WORKSHOPS
Tuesday, June 24
Round One: 2:00-3:30pm

This round includes both indoor workshops (listed first) and outdoor walking workshops.

Parks and the Bottom Line, Part I
SOLD OUT!

Cities and states face the worst fiscal crises in a generation. At a time when every department and service is being closely examined for cost saving opportunities, the people who care about parks must demonstrate their value in terms of the bottom line. Beginning with a review of the latest research of the economic and social value of parks, this session will examine innovative case studies of how that research is being applied.

How to Turn a Park Around, Part I:
Evaluation and Observations Techniques that Any Community Can Use to Build a Vision
SOLD OUT!

This two-part course is designed to help participants understand the important role that successful community places play in neighborhood revitalization, and to recognize a successful public place when s/he sees one. Learn the basic elements that create a successful park and how to analyze specific sites in your own community. Learn also why some parks are used only by specific groups only during scheduled activities whereas other parks are used all the time. The Project for Public Spaces method facilitates groups of local community leaders, residents and designers to work together on improving public spaces.

The New Park Manager:
Best Practices
SOLD OUT!

Good management is the critical success factor for great parks of all shapes and sizes. The people responsible for managing parks today encounter a range of challenges that require expertise and creativity in a wide variety of areas. This session will examine the experiences of successful park managers in regards to day-to-day maintenance and operations; programming and regulating use; organizing volunteers; managing events; creative fundraising; and other practices through which the mission of effective park management may be realized, whatever the management entity.

Federal Dollars in Support of City Parks:
What's Available, What's Needed, and How to Advocate for It
SOLD OUT!

City Parks have long relied on local sources of funding, both public and private, to support their capital and operating programs. Little financial support for city parks has come from the federal government even though Washington spends billions of dollars on environmental, open space and conservation programs. Why? Because city parks lack an organized advocacy presence in Washington, D.C. Learn about what federal pots of money exist and how we can create a nationwide movement that will make a greater case for federal support of city parks. Effective strategies, tactics, and activities will be reviewed and discussed on how to organize an advocacy effort that can be used in not only pushing for greater federal support for city parks, but for stronger local funding as well.

All the World's a Stage

African drummers in Prospect Park attract a huge crowd with a "performance" that changes and grows every weekend. An Italian couple on the Lower East Side built a garden on an unused portion of a neighborhood park that caters to Chinese men and their songbirds. A waterfront brownfield becomes a setting for spontaneous art performances by Williamsburg artists and for family activities among Dominican and Polish residents. Parks, and sometimes just an unclaimed open space, may be among the best places in cities where people can give expression to their culture, often in informal, non-programmatic ways. How have park managers dealt with these "found" events? Find out how New York's neighborhood spaces bear witness to revelry and reverie in a variety of ways, and listen to the incredible characters who are willing to take on stewardship roles as they orchestrate events and activities that support community desires.

It Takes Three:

Partnerships for Parks Operations What does it take for a government agency, a nonprofit and groups of community volunteers to work in true collaboration and partnership? Since 1993, the Parks Revitalization Project of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, The Philadelphia Department of Recreation, and community residents have forged a successful partnership to reclaim and revitalize neighborhood parks in their city. This session will provide a candid discussion of the challenges, opportunities, strategies and lessons learned from this unique partnership. Share in a discussion of what it takes to get all the parties on the same page, resulting in a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts.

WALKING WORKSHOPS

The Outdoor Classroom:
Education, Children and Parks

How do children relate to parks and how do you make the most of your park's educational opportunities? This walking workshop will visit the Children's Corner, newly opened Audubon Center, the Carousel, Lefferts Homestead, and playgrounds – which together make up a single learning experience and build stewardship in parks users for generations to come.

Olmsted Design and Modern Usage
How do you make a 19th century environment work for modern users? Can you allow a dog in the water without disrupting the environment, waterfowl, and shoreline restoration efforts? This walking workshop tours various aspects of Prospect Park's spectacular renovations, through the lens of managing and designing for all users. Highlights will include: a dog beach experiment and restored "soft edge" shorelines that support fish and fowl; ball fields that don't spoil the view; and the loop road that is designed and managed for pedestrians, cyclists, runners, skaters, horses, as well as rush-hour traffic! Wear comfortable walking shoes.