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Parks department to join NRPA Sustainability in Practice cohort with local nonprofit partner
Summary
The board approved department participation in the National Recreation and Park Association's Sustainability in Practice technical assistance cohort, partnering with a local nonprofit and accepting a $10,000 stipend to support sustainability programming.
The Park Board on May 20 approved Parks & Recreation's participation in the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) 'Sustainability in Practice' cohort, a technical assistance program pairing park agencies with local nonprofit partners.
Jamieson said staff applied to the NRPA cohort and planned to partner with Dr. Sarah Nahar and the recently formed nonprofit described in the meeting as Elkhart Resiliency and Transition (acronym referenced as "E FERT" in the record). The cohort is an 8-to-10 week program that will research best practices, help the city identify adoptable sustainability strategies and, when completed, provide a $10,000 stipend to the city and partner organization to support sustainability work such as programming or landscaping. Jamieson said Parks staff (including herself) and Nahar 'will participate, with additional staff joining as needed.
Board members asked whether the relationship with Dr. Nahar would present any conflict; a board member said she knew Nahar "very well" and asked if that presented any challenge; staff said it did not. The motion to approve participation in the NRPA program and partner engagement was made and carried by voice vote.
Why it matters: participation brings technical assistance and a modest stipend to help the parks department pilot sustainability practices and identify long-term approaches for operations and programming.
Staff will determine how the stipend is spent in coordination with the nonprofit during the cohort.
