Author: Columbia Valley Park and Recreation District

Benefits of Parks for Young Adults

We’re back with another Benefits of Parks post for Columbia Valley’s residents! So far, we’ve covered the benefits of parks for elders and adults with no children. If you haven’t already checked those posts out, they are on our website, cv-prd.org, under “District News/Events.” Each blog post is also being posted to our Facebook page on Sundays! This week we will be covering the benefits of parks for young adults. For the purposes of this blog post, we are considering young adults to be between the ages of 18 and 24. 

Parks can reduce stress and increase one’s ability to cope. 

Most young adults face new stressors in the journey of growing up and becoming independent. This time in life is typically filled with new experiences, personal growth, conflicts, and stress that can sometimes be overwhelming. Stress from major life changes such as paying bills, getting a job, and providing for yourself can lead to chronic mental fatigue. Luckily, community parks can help relieve stress and increase the capacity to cope. Researchers have found that when stressed young adults have access to green space, they are less likely to procrastinate and more likely to feel like their issues were less severe and easier to handle. When life can be so overwhelming, getting outside into a community park to breathe and enjoy the scenery is just what young adults need. 

Parks provide opportunities to find new passions. 

CVPRD is looking to bring a variety of different kinds of parks to the community. Numerous types of parks opens unique opportunities for young adults to find new passions. One example would be to start a community garden. Gardening is a great way to reduce stress and provide fresh produce. Growing your food is rewarding; young adults may feel an increase in self-confidence from this experience. Other types of parks with paving or trails may invite young adults to try running, biking, roller skating, or skateboarding regularly. Regardless of what passion they choose, young adults will undoubtedly benefit mentally and physically from having a designated space to get outside in your community. 

The information from this blog post comes from the source link below. If you’re looking to learn more about some of the health benefits of parks, feel free to check it out!

The Health Benefits of Parks

Benefits of Parks for Adults with No Children

Welcome back to our series on the benefits of parks within the Columbia Valley community. Last week, we covered the benefits that parks bring to our elders. This week, we’ll be taking a look into the benefits parks bring to adults without children in our community. We hope to highlight that parks are not just places for families and children; CVPRD is working to create comfortable park environments for everyone!

Parks promote community wellness.
Getting outside and being active has become increasingly important nowadays since so many people have transferred their day-to-day activities inside. Having a park in the community provides a safe, comfortable, and convenient place for people to get fresh air and exercise. Spending time outside, enjoying the scenery, and connecting with neighbors boosts mental health. Having a park in your neighborhood also increases physical activity. Studies have found a 25% increase in people exercising outdoors weekly when a park is added near their neighborhood. Maintaining regular physical exercise is a great way to promote mental health wellness and reduce the chances of health problems later in life.

Parks are great for everyone’s environment. 
Columbia Valley is well-known for having a beautiful forest landscape, but there is always room for improvement! Whether you’re walking, biking, or taking a short drive in Columbia Valley the impacts of development are obvious; so much of our area’s green space is being cleared for new homes. Loss of green space and habitat presents a unique opportunity for preservation in our community. Parks are a great way to preserve the native plants and animals that residents care about in the community and help restore the impacts of development. When habitat is preserved for animals, such as native birds, residents are more likely to engage in other preservation activities since they can enjoy their presence. This opportunity to preserve natural beauty for ourselves, future generations, and wildlife by creating parks in our neighborhood will likely not come again. More information on the importance of preservation in our community will be coming soon in a future blog post!

Parks also provide an excellent opportunity to plant more trees in the community. A study about the air quality effects of trees in urban parks showed that one acre of trees drastically reduces the amount of pollution in the air. Adding more parks to the community truly brings new meaning to a “breath of fresh air.” 

The information from this blog post comes from the sources linked below. If you’re looking to learn more about how parks can bring you benefits, check them out!

Benefits of Parks in Your Community
The Benefits of Parks
Air Quality Effects of Urban Trees and Parks

Benefits of Parks for Elders

CVPRD is working to create comfortable park environments for everyone in the Columbia Valley community. This is the beginning of a series of blog posts describing the benefits of parks for all age ranges within our community. This week, we’re diving into what kinds of benefits parks bring to elders. For the purposes of this blog post, we will be using the term “Elders” for anyone ages 55 and older. 

One of the biggest benefits parks bring to everyone in the community is access to fresh air and beautiful nature. The following list includes park benefits that are specific to our community’s elders. 

1. Parks boost self-esteem and mental health.

Since public parks are community-based spaces, they present many opportunities to connect with your neighbors, build new relationships, and strengthen existing ones. Becoming more connected with one’s community through public parks has been found to help improve self-esteem and mental health for elders. Whether it’s meeting up with old friends or making new ones, parks are the perfect place to gather and enjoy each other’s company.

2. Parks provide a place for light exercise.

Parks can come in various shapes and sizes that can be modified to include different features for everyone to enjoy. CVPRD is looking into including walking paths and trails in future park designs. Walking paths provide an excellent opportunity for elders to engage in some light physical activity. CVPRD is also researching ways to make paths ADA accessible to ensure everyone in the community is accommodated.

3. Parks can strengthen one’s sense of security. 

When there are more members of the community out enjoying parks, then there are more eyes on the street. More eyes on the street can deflect any undesirable behavior or activities. Plus, knowing that CVPRD is working to make park spaces accessible and safe for everyone also helps increase the sense of security. 

This blog post highlights the most significant benefits parks bring to elders. If you’d like to learn even more about the benefits parks have for elders, feel free to visit these links below:

What do Seniors Need in Parks?

The Benefits of Public Parks for Seniors.

The Importance of Nature in Older Populations.

2020 Ballot

November is just around the corner, and most of our neighbors have received their 2020 ballots. There are many ways we can as a community come together to make our wishes known, and one of those ways is with our vote. We hope you will vote this season and support your friends, neighbors, and family in also casting their ballots. Your vote matters!

On the ballot you will find the Columbia Valley Park and Recreation District has a six year limited levy request to help create pocket parks in our community. These parks would be located according to which properties were available within the budget as well as where the community would like to see a park first. The plan is to have 4-5 small parks where community members can easily walk to within 5-10 minutes. You can read more about this in the Columbia Valley Park and Recreation District Comprehensive Plan Draft. It is currently available on our website (click here) and physical copies will be available at the North Fork Library and at the EWRRC after October 26th, 2020.  Here is an excerpt from the Comprehensive Plan Draft:

The Benefits of Parks: The 2006 article, “The Benefits of Parks” by Paul M. Sherer (2006), released by the Trust for Public Land, outlines the many benefits associated with parks. Several of these benefits include:

  • Health Benefits: Research shows that people exercise more when they have access to parks. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, colon cancer, and diabetes, amongst other physical diseases. Exercise also promotes mental health by relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety, improving mood, and enhancing psychological well-being. Time spent connecting with the natural world improves both physical and mental health.
  • Property Value: Evidence suggests that parks and open space increase the value of neighboring residential and commercial property.
  • Environmental Benefits: Parks provide many environmental benefits. For example, trees and other landscaping reduce air and water pollution.
  • Social Development: Parks provide important social and community development benefits. They make neighborhoods more livable, offer recreational opportunities for all community members, including youth and families, and provide places where people can feel a sense of community.
  • Crime Reductions: Research supports that access to public parks and recreational facilities can lead to a reduction in crime. Shared park spaces increase residents’ sense of community ownership and stewardship, provide a focus for neighborhood activities, expose youth to nature, connect community members, and clean up and increase visitation to previously vacant lots.

The levy is 60 cents for every $1000.00 of assessed value of a property in the district according to the Whatcom County Assessor. You can go here to search for your property and discover the assessed value. Assessed value is often quite different from market value. The levy, if approved, would be based on the value assessed by the county. Also on the Whatcom County Assessor you can learn when there is an exemption or tax relief.

The way to calculate the maximum amount which could be added to your property tax by this levy is to divide the assessed value by 1000 then multiply by .6. to discover the annual cost.

Once funding is secured it is estimated the CVPRD will be operating on an approximately $85,000 annual budget with  63,000 going toward building parks and 20,000 going toward two part time local positions with the district. Please note: no compensation is allowed according to the law for the volunteer commissioners and their work.

Comprehensive Plan Draft soon to be revealed

Dear Community, The Columbia Valley Park and Recreation District (CVPRD) is excited to share their recent work to create a Comprehensive Plan Draft. A Comprehensive Plan lays out important details of the community served as well as the plan for the districts’ work over the next three to six years based on demand and need.

Creating a comprehensive plan is a big project which typically costs forty thousand dollars or more paid to a specialized contractor. But, unfortunately,  this was a problem. The CVPRD, since formation in 2017, has been unfunded. Even so, commissioners knew this was an important step for a newly created district; funding or no funding. By having this document new opportunities would open up including a more engaged community park design.

Unfunded, but also undaunted (OK, maybe a little daunted), the board of commissioners began work on a comprehensive plan draft in 2019 using guiding documents and other comp plans as models. In addition to the internal energy and commitment from these local volunteers, the CVPRD received essential support and technical assistance from the Whatcom County Health Department’s East Whatcom Specialist, Aly Robinson. 

Then, in January 2020, the CVPRD began work with Western Washington University’s Sustainable Communities. The idea, however, began in late 2019 when Lindsey McDonald, office of Sustainability Director, reached out to look toward the future of collaboration with East Whatcom community efforts. Amongst other opportunities, Lindsey learned the board of commissioners had been meeting monthly to work on the Comprehensive Plan Draft. As a staunch believer in community driven work, she saw how WWU support of local volunteers to create this plan could be both a real world learning opportunity for students as well as a way of creating long lasting improved health in the community.

It was determined some seed funding would be needed to help lift this effort and so Lindsey secured a grant from First Federal for the project. The funds supported a graduate student, Sarah Parker, joining the work in the Summer of 2020 alongside a class of students studying with Tammi Laninga in the Fall (more about this in a future post!). And in May, during the first few months of the pandemic, work was done by Lindsey with Aly and CVPRD volunteer commissioners to clarify the scope of the work. 

Now, as we roll towards the end of 2020, arguably, one of the most formidable worldwide in written history, we will soon be sharing the draft CVPRD Comprehensive Plan for our community to offer their essential input. And, while it is true, this work is new and challenging in the best of times (none of us are a specialized contractor) we unreservedly acknowledge it is especially hard against the back drop of many painful losses, current crisis, and an uncertain future.

With years of small steps behind us and many which strive forward into the future, it has never been more true that the CVPRD is here to offer this effort thanks to so many. The CVPRD is incredibly grateful for the work of the community volunteers, neighbors, voters, and our partners who have made this task achievable. This is no small thing.

Please stay tuned for an invitation to a public presentation of the CVPRD Comprehensive Plan draft on Wednesday October 14th at 6PM over Zoom during the Columbia Valley Community Connections Meeting.

Please vote YES on the 2018-6 Levy

Exciting News! Columbia Valley Park and Recreation District has a levy for building and maintaining parks on the Ballot this season. I hope you and all of our neighbors will vote YES for Levy 2018-6.

Parks offer community connection, a fun place to meet neighbors and for kids to play. From BBQs, to dog walking, to swings and slides we all get more fit and connected when parks are part of the community. So when you see your ballot in the mail after October 16th, vote yes on 2018-6 right away!

And too, even with a yes vote on this levy property taxes will still go down. This voting season is our chance to focus tax dollars for community strength, for future generations and health.

REMEMBER: Ballots can be mailed at no cost or dropped at a local ballot box such as at the North Fork Library. Help your neighborhood, VOTE!