December 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 42

structure for ongoing change " -
including the formation of a Racial,
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Committee and formal adoption
of a position paper that outlines a
strategy to move the agency toward
racial equity. " When it comes to equity
and inclusion, we know we do
not have all the answers - not by
a long shot, " says Randall, concluding
the session. " And, we also know
our work is far from done. "
Supporting Healthy Aging
Among LGBTQIA+ Adults
Tiff Cunin
program manager
(they/them),
for
comes, [and] our own social outcomes, "
Cunin explains.
health
senior
at
NRPA, live streamed this one-hour
session, whereby they
articulated
key constructs and concepts
associated with health among
LGBTQIA+ adults and explained
common barriers to engagement in
park and recreation programming
for LGBTQIA+ older adults. In
addition, Cunin talked about how
marginalization serves as a social
determinant to health, as well as
how parks have the power to create
health equity.
To offer more context, Cunin engaged
the audience with a Mapping
Social Identity activity, in which
they asked three questions: What
part of your identity do you think
people first notice about you?; For
what part of your identity do you
feel you face oppression most often?;
and For what part of your
identity do you feel you receive
privilege for most often?
" The reason we do this activity
is because, sometimes, it's hard to
understand what intersectionality
and marginalization mean unless
we really reflect on our own lived
experiences, our own health out42
Parks & Recreation | DECEMBER 2 0 2 1
Children's Outdoor Bill of
Rights: A Lever for Action
Monica Lopez Magee, senior vice
president of cities and community
engagement at Children & Nature
Network; Daniele Lyman-Torres,
commissioner for the City of Rochester,
New York; and Jesús Aguirre,
superintendent for Seattle Parks and
Recreation, presented this important
advocacy-focused session. The
three thought leaders addressed how
the potential for a campaign around
Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights can
serve as a means for policy action and
equitable access to parks and green
spaces. They also explained the concepts
and purpose behind this initiative
and offered audience members
advocacy strategies for effectively
supporting more equitable access for
children and youth to parks.
In City of Rochester, " we built a
strategy that started with the Children's
Outdoor Bill of Rights, " but
it needs to be part of a broader strategy,
says Lyman-Torres. She points
out, however, it's a linchpin whereby
" having this formative document
that can be adopted by your whole
community [and] formalized keeps
us accountable to it. "
Coffee Talks and Recreation
Round Tables
Back by popular demand, Coffee
Talks made their return to the conference.
Cort Jones, NRPA's manager
of strategic communications,
went one-on-one with field experts.
Among the highlighted topics were
" Finding Purpose Through Fox
Valley Special Recreation, " " The
Park and Recreation Movement
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
in Mexico and Beyond " and " Equity
at the Center: A Year Later
With NRPA's Autumn SaxtonRoss. "
What's more, attendees
also had a chance to participate in
live Recreation Round Tables that
touched on health and wellness,
equity, and conservation.
Celebrating Excellence in
Parks and Recreation
On Monday, September 20, Jane Adams,
executive director of the American
Academy for Park and Recreation
Administration
(AAPRA),
presented the 2021 Grand Plaque
honors in the 2021 National Gold
Medal Awards Program. This annual
awards program is administered
by AAPRA in partnership with
NRPA and is sponsored by Musco
Lighting, LLC. From a pool of 28
finalists, seven agencies earned the
coveted Grand Plaque.
The following finalist agencies
received the Grand Plaque award:
* Class I (population 400,001 and
over): Cleveland MetroParks,
Cleveland, Ohio
* Class II (population 150,001 -
400,000): City of Tampa Parks
and Recreation, Tampa, Florida
* Class III (population 75,001
- 150,000): Provo Parks and
Recreation, Provo, Utah
* Class IV (population 30,001
- 75,000): Coppell Parks and
Recreation, Coppell, Texas
* Class V (population 30,000 or
less): Vernon Hills Park District,
Vernon Hills, Illinois
* Armed Forces Recreation:
Naval Base Coronado, San
Diego, California
* State Parks: Delaware State
Parks, Dover, Delaware
December 2021 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2021 - Parks & Recreation
