February 2007
Ifpra world e-news
Newsletter Issue 2 – February 2007
Here is the second edition of ifpra world e-news. We are
trying to give you as broad a coverage as possible, so
contributions are welcome. If you feel that we are missing news
items from your neck of the woods, then please let us have them.
As well as the latest news, this is an opportunity to enter into
dialogue with your fellow professionals, so don’t be afraid to
e-mail your comments along with your news items to
ifpraworldnews@aol.com.
Editor
www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/
www.rspb.org.uk/sparrowatch
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is again
co-ordinating a “Big Garden Birdwatch” over the 27/28 January
weekend. Members of the public are asked to spend an hour in the
garden or local park identifying and counting the birds they see
and submitting their findings via a widely circulated form or
through the RSPB website. The RSPB has had continuing success
with this form of public monitoring that generates statistical
information that can be used to establish the effect on bird
populations of changes in the environment. A nationwide survey
involving members of the public is monitoring the decline in the
house sparrow once so common in urban areas. This has
highlighted the fact that sparrows do not move far beyond the
area in which they were raised. In consequence, areas where the
population has been wiped out are slow to be re-colonised.
Modern building practices leave fewer potential nest sites, but
the provision of nesting boxes can help to increase numbers.
Leaving a few wild areas in urban gardens also provides food.
Equally important is a clean water supply.
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www.nwcb.wa.gov
The Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (NWCB) advises
the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) about
noxious weed control in Washington State. It also serves as the
state's noxious weed coordination centre. Through its actions
and policy decisions, it coordinates and supports the activities
of the 48 county noxious weed control boards and weed districts
of Washington. In January the Board of King County met to
consider adding yellow archangel, common fennel and spurge
laurel to the list of weeds that require aggressive control by
property owners. The county’s noxious weed list sets a priority
on those weeds likely to cause most serious problems because of
their invasive nature and effect on native vegetation. The
objective is to encourage public awareness and local action to
halt growing infestations.
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Jaafar Hamid al Ali, Baghdad’s parks supervisor, is leading a
campaign to turn the capital into a green zone. He's got a
multi-million-dollar budget, along with 1,500 intrepid employees
and a host of formidable enemies. There's the fussy climate,
salty soil, and non-stop violence that killed 30 of his workers
in 2006. Every fallen gardener, Ali said, is a martyr in the
struggle to beautify Baghdad. "My principle is, for every drop
of Iraqi blood, we must plant something green," he said. "One
gives disappointment, the other gives hope." He's a
French-educated former professor who can recount by memory the
history of flora in Iraq. The supposed site of the fabled
hanging gardens of Babylon lies just 50 miles south of where he
works.
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www.nyc.gov
At the beginning of January, New York City announced its 11th
annual Mulchfest with residents encouraged to take their trees
to recycling points set up across all five boroughs. The trees
are converted into mulch, which is used to benefit the City’s
parks and green spaces. Wood chip mulch moderates soil
temperatures, helps retain moisture and deters weed growth while
slowly adding nutrients to the soil. The New York program echoes
similar initiatives across the U.S.A. and in other countries.
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www.mgf-hawaii.com/
Moanalua Gardens have been purchased by John Philip Damon from
the Estate of Samuel Mills Damon. It was the one-time home of
Prince Lot, who became Kamehameha the fifth. Damon intends to
keep it open to the public. He is the great-grandson and heir to
the namesake of the 900 (m) million dollar estate. He bought the
22-acre property for more than five (m) million dollars.
Moanalua Gardens was one of Hawaii's earliest public parks and
hosts the annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, the largest
non-competitive hula festival. It also is home to two monkeypod
trees that are on the National Historic Register. The historic
site has been operated by the Damon Trust for public use since
1924.
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Zimbabwe Herald
http://www.herald.co.zw
Harare City Council, which is in financial difficulties, and two
leading hotels have entered into partnership programmes that
will see the hotels taking over the maintenance of some parks in
the city centre. Monomotapa Crown Plaza’s general manager, Mr
Prince Chasakara, says that his hotel has taken over Harare
Gardens and would maintain it on behalf of council. Work the
hotel will undertake in the park includes lighting the park,
landscaping, fence replacement, trimming trees, attending to
lawns and movement and control of people in the park. The park
has of late become an eyesore and a security threat to hotel
occupants as well as pedestrians passing through. In essence,
the hotels want to reduce security risks around their hotels in
addition to adding beauty to the capital.
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www.ispal.org.uk
www.green-space.org.uk
At an Extraordinary General Meeting on 16th January, the members
of the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM), the
UK’s professional body for leisure managers, passed a Special
Resolution to change its name to the Institute for Sport, Parks
and Leisure (ISPAL). This, together with other constitutional
changes to the management structure, facilitated the merging
together of ILAM and the National Association for Sports
Development (NASD). The objective of ISPAL is to become the one
voice that the sector has so long been seeking. The launch of
ISPAL has coincided with an announcement by the charity,
GreenSpace, of a new Institute of Parks and Green Spaces (IPGS)
that claims to be the UK’s only institute solely dedicated to
parks and green space issues.
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“Bags of Sense”, a community project based in Aylsham, a
small market town in Norfolk, has been selected for a Norfolk
Waste Partnership Award. The initiative also won a Silver Award
at the 2006 LivCom finals in China. Bags of Sense shows how
waste can be reused at local level to make practical and
attractive products, raises awareness of the environmental
issues and waste management and encourages recycling. The
project was born out of the 2005 LivCom awards where, on a visit
to the La Coruna recycling plant, the Aylsham delegation was
struck by the problem of recycling plastic carrier bags. These
are now collected locally, made into yarn and knitted, woven or
crocheted into shopping and fashion bags and other items. The
project is still developing, making links with occupational
therapy teams and schools. An article on this project will be
published in the March edition of Ifpra World. For further
information contact Susan Flack, the Aylsham Partnership
Co-ordinator, at aylsham.p-ship@btconnect.com.
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An article in the UB Post, Mongolia’s Independent Weekly
News, draws attention to an announcement by the Research, Design
and City Plan Institute that work will begin on Yarmag New Town
in April 2007. The new town complex will cover 970 square
hectares in south-west Ulaanbaatar. The New Town will be
constructed in three stages, the first to be finished before
2009, the last before 2020. The complex is estimated to house
approximately 126,000 people and the first stage on the lower
slopes of the surrounding mountains will include substantial
provision for parks and gardens. The final infrastructure will
also include an artificial lake.
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http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/leisure/openspaces/parks/shibdenpark/restoration.html
Plans to restore the landscape and buildings associated with
historic Shibden Park, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, have
received a significant boost with the announcement of a grant
and development funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The park
was opened to the public in 1926 through the generosity of a
local philanthropist (Councillor A.S. McCrea), friend of John
Lister, the last family member to live at Shibden Hall. The hall
and barn have undergone a complete restoration and there is now
the opportunity to restore the park. The restoration project
will restore key heritage features, including the boundary
walls, water features, gatehouse and terraces. Park facilities
will be improved with a new play area and improved toilets. The
boathouse will be restored and there will be a new café and
community resource for events, activities and education. Key
elements of the historic landscape include the cascade and lake
designed by landscape architect William Grey, and a formal
"Paisley Shawl" bedding design by Joshua Major, both to be
re-created as part of the project.
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www.mvcc.vic.gov.au
www.boroondara.vic.gov.au
Melbourne is at risk of losing its reputation as a garden city,
with hundreds of thousands of trees threatened by drought. In
its eastern suburbs, known for its tree-line streets and public
parks, the Boroondara Council has just completed its first mass
mulching of 500 exotic trees after an audit of its 222 parks and
gardens. The council is also "air knifing" tree roots and
injecting compressed air into the soil around mature trees to
increase water penetration. Tanks are being installed and filled
with recycled water in all heritage gardens. To the north-west
of the city, the Moonee Valley Council has asked residents to
"adopt a street tree" and water them with waste water.
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www.wildlifetrusts.org
Adaptation, adaptation, adaptation – that’s the message from The
Wildlife Trusts, as they call on Government to focus on the
consequences of climate change on the natural world. The
publication of the European Union (EU) report on climate change
highlights stark inevitable changes that will dramatically
affect humans. But what will the changes mean for wildlife? As
society begins to recognise the need to change lifestyles and
prepare for social consequences, The Wildlife Trusts urge for
consideration of the natural environment - with particular focus
on the need for adaptation. Threats to wildlife-rich habitats
not only endanger refuges for plants and animals, but also put
at risk the ecological services essential for people. For
example, wetlands can reduce flood risk, inter-tidal habitats
can minimise the effects of sea level rise, the provision of
green roofs can provide a natural cooling system to counter
urban island heat effects, and natural habitats can provide
carbon storage. It is essential to help species and habitats
move more easily – or adapt - as temperatures rise, if we are to
protect biodiversity and natural resources. Government has a
critical role in ensuring the range of existing policy tools can
help our biodiversity do this. There are forty- seven local
Wildlife Trusts across the whole of the U.K. working for an
environment rich in wildlife. With 670,000 members, this is the
largest U.K. voluntary organisation dedicated to conservation.
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www.cepr.net
The Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was
established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on important
economic and social issues affecting people’s lives. Research
carried out by the CEPR has looked at the potential
environmental effects of European and other countries adopting
the longer working hours that are the norm in the United States.
According to the paper “Old Europe” currently consumes about
half as much energy per person as the United States. "The
implications of adopting the U.S. model of longer work hours and
more energy usage extend beyond Europe," said Mark Weisbrot,
CEPR co-director and co-author of the paper. "There could be an
even greater environmental impact since as the economies of
developing countries grow, those nations look to either the U.S.
or to European economic models." The report outlines how
worldwide energy patterns could be dependent on which model
developing countries choose in the next few decades. If all
countries worked as many hours per week as U.S. workers do, the
additional carbon emissions could substantially increase the
pace of global warming. Alternately, there is the possibility of
the reverse outcome: that the United States could move more in
the direction of Europe's fewer work hours, which would
significantly reduce energy consumption.
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www.btcv.org
BTCV’s second ‘Spring into Action’ campaign will run from 1 May-
7 June 2007, offering people the chance to get involved in
looking after their local environment with over 1,000 events
across the UK. The campaign is fronted by BBC Ground Force’s
Charlie Dimmock and supported by Prudential plc and the Cabinet
Office. The Spring into Action campaign will allow new
volunteers to experience first-hand the benefits of BTCV’s
conservation projects. Throughout the year there are regular
conservation tasks all over the UK, during the week and at
weekends. Volunteers can join in every once in a while or every
week - the choice is theirs. Tasks vary from tree planting to
dry stone walling, footpath construction to creating wildlife
habitats. BTCV trained project leaders provide guidance and
training, and volunteers are free to work at their own pace.
BTCV (formerly the British Trust of Conservation Volunteers) is
the UK’s leading practical conservation charity and supports
140,000 volunteers a year taking hands-on action to improve
their urban and rural surroundings.
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http://www.aftenposten.no/english/
A new booklet has been launched offering hikers who take part in
the Kjentmannsmerket programme, new posts to find in the forests
around Oslo. These forests are a paradise for hiking, biking and
paddling in the summer and for skiing and skating in the winter.
The booket identifies fifty specially chosen sites that offer
spectacular views or are of historical or geographic
significance. The booklet provides detailed maps and
information. The maps are self-explanatory, but the information
is in Norwegian only. It is then up to the hiker or skier to
plot their own route. Bronze, silver and gold pins are awarded
according to how many posts are found. The objective of the
scheme is to make the forests user-friend and encourage more
people to enjoy them. The booket is available from
http://www.skiforeningen.no/
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http://www.ipcc.ch/
http://www.lalliance.fr/
The Summary for Policymakers of the first volume of “Climate
Change 2007”, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
new assessment report, will be released on 2 February in Paris.
The WGI report, “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science
Basis”, assesses the current scientific knowledge of the natural
and human drivers of climate change, observed changes in
climate, the ability of science to attribute changes to
different causes, and projections for future climate change. The
report also covers the range of anthropogenic greenhouse gases
and other factors that drive climate change. There will be a
chapter assessing the paleoclimatic perspective. The WGI report
does not cover the impacts of climate change or options for the
mitigation of climate change. These aspects will be covered in
subsequent reports by the Working Group to be published in April
and May of this year.
To draw attention to this issue and demonstrate its importance,
L’Alliance pour la Planète (the Alliance for the Planet) has
called on all French citizens to provide five minutes respite
for the planet by turning off all electrical appliances between
19.55hours and 20.00 hours on 1st February, the day before the
publication of the above report.
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http://www.elca.info/en/
The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) is
promoting the exchange of young landscape gardeners through the
ELCA Committee of Firms. More than 350 landscaping companies
from twenty-three European and five non-European countries
belong to the Committee of firms. This year 140 places are
available within Europe or overseas for young, qualified
landscape gardeners who want to further their vocational
training by a stay in a landscaping company abroad. ELCA member
firms from Algeria, Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Luxembourg, The
Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland offer places in
their companies for a period of three to twelve months. The
scheme is also promoted by the ELCA’s professional Training
Passport. The passport is given to young landscapers who have
completed their training and who are interested in broadening
their professional qualification. The passport is free of
charge. For further information contact Edda Burckhardt at
e.burckhardt@elca.info
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www.northhighlandsscotland.com
The North Highland Initiative, promoting the extreme north of
the Scottish Highlands under the banner “Pleasure in the
extreme”, is using its links with John Lennon as part of its
marketing campaign. Lennon spent sometime during his childhood
at Durness in Sutherland. He returned as an adult and was
inspired to write “In my life” about the highland village. A
picture is worth a thousand words and the photo gallery on the
website illustrates as well as a song that this is “where the
lochs are so deep and the air so clear, the seas so wild and the
beaches so long that there's space to think about the things
that are close to your heart.”
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http://www.ifpra.org/working-groups.htm
The new Ifpra Working Group addressing the economic aspects of
parks is looking for practitioners who are dealing with such
issues in their day-to-day work and are willing to share their
experience in order to contribute to the establishment of a
document on the “Economic State of the Art” for park management.
The Group is also looking researchers at universities who are
interested in integrating the knowledge of the practitioners
with teaching material and are willing to support this
initiative by organising research projects. Further information
on the Working Group may be found on the Ifpra website by
following the link above. If you are interested in
participating, please contact the General Secretary by e-mailing
ifpraworld@aol.com
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http://home.nps.gov
http://www.peer.org
On 25 September 2006, the National Park Service (NPS) announced
the publication for public review and comment of a draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addressing whether the NPS
should benefit from commercial applications arising from
research in parks. The service-wide Benefits Sharing proposal
would apply to circumstances where researchers discover
commercially useful scientific information. It is claimed that
the application of this benefit-sharing proposal would not
change the way research permits are issued, only the obligations
of some researchers to the park. Researchers would still be
prohibited from selling specimens or samples collected in parks
and would be given no special privileges. The deadline for
public comment is 29th February 2007.
On 25th January, the Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER), an organisation formed to protect public
employees who protect the environment, issued a press release
urging the NPS not to allow commercial development of park
resources. PEER is concerned by the proposal that the financial
details of such arrangements would not be made public. It also
contends that agency-wide promotion of commercial research could
also be used to facilitate mineral exploration, seismic
exploration for oil or to create markets for rare plants or
animals from parks. It is feared that under this scheme a park
might relax its administration of resource safeguards in pursuit
of new revenue streams.
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www.ec.gc.ca
On 18th January, the new Government of Canada announced a
contribution of $2 million towards the restoration of
Vancouver’s Stanley Park, a National Historic Site (NHS).
British Columbia has had more than its fair share of national
calamities with vast areas of forest suffering from infestation
by the mountain pine beetle. The region also suffered from the
severe wind and rain storms that hit the British Columbia coast
this winter bringing down thousands of trees, as well as causing
major damage to roads and forest trails.
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2007 Feb 18-23
Pacific Island World Heritage Workshop
http://whc.unesco.org/en/home
2007 March 27-30
The 2nd Annual International Sport Facility Management Program (ISFMP),
www.sportedu.org
2007 Mar 11-17
First Intensive Training Course on Management and Administration
of Heritage Sites for French-speaking professionals
http://whc.unesco.org/en/home
2007 Sept 3-6
Ifpra World Congress, Dublin Ireland
Contact: Dr. Christy Boylan +353 1 414 9039;
cboylan@dublincoco.ie
2007 Sept 11-13
Just do it! Revolution not evolution ISPAL Parks Seminar hosted
by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, U.K.
Contact: info@ispal.org.uk
2007 Sept 16-19
PLA National Conference, Townsville, Queensland
Contact:
office@parks-leisure.com.au
2007 Sept 25-29
NRPA Congress and Exposition, Indiana Convention Centre,
Indianapolis, U.S.A.
www.nrpa.org
2007 Nov 28-30
NZRA National Conference, Rotorua, New Zealand
Contact: Brendon Ward Tel: 0064 (04) 915 5643
b.ward@nzrecreation.org.nz
The NZRA national conference is the premier event on the NZRA
professional development and networking calendar. Participants
are traditionally senior and middle managers, elected officials,
academics, consultants and policy makers.
The 2007 conference is in Rotorua, the tourism capital of New
Zealand. It will feature presentations on strategic developments
and trends impacting on the wider recreation industry, including
keynote speakers of international standing. The programme also
includes concurrent sessions covering natural resource
management, recreation facility and service provision and policy
making.
The conference includes the NZRA Industry and Individual Awards
for professional achievement and excellence in the recreation
industry.
2007 Nov 22-26
International Awards for Liveable Communities, Finals, London UK
Contact: Alan Smith, Tel: 0044 (0) 118 946 1680 info@livcomawards.com
2008 Sept. 15-18
Ifpra Asia Pacific Congress, Christchurch, New Zealand
Contact: Paul Wilson. Tel 0064 3 441 0467. paulw@qldc.govt.nz
2009 Ifpra European Congress, Mikkeli, Finland
Contact: Viljo Muuronen
viljo.muuronen@mikkeli.fi
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For the best selection of books
Featuring Open Spaces,
Parks and the Environment
go to
http://www.booksand.info
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For details of the
Ifpra International Professional Qualification,
contact the General Secretary
on 0044 (0) 118 946 1680 or
go to
www.ifpra.org
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