In The News: Our cover story continued...

Natural Play Areas

Interaction with the natural

landscape is thought to be

crucial to the mental and

physical health of children

(Rubenstein, 1998). To bring

youth back to nature, Natu-

ral Play Areas are outdoor

spaces designated for play

that are made of natural

components such as plants,

logs, water, sand, mud, boul-

ders, hills and

trees. These components

represent the larger wild en-

vironment in a way that feels

safe and manageable to

young visitors. A few man-

made components might

also be carefully integrated

to support creative play,

encourage confident explo-

ration and help children de-

velop a lasting affinity for

the natural world.

Park and Recreation Natural Play Area Workshop

this issue

Park News P.1

Enterprise Services P.2

Nature Preserves & Natural Resources P.3

Community & Recreation Center Services P.4

V o l u m e 2 I S S U E

F e b r u a r y 1 5 2 0 1 3

7 WEEKLY

NEWSLETTER OF THE

PARK AND RECREATION

DEPARTMENT FridayFridayLetterLetter THE

Community Involvement in Planning

A Natural Play Area Workshop will take place at the Mallard Creek Recreation Center on Fri-

day, March 8th from 10:00 to 11:30 am. Park and Recreation would like to bring children and

adults together to give us ideas of what citizens would like to see in a Natural Play Area.

This will be a FUN and INTERACTIVE workshop. Park and Rec will take the information gath-

ered from the workshop to help facilitate the design, planning and funding process for the play

area. Participants can expect to divide into three groups for the workshop, adults, children

ages 3-5 and children ages 6-11. Adult led activities will be provided for the two children’s

groups. Weather permitting we will take the children outside to play, if not we will utilize the

play room and club room for the children’s activities. There will also be a brief presentation

about the benefits of playing in nature.

In order to help us plan for the workshop, pre-registration is required for this FREE work-

shop. To register please call us at 704-548-8234, come to see us or register on line at

www.ParkandRec.com, using eparks, course code 45340. We are excited about this opportu-

nity and hope you will come out to help us design your new natural play area.

Workshop Contact:

Stephanie M. Frisbee, MS, CPRP

Facility Manager I

Mallard Creek Recreation Center

Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center One hundred sixty-four (164) swimmers participated in a Hornets Nest Swim League dual meet on Friday, February 8 from 6:30pm – 9:30pm at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Cen-ter. Mecklenburg County’s Mecklenburg Makos competed against Lake Norman YMCA. Huntersville.

Park News: Upcoming Senior Event Dance with Your Sweetheart at Naomi Drenan Rec Center Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation invites active seniors, ages 50 and over, to a Valentine’s Day Sweet-heart Ball, Saturday, Feb. 16, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., at Naomi Drenan Recreation Cen-ter. This event is for singles or couples. No alcohol, please. Put on your dancing shoes and enjoy the Cha cha cha, Tango, and line dancing. This event offers great music, refreshments, door prizes and a wonderful time to start the New Year! The dance will be in the gym of the recreation center. Admission: $3 in advance for

County residents $5 at the door $5 in advance for non-

County residents $8 at the door for non-

County residents The event is “dress casual”-- party dress or pantsuit for ladies, dress shirt and dress pants for gentlemen. For additional information, contact Naomi Drenan at 704-432-5231. _______________________

5th Annual Fairy House Festival at Latta Nature Preserve

Over 2,700 people... attended the 5th Annual Fairy House Festival held at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. This event which is held the Saturday before Valentine’s Day each year is a free family festival that encourages visitors to spend time in nature as a family and use their imagination and creativity to create fairy houses and gnome homes. This festival also included crafts, storytelling, music, pony rides, costume contest, geocaching, and other games and activities.

Scenes from Events: 5th Annual Fairy House Festival at Latta Nature Preserve

Scenes from Events: LEFT: Citizens and partici-pants receive instructions and information from Park and Recreation Staff ________________________

Scenes from Events: LEFT: Latta staff guides a wood fairy (participant) for a lovely horseback ride during the festival ________________________

Scenes from Events: LEFT: Latta Plantation Na-ture Center Manager Stephen Hutchinson poses with one of the cutest of wood fairies amongst the fun— ________________________

Revolution Park Sports Academy & Youth Sports For more information email YouthSports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call the Revolution Park Sports Academy at (704) 432-4963.

Track and Field: Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Depart-ment, Charlotte Flights and USA Track & Field (USATF) teamed up to host a Level I USATF Track & Field Certification Class Feb-ruary 1-3 at Clanton Park Pavilion. The 90 plus participants in the class came from all over the southeast United States. The class was held in the Charlotte area to give more opportunity to local high school, clubs, Park and Recreation and college coaches. The classes will help promote the sport and share the new training trends in track and field.

Track and Field: Mecklenburg County’s partnership program with the Charlotte Flights Track and Field Club had several sen-iors this past week signing their National Letters of Intent to attend college. Congratulation to Sabriana Moore who will be attending Texas Christian University, Jordan Raper and Desti-nie Sykes who will be attending Wingate University. The ath-letes will all receive full or partial scholarships to attend school for the Fall of 2013.

NEW Youth Disc Golf Leagues: Registration for Mecklenburg County’s first ever Youth Disc Golf program will run through March 15th for ages 7-18. Course play will take place at Reedy Creek, Sugaw Creek and Elon disc golf courses beginning in April. Participants will compete against these courses through the season to enhance their skill sets. Performance scoring will be used to encourage development. The regular season will run through May and the Countywide Tournament will be held in early June.

Youth Girls Softball Clinic: Thank you to everyone who worked to help put the girls softball clinic together last Saturday 2/9. The clinic pro-vided participants with valu-able instruction on the funda-mental skills of the game.

RAY Play at Sugaw Creek Recreation

The Sugaw Creek Recreation Center Ray Play Program held a Valentine’s Day Party on Tuesday, February 12. The pre-schoolers partici-pated in exercise dances, made Valentine Teddy Bear crafts, played games: Cupid Musical Chairs, Cupid Says and Find a Heart Scavenger Hunt. The partici-pants ate lunch and received goodie bags. A special thanks to the Garinger High School Volun-teers & Staff, Sugaw Creek Young at Senior Club, and Carolina Support Services for their invaluable assistance.

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

Indoor Baseball/Softball Clinics Spring sport registration has begun and so have the Indoor Baseball & Softball Clinics at Sugaw Creek Recreation Center. Players ages 6-12 meet Friday eve-nings from 5-7 pm through March 1 in the gym to work on base running, fielding, throwing, catching & hitting techniques. Come spring season, partici-pants in the clinics will be ready to take the field. For more information, contact Brett.Krizanik@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or 704-336-7655.

_______________________

Recreational News from Mecklenburg Communities

NEW Youth Girl’s Softball Leagues: Registration for Mecklenburg County’s Youth Girls Softball pro-gram will run through February 22nd for ages 7-10. Practices will begin in March and games will begin in April. The regular season will run through May and the post season Countywide Tournament will be held in early June.

Youth Baseball Leagues: Registration for Mecklenburg

County’s Youth Baseball program will run through February 28th for ages 3-12. Practices will begin in March and games will begin in April. The regular season will run through May and the post season Countywide Tournament will be held in early June.

Revolution Park Sports Academy & Youth Sports For more information email Youth-Sports@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov or call the Revolution Park Sports Academy at (704) 432-4963.

Therapeutic Recreation

Spill Your Beans! Spill Your Beans is a support group for young women with disabilities ages 16 and up. The group met Monday, February 11th and discussed health, fitness and nutrition, and visited a local gym. The next Spill Your Beans is March 18th . If you would like more information, or to register for the program please contact Ariel.Kliem@MecklenburgCountyNc.gov.

Park and Recreation News:

Submissions for the Newsletter

Please submit all news for the

Friday Letter to your Division

Director for review and routing.

Park Partners may contact

Kesha Meads at

Kesha.Meads@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

for publication assistance.

The Friday Letter Volume 2 • Issue 7• February 15, 2013

Mecklenburg County

Park and Recreation

Senior Leadership Team

Jim Garges, Director

Michael Kirschman, Deputy Director

James Alsop, Enterprise Services

Renea Barber, Human Resources

Mario Chang, Budget Administration

Lee Jones, Capital Planning

Lola Massad, Community Services and

Recreation Center Services

Jeff Robinson, Park Operations

5841 Brookshire Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28216

(704) 336-8840

Recreate All Year! As the weather changes, look forward to new and exciting way to continue recreating during the late winter and spring months. Subscribe to the Park and Recreation E-Newsletter to stay up to date on activities that may be available to you.

www.parkandrec.com

Upcoming Events: Nature Preserves & Natural Resources Pioneer Days in the Preserve Saturday, Feb 16 1:00p to 4:00p Reedy Creek Nature Center Charlotte, NC Come celebrate the good ole days by trying your hand at some old fashioned crafts and activities. Experience quilting, rope making, butter making and others, as well as a brisk walk to the historic Robinson Rock House on the property. Learn history the fun way! Must call 704-432-6460 to register. All ages • FREE • 1:00pm to 4:00pm The Charlotte Woodcarvers hosts their 30th annual Showcase of Woodcarvings on February 15-17, 2013 at the Marion Diehl Recreation Center at 2219 Tyvola Road in Charlotte. 100 carvers from 10 states will exhibit over 500 carvings for judging in 31 categories. Carvings for sale, carving competitions, seminars and opportunity for free Wood Carving Instruction. Free admission, family friendly and free parking.