunity to provide local nonprofit and public agencies an opportunity to increase their capacity by engaging adults age 55 and older in high impact with volunteer service. Letters of intent to apply are due on August 9, 2013.  The deadline for applications is Tuesday, September 10, 2013, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. 

 
 
Trail of the Month

 

 

The North Country Trail is our Trail of the Month! Congratulations to the North Country Trail, the nation's longest national scenic trail, which covers 4,600 miles from New York to North Dakota and links seven states, 10 national forests, and more than 150 public lands.

  

Photo: Marcus Schaffer

 

The North Country Trail held events along its entire length to celebrate National Trails Day. Here, we highlight one that represents a significant achievement in trail development:

 

The North Country Trail Association, Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, and Friends of Tamarac partnered on a 2-day event for National Trails Day in north-central Minnesota.  Friday night featured a wildlife program in the nearby community of Frazee. Saturday's festivities served as the official grand opening for a new 21-mile segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail in Becker County, Minnesota. A significant portion of that new mileage (around 14 miles) is within Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge-the only national wildlife refuge through which the North Country Trail currently passes. Saturday's full-day event featured a variety of guided hikes and an official ribbon cutting ceremony, attended by 110 people. An estimate of the weekend's total attendance was 150, including those attending the Friday night program.

 

Photo: Lowell Kramer, USFWS volunteer

  

Learn more about the National Trails System.

 
 
A Tip of the Hat to...  

 

Jerry Willis, Community Planner with the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program

By Corita Waters

 

During Great Outdoors Week this June, National Park Service Community Planner Jerry Willis received a Legends Award from the American Recreation Coalition for helping develop collaborative partnerships and access to recreation and green space in urban neighborhoods. 

(L-R) Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director, National Park Service; Jerry Willis; and Derrick A. Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition. Photo: LaVonda Walton.

  

Here are some highlights of Jerry's extraordinary efforts:

 

  • Harlem River Greenway: Jerry helped bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to envision The Harlem River Greenway. Due directly to his partnership-building work, the New York City Mayor's office recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a $60 million rehabilitation of the High Bridge on the Harlem River, which will provide a unique pedestrian connection between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx.
  • Harlem River Festival: This project has laid the groundwork for additional investments by other stakeholders. Jerry recently coordinated a week-long Harlem River Festival, which brought together community members and organizations to celebrate the rebirth of the Harlem River, with assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey for citizen water quality monitoring, paddling activities for youth, log-rolling contests, and much more.
  • Urban Waters Federal Partnership: Jerry has also demonstrated the power of partnering through his work with the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. Key partners include Amtrak, the Bronx River Alliance, and the New York City Department of Transportation. Their goal is development of a partnership for restoring greenways and providing access to urban waters and green space in underserved neighborhoods. Under Jerry's leadership, the project has a strong community-based vision for the future and a strategy to pursue funding for implementation.
  • Technology in Conservation and Recreation Projects: Although documenting and communicating the progress of community projects is not always easy, Jerry has enhanced his efforts with the effective use of smartphone and tablet technology. Overall, he has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the National Park Service and the successful facilitation of community conservation and outdoor recreation projects.

 

 
Let's Work Together
 
The National Park Service works with partners and helps communities advance their stewardship, conservation, and outdoor recreation goals. Conservation and Outdoor Recreation programs extend and expand the benefits of the National Park Service throughout the nation to connect all Americans to their parks, trails, rivers, and other special places. 
  

How can we help you make your vision a reality? 

 

 

This is a free monthly publication to share activities and successes of National Park Service Conservation and Outdoor Recreation programs and partners.

 

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Images courtesy of the National Park Service except as noted.
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