Prescott Valley Parks and Recreation wins state award, highlights free outdoor programs and scholarships

Prescott Valley’s Parks and Recreation department received the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association’s Outstanding Educational Program award and used a town-produced PV Focus episode to highlight its free and low-cost outdoor programs, scholarships and signature community events.

The recognition “means a lot more to our agency in the town because we are being recognized,” said Ryan Crary, the town’s outdoor programming specialist, who described the department’s nature-led offerings including night hikes, Nature Navigators and PV Trackers.

The award spotlights the department’s nature and outdoor education work and, Crary said, helps with “grant opportunities, partnerships, sponsors, and people who maybe want to realize, oh, this is happening here.” He said most of the nature and outdoor programs are free and that fees apply primarily when the department brings in a special guest, offers giveaways or runs a longer program.

Crary said the department provides hands-on interpretive tools and animal ambassadors to engage attendees. He introduced Rosie, a 10-year-old Chilean rose tarantula used as an animal ambassador, and said the department also cares for a second tarantula and an axolotl. Crary described interactive activities used at programs — for example, letting participants handle replica skulls and observe teeth and eye placement to discuss diet and ecology — and said the programs serve all ages.

For residents who need financial help, the department offers a Play It Forward scholarship that applicants can request to reduce program fees. Crary said the town tries to keep programs accessible and affordable and that many offerings are free; paid programs are priced low where possible. He pointed callers and viewers to the department’s summer parks and program guide and to prescottvalley-az.gov/parks for registration and a schedule of pop-up events, which he said may not all appear in the printed guide.

The Parks and Recreation office also maintains an on-site discovery garden with native plants and wildlife displays, and hosts field-trip visits and community activities. Crary said the Nature Navigator program started after community suggestions roughly two years ago and that the department collects ideas from attendees when planning new offerings.

Crary described four signature, free community events held across the year — spring, summer, fall and winter — and specifically cited Red, White and Boom as one example residents often recognize. He encouraged residents looking for outdoor recreation and social activities to join guided day and evening hikes.

The department accepts volunteer and donation support through Friends of Parks and Recreation, a nonprofit that helps coordinate contributions and volunteers for programs and events, Crary said. He also noted that the statewide award was the department’s first at that level.

For more information on programs, registration and scholarships, Crary directed listeners to prescottvalley-az.gov/parks.