2021 Speed Session Bundle: Management and Maintenance

This bundle is worth 0.1 CEU and contains the following three speed sessions from NRPA's 2021 annual conference:

The Future of Aquatic Facilities and the Dangers They Face With the Rising Minimum Wage and Increased Staffing Regulations (Session 028)
The geriatric and disabled populations are the two most poverty-stricken populations in the country. With the minimum wage rising and more staffing requirements needed by ARC, Starguard and Ellis, the cost of labor in increasing dramatically. Can these populations keep up with this cost? How will swim lessons cope with this rising cost as well? The presenter will go over LG requirements, the drowning statistics in aquatic centers to show how safe they already are and the increased drownings this summer based on no swim lessons or places to swim. Also, attendees will learn why aquatic therapy and exercise are important to the geriatric and special needs communities. I will go over LG requirents, the drowning statistics in aquatic centers to show how safe they already are, the increased drownings this summer based on no swim lessons or places to swim.  Also the geriatric and special needs community's needs for aquatic therapy and exercise. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the rising cost of already burdened aquatic centers. 
2. Understand how important tax-subsidized aquatic centers are to the lower income populations. 
3. Learn about the dangers of trying to be 'too safe.'

Conservation for the Future: Land Management Issues on the PCT (Session 008)
From Canada to Mexico, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) passes through three states. Day hikers access the trail regularly and over 7,000 thru-hike permits are issued per year (PTCA, 2019). Popularity of the trail increased after the 2014 movie Wild (Williams, 2015), and this impacted land managers' ability to conserve and protect the land. If future generations want to enjoy the trail, the agencies in charge must carefully manage and conserve the land. As the trail crosses multiple jurisdictions, the best practices for conservation and management are complicated. Each agency has its own approach to manage access, trail behavior, education, and conservation. The purpose of this study was to examine conservation themes of land managers and thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail. A total of 40 interviews were conducted in 2019.  Findings focused on conservation and included management implications related to trash, rule enforcement, permitting and education. 

Learning Objectives:

1. At the end of this session, attendees should be able to list 3 conservation issues facing land managers of the PCT.   
2. At the end of this session, attendees should be able to apply qualitative findings to address land management issues in their geographic area.  
3. At the end of this session, attendees will apply education techniques to address land management issues in their geographic area.

NRPA Parks Build Evaluation Toolkit (Session 021)
NRPA is in the midst of a five-year evaluation of the annual Parks Build project. The 2019 Parks Build renovation in Baltimore, MD, improved playground features, fitness equipment, splash pad, basketball court, fencing, and signage. A multi-year evaluation is on-going to better understand how 'Parks Build' community through inclusion, health, economic, safety, and social impacts. In this 20 minute session, the Parks Build evaluation team presents their in-progress evaluation tools and early results. The objective of the speed session is sharing of tools and evidence they are providing. A link to the tools will be provided for feedback.  The toolkit features systematic observations of park use, park and neighborhood surveys, focus group discussions, use of municipal data on park neighborhood reported crimes, property value, and tax assessments, and emerging availability of smartphone location data. A focus will be on how specific evaluation tools can support evidence-informed decisions. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe current methods to build evidence around parks building health, economic, safety and social impacts. 
2. Communicate with local institutes of higher education to collaborate on evaluation.