Musings Winter 2022 (continued from page 11)
are well-used and visible to more people at hours thereby creating greater safety and utility.
have environmental and sustainability content to help assess how well a community is meeting climate change challenges. Let’s find a way to get those recently retired Baby Boomers and even Gen X’ers involved in your community!
Economics
The silent withdrawal from the “parks bank account” continues … Development charges are being rolled backward, the need for housing threatens both the quantity and quality of new and even existing parkland. Tax cuts require service cuts in many areas and are parks considered a “soft service”? Municipalities are under constant fiscal pressure as “Children of the Province” and unlike senior levels of government cannot operate in a deficit position; so constant requirements for “greater efficiencies” beyond the ability to effect lower taxes, inevitably leads to service cuts at the local level. Parks managers can help by creating a climate where neighbourhoods help “take back” some ownership and can be welcomed as active contributors to the “public good”. One potential ally is CiB. For over 25 years, Communities in Bloom have helped communities rally community volunteers to actively pursue a common vision to “Grow Great Places Together”; in 6 judging grid elements; Community Appearance, Landscapes, Environmental Action Floral and Plants, Heritage Conservation and Tree Management. Communities can set up volunteer committees to help with actions in each of these elements, saving valuable tax dollars and creating a more involved, proud community that harmonizes actions in institutional, commercial, industrial and residential sectors. Over 60% of the judging grid criteria, now
Sustainability, Climate Change, Green Infrastructure and Health
Our world has more climate events with high winds, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding and resultant damages to even basic infrastructure. Governments are coming to the realization that not everything can be solved with hard infrastructure and pipes. Green infrastructure that helps minimize flooding, reduces the carbon footprint through plants, stabilizes soils, lessens “heat islands” and the like will increasingly be used as part of multi-pronged municipal sustainability strategies. Parks managers have important roles in key environmental factors such as carbon gas reduction, water, land and air quality, preservation of natural features and wildlife. As the world has greater heat events, planting trees with some density will become even more important to provide relief and great safety in being at outdoor sport and trail locations. We have seen the popularity of community spray pads explode in recent years; it may now be more common to have these spray pads evolve to become outdoor misting centres for those venturing outdoors in summer. As our population ages, more prescriptive activity will take place putting more pressure on trails and active transportation corridors.
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The Green Sward – Winter 2022
Page 12
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