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The Recreation Forum Project. March and April 2007: five regional Forums and a national Forum in Washington, DC National conveners: ARC and NFF Strong local host committees Initial template for forums revised to meet regional priorities
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The Recreation Forum Project • March and April 2007: five regional Forums and a national Forum in Washington, DC • National conveners: ARC and NFF • Strong local host committees • Initial template for forums revised to meet regional priorities • More than 100 persons involved in planning, more than 2,000 involved in total
Kids in the Outdoors Emerged • While the initial strategy called for all Forums to address access issues and then 1-3 other regional priorities, like volunteerism or links to tourism, the local host committees independently acted to put the connection between youth and the outdoors at the heart of the Forums • All Forums had youth speakers, most had youth panels
Messages and Lessons Learned • Cobb County demonstrated integration of recreation, education, senior services and health programs with “campuses” and interdepartmental cooperation in programming • The Atlanta area Forum also introduced us to Geeks in the Woods.
LA: Recreation Rocks! Let’s GetOutside & Into Life • Youth panel told us about trips to national parks – mostly through church groups • Stories about cell phones – PCD (personal communications devices) – and Facebook • Lure of social interaction – and importance of age-groupings • No to brochures and visitor centers • The story of In-and-Out Burgers vs. “your little brown signs”
LA Forum Action Results • FS Researchers, FS San Dimas Technical Development Center, ARC and City of LA team up in Griffith Park – confirm lure of technology and discover the power of teams • Summer 2008 project with Montana and California: fam trips reported on key social networking sites
Pacific Northwest • Role of zoos in urban areas – and the surprising discovery of WOW morphed into ZAP! • Kids tell us that getting to the outdoors isn’t easy, and links outdoor activities with family over friends • Oregon State Parks leads the way with research efforts on youth and the outdoors
Chicago • The discovery of partnerships among recreation programs, museums, schools and conservation groups • Make the close to home areas demonstrations of excellence: forest preserves, lakeshore, and trails • Let kids love winter!
An “Ah-ha” Moment • During discussions about social networking, we found federal officials reserved in speaking up • And then we heard a key reason: access to Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, iTunes and other sites is blocked by most Federal IT offices!