August 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 27

B R I E f LY N O T E D

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA A) and the
American Public Gardens Association
(APGA) have announced a pilot project at
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania, that links NOAA's climate
services and APGA's public gardens.
The partnership focuses on educating
gardeners and garden enthusiasts about
the possible effects of climate change on
America's gardens, landscapes, and green
spaces. More than 70 million people visit
APGA member gardens. Using NOAA climate data, the project exhibits maps that
show how changes in average annual minimum temperatures affect climate-related
planting zones. This information can help
gardeners, landscapers, and farmers identify which plant species will best survive
in certain conditions. The exhibit is augmented by a cell-phone recording that explains what the changing planting zones
mean for local plants in Longwood Gardens, as well as for area gardeners. NOAA
Climate Portal: http://www.climate.gov;
NOAA Agriculture Fact Sheet: http://www.
ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/userengagement/agriculture.pdf; American Public Gardens Association: http://www.publicgardens.org/;
Longwood Gardens: http://www.longwood
gardens.org/.
The Obama Administration has announced a federal, multi-agency program
to revitalize urban waterways. The partnership aims to stimulate regional and local economies, create local jobs, improve
quality of life, and protect Americans'
health by revitalizing urban waterways
in under-served communities across the
country. The Urban Waters Federal
Partnership (UWFP), a union of 11 agencies, will focus its initial efforts on seven
pilot locations: the Patapsco Watershed
(Maryland), the Anacostia Watershed
(Washington DC/Maryland), the Bronx &
Harlem River Watersheds (New York), the
South Platte River in Denver (Colorado),
the Los Angeles River Watershed (California), the Lake Pontchartrain Area (New
Orleans, Louisiana), and the Northwest

Indiana Area. Each of the pilot locations
have restoration programs underway by
local governments and community organizations. Lessons learned from these pilot locations will be transferred to other
cities in the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture are
lead agencies and are coordinated by the
White House Domestic Policy Council.
The Urban Waters Federal Partnership is
aligned with the work of the other White
House place-based efforts, such as the
Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
The partnership also supports President
Obama's America's Great Outdoors
Initiative. www.urbanwaters.gov.
An Argentinean design firm
has created plans for transportable public space for cities with
few public places. Plaza movil
(Movable Square), the brainchild of Designo Patagonia,
takes over streets during periods of low-transit use. Plaza
Movil, which won second place
in the Livable Cities competition this year, is expected to be
debuted in Buenos Aires in the
near future. The undertaking
will feature a set of games, seating arrangements, and green accessories that are transported in
a van, traveling through different
streets of neighborhoods during holidays
and weekends. In its coverage of Plaza
Movil, e-newsletter Treehugger quotes
manuel rapoport, head designer, who
says his firm hopes the concept will eventually spread throughout Latin America
and the rest of the world.
www.designopatagonia.com.ar.
The inaugural two-day Women's leadership Workshop, held in Rocky Mount,
North Carolina in April, offered 90 women
in the field ideas and encouragement in
seeking professional advancement. The
workshop stemmed from Rocky Mount

Parks and Recreation Director Dale
Smith's desire, after many well attended
state conference sessions, to " do more "
for her female peers.
The keynote, given by North Carolina
State University professor Kathy Hamilton Gore, outlined one woman's personal
journey from assisting to leading. Karla Henderson, also a professor at NCSU,
followed up the keynote by citing statistics that identified challenges to women's
career advancement-both universally and in the parks and recreation field.
Workshop data indicated that women
underestimate their abilities, undervalue their worth, and do not negotiate for
themselves as their male colleagues do.
Several other speakers offered personal
accounts of overcoming career barriers,

implementing a coaching style of management, and achieving greater balance
between professional and personal lives.
The 2nd Annual Women's LeadHership
Workshop in NC will be April 19 & 20,
2012. For further information, contact Vonda Martin at vond.martin@ncdenr.gov.
New York City's Department of Parks
and recreation has undertaken a study
to determine if acid rain is destroying
Cleopatra's Needle, a 3,500-year-old
obelisk in Central Park given to the United States by Egypt in 1881 to commemorate the opening of the Suez Canal. An

www.NRPA .ORG

AUGUST 2011

Parks & Recreation

August 2011 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2011 - Parks & Recreation