March 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 75

the landscape (e.g., carved graffiti in trees)
* Design & construction [for example, construction crews disregarding tree protection zones or
designing a space where debris
or garbage needs to be removed
without vehicle access]
Organizational Practices:
* Institutional priorities
* Lack of understanding of horticultural needs by administrative
staff
* Staff habits (horticulture/operations staff)
* Budget as it affects staff numbers
and equipment "

Managing the
Wear and Tear
An annual turf renovation plan is
important for any heavy-use lawn.
Such a renovation would include,
for example, aeration, over-seeding
and top-dressing. In addition, prior to an event, it may be desirable
to take extra precautions to protect
the lawn, such as by roping off certain areas. Following an event, and
depending on the time of year, it's
important to act to remediate the
impact of the event itself with, for
example, some form of aeration
and additional over-seeding and
top-dressing, to name a few.
Other ways to lessen physical impacts include educational signage
that explains why an area is being
roped off or fenced in instead of
simply ordering patrons to " Keep
off the grass, " using compaction
mats to provide temporary turf
protection - for the 2017 inauguration, it's estimated that 50,000
panels, each 16 feet square, were
used to protect the turf on the Mall
- hiring security guards to moni-

tor the public's access to certain areas (a more expensive but effective
method), rotating field use and/
or closing fields following heavy
rains and engaging the community
to help protect the landscape (this
approach must be carefully crafted
so as not to hinder park operation).
Above all, education of an organization's non-horticultural staff
and the public about landscape
needs is a critical component in
lessening heavy-use impacts. This
can range from in-depth periodic
workshops by horticulture experts
to staff and the public on various
landscape-related topics, to something as simple as informational
signage and consistent messaging
across an agency's communication
platforms.
The revenue generated from
hosting more outdoor events can
help a park provide the funds necessary to hire additional staff and
equipment for landscape care.

However, a delicate balance must
be struck between the park's event
management staff and staff responsible for maintaining a healthy
landscape. Together, these departments should create a policy for
scheduling events that builds in
recovery time for high-use green
spaces, whether that means rotating the area being used or closing
an area following a heavy rain or
at certain times of the year so as
not to cause further damage to the
landscape.
As more and more people heed
the call to get out and enjoy the
outdoors, and more park and recreation agencies rely on this revenue
stream to enhance their budgets,
managing the impact of wear and
tear on their green spaces from increased usage will be important to
their sustainability.
Sonia Myrick is the Executive Editor of
Parks & Recreation magazine (smyrick@nrpa.org).

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March 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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