February 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 57

gether, " says Amy Teegarden, director of parks and recreation for
the city of Helena. " We have many
compatible goals in the effort to
make our community more healthy,
but we really began to work together
when we established a health community coalition.
" The health department became
our partner when we started a tobacco-free parks policy. We wanted to
demonstrate how much smoking was
occurring in parks. A group of kids
and teens went to a park we designated and picked up all the cigarette
butts they could find. Their volunteer
project led to some powerful photos
that became background material for
the recommendation to the city commission to implement a tobacco-free
parks policy, " Teergarden says.
" The best benefit of the partnership between our respective departments has been the success we had
in developing a solid cooperative
relationship, " Teegarden continues.
" This cooperation opened the door
to more tools and resources. For example, we have an awesome trail
system, but it is not easy to find trail
heads. Our health department led the
effort to gain APA and APHA supThese jars contain hundreds of
cigarette butts discarded in local parks
in Helena, Montana - their use as a
visual aid was instrumental in city and
park leaders adopting a tobacco-free
parks policy.

	

port for a $100,000 grant to develop
an active living wayfinding system
and communities plan to increase
health equity by guiding residents
to opportunities for physical activity
and nutritious food. " Other examples
included development of community
gardens, permaculture sites and an
edible forest park in cooperation with
the health department.
Janet Bartnik, director of parks
and recreation in Liberty, Missouri,
said her mayor requested collaboration between the parks and recreation and health departments from
day one. " We had work to do, and
negative perceptions to overcome, "
Bartnik says. " [The health department] saw us as tree-huggers or the
agency that handed out the balls in
the gym. We saw them as the agency that handed out birth and death
certificates, checked our concession
stands and tested our pools. Now, after working with them, I believe that
our health department can be one of
our greatest resources. " One of the
pivotal factors that enabled better cooperation was the creation of a community health coalition. " The health
department has all the data we need
to make smart decisions, " Bartnik
says. " With their help, we can model healthy behaviors to implement
in communities through a strategic
health planning network. "
Bartnik said that their cooperation has transcended many barriers
and that they now each espouse the
philosophy that they need to work
together to create the climate to
say, " The healthy choice is the easy
choice. " She pointed out that inviting the public health department to
collaborate on park and recreation
master plans was a great example of
implementing a HiAP strategy. Their
community health coalition was the
catalyst for getting a grant to look at
how developments were planned and
whether sidewalks on one side of the

street only or cul-de-sacs led to less
walking and biking and thus less access to parks. " We are working at a
higher level of performance, and outcomes are truly a part of the process
to achieve the larger goal of improving the health of the community, "
she says.
From the point of view of the park
and recreation professional, finding
opportunities to work with public
health agencies may be challenging,
but the results are well worth the effort.
As Merriam says, " You have to break
down the barriers and be willing to
think out of the box - and don't give
up if you are not successful at first. " 
Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA's Vice President of
Conservation and Parks (rdolesh@nrpa.org).
Zarnaaz Bashir, MPH, is NRPA's Director of
Strategic Health Initiatives (zbashir@nrpa.org).

Resources
Parks, Trails and Health Workbook
-A Tool for Planners, Parks and
Recreation Professionals and
Health Practitioners is a workbook
prepared by the Rivers, Trails and
Conservation Assistance Program
(RTCA) of the National Park Service
and the Center for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). This workbook is intended to provide ideas
and examples of to how to integrate
public health considerations into
the planning and development of
parks and trails. www.nps.gov/ncrc/
programs/rtca/helpfultools/Parks,%20
Trails,%20and%20Health%20Workbook_Final%20Draft.pdf
Health in All Policies: A Guide for
State and Local Governments
was created by the American
Public Health Association, Public
Health Institute and the California
Department of Public Health to
provide guidance on using the HiAP
approach to improve the health of
populations in communities nationwide. www.phi.org/resources/?resource=hiapguide

W W W. N R PA . O R G | F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 6 |

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February 2016 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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