July 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43

In 2019, Lower Makefield Township in
Pennsylvania was ready to earn CAPRA
accreditation.
and gained a better understanding of
the steps necessary to earn and maintain
the accreditation.
Wargo believes that every park
and recreation organization has the
opportunity to improve, and their
involvement with CAPRA ensures
they review all their policies and
procedures on a regular basis.
These
park and recreation
leaders admit they underestimated
how truly
stressful
the
process
would be, how long it would take,
and how important
attention
to detail was in making them
successful. Thommes shares how
important it is to understand what
the CAPRA reviewers are looking
for when writing narratives and
providing evidence for the standards.
Tierney wished they had leveraged
the CAPRA Community on NRPA
Connect (connect.nrpa.org) more.
Through the process, Elliot says it is
not about getting the designation, but
it is an opportunity for the department
to look inward and ensure its activities
deliver the best outcomes.
The Impact
Laure L. Kosey, Ph.D., CPRE, executive
director of Oak Brook Park
District, says her department developed
new partnerships by working
on CAPRA. She continues to focus
on those relationships.
According to Hughes, the CAPRA
accreditation " has given us some legitimacy
within not just the city but
the city council " in Avondale. Similarly,
Ellis and Elliott shared that
prior to CAPRA they used basic
tools to manage their park maintenance.
Now, their departments have
implemented a software system for
all inspections that better tracks the
information needed. Lynn Todd,
CPRP, CPO, operations manager at
Lower Makefield Township, shared
that CAPRA has allowed them to
evaluate all their programs from the
perspective of " does this fit the need
and are we doing what is best for our
township? "
Both Lower Makefield Township
and Willamalane Park and Recreation
District became eligible for
additional funding after becoming
CAPRA accredited. Tierney says
Lower
Makefield Township
received
a " $900,000 grant from the
Pennsylvania Department of Community
and Economic Development
to complete the Master Plan
for our Memorial Park. This park
houses
the
[Pennsylvania] State
Monument for 9/11. " Wargo adds
that the " recent funding of $56,000
to build a mobile technology lab
that created more accessible technology
for students in Springfield
and $232,000 to replant approximately
6,000 filbert trees at Dorris
Ranch affected by Eastern Filbert
Blight are a testament to Willamalane's
commitment to serving
its community and preserving its
unique public park resources. "
Advice
Thommes encourages departments
to " just go for it. " Elliot
agrees, " Absolutely do it, but be
prepared for the overall wellness
check on your organization. This
is not something that can be done
in a day, a week or a month, but
is almost a career commitment....
It is not just something to check
the box, it is something to live by. "
Tierney shares that " CAPRA itself
is not expensive, and if you are
worried about the cost of CAPRA
- as a small agency particularly -
there is really no price tag on doing
the right thing as an agency. "
Everyone
notes
that
it
is
important to ask lots of questions
and to reach out to peer CAPRAaccredited
departments
for
guidance. They also say it is
important to enjoy the process, even
when it is stressful. What's more,
everyone agrees that CAPRA has
brought them closer together as a
team. Ready to embark on your
own CAPRA journey? Get started
at nrpa.org/CAPRA.
Jennifer Schleining is CAPRA Accreditation Senior
Manager at NRPA (jschleining@nrpa.org).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | JULY 2 0 2 3
| Parks & Recreation
43
PHOTO COURTESY OF BWAGS PHOTOGRAPHY
http://connect.nrpa.org http://www.nrpa.org/CAPRA
July 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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