Education is a cornerstone of NRPA Congress. Each year, we strive to provide our members and guests with cutting-edge, informative sessions that inspire and help advance our members’ careers. This year, we’ve packed hundreds of education sessions, lectures, Off-Site Institutes, Pre-Congress Workshops and interactive learning opportunities into the three-day affair, slated for October 14–16 in Charlotte, North Carolina. There are also a number of new education initiatives this year, like our fun and less-formal Learning Lab/Learning Playground and Glass Room Sessions, designed to get our members up and active, both mentally and physically. Here, we highlight a handful of opportunities to learn and connect with other professionals in our industry.
Education Sessions
When Good Animals Go Bad — What to Do?
Almost every park manager, natural resource specialist, homeowner or business has experienced conflicts with nuisance wildlife. This presentation will pass along some pointers and tips on how to address some of the more common nuisance wildlife problems you may encounter. Attendees will get sound advice on what to do or where to turn for help the next time you find a bat flying around in your nature center or a beaver cutting down those prized 15-year-old magnolias.
Presenters: Jon Heisterberg, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, APHIS Wildlife Services; Scott McNeely, McNeely Pest Control Inc.
Time and date: 8:45–10 a.m. Wednesday, October 15
Learning Lab/Learning Playground Sessions
Whirlwind Games for BIG Kids and LITTLE Kids Alike!
Are you ever stuck with the task of brainstorming a game, ice breaker, team-building initiative or simple activity idea? This interactive presentation and workshop will introduce participants to a whole host of activities appropriate for widely varied groups.
Presenter: Dr. Paul S. Wright, Lindenwood University
Time and date: Playground Session, 1–2:15 p.m. Tuesday, October 14; Learning Lab appearance 10:15–10:45 a.m. Wednesday, October 15
Speed Sessions
Camera Tricks for Cellphones
Award-winning photographer John R. Johnson takes a closer look at the lowly cellphone and how you can produce quality images from this “everybody’s got one” camera. This was NRPA’s most highly rated and highly attended session of 2013, reprised here for 2014! You can also catch Johnson in Learning Lab 1, held 1:30–2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, and during the Brand+Aid Marketing Institute, where he is a featured speaker.
Presenter: John Johnson, J2 Golf Marketing/GolfPhotos.com
Session Info: 11:30 a.m.–12 noon Wednesday, October 15
Glass Room Sessions
The Glass Room Sessions are intended to attract directors and upper-level professionals who want to discuss cutting-edge issues and topics with their peers and learn how others are dealing with similar challenges they are facing. The six Glass Room Sessions planned for the 2014 Congress will be conducted on the exhibit hall floor in a glass enclosure set up specifically for these sessions. Glass Room Sessions will only be 45 minutes in length with only about 15 minutes total to be spent on presentations by the speakers. The intent of these sessions is to engage participants in discussion and exploration of the issues at hand. CEUs will not be offered as part of the Glass Room Sessions and attendance will be purposely limited to 50 people available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Kicking things off is planner, facilitator and designer David Barth with his presentation, “Creating High-Performance Park and Recreation Systems,” held 11–11:45 a.m. Tuesday, October 14, in the Glass Room on the exhibit hall floor. Barth will discuss how parks and recreation departments have a unique opportunity to demonstrate the essential nature of the industry by creating park and recreation systems that contribute to the resiliency and sustainability of communities within a given service area. Park and recreation systems can account for 40–50 percent of a community’s land mass — including parks, civic spaces, historic and cultural areas, natural areas, trails, streets and sidewalks — providing numerous opportunities to generate economic, social and environmental benefits. This session explores how the planning, design, programming and management of a “High-Performance Public Space©” can benefit both park and recreation departments and their communities.
Click here for additional details and updates on education sessions, speakers, scheduling and more.
Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine.
Brand+Aid Marketing Institute
Are you ready to take your brand to the next level? Effectively engaging the customers we serve is crucial to the success and future of individual agencies and our industry as a whole; however, methods of marketing are evolving faster than most agencies can manage. The Brand+Aid Marketing Institute will give attendees the knowledge needed to expand an agency’s branding and marketing in a progressive and purposeful manner. Experts from both the public and private sectors will share how to develop strategies that work, increase citizen advocacy, develop highly targeted advertising campaigns and more effectively utilize both print and digital advertising media.
Presenters: Ryan Hegreness, Gary Packan, Dennis Yu, Alex Houg, Eric Jontra, Julie Vogl and others
Time and date: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday, October 13
Other details: Pre-registration for this module is required, but Congress registration is not necessary to attend. Lunch will be provided and participants can earn .6 CEUs.