Page 6 - Parks and Recreation

 

More and more people and organizations are turning to the idea of placing memorials benches in public places as a tribute to local relatives and those who contribute to the betterment of the community

By Gerald Dlubala

The use of memorial benches as structures to honor someone is becoming more common among individuals, groups, and organizations.

We've all walked by, or perhaps even sat on, a smartly placed park bench in our local park and noticed a nameplate or plaque on the bench, designating it as a bench for an historical event, local good Samaritan, or outstanding park fundraiser, supporter, or donor.

Their legacy lives on because of a funded or donated memorial park bench, installed in a public place for all to see, take notice, and remember.

Memorial benches have caught on in a big way, and are now being erected by diverse groups for a number of unique circumstances and occasions.

Today it's not just municipalities and government organizations funding a memorial for a city leader

July is National Park and Recreation Month and a time to get outdoors and appreciate your national, state and local parks and the effort that goes into providing these open, green spaces for all to enjoy

July is the time to get out of the house, replace your desk with a picnic table and your office chair with a park bench.

Every year, this month is officially designated as Park and Recreation Month by the National Recreation and Park Association.

How important are parks to Americans?

According to the NRPA:

There are 108,000 parks in the US, ranging from gigantic national parks to tiny pocket parks. Americans visit a park about 29 times a year. Nearly 60% of respondents to a survey said the main reason they visit a park is to spend time with family and friends. 48% said they go to parks to be closer to nature. 52% reported they visit a park to exercise or do a physical activity. About 75% of Americans would support increased spending for parks and recreation. Seven out of 10 Americans

Bill Golson, Parks and Recreation Director for the Village of Palm Springs, stands with the new set of 10-row aluminum bleachers recently added to the sports complex

The Village of Palm Springs in South Florida recently upgraded a set of their aluminum bleachers and now local residents have a bright new place to sit under a welcome shade canopy.

Bill Golson, Parks and Recreation Director, said the 10-row bleachers were installed to replace older bleachers at the field and they feature new improvements in design and safety. The new seating also includes fencing at the back and sides plus handrails in the center aisle.

"They are going to be safe and functional for many years to come," Golson said.  "We can have peace of mind and our safety concerns will be alleviated."

The bleachers are located at the village's main ball field complex at 226 Cypress Lane in Palm Beach County which features four fields. The multipurpose field is usually busy not only with baseball games, but also hosting

The City of West Palm Beach arranged for local artists to paint 25 picnic tables with an Aesop's Fables theme

Want to create a great attraction for your park this summer with picnic tables?

One city came up with an idea to liven up their surroundings by using wooden picnic tables as canvases for local artists to display their talents.

What a fantastic (and simple) strategy to bring people to a park or promotion!

And what a clever way to generate revenue for your park (The city will auction off these tables at the end of the summer).

These artistic picnic tables are part of the Summer in Paradise celebration organized by the City of West Palm Beach in Florida.

The organizers decided to make the theme for the event - Aesop's Tables, centered around the Aesop's Fables books that have thrilled readers for years around the globe. Some of the familiar stories are "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and the "Tortoise and the Hare." (You can see all the painted picnic tables here.)

Local artists painted

Two people relax on a park bench. Research shows that the average American visits a park 29 times a year

If the Trust for Public Land checked out parks in your town, would they reward the city with a bunch of park bench accolades for providing open spaces for local citizens?

Minneapolis certainly earned recognition. In fact, that city was given the highest ranking and a "Five Park Bench," award as the best park system in the US, according to a study conducted by the Trust for Public Land.

The Sixth Annual ParkScore survey was created by the trust to provide a benchmark for how cities rank for their parks compared to other municipalities. The research also provides guidance for city planners to use when considering the number of open spaces and amenities they should be providing for public use. (See list of Top 30 cities below).

Park bench ratings issued for cities with best park systems

According to the trust, they determined their rankings based on three factors:

Access: how long does

A happy terrier gets a workout on dog park equipment. More dog owners are realizing the benefits of training their dogs on this equipment for exercise and learning commands

By Gerald Dlubala

Think about the difference a few pieces of dog park equipment can make to a dog and their owner.

Research says that the relationship we have with our dogs is based on thousands of years of evolution.

Going back up to 8,000 years, dogs have been found buried next to their human counterparts, sometimes outfitted in extravagant collars, expensive robes, and laid next to gem-laden spoons and bowls.

The bond is not just emotional, say scientists. More recent studies have shown that when humans and dogs are together and making eye contact, the dog in fact, experiences the release of the hormone oxytocin as humans.

What is oxytocin, you ask? Well, that's the same hormone released when a mother lovingly looks upon her baby in her arms. So it's no wonder that there is such a bond between humans and their dogs.

Central Park in New York City - 843 acres of grass, trees and 9,000 wooden benches

Summer means warmer weather but also more wear and tear on outdoor facilities. If you want to see an excellent example of just how busy this season can be, check out New York's Central Park and how it handles millions of annual visitors, an endless number of plants and thousands of wooden benches.

Surrounded by 8.5 million residents in a place that also attracts a swarm of tourists every year, this lush patch of 843 acres in the middle of concrete and steel certainly sees its share of visitors.

In fact, today about 40 million people enter the park every year.

New York City is in the Northeast, with definitive seasons. That means there are days when the park is desolate and days when the park is packed.

Park survey tracks visitors during the seasons

Back in 2008 the Central Park Conservancy, which funds 75% of the park, began a study of park use. This was a full-scale research project which took a year to

Aluminum bleachers offer a great opportunity to generate additional revenue by adding sponsor banners

The reflection of aluminum bleachers wrapping around a well-groomed field is a thing of beauty.

Looking out over your own venue likely gives you a similar sense of satisfaction, with freshly maintained grounds and bleachers all ready for the next round of rowdy fans.

But even though they're full on game days, the field and bleachers tend to see little action in between.

Oh, there are the normal practices on the field, perhaps even a few people using the field and track for their own fitness goals, and that one guy that practices his golf chipping on a regular basis.

But it's easy to see that these bleachers are not living up to their potential, now are they?

Game days are by far the busiest, and generate a nice profit. But are you truly maximizing revenue on those days?

What about putting this venue, and all it has to offer, to use for other opportunities?

Aluminum bleachers can generate

Leigh Lake at Grand Teton National Park. Photos such as this are available at NPS.gov

April 15 is the start of National Park Week in 2017 and a reminder to appreciate just what a privilege it is to sit on a park bench and behold the vast wonders of our national parks. In honor of this event, for two weekends you can visit a national park for free!

In fact, there is a whole treasure chest of goodies about our national parks that are available to the public. So, find a park bench or get out your hiking shoes and check out all of these free guides, maps, photos, videos and apps.

Free Admission to National Parks for two weekends - for National Park Week from April 15-16 to 22-23. We're not talking about just Yosemite and Yellowstone, but 413 national parks across the country.

Bison bull. (Photo by NPS)

Here's a list of free guides from the National Park Foundation that are a load of fun (link is below).

Free National Park Owner's Guide - if you like visiting parks, you will love this free

Picnic tables at the Grand Canyo

Fine dining and picnic tables? Not the first image that comes to mind.

But think about a time when you enjoyed a meal in a nice restaurant where the ambiance was outstanding.  Beautiful wallpaper. Interesting chandeliers. Striking tile floor.

Sort of makes the food taste better, doesn't it?

It certainly makes the overall dining experience more enjoyable.

But the reality is, you don't' need to spend $300 to enjoy a meal with great ambiance.

Not when Mother Nature is the Maître d'.

Because if you take the time to look, just about every great view has a picnic table somewhere in the vicinity.

Take this picnic table overlooking the Grand Canyon for example. You cannot beat that for wallpaper.

Or how about this one of a picnic table overlooking a snow scene?

 

Interested in waterfront dining? There is no bigger waterfront than a beach. Just add picnic tables.

One of the biggest expenses people face when traveling is eating out. When you are on the road,

Aerial view of Biscayne Green pop-up park. (Source: www.BiscayneGreenMiami.com

Dogs are probably the only creatures that love parks as much as humans and that's why dog park equipment was included in an inventive Biscayne Green pop-up park project in Downtown Miami.

For urbanites restrained by all that concrete and steel in cities but who still love the outdoors, this was one cool idea. The Miami Downtown Development Authority basically decided to transform 101 parking spaces in the middle of Biscayne Boulevard into active public space to showcase how these spaces can be turned around into a local destination for green space, entertainment, community and connections, and to gauge the reaction of the local community.

And there certainly was a reaction. The public filled up the park every day during the 20-day event.

Biscayne Green pop-up park (Source: www.BiscayneGreenMiami.com

"This was a huge success and we had a great reception from the community," said Fabian De La Espriella, planning

Attendance at national parks in the US continues to grow. Here's the latest list of Top 20 US National Parks based on recreational visitors in 2016. Share with your friends and family. Let them know these favorite must-see destinations for park enthusiasts (just hit share buttons at bottom of the page).

Top 20 National Park

To see the difference in attendance at each park, click here for last year's list of Top 20 National Parks in 2015.

Note: This infographic is brought to you by The Park and Facilities Catalog. We are a national supplier of park furnishings such as park benches, picnic tables, trash receptacles, bike racks and thousands of other items. We are also a strong advocate for national, state and local parks and encourage visitors to keep their parks clean so they can be enjoyed by everyone.

Outdoor grilling is gaining in popularity at record levels and another reason why park and facility managers should place permanent grills on their properties

By Gerald Dlubala

How important is it for a facility to provide permanent grills for public use? Just ask the experts.

"It's part of the American identity to have a grill," says IBISWorld, a global intelligence business leader specializing in Industry Market Research.

With 75% of Americans having a grill at their disposal, and almost half of those grilling more than once per week, barbecue is ingrained into our weekly meal planning and preparation.

As a park, facility, or multifamily housing manager, this information should speak to you regarding the amenities you offer.

Permanent grills are a simple and inexpensive marketing amenity that can be added to multifamily communities

If you want to keep up with public trends and expectations, one area to improve on is the accessibility you provide to better, larger, and more enjoyable

One of the best scenes in the critically-acclaimed movie "La La Land" includes a park bench. Photo Credit: Dale Robinette / Lionsgate

When watching awards shows, it's clear that there are so many factors that go into film-making: editing, cinematography, production design, directing, sound, makeup, music, park benches and many other factors are all necessary for the successful, tear-jerking films that we all love.

Park benches? Sure. They are in plenty of hit movies. As writers and directors set the scene, many choose a local park for portraying everyday life in films. No matter the genre—action, mystery, love, comedy, or otherwise—there is one prop that remains constant: the park bench.

A park bench is something most moviegoers can identify with, as opposed to say a mansion or a yacht. It's a place where anyone is welcome to sit and talk, read, or think.

Park benches are easy to look past, but later you will find yourself searching for one when your legs

 

New types of coatings and designs for metal picnic tables have resulted in several advantages over traditional picnic tables

Spring is around the corner and it's time to prepare the picnic tables. But as a facility manager, do you really want to spend all your time repairing and refinishing tables? And doing it over again next year? And the year after that?

Consider metal picnic tables. Technological advances in manufacturing have produced tremendous improvements in the durability, appeal-ability and versatility of picnic tables today.

For years, traditional wooden picnic tables were the defacto standard. They were as standard as the apple pie and hot dogs that were placed on them.

But wooden picnic tables, for as charming as they are, do have some issues.

Wood is not the best material for fighting the elements. We're not just talking about rain and snow either.

Metal picnic tables feature coatings designed to last

Picnic table ruined by the elements

The sun's UV rays have the ability