April 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 42

RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
they bring to the table in support
of our projects, " says Sarah Olson,
MPA, CPRP, deputy director of
Lynnwood Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Arts Department.
Practices
To create culturally inclusive community
engagement,
Lynnwood
Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts
Department staff centered their efforts
in inclusive practices, including
hiring a community-based organization
to lead focus groups with
people of various backgrounds and
identities, including BIPOC, refugees,
and people with disabilities
and their caregivers. Additionally,
to advance environmental
tices,
they conducted their
pracfirst
forestry
assessment that addresses
heat island and inequities in access
to nature.
A practice adopted by many of
the grantees was paying advisory
panel members and community engagement
volunteers. For example,
staff in New Orleans hired park ambassadors
who reflected the diverse
communities they wish to engage to
help with outreach and engagement
as trusted community members.
Detroit Parks and Recreation
and City of Farmington Parks,
Recreation and Cultural
Affairs
Department invited their community
advisory panel into the request
for proposal (RFP) creation process
and had them help create the RFP
for their process of hiring consultants
and contractors to assist with
projects. This allowed the community
to understand the agency's
process while also allowing for the
community to determine the scope
of work and how best to engage the
community in understanding these
opportunities were available from
the agency.
Additionally, to bring nature to
communities equitably, staff in Detroit
who have historically left natural
areas maintenance to volunteers
are now pivoting to have the
city maintain those spaces. These
city staff are working to develop a
plan for each natural area to ensure
it
is maintained sustainably and
feels safe.
City of Pittsburgh Parks and
Recreation has established
best
practices around sequence and duration
of
environmental-focused
work with their staff, nonprofits
and community-based groups to
ensure their restoration efforts are
successful and leverage resources
of each group efficiently.
Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation
added signage and wayfinding
information on their trails that
reflect their communities' culture,
which provides a more welcoming
space for those who live on the Nation
to enjoy their public space.
Resources
To leverage funding support, Lynnwood
Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Arts Department was able to
uplift the work they started to build
equitable environmental resilience
to gain both state and federal funding
to advance their efforts. Likewise,
City of Farmington Parks,
Recreation and Cultural
Affairs
leveraged its project plan to win
millions in state funds to contribute
to its construction phase of a park
project.
Detroit Parks and Recreation
hired a staff member to coordinate
organizations
ipality
between
community-based
and the municto
move
forward with
Larry Barabino Jr., CEO of New Orleans
Recreation Development Commission,
leads a tour of green infrastructure
efforts in New Orleans.
42 Parks & Recreation | APRIL 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
April 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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