'Get Outdoors, It's Yours'
from the United States Department of Agriculture
A new campaign encourages minors, their parents and their teachers to spend more time exploring the natural world. "Get Outdoors, It's Yours" debuted last week in Baltimore during the National Recreation and Park Association Congress and Exposition. The initiative will unite federal land opportunities under one comprehensive platform and encourage the participation of non-profit land partners to develop a seamless portal for information on destinations, programs, special events, and opportunities for educational adventures throughout the year. For more information on NRPA’s participation in the “Get Outdoors, It’s Yours!” partnership, contact Tom Quash at tquash@nrpa.org, or call (703) 858-2159. More

Filth Fighters Patrolling Park
from The Windsor Star
There's nothing Richard and Diane Wear won't pick up in Alexander Park. The retired couple, who moved to Windsor from Manitoba in 2004, spend about six hours a week picking up garbage at the park across from their apartment. "You have to do a little bit. To be honest with you, we're doing it for ourselves. It's exercise, and we're doing something great. We're (cleaning) our front lawn," said Richard. More

Grandview, Mo., Event Gives Those with Disabilities a Chance to Try New Sports
from the Kansas City Star
It was a loose soccer ball until Ryan Bertison caught up with it and with the tip of his crutch knocked a sharp assist to another player, who made a goal.The play brought a smile to the face of the 20-year-old, who has used crutches most of his life because of a spinal problem. And to those who organized the second annual Ability Day Recreation and Education Fair, it was yet another confirmation that it was a Sunday well spent. More

Piano Teacher Nurtures Youngsters
from WBRZ-TV
Once a week since the summer of 1999, Mathilda Martin has taught children and adults how to play the piano and sing as part of the Community Cultural Enrichment Program. all the years of teaching in the school system haven’t stopped Martin from remaining committed to the after- school program she helped create almost 10 years ago through the Lafayette, La., Parks and Recreation Department. That program has had a tremendous impact on the community by identifying and developing musical talent. More

Volunteers, Kids Rebuild Cedar Park, Iowa, Playground
from The Gazette via TMCnet
At Hayes Park in Cedar Park, Iowa, a giant spider web will soon be the main attraction. But don't worry, there won't be any huge spiders crawling on it -- just kids. Hundreds of volunteers converged to rebuild the park's flood-devastated playground. Although the ground was muddy, the sun was poking out from behind the clouds, making it an ideal day for working outside. More

Bringing Back the Dead
from the Daily Camera
A walk through the sprawling Lafayette Cemetery reveals historic gravestones of poor miners, landowners, labor activists, immigrants and farmers, one next to the other. Mary Reilly-McNellan, the Boulder, Colo., Parks and Recreation employee who manages the city’s Columbia Cemetery, has become an expert in cemetery restoration. She maintains that cemeteries deserve protection not just because they’re a link to the past, but also because they’re the legacy of those who have died. More

Blazing New Paths
from The Benton County Daily Record
Red, orange and brown now adorn the pavement lazily curving through the grass, paths meeting eventually with roads and sidewalks in Rogers, Ark. The trails spider-webbing through the city are seeing less traffic these days than they were when the sun shone bright and the warm air encouraged T-shirts and jogging shorts. But during this slow spell, crews are hard at work building 10 new trails for the sneaker-clad feet to break in. More

Havasu, Colo., Scout Brings Game of Disc Golf to the City
from Today's News-Herald
Lowell Brown always knew he wanted to be an Eagle Scout. And he knew what the service project would be that would get him the highest honor in scouting. "When I was younger, about 7- or 8-years-old, my dad introduced me to the sport," he said. The sport is disc golf and thanks to Brown’s efforts, Lake Havasu City has its first disc golf course at the new Grand Island Estates Park on the Island. More

Toy Lending Service May Keep Ann Arbor, Mich., Area Kids Stimulated
from The Ann Arbor News
Community Action Network of Ann Arbor recently opened Fiona's Toy Library, a program allowing Ann Arbor, Mich., parents borrow a toy instead of buying it. the library holds nearly every kind of toy that could interest a child under 6 years of age: stuffed toys, dollhouses, cars and trucks, books, an exercise saucer, tinker toys and crafts.Staffers said parents may check out any number of toys "within reason" and keep them for as long as they wish. The program is funded by the Ann Arbor Department of Parks and Recreation and The United Way. More

Haunted House Helps Fund Popular Summer Program
from WSBT
It's a "frightening" prospect, but one city leaders say is very real. Unless they can "scare up" enough money this weekend, major cuts to South Bend, Ind., Parks programs could be on the way. The potential loss of parks and recreation programs is the very reason Cindy Wojtkowski, her daughter Lauren and her friend Eva came to the event Friday night. The haunted house was created as a fundraiser to save some of the department's popular summer playground program. More

Scout Valley Improvements Help 'People to Connect with Nature in a Quiet Setting'
from The Orillia Packet & Times
Local naturalist Bob Bowles wants to ensure that future Orillians have some land kept in its natural state. He and the Trails for Life committee, with help from a Wal-Mart Evergreen Green Grant are doing just that at Scout Valley, where area residents have a place close by where they can come and communicate with nature. More

Outdoor Education has Deep, Lengthy Meaning for Kids
from the San Francisco Chronicle
When it comes to outdoor education, the stakes are high in California, but the solution is cheap. Whether you have children or not, your ability to enjoy the outdoors can be determined by the future outdoor education for youth.This also could determine the long-term health of parks, wildlands and wildlife, because people who love the outdoors are the most apt to vote to pay for parks, fish and wildlife, and wilderness protection. When you love something, it's in your self-interest to take care of it. The converse is also true. People who don't go to parks won't vote for a bond to fund them. More