It's Not Easy Keeping Green

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As Northwest Arkansas becomes more densely populated and its fast disappearing green space becomes an increasingly highly-prized commodity, it's apparent that adhering to a strict plan to preserve resources is necessary and vital to prevent sprawl and poorly planned communities. In an effort to assist a fast-growing local city with the development, management and care of their own green space, UA recreation students and professors have begun an initiative to help Rogers make the most of its existing public common places and to hash plans for new ones using skills and expertise they acquired in the classroom.

"It's exciting for students to be part of a real life exercise," associate recreation professor Merry Moiseichik said, the organizer of the initiative. "Working with Rogers' parks and recreation facilities, planning the course of their future based on projected growth and available space, and completing a risk assessment to cite potential facility hazards will provide students with the kind of nuts-and-bolts experience they need to be prepared for a professional life in recreation."

In early February, Moiseichik's undergraduate recreation research students held two town meetings to gather ideas from the community improvements in parks and recreation facilities over the next decade. After these meetings, students polled more than 750 Rogers area citizens by telephone while the graduate class completed risk assessments and research on the future of Rogers recreation and administrators. As a result of ideas generated from citizens and students, the city council will eventually be able to better determine the recreational needs of Rogers' population now and in the future.

UA students Ramona Collins and Susie Winn, both Master's students in the recreation program, were among a dozen students assigned to complete risk assessments at various facilities across the Rogers area. In their assessment of the Rogers Youth Center, Collins and Winn not only looked for obvious safety risks on gym and outdoor equipment, they measured for specific compliance with city and federal regulations.

"There should be one handicapped space for every 25 regular parking spaces," Collins said. "And every handicapped parking spot much be at least 96 inches wide." Collins said that compliance with these federal regulations are an extremely important factor in the nature of the facility's accessibility to people who use wheelchairs or who need parking that is close to the building.

"Sand in playground areas should be at least 12" deep to provide adequate padding for children who fall down," Winn added, noting that a few extra inches of sand can make a real difference in impact to kids who tumble off a swing or a slide.

Other recreation students visited elementary school playgrounds, public parks, and their grounds and facilities. The group will present their findings to the city council and community residents in a town meeting on May 8 at 7 p.m. The final assessment will present Rogers city council with a 350-page document representing their findings and recommendations.

Proper inspection of recreational facilities is necessary because of the high incidence of accidents and potential for serious injury, especially to children. According to figures released by the Center for Disease Control, 200,000 preschool and elementary school children are taken to emergency rooms because of injuries sustained on playgrounds. An estimated 35% of those cases are severe, and most injuries — some 70% — happen on public playgrounds and recreational facilities.

"The partnership between the Rogers' City Council and our recreation program gives students an strong sense of the professional world and of their professional futures," Moiseichik said. "First and foremost, the students are learning to listen carefully to their client (in this case, the public agencies that were assessed)—only after that very important step do they offer advice and strategies for improvement. Over the course of the ten years we've done this program, we've worked with both large and small cities, going as far east as Jonesboro and as far south as Hot Springs."

"No matter where we go, however, it's an invaluable experience for all of us," she adds. "It's a wonderful win-win situation for both the city and the students. This initiative meets both our curriculum needs and the city's needs."

###