MARCH, 2014

Dear Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Colleagues:

Now that the snow and cold temperatures of February are behind us, we are planning for a busy March during which we will be actively engaging lots of you as well as many of our community partners. For starters, we are initiating the internal phase of our Brand Campaign and throughout this month, we will be meeting with staff to update everyone about our new brand well before we share information with the general public.

In addition to these Brand meetings, we are also meeting with select Advisory Council, Park Friends Groups and Program Partners on March 1st to discuss and further develop the relationships that have been so beneficial to our neighborhood successes. The Park Stewardship Team will also be conducting a Parks Forum on March 22nd that will engage Park Volunteers and Stewardship Staff in interactive workshops to inform their future collaborations. These meetings along with daily services that you all routinely provide are shining examples of effective government service. Thank you for your contribution.

City Basketball Leagues

City Basketball Leagues will have their "March Madness" tournament beginning on March 17 and culminating on April 6 with the crowning of City Champions in five different age groups.

1st Philly Pumpjam

Saturday, May 10

1-4 p.m.

53rd & Parkside

Free event for all ages. Ride the tracks or watch a professional demonstration. Participate in a raffle or enjoy music and giveaways.

Presented by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Friends of Philly Pumptrack, the event celebrates the ribbon cutting for the pumptrack, as well as the launch of LOVE Your Park Week.

For more information, visit phillypumptrack.org.

Download the event flyer

What’s Hot in Urban Forestry: TreePhilly Spring Kickoff

The TreePhilly team kicked off the spring tree giveaway season with a press conference in LOVE Park on February 20. Mayor Michael A. Nutter Nutter, Deputy Mayor/Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner Michael DiBerardinis and a special talking “Spokes-Tree” announced that more than 2,000 trees would be given away free as part of the TreePhilly initiative to make Philadelphia “The City of Arborly Love.” The announcement came after a show of affection in the form of arborly love notes like “My roots run deep. My love runs deeper.” and “I’m nuts about you.” hung in branches throughout Philadelphia.

Go to www.treephilly.org to sign up for your own free tree and come pick it up at one of the events this April:

Yard Tree Program Schedule

• Saturday, April 5, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and 12 noon to 2 p.m., Pennypack Environmental Center (8600 Verree Road 19115)
• Sunday, April 6, 12 noon to 2 p.m., West Oak Lane Library (2000 Washington Lane 19138)
• Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Columbus Square Playground (1200 Wharton Street 19147)
• Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Bartram’s Garden (54th and Lindbergh Boulevard 19143)
• Saturday, April 12, 12 noon to 2 p.m., Hunting Park Recreation Center (900 Hunting Park Avenue 19140)
• Sunday, April 13, 12 noon to 2 p.m., Gorgas Park (6300 Ridge Avenue 19128)

Here are the trees that will be available at the spring giveaways:

• American beech – Fagus grandiflora
• White oak – Quercus alba
• Red maple – Acer rubrum
• Sassafras – Sassafras albidum
• Dolgo crabapple – Malus x ‘Dolgo’
• Winter King hawthorn – Crataegus viridus ‘Winter King’
• Serviceberry – Amelanchier laevis and A canadensis
• Moorpark Apricot – Prunus armeniaca ‘Moorpark’
• Brown Turkey Fig – Ficus carica ‘Brown Turkey’
• 20th Century Asian pear – Pyrus pyrifolia ’20th Century’
• Contender peach – Prunus persica ‘Contender’

Morris Park Leader Receives Keep America Beautiful Award

Nicole Chandler, a Park Friends Group leader at Morris Park, has received the Keep America Beautiful Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson Award for her lifetime work to lead thousands of volunteers in litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling, and beautification and greening activities. In addition to her role at Morris Park, Nicole is also coordinator of Keep Royal Gardens Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and partner of Keep Philadelphia Beautiful. Nicole continues to secure significant in-kind donations and forge partnerships with local businesses and global corporations to ensure the work continues.

The Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson award was chosen from a national pool of volunteers. Nicole accepted her award at the Keep America Beautiful National Convention in Charlotte, NC earlier this month.

Continue reading about Nicole’s work and the Keep America Beautiful Award

Kids Photo Contest for Venice Island Grand Opening

The children at PPR’s recreation centers are invited to participate in the first annual PLAY Manayunk Photo Contest. The top 30 photos will be displayed at the grand opening of the new Venice Island Performing Arts Center & Park on June 7 & 8, 2014.

Six winners will receive a prize of a digital camera. One grand prize winner (chosen from the six winners) will receive $1,000 in art supplies for their recreation center!

To participate, children submit an original photo based on this year’s theme: Outdoor Recreation. There’s no one who knows more about recreation and the outdoors than we do! Photos must be emailed to kwood@manayunk.org by May 1, 2014.

Read the Photo Contest rules and learn how to enter

Video: District 2 Tumbling Meet

On February 12, over 100 athletes from Bridesburg, Cione and Lower Mayfair rec centers competed in the PPR District 2 tumbling meet in front of 200 spectators. Watch a video recap of the tumbling meet

Parks and Recreation Commission Update

Congrats to our latest PaRC Star! Edward “Cookie” Flythe has been a community volunteer at the C.B. Moore Recreation Center for over 30 years. He has helped to focus youth in the direction of college, community, employment and self-esteem. His mentorship through his athletic training program has shaped born leaders and role models. It’s volunteers like Edward “Cookie” Flythe that help make our Recreation Centers work.

You can nominate a PaRC Star today! Just go to the Parks and Recreation Commission Facebook page and submit a nomination form.

Job Opportunities: Part-time Field Inspectors

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation seeks (2) seasonal employees to work as field inspectors in the newly formed Operational Standards Unit. The Inspector will collect data and create reports as it relates to identified features at our PPR facilities city-wide. These are part-time opportunities. Candidates must have experience in data collection and ability to generate reports based on the data.

Learn more about the Field Inspector positions

Energy-saving Field Light Initiative

As a reminder, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation is piloting a field lighting energy conservation initiative. PPR is using field lights only Monday to Friday, dusk to 10:30 p.m., mid-March through December. Field lights will be turned off at all other times, reducing energy usage by lowering the amount of time fields are lit while not in use. If you see field lights on at a PPR facility at non-designated times, please email PPR.EnergySaver@phila.gov.

Customer Service Training

In response to staff suggestions, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation is pleased to be a co-sponsor of an exciting online customer service training program.

PHL Welcomes U! is a free educational program empowering Philadelphians in public service roles with the tools they need to create meaningful, positive experiences for guests in our great city.

The program comprises six online video modules covering a wide range of useful topics like active listening and communication skills, connecting with guests, embracing diversity and many more!

The courses are designed to guide participants on a journey through real-world experiences and situations they may encounter on a daily basis. Skills learned throughout each module will be tested through short quizzes, allowing participants to earn the designation of “Certified Hospitality Professional” (CHP) after successfully completing the program.

The mission of PHL Welcomes U! is to ensure all guests to Philadelphia have a positive overall experience by creating PHL “Ambassadors” within a variety of industry segments and special interest groups such as retail, travel and tourism, education, hospitality, transportation, city work and others. These educational messages are instrumental in making an impact on the city of Philadelphia and the people who live, work and play here.

Watch a video about the PHL Welcomes U! program

Morris Estate Before and After Photos

New Facility Supervisor Bill Arthur and staff have spent scores of hours upgrading Morris Estate since his arrival in September. They added a new music room, complete with a piano and pictures of famous composers, and installed a new dance studio. In addition to the cosmetic upgrades, there are many new programs available to users of the facility including a book club, the Star Players drama club and dance classes. Please check out a slideshow of before and after photos to see the impact of his team's work.

We love celebrating the hard work that facility staff do every day. If you have photos to share from a clean up or other project you have completed at your site, please email them to parksandrecreation@phila.gov.

View before and after photos of Morris Estate at http://ph.ly/MElooksgood

Parks & Rec Stewardship Team: Take this job and shovel it!

On Thursday, February 20, 2014 the Parks & Rec Stewardship Team did a site visit at the Clayborn and Lewis Playground, also known as 38th & Poplar Rec Center, in an effort to inspect the park for the upcoming PA Municipal League Service Day. Barbara McCabe, Director of Stewardship, hoped that Clayborn and Lewis could benefit from the influx of 50-60 volunteers during a workday this summer through the PA Municipal League’s community service program.

This small rec center sits in the shadow of the Philadelphia Zoo’s newly built parking garage and bears the name of two basketball coaches who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the military during the Vietnam War.

Clayborn and Lewis is an unstaffed facility, but the community group 39th and Poplar Organization provides breakfast and lunch to senior citizens five days a week in the building, using their own funds to offer meals. Leroy Lewis, brother of the rec center’s moniker, has been a volunteer and caretaker of the park for decades, doing what he does in memory of his brother.

About ten senior citizens are fed at Clayborn and Lewis, but the severe winter storms Philly has endured recently left the pavements and entrance to Clayborn and Lewis full of snow and ice-- an impassable walkway for seniors.

While the stewardship team inspected the site and noted the work needed to be done, Volunteer Coordinators Dave Bower, Jason Mifflin and Jackie Olson grabbed the shovels in their pickup trucks and started cracking away at the ice rink on the sidewalks. The rest of the stewardship team followed with shovels and brooms, and locals passing by beeped their car horns in appreciation and thanks. Within 20 minutes, the entire walkway and property was cleared of snow and ice, proving that many hands make light work and that during Philly’s winter, our VC’s never leave home without their shovels.

Photos: Black History Month Art Contest Winners

View winners from the annual PPR Visual Arts Black History Month Contest

Video: Bridesburg After School Program Slide Show Report

Find out what happened at Bridesburg Recreation Center’s After School Program in January 2014.

Energy-saving Tip of the Month

Caulk small holes and cracks around ducts, pipes, exhaust fans, vents, sink and bathtub drains, fireplaces and under countertops.

Employee Profile: Branding Interns

Hello! My name is Devon DiMatteo, and I just recently graduated from Temple University this past January with a degree in Advertising. My concentration was in art direction, or graphic design, which has brought me here to Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. I will be working as the graphic designer within the branding team to help give a face to the new Parks & Recreation department. Being a part of the branding team is very exciting for me because during my last semester of school, I was able to work with the Fairmount Park Conservancy on a mock advertising campaign, which allowed me to really get to know and fall in love with the parks system. I look forward to learning more about the recreation side of the department during my time here at PPR, and hope you all enjoy the new Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.”

Rebecca Fagan comes to Philadelphia Parks & Recreation via Washington, DC. Having graduated from The George Washington University (’08) with a degree in Sport and Event Management, she has worked with organizations such as The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, DC United and Kiwi Kuisine. She will be working with the Branding Team focusing mostly on marketing and event coordination. She currently plays rugby with Philadelphia Women’s Rugby Football Club, which practices at the Cobbs Creek Recreation Center and plays at Memorial Hall Field and Edgely Field in Fairmount Park.

Zoe Hillengas comes to Philadelphia Parks & Recreation with over two years of experience in the non-profit sector. Zoe has provided marketing, communications, community outreach and general administrative support for a variety of community and education programs in Philadelphia including Play On, Philly!, Scribe Video Center and Jr. Music Executive. She also has an equivalent amount of classroom teaching experience with the Play On, Philly! and Jr. Music Executive programs, which bring music education and mentorship to underserved urban youth. Zoe is excited to join the PPR branding initiative and expand her marketing and communications experience while continuing to stay active with her education and community-based work.

“My name is Gabrielle Rosinski-Castro but I go by Gabe. I am the Media Intern for the Branding and will be documenting people’s stories regarding PPR’s programs and activities. I am a senior at Temple University and have been involved in many projects involving film and media development. I will be graduating this May with my B. A. in Media Studies and Production. I am new to Philadelphia, I moved here from Florida to attend Temple, and I absolutely love it! I find that oftentimes I appreciate a lot of the things Philly Parks and Recreation has to offer that most people take for granted because I come from a place with scarce options for entertainment, community or educational activities. This gives me a fresh eye and a hunger for the stories you all have.”