November 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 10

NRPa iN focus continued from page 7

recreation department to become a Park
Partner of the America's Backyard initiative. South Kingstown [Rhode Island]
Parks and Recreation is one of three Park
Partners currently joining with America's Backyard. In an ongoing effort to
raise awareness of our town's parks, the
department has highlighted 12 of the 18
South Kingstown parks in the last three
recreation brochures. The theme is, " We
are proud of our parks....Please come out
and play! "
The oldest of these 18 town parks is
known as the Village Green. For over
100 years, it has been the main gathering place for our community. Demand

varies by season and includes general
park use, unorganized and organized
recreational play, concerts, entertainment, and holiday programs. It is located
within walking distance to several public
facilities, including a community center library, office buildings, a homeless shelter, a housing corridor, the high school,
and an elementary school. Like so many
municipal parks, the Village Green truly
is the backyard of our community.
Over the past year, the Village Green
has, through a state grant, undergone a
complete renovation. New handicap-accessible walkways, a new pedestrian
bridge and pathway, new play structures,

Janice M. Prochaska
" I have loved parks since childhood. "
Prochaska, who runs a research
and development ﬁrm specializing in health and social behavior
change, says parks have always
been an integral part of her life.
The career social worker, who
holds a Ph. D. in Social Work Administration, is an expert in behavior changes that can lead to
drastically improved lives. Prochaska also directs that belief
in the power of change into her
work on behalf of her local parks.
She has served as a commissioner for South Kingstown (Rhode Island) Parks and Recreation since
1992. As a commissioner for that

Parks & Recreation N O V E M B E R

agency, she has performed various leadership and volunteering
roles, including Chair. In 2009,
Prochaska received the Rhode Island Parks and Recreation Award
for Volunteer Efforts in Parks
and Recreation. She has also,
along with her husband, been an
avid supporter of youth sports-
coaching an under-10 girls soccer
team that took the Rhode Island
state championship.
" I have loved parks since childhood, " says Prochaska, " and I think
that parks enhance the health and
well-being of individuals, families,
and communities. "

2 0 1 1 w w w . N R P A . O R G

and functional seating walls have transformed the park-and we celebrated its
re-opening in September with a festival
and concert. Throughout the planning
and staging of the event, the America's
Backyard logo and information were displayed on banners and flyers to show that
South Kingstown's central park is a part of
something much bigger and more important than just our small town. It is symbolic
of all the small parks across the country
that are the hearts of their communities.
How can America's Backyard and local
groups work together to engage
maximum support for parks and
recreation everywhere?
Coleman: America's Backyard gives all
of us a nationwide perspective on our
work. At Washington Parks & People,
we've found that this broader perspective has been vital for inspiring all our
communities and partners to reach for
the stars. It's all too easy, when engaged
in work to reclaim a local park, to lose
that broader perspective. What is happening on the national level that affects
parks everywhere? Who is struggling
with the same challenges as we are?
What efforts across the country have
proven successful? Who are the leaders
in park activism who can inspire and inform us? Local activists can and should
be connected to nationwide park advocacy. This raises the bar for all of us about
what is possible, it dramatically boosts
our relevance and impact, and it forges
lasting networks of best practices, encouragement, and new ideas.
NRPA, through America's Backyard, is
making a commitment to the special nature of community park activism-and
to the needs of that movement's armies
of volunteers. NRPA's mission is to advance parks, recreation, and environmental conservation efforts that enhance
the quality of life for all people. And we
on the Board recognize that NRPA cannot
truly fulfi ll its mission unless it is helping
and equipping community park partnerships and citizen park partnerships.

November 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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