Soldier Field and the Chicago Park District have been awarded the status of LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) from the U.S. Green Building Council. Soldier Field is the first existing North American stadium to receive the award of LEED-EB Certification and the first NFL stadium to receive this prestigious award. LEED-EB stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The stadium is owned by the Chicago Park District and managed by SMG, which specializes in venue management, marketing, and development.
National Public Lands Day for 2012 takes place September 29. It’s the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands in the United States. NPLD keeps the promise of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the "tree army" that worked from 1933-1942 to preserve and protect America's natural heritage. NPLD began in 1994 with three sites and 700 volunteers. In 2011, more than 170,000 volunteers worked at 2,067 sites in every state, the District of Columbia, and in many U.S. territories. Eight federal agencies, nonprofits, and state, regional and local governments participate in the annual day of caring for shared lands.
The National Association of Recreation Resource Planners has announced its 2012 annual award winners in recognition for outstanding accomplishments by individuals, agencies, and organizations in the field of recreation resource planning and management.
National Recreation Leadership Award:Will Shafroth, counselor to the Secretary of Interior on America’s Great Outdoors
Distinguished Service Award:
• Joe Elton, current president of the Americas State Parks Foundation, current director of Virginia State Parks, and former president of the National Association of State Park Directors
• Kate Schutt, retired planning manager with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Excellence in Planning Award:
• California State Parks Planning Division - Recreation Proposal for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh
• Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) - The Imagine Your Parks – Strategic Plan
• National Park Service – Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
• O2 Planning and Design – Alberta Recreation and Tourism Data System
NARRP is a 501(c)3 organization comprised of outdoor recreation professionals and others interested in recreation resource planning. Its members represent federal, state, provincial, regional, and local agencies, consultants, nonprofits, and academic institutions across the U.S. and Canada.
The Trust for Public Land has launched ParkScore, a program rating the park systems of the 40 most populous U.S. cities. (It scores cities, not metropolitan areas.) Ratings are based equally on three factors: park access, which measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park (approximately a half-mile); park size/acreage, which is based on a city's median park size and the percentage of total city area dedicated to parks; and services and investment, which combines the number of playgrounds per 10,000 city residents and per capita park spending.
“We hope that city leaders, park providers and park advocates will use the information at www.parkscore.tpl.org as a valuable tool to help plan park improvements,” says Peter Harnik, director, Center for City Park Excellence, Trust for Public Land. “Over the long run, a rising ParkScore will mean healthier people, higher property values, and more vibrant and livable communities.”
The top five cities rated (out of a score of 100) by TPL are:
1. San Francisco 74.0
2. Sacramento 73.5
3. Boston 72.5
3. New York 72.5
5. Washington 71.5
SOURCE: www.parkscore.tpl.org