Page 4 - Parks and Recreation

 

Some communities are commissioning local artists to paint wood picnic tables with colorful designs to draw attention to their projects. See links in story

How can simple wood picnic tables bring a community together?

First, purchase some commercial-grade wooden picnic tables (these are durable, heavy-duty picnic tables that can withstand constant public use in the outdoors).

Then add artists.

Now you have the basic ingredients for an interesting way to attract attention to a project.

And bring people together. After all, that's what picnic tables are designed to do.

This is what took place near Penn State University in Centre County, Pennsylvania.

After reading the book, "The Art of Neighboring" a woman got the idea to purchase some wood picnic tables.

Then she painted them with a tie-dye design.

After that, she distributed the wood picnic tables throughout the neighborhood as a way for people living there to mingle, get to know one another and share a meal.

Wood picnic tables used as

Experts recommend that dogs get daily exercise that engages both their minds and bodies. Adding dog park equipment does both

Dog park equipment such as hoops, tunnels, ramps and other agility products can provide more than just physical exercise for dogs.

Dog playground equipment is also great for mental exercise as well.

Let's face it. Dogs need activity. It's in their DNA.

Unfortunately, many times they are confined to a home alone for most of the day and don't get the activity they need.

Both physically and mentally.

A bored dog is not good.

They become frustrated and could exhibit destructive behavior. Or they can become sluggish and unhealthy.

Dog park equipment provides physical and mental exercises

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"A tired dog is a happy dog."

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PetMD recommends a dog should spend between 30 minutes to two hours of activity every day. Obviously certain breeds will need more exercise than others.

Terriers, retrievers, shepherds, hounds, collies and similar dogs need to move. Bulldogs, pugs

Tips on the accessories to bring to enhance your experience cooking outside on park charcoal grills

There are just some things that you can't do without when grilling away from home on park charcoal grills in a local, state or national park.

Those easily recognizable, monument-like pedestal grills situated by pavilions and gazebos have long provided memorable meals and outings for individuals and couples, groups and organizations, sports teams, family reunions, and countless company picnics.

But grilling away from your home setup on a park provided grill can present a challenge.

You won't have access to your home cabinets or kitchen drawers for those things that are routinely taken for granted and always on hand without so much as a thought. But with a little advanced planning, grilling out on park charcoal grills can be just as easy and enjoyable as grilling at home. Sometimes even better because of the overall experience.

Before heading out to the park for your day trip and grilling adventure,

Believe it or not there are at least 80 songs with the word "Park" in the title, reminding us just how much those green spaces hold a special place in our lives.

One of the most famous and well-known songs about parks has got to be the emotional and partly nonsensical song "MacArthur Park."

This tune was written by one of the most popular songwriters of all time - Jimmy Webb. He also penned such monster hits as "I Am a Lineman for the County" and "Up, Up and Away."

Here's another interesting tidbit: MacArthur Park really does exist. This famous patch of land is located in Los Angeles, CA.

Webb said he got the idea for the song after he broke up with his girlfriend. When they were together, they would meet in MacArthur Park for lunch and those fond memories provided the inspiration for his famous tune.

He said all those images in the park were real: especially the legendary cake left out in the rain.

Fate would have it that actor Richard Harris would meet Webb at a fundraiser in Los Angeles.

For all the time families will spend indoors this holiday season - opening presents, eating dinner, chatting and mingling, it might be a good idea to give them the gift of a walk in a park.

The benefits could last much longer than any regular iPad, sweater or bathrobe.

Here's some research on why a walk in a park is a good idea.

Studies have shown:

When mice walk on treadmills, they develop more new brain cells than those that are sedentary Active mice perform better on tests for learning and memorization Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly, have a larger, healthier hippocampus, the part of the brain involved with memory and learning Exercise does not need to be strenuous. One study with students instructed to barely pedal a bicycle showed marked improvements in memory testing. You can get the same result from walking for 10 minutes. Researchers think that just a slight elevation in activity results in positive changes in blood flow and hormone levels, resulting in improved

The innovative Atlanta BeltLine - a 22-mile loop of parks, multi-use trails and proposed alternative transportation linking neighborhoods. (Photo by John Becker - Atlanta BeltLine Partnership)

One of the truly remarkable stories about how parks are created is the innovative 22-mile BeltLine project in Atlanta that was inspired by a graduate student's thesis.

The idea of using an abandoned rail corridor built in 1902 encircling the city first sprang up when Georgia Tech student Ryan Gravel first thought of the idea after he reportedly became frustrated with sources of alternative transportation in the area.

He formed a group called Friends of the BeltLine. Working with some colleagues, he created his proposal and mailed it off to several influential people in the city.

The idea took hold.

The project focused on becoming a pedestrian-friendly rail transit with lots of amenities strewn throughout the line.

Fast forward to today and here are some of the details of the project:

Planned 22-mile

This holiday weekend when everybody gathers at the dining room table for that bountiful meal, many families will also take time to go outside, visit their local park for fresh air, open spaces and to work off that giant meal.

While Americans express their gratitude for a number of blessings this weekend, one benefit to be grateful for is all those awesome local parks that provide a welcome refuge of greenery across America. From the massive urban Central Park in New York City to small parks in Everytown USA.

Here are some interesting statistics from the National Recreation and Parks Association about how much Americans love their parks.  They also appreciate the efforts of parks and recreation departments to make them enjoyable places for our families:

83% of Americans say they benefit from a local park 92% of Americans say local parks are a benefit to the community 4 in 5 Americans say local parks are worth the money spent on them 2/3 of respondents say there is a park or playground

Picnic tables with a waterfront view can certainly mean big savings for a family compared to paying for a water view at a restaurant.

Here's a photo collection of tables facing a liquid landscape. What's your favorite picnic spot with a great location in your town?

Picnic tables on the water

On the coast

On the St. Lucie River in downtown Stuart, Florida

At the beach

In the fall

By a dock

Overlooking the Columbia River in Oregon

By a lake

In the shade

One of the best ways to enhance a community is to offer picnic tables with a waterfront setting. Not many families can afford to dine out at a waterfront restaurant. So providing picnic tables with a view gives them that opportunity - without the expense.

However, when choosing locations near water, it's important to take into consideration the materials used. For site furnishings near a coastal area, picnic tables made with concrete are a smart choice because they resist damage and corrosion caused by salt air. (In addition, cement picnic

Some of the common traits of the best dog parks in America

Dog playground equipment, trails, ponds and dedicated volunteers can transform a mediocre dog park into a great one.

One thing is for sure - more and more cities are adding dog parks.

According to the National Recreation and Park Association, more than half of parks departments in the US now manage dog parks.

There are quite a few more dog owners today than ever before. According to the American Pet Products Association, more than 60% of households in the US own a dog.

Those dogs were not created to sleep on the floor all day. They need to get outside and run, jump and play. According to petMD, dogs need from 30 minutes to two hours of exercise EVERY day.

So, how do you make your dog park a success like some of the most popular dog parks in America?

There are several Best Dog Park lists floating around the web. We researched a few of them and came up with our list of some of the top characteristics of an awesome dog park.

We

Concrete bench in a park

When it comes to stopping the theft of outdoor benches, a concrete bench is the heavy alternative of choice.

Recent news reports indicate a trend in stealing park benches or old, wooden benches used in railroad stations or other historic places.

Who steals benches?

Apparently, some people think there is a market for them.

For example, in Springfield, Mass., more than 30 of the town's historic wooden benches were stolen from an old railroad station undergoing renovations.

Hundreds of thousands of people once sat on those old wooden benches in Union Station after it opened in 1926. At one time, it was considered one of the most modern train stations in the US. The station closed in 1973.

However, now the building is being restored as a historic landmark. The organizers plan to feature a restored barber's chair and an antique clock. They even have the old chalkboard where the incoming and outgoing train times were posted. But the historians won't have the original

Research shows that homes near a park have an 8% to 20% higher valuation than other properties

Want to know the impact on home values after carving out some green space in an area, adding park benches and perhaps a playground with grass and shrubbery?

It's major.

Anyone interested in parks or real estate would be smart to pay attention to these statistics.

Because here's the big benefit of this research. If you need to get approval for new parkland or to upgrade a park, be sure to show these statistics to homeowners in the area. And be sure to get them to turn out at city budget meetings to support expenditures for more parks.

Several studies have found that living in close proximity to a park will generally boost home prices by 8% to 20%.

On a $500,000 property or any home for that matter, a 10% boost in value means tens of thousands of extra dollars in the owner's pocket.

Proximity to a park adds a significant increase in home prices

Here are some other facts about property values and

The patent drawing for the first known picnic table submitted by Charles H. Nielsen

Back in 1903, a man named Charles H. Nielsen of Kreischerville, NY filed a patent for the design and production of simple picnic tables.

Little did he know that more than 100 years later, his simple yet brilliant invention would still be used today in thousands of locations around the world.

Ironically, back in those days, picnics were kind of random. People just drove up to a field or a park and parked wherever they wanted. At some locations, a roughly carved wooden plank would be placed on tree stumps dug into the ground.

Although according to Victorian-era standards, to experience the true feel of nature, a picnic was meant to be enjoyed sitting on a blanket on a field of grass. Tell that to the ants. Or the people who prefer to sit upright. Plus, sometimes the ground would be wet and mess up those fancy dresses and suits.

So there became a need for an outdoor table with a handy way to transport it.

Memorial benches have gained in popularity as a way to honor an individual. Now some towns are offering memorial picnic table programs

Memorial benches are becoming increasingly popular as a way to honor an individual and now there's a trend toward adding a commemorative message to picnic tables as well.

In fact, the City of Ravenswood in West Virginia recently received an award for a new memorial picnic table program they started.

What a great way to honor a loved one or popular public figure in a town!

Like adding park benches with a plaque or laser-cut inscription, memorial picnic tables are a fantastic way to commemorate someone's life.

Memorial benches and picnic tables have several advantages

Here are a few reasons why:

Highly Visible - unlike other donations, when families buy memorial benches or picnic tables, that donation will be seen by a continuous flow of people who use or walk by those site furnishings. Maybe some of those people will even know that individual, which will

The new Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco features a 5-acre rooftop park, an example of the innovative way cities are now creating green spaces. (Photo by Fullmetal2887

When a city builds a giant structure, a new bus terminal for example, why not put some grass, park benches and shrubbery on the roof and create a park too?

That's exactly what the City of San Francisco did recently when they opened their new Salesforce Transit Center and added a huge rooftop park.

The innovative 5-acre park is already creating a buzz not just around town, but around the nation as well.

The Salesforce Transit Center is a monstrous structure, almost the length of five football fields, that people are now calling the "Grand Central Station of the West."

Construction of the terminal began back in 2010 and was instigated by the 1989 Loa Prietra earthquake, which damaged the previous Transbay Terminal that had served as the bus depot since 1939. Total cost will be an estimated $2.26 billion.

The

A dog rests in the doggie crawl at a new dog park in Plainwell, MI

Dog park equipment should be included in any discussion about adding a dog park to a community.

Why? Because dog owners will be the first to tell you - their pets love to run, climb and jump.

That's what dogs are born to do. So it's imperative when a parks and recreation department announces plans to add a dog park, it's important that a discussion is held about what dogs will do once they get there.

Which is exactly what took place for the City of Plainwell Dog Park, in Plainview, MI recently.

The parks and recreation department there conducted some public meetings and asked citizens what they would like to see in the design.

According to Community Development Manager Denise Siegel, "Many residents spoke up about wanting to add agility equipment."

At planning meeting, public requests dog park equipment

The city then conducted a poll on their Facebook page asking for input and the type of dog agility equipment people would