Developing Open Spaces For All

Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park 1405 St. Matthews Avenue, Winnipeg

This event is being held at Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park (Winnipeg). The hotel is easily accessible and spacious for an invigorating conference experience.

Group Reservation Code: 357710

Schedule

8:00 am - 9:00 am Registration

9:00 am - 9:15 am Welcome

9:15 am - 10:15 am Keynote Presentation

Healthy and Vibrant Municipal Parks Gil Penalosa

10:15 am - 10:30 am Networking Break

10:30 am - 12:00 pm

P1 P2 P3

Accessibility:

What’s In An

Audit?

Programming in

Parks, Trails and

Natural Areas

Park and Trail

Planning &

Maintenance

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch

Student Poster Session

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

P4 P5 P6

Adding Some Trail

Magic: How to

Animate Trails

Innovative

Successes in Parks

and Trails

What is Asset

Management and

What’s Next?

2:30 pm - 2:45 pm Networking Break

2:45 pm - 4:00 pm

P7 P8 P9

Reconnecting Cities:

Considering

Ecological

Infrastructure

Indigenous Tourism CPRA Parks

Initiatives

4:00 pm - 4:30 pm Wrap Up

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While today’s electronic devices bring many great advantages of connectivity and learning, they are contributing to a serious diminishing of our connection with the outdoors and nature. There can be little doubt about the importance of connecting with nature toward better social, psychological, and physical health. There is a direct correlation between having public green spaces and the likelihood that we will exercise, as well as improving our social connectiveness by providing for a space for people to interact.

“Developing open spaces for all”, parks and trails build stronger communities and are essential to providing easily accessible opportunities for ALL our citizens to connect with the outdoors and nature. The 2019 Municipal Parks Forum is an opportunity for learning and sparking new ideas, a chance to be inspired and motivated. Join in the spirited discussions as community leaders, planners, key partners, active living advocates, and recreation professionals look through the “park and trail” lens to share and identify diverse ways to develop and strengthen our communities.

2019 Municipal Parks & Trails Forum

This is a new event attached to the 2019 Annual Provincial Recreation Conference. It is a forum to bring together delegates and speakers from all over Manitoba to discuss and share current and innovative topics, unique partnerships and practises.

Delegates at this event represent recreation professionals, municipalities, urban planners, community organizations/leaders, college and university students.

Developing Open Spaces For All

Registration Fees:

RCM Member $125 + GST Non-Member $155 + GST Student $80 + GST

Lunch and refreshments during the day are included in the registration fee

Registration deadline February 15th, 2019

To register visit www.recconnections.com

Registration Information

Location:

Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park 1405 St Matthews Ave Winnipeg, MB R3G 3P7

Parking is free in the hotel parking lot

Not a member? Sign up online to receive discounts on RCM events including the 2019 Annual Provincial

Recreation Conference in February!

For more information on membership options and benefits, please visit

www.recconnections.com

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Developing Open Spaces For All

Keynote Presentation

Healthy and Vibrant Municipal Parks

Gil Penalosa

Communities around the world are facing challenges including economic uncertainty, pressure around population growth, the effects of climate change, and public health crises. Parks can help to address all of these challenges, while also contributing to local culture and social integration. In order to maximize the benefits that park systems can bring, we must develop broad alliances, with many groups including elected officials from all levels of government, a multi-departmental public sector staff, universities, civil society, business, media, etc. A shared vision and commitment to action are essential to "moving from talking to doing."

Very often it seems easier to find millions of dollars to build parks than it is to find the thousands that are needed to make them work. Many parks are suffering from deficient management. Management should include elements such as frequent community engagement, diverse uses and activities suitable for all ages and levels of ability, equitable access, safety, as well as a fit in the with the specific context of each community. Cities need a great park systems, not just one iconic park. Gil will use specific examples to focus on the various challenges mentioned above and share success stories of parks from around the world and closer to home along with their impacts on local communities.

Gil Penalosa is passionate about cities for all people. He advises decision makers and communities on how to create vibrant cities and healthy communities for everyone regardless of age, gender and social, economic, or ethnic background. His focus is on the design and use of parks and streets as great public places, as well as sustainable mobility. Gil is the ambassador and former chair of the World Urban Parks Association, the international representative body for the city parks, open space and recreation sector and is also the founder and chair of the board of the non-profit organization 8 80 Cities, based in Canada. The organization was created centred on the philosophy; if you create a great city for an 8 year old and an 80 year old, you will create a successful city for all people.

Gil also runs his own international consulting firm and is an accomplished keynote speaker, facilitator of strategic workshops and advisor to decision makers and community groups. Gil holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, where he recently was selected as one of the “100 Most Inspirational Alumni” in the school’s history. He received the Queen Elizabeth II - Diamond Jubilee Medal, given by the Governor General of Canada. Gil has been a strong supporter and advocate for improving city parks, first making his mark in the late 1990s, when he led the transformation of Bogota’s park system as Commissioner. During his tenure, Gil successfully led the design and development of over 200 parks including Simon Bolivar, a 113-hectare park in the heart of the city as well as the “new Ciclovia”/ Open Streets - a program that sees over 1.5 million people walk, run, skate and bike along 121 kilometers of Bogotá’s city roads every Sunday.

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Student Poster Session 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM

Join us during the lunch hour as our emerging professionals showcase and share their projects, research, ideas, and approaches to developing quality park and trail facilities in Manitoba. Students from Manitoba colleges and universities have been invited to prepare posters and presentations that document innovations and trends in their fields of study. This session is intended to encourage dialogue and connections between forum delegates and our emerging parks and recreation professionals as they will be keen to meet you and exchange ideas.

P1 - Accessibility: What’s In An Audit? Judy Redmond and Glen Manning

Accessibility is all about making places more inclusive for everyone to enjoy. It’s about providing all of our citizens with the basic right to participate in our communities, in workplaces and making sure everyone has equal opportunity to communicate, recreate and live in our municipalities in a meaningful way. These presentations will walk us through what is involved in an accessibility audit, and will provide insight into what design can do to make our built and natural environments more inclusive to all.

P2 - Programming in Parks, Trails and Natural Areas Rodney Penner, Adrian Alphonso and Lise Brown

Programming in parks and trails gets people active and enjoying the outdoors while connecting to nature, and is also a growing industry in Canada. It has evolved from simple recreation to include storytelling, knowledge sharing, physical literacy, nature education and adventure therapy. What can your community do to integrate some of these benefits in to their programing to get the most out of their parks and trails? Learn more in this session where we will have presentations on some of the great programs we have in Manitoba, including Momenta (therapeutic adventure programming), the Living Prairie Museum (environmental education facility ) and Clear Paths (traditional trails cycling experience).

P3 - Park and Trail Planning & Maintenance Jamie Hilland and Cris Labossie

The average citizen does not differentiate between what is a park and what is a trail. For most, a park is enjoyed as an extension of the trails or pathways they wander down. Whether a trail is an urban greenway along a river, an interpretive trail within a natural area, an accessible path to a playground, or an urban cycle lane bisecting an open space; all of these trails are a means to an end and all involve different modes of transportation and recreation. How we design and plan for these trails and how we develop trails within the planned parks involves teams made up of Recreation Planners, Transportation Engineers, Landscape Architects and volunteers. The following presentations will illustrate how professional firms design and develop active transportations networks and how stewardship groups can get involved in planning trails within existing parks.

Workshop Descriptions 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

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Developing Open Spaces For All

P4 - Adding Some Trail Magic: How to Animate Trails Troy Glover

More than just routes, trails provide user experiences. Failing to recognize their experiential potential, however, reduces trails to ordinary spaces, as opposed to special places invested with meaning and value. Animating trails through low cost, often temporary placemaking tactics takes user experiences to a different level by adding welcome vitality and encouraging stronger place attachments. Accordingly, this presentation pushes advocates of trails to bring a hacker orientation to their work by exploring ways trails can be transformed creatively to facilitate more meaningful trail experiences.

P5 - Innovative Successes in Parks and Trails Margaret Redmond, Alex Mann, Anders Swanson and Dave Pensato

Parks and trails are powerful catalysts for physical activity and engagement. This panel session will highlight innovations and strategies that have helped build healthy communities in the parks and trail sector in Manitoba. There will be presentations from Assiniboine Park Conservancy, Modeshift, The Exchange Biz and Scatliff + Miller + Murray, discussing municipal/urban parks, active transportation and mountain biking parks.

P6 - What is Asset Management and what’s next? Lori Nichols and Brittany Shewchuk

Asset management is the latest municipal buzz. How do municipalities get on the band wagon to determine the best value of service we can provide with the costs of maintaining the assets we have and how might we move on from this high level planning to an actual project initiation? This session will discuss applying asset management principles and practices to help manage park systems in the face of increasing demands, aging infrastructure and declining resources.

Bronze Sponsor

Workshop Descriptions 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

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Online Registration Opens December 10, 2018!

www.recconnections.com

P7 - Reconnecting Cities: Considering Ecological Infrastructure P. Richard Perron

Ecological infrastructure is an integrated approach to urban design bringing together landscape design, ecological planning, engineering, and community participation, to solve urban environmental problems and to protect natural ecosystems from the pressures of urbanization. Ecosystem services include a wide range of benefits including the improvement of air, water quality and supply, soil fertility, biodiversity, the mitigation of environmental disturbances such as flooding or landslides, the improvement of livable microclimates, as well as providing for potential cultural and recreational activities. The presentation discusses how concepts of ecological infrastructure are being used in urban design strategies and examines strategies being developed to improve urban connectivity.

P8 - Indigenous Tourism Carl Smith and Ryan Duplassie

Indigenous tourism thrives on sharing authentic, memorable and enriching experiences, and has the power to change perspectives, preserve culture, language and community, along with providing a platform for Indigenous people to reclaim their space. This session will focus on the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve and their accomplishments in creating a market ready tourist destination in their community. We will also have Travel Manitoba and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada share information on how to start a cultural tourism operation in Manitoba and the resources they provide.

P9 - CPRA Parks Initiatives CJ Noble

The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) is fully committed to ensuring equal attention is always given to our ‘parks’ mandate. CJ will outline the various CPRA ‘parks’ initiatives including the CPRA Youth Green Jobs initiative - a wage subsidy program for municipalities supported by the federal Canada. In addition, CJ will share the journey of CPRA in co-developing and now co-implementing Parks for All with the Canadian Parks Council. This action plan is the first of its kind - representing a partnership with the national, provincial, territorial, municipal and indigenous parks community. CJ will also provide a sneak peak at the programming for the upcoming Canadian Parks Conference in October 2019 in Quebec City.

Workshop Descriptions 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM

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Developing Open Spaces For All

Adrian Alphonso has devoted his life to a journey of discovery. He is a passionate

guide and leader dedicated to advancing safety and sports in the outdoors. He is a member of Manitoba Cycling Association, the Chairperson for Olympia Cycling Club and Ride Leader for Traditional Trails ride at the Forks. Adrian exhibits high degree of confidence, pride, and integrity and is a fantastic role model for First Nation and Metis youth. He is a band member of Waywayseecappo First Nation and is a fabulous person. Known for bicycle stunt riding, he uses stunt to engage audiences to promote safety and encourage sports among all demographics and all levels. Adrian was also recognized as CBC's feature 40 under 40 in 2018.

Lise Brown began her career at camps in Manitoba as an outdoor educator and guide.

In 2006, Momenta was founded to meet a need in Manitoba to provide year-round, accessible therapeutic adventure programming that meets best practice and is research-based. Lise completed a Bachelor of Recreation in 2001, a Masters of Social Work in 2007 at the University of Manitoba, a Certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy in 2012, and the Forest School Practitioner training in 2015. Lise combines these areas of practice to provide clinical direction, facilitate groups and counsel individuals both in urban and wilderness environments with a focus on physical and emotional safety, successful participation, fun, meaningful activity and group cohesion. In addition to her work at Momenta, Lise is on the Forest School of Canada Facilitator team with the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. She also sits on the boards of Manitoba Green Retrofit and the Association for Experiential Education.

Debwendon Inc. is a non-profit organization formed in 2007. Their goal is to

promote and preserve the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve, raise public awareness of the historic cultural connection between the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and the Brokenhead Wetland, construct and maintain over the long term a boardwalk and interpretive trail adjacent to the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve, and raise funds toward those ends. The word Debwendon means “trust” in Ojibway.

Ryan Duplassie is non-status Anishinaabe from the north shore region of Lake Superi-

or. He holds an Honours B.A. in English Literature, an M.A. in History, a B.Ed, and was a PhD candidate for seven years in Indigenous Studies in Winnipeg within which time he taught courses and developed programming for the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg, and University of Regina. His doctoral research and writing focused on Indigenous land-based education. Ryan has years of experience working with Indigenous individuals, communities, and institutions to develop meaningful programs around land-based education and community development. He is honored to take these experiences with him to ITAC as Manitoba Regional Coordinator. In this role, Ryan will work with Indigenous tourism operators throughout the province to enhance their market- and export-readiness, and to assist in successful product development.

Speaker Biographies

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Jamie Hilland is currently a Planner with Urban Systems Ltd., Winnipeg, and prior to

that was Program Manager with Active and Safe Routes to School Program, Green Action Centre Winnipeg. Jamie has presented and networked at numerous professional conferences across North America and Europe, including Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place, Winter Cycling Congress, Association for Commuter Transportation- Sustainable Mobility Summit, National Bike Summit, Walk 21, Ontario Bike Summit, and the Safe Routes to School National Conference.

Cris Labossie volunteers his weekends in the summers to develop mountain bike trails

for The South Whiteshell Trail Association (SWTA), whose mission is to create and enhance the opportunities for human-powered recreation in the South Whiteshell area. SWTA is a group of locals, businesses, cottagers and trail enthusiasts who volunteer their time and help build community capacity by fund-raising, building and maintaining trails in the South Whiteshell Provincial Park.

Alex Mann has been a competitive mountain bike racer at the expert level for the past

30 years. His cycling experience includes international adventure races at the professional level, coaching youth in the Kids of Mud program, and assistant coaching for the Provincial Cycling Team. He is an avid winter cyclist and participates in long-distance winter races. Alex has combined his passion for cycling and his background in engineering into a career of designing and building sustainable mountain bike trails. He holds a PhD in soil mechanics and an MSc in environmental engineering. This unique combination of skills brings significant insight to current trail building issues and their solutions. Alex has been designing and building mountain bike trails for over fifteen years. Recently he designed and built the mountain bike venue for the 2017 Canada Summer Games at FortWhyte Alive.

Glen Manning, MLArch, FCSLA is a landscape architect and principal with HTFC

Planning & Design, keenly interested in the quality of accessible public spaces. He served on the awards sub-committee of the City of Winnipeg’s Access Advisory Committee for a number of years, and was an award recipient for his universal design work on Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park, Steinkopf Gardens, various East Exchange streetscapes and the Provencher paired bridges project. Glen advised the Province on visitable housing policies and implementation strategies, and travelled with the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies researchers as they promoted Visitable Housing across Canada. He recently began as chair of the Design of Public Spaces Standard Development Committee for the Province’s Accessibility Advisory Council. Through his professional work and other volunteer efforts, Glen continues to advocate for more inclusive communities and outdoor spaces.

Speaker Biographies

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Developing Open Spaces For All

Lori Nichols is the Parks Investment Strategies Coordinator within the Parks and Open

Space Division of the City of Winnipeg where she is responsible for leading the development of the parks asset management program. Additionally, Lori has gained extensive parks planning and operations experience through her former positions as an Education Coordinator with the City’s Naturalist Services Branch, and as Senior Parks Interpreter with the Province of Manitoba.

Cathy Jo (CJ) Noble serves as the Executive Director for the Canadian Parks and

Recreation Association (CPRA). In this role, CJ provides leadership in the implementation of the Framework for Recreation in Canada and Parks for All. She also supports CPRA to secure national partnerships and programs while positioning CPRA as a prominent national voice. Prior to CPRA, CJ worked on Parliament Hill as a political advisor and also served as a Vice President at an international public affairs agency.

Rodney Penner is the City Naturalist for the City of Winnipeg, managing the work of

the City’s Naturalist Services Branch. He was involved in the creation of the book, Naturescape Manitoba and in the cataloguing and evaluating of the City’s natural areas. As City Naturalist he has worked with numerous community organizations to restore and maintain natural areas throughout the city.

Dave Pensato is best known in the Exchange District as creator and co-founder of the

award-winning Alleyways Market (in the Exchange) in addition to working closely with a number of the District’s key partners on strategic planning, brand strategy and public engagement initiatives. As an innovator and brand strategist, Pensato’s eye for detail and ability to continually see the big picture (and beyond) compliment his love for the area, making him the ideal person to engage and interact with the Exchange’s many members, businesses, and visitors.

P. Richard Perron teaches in both the Landscape and Urbanism Program option of

the Environmental Design Program and in the Masters of Landscape Architecture Program at the University of Manitoba. His education includes a B. Sc. (4 year in Math), a Masters of Natural Resource Management, and a Ph. D. in geoscience. He has been an educator in Landscape Architecture for over 3 decades. His work includes the use of spatial information systems, exploratory cartography and eidetic imaging. His graduate teaching is usually directed at design interventions that involve regional mapping and modeling as well as designing local interventions. His research has included studies in sustainable community design, flood architecture, regional planning and design. He is currently developing case studies into urban design strategies, including ecological infrastructure strategies.

Speaker Biographies

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Judy Redmond has been a guest lecturer at the University of Manitoba and has spent

time teaching and learning about disability and accessibility issues from other countries such as England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Brazil, Japan, Russia and Ukraine. She currently participates on several accessibility related committees such as the Canadian Standards Association B651 Technical Committee, the Accessibility Council for Manitoba, and the Inclusive Design Advisory Committee for the Canadian Human Rights Museum to name a few, demonstrating her commitment to accessible environments overall. Judy recently retired as the accessibility coordinator for the City of Winnipeg and is now embarking on her own consulting business. She enjoys searching for new and innovative ways to make a more inclusive, comfortable and pleasing place for everyone through the inclusion of all ages and ability levels. Judy continues to deliver practical tools and procedures that will enhance how organizations do business.

Margaret Redmond is the President & CEO of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

Prior to joining the Conservancy, Margaret worked at the Canadian Wheat Board for 11 years, serving as chief strategic officer; executive vice-president, corporate affairs; general counsel and corporate secretary. Margaret’s past community work has included serving on the boards of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone, the Institute of Corporate Directors as well as roles with the United Way Campaign Cabinet and planning and allocation committee. Margaret currently serves on the Board of Economic Development and Tourism Winnipeg.

Brittany Shewchuk is a land-use planner with WSP, an international consulting firm

specializing in engineering, planning, landscape architecture, asset management, environmental sciences, and strategic planning. Brittany specializes in policy development, community and stakeholder engagement, and land development and she has recently worked on Winnipeg’s Off Leash Dog Areas Master Plan. Brittany is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Manitoba Professional Planners Institute.

Anders Swanson is a multi-disciplinary designer and policy expert with a history of

volunteer work that has left a significant impact on his home of Winnipeg and around the world. He manages walking/cycling/universal design projects out of an independent consultancy. He specializes in non-profit work, community engagement, innovative technology, children’s mobility and winter. He was awarded the Manitoba Eco-Network individual achievement award and is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal. Anders is currently project lead for BikeWalkRoll, CounterPoint and Plain Bicycle. He is secretary of the international Winter Cycling Federation, founding board member of The WRENCH and coordinator of the Winnipeg Trails Association.

Speaker Biographies

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Developing Open Spaces For All