Developing Open Spaces For All

Schedule

8:00 am - 8:45 am Registration

8:45 am - 9:00 am Welcome

9:00 am - 10:00 am Keynote Presentation

Olmsted was Right All Along – Linear Connections Matter Scott Martin

10:00 am - 10:30 am Networking Break

10:30 am - 12:00 pm

P1 P2 P3

Trail Maintenance Healing Trails Programming

in Parks

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch & Trade Show

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

P4 P5 P6

Urban Placemaking

Breaking Ground:

Building the first

School Bike Park in

Manitoba

The Importance of

Parks and Trails in

Tourism

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Networking Break

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

P7 P8 P9

Urban Ecology

20/20 Vision in 2020

with Parks Asset

Management

Principles

Trail Volunteer

Outreach

4:00 pm - 4:30 pm Wrap Up

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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. Please indicate “Recreation Connections Manitoba” when booking your room and quote the Group Reservation Code: #380966

This year’s theme: Run, Walk, Roll is both a tribute and celebration, to highlight the many ways that Manitobans interact with parks and trails year-round. Each season creates unique challenges to both users and care takers of these treasured spaces.

Norwegians have a saying: ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.’ It’s a statement that stretches well beyond its literal significance. Community strength is built on inclusiveness, adaptability, and resilience. Parks and Trails should not be any different – resident flora, fauna, waterways as well as surrounding landscapes are all in a state of dynamic non-equilibrium. To ensure that our communities continue to grow, we too must continually evolve. Parks and trails, and more specifically, programing and maintenance plans must be locally attuned and responsive to change.

The 2020 Municipal Parks and Trails Forum, through the theme of Run, Walk, Roll, is an opportunity to learn and discuss 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 share and identify diverse ways to further develop and strengthen our communities.

2020 Municipal Parks & Trails Forum This event is attached to the 2020 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.

Run • Walk • Roll

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 29, 2020

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 2020 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

Olmsted was Right All Along – Linear Connections Matter

Scott Martin

Our North American future is increasingly urban - but, this doesn’t mean urban in the sense of a New York City or Toronto. It means urban in cities and towns of 5,000 or cities of 100,000. As professionals that work in these communities, it is park and recreation leaders that will be called upon to shape and design these cities for livability. Park leaders will be called to do this work due to their unique appreciation for the benefits of parks and public spaces. This discussion will center on the work of Fredrick Law Olmsted across the United States in the late 1800’s and how this work can inspire us to approach our designs for today’s cities.

Scott Martin is the Executive Director of River Heritage Conservancy, a newly formed non-profit committed to the establishment of a 500+ acre park along the North Shore of the Falls of the Ohio. Scott has been fortunate to be a part of teams in Idaho, Virginia, and Kentucky that have built some of our nation’s largest new public park and urban open space conservation systems over the last twenty years. He’s also made mistakes, failed, and half-started many initiatives. It’s these failures and false-starts that he feels are most important in terms of lessons to be gleaned. Scott holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Boise State University, is North American Chair for the World Urban Parks Congress. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Louisville with their two marginally well-behaved dalmatians.

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Online registration is now open! Visit our website for more information.

www.recconnections.com

P1 - Trail Maintenance Darcy Granove

This session will explore design considerations for successful trail operations and maintenance. In this presentation, we will review best practices for trail building and provide reflections, challenges and some considerations learned while working with Trails Manitoba on The Great Trail. P2 - Healing Trails Adrian Alphonso, Jannell Henry and Anders Swanson

Winnipeg Trails Association presents a new program called Healing Trails generously funded by the Winnipeg Foundation and the Trans Canada Trail. Healing Trails an Indigenous-led initiative to re-think transportation through policy work, capacity building, education and tangible real-world projects In the Ojibwe language, Miikana is the translated word for a road, a trail or a path. It is led by Adrian Alphonso and Janell Henry, supported by Anders Swanson and Dan Reihl. In the cityscape and architecture, roads and trails have different meanings and two different budgets. While trails have the natural capacity to spark healthy attitudes by getting our bodies outdoors, in this city, machines get higher priority as a mode of transportation than humans, active transportation becomes active conservation and an act of defiance. In our presentation, we will delve into the series of works under our Healing Trails project and explain how they are grounded in Indigenous Knowledge and best practices that have global influences. P3 - Programming in Parks Lindsay Somers and Tom Selby

This session will discuss the diverse ways to program within parks with examples from an all-season ‘Learn to Run’ program to Parkour & Ninja Warrior training. Learn engagement strategies, how to develop unique programs, as well as what you need to create these programs in your community.

Workshop Descriptions 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

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Developing Open Spaces For All

P4 - Urban Placemaking Panel Presentation - Dave Pensato (Exchange Biz) and others

An effective placemaking process capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, and it results in the creation of quality public spaces that contribute to people's health, happiness, and well being. It inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. This panel session will explore urban placemaking and lessons learned that can applied to other communities in Manitoba. P5 - Breaking Ground: Building the First School Bike Park in Manitoba Jamie Hilland, Alex Man and Anna Mangano

In the summer of 2019, Arthur E Wright School in the Seven Oaks School Division embarked on ambitious plan to remake their schoolyard, with a focus on active living. To this end, they decided to work with the team of Alex Man and Jamie Hilland to design the first ever bike park on school grounds. In this presentation we will discuss the design, funding, and what this project hopes to achieve. P6 - The Importance of Parks and Trails in Tourism Colin Ferguson

One of the core pillars of Manitoba’s tourism industry is our province’s accessible wilderness. As Travel Manitoba aims to grow tourism’s economic contribution in the province, the importance of parks and trails as key tourism demand generators will continue to grow. In the recently launched Provincial Tourism Strategy for Manitoba, a cooperative effort between Travel Manitoba, the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and the Government of Manitoba, investment in destination experience and development is one of five key goals. It is critical that Manitoba leverage our unique differentiators in the marketplace. This session will discuss the supports Travel Manitoba can offer communities in ways of marketing and destination development, as well as share infights on the significant potential to develop transformational experiences once stakeholders understand the value and potential for parks and trails within their regions.

Workshop Descriptions 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

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P7 - Urban Ecology Marika Olynyk & Matt Carreau

This session will present Learning from the Land, in the City, a series of seasonal walks exploring the ecology of Winnipeg’s urban landscape. Using the Jane's Walk format of "walking conversations", guest experts and community members share their wisdom in the field. The walks bring together experts from many backgrounds who share diverse ways of knowing about the land, weaving a holistic picture of the urban environment and our relationship with it. Through the simple, but powerful, acts of walking, listening, observing and sharing, it is hoped that people gain a deeper sense of place, understanding and connection. Building on the themes of this project, this session will involve dialogue about holistic ways of understanding how cities and ecosystems work together, and about how we can foster collaboration in our own work. P8 - 20/20 Vision in 2020 with Parks Asset Management Principles Todd Reichardt

Sustainable park infrastructure is the keystone to long term customer service. The principles of asset management applied to parks operations & capital development will improve your organization’s effectiveness and street credibility with your citizens. Many agencies need realistic solutions to effectively deal with shrinking budgets, rising customer expectations, and ageing infrastructure. This session will highlight Calgary Parks’ 12 year journey to manage a diverse inventory using a holistic Parks asset management system called PARIS (Parks Asset Reporting & Information System). But wait…are you moving in the right direction? Have you considered resiliency for your assets? Extreme weather events such as floods, drought, and Treemagendon (snow) can dramatically affect your park asset network and your customer levels of service. How can you prepare, sustain and improve? Agencies involved in benchmarking exercises often focus on comparing results without considering context-what’s your ideal result? Attend my session and I’ll show you how to avoid these pitfalls and how to improve your agency’s sustainability… no optometrist is required! P9 - Trail Volunteer Outreach Robert Champagne

In this session, Robert will discuss the successes of Fernie Building Days—how to

attract loyal and engaged volunteers on trail building days as well as sharing some

not so common, common sense tips that will surely help you in your volunteer

recruitment and retention plans.

Workshop Descriptions 3:00 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.

Matt Carreau is an urbanist and designer with a passion for “whole systems

thinking”. He works to develop dialogue about the need for more holistic ways of thinking about cities and problems rooted in the wisdom of ecology. Matt loves organizing learning events that bring interdisciplinary groups together to generate creative ideas. He was the lead organizer for Jane's Walk in Winnipeg from 2011 to 2016.

Robert Champagne is a retired chiropractor and outdoor fitness enthusiast, has

been an avid mountain biker since 1986. He has been involved in building and maintaining mountain bike trails since the late 80’s. Since moving to Fernie, BC in 2012, he has been very involved with the Fernie Trails Alliance. Since the mid 1990’s, he has been an active member of the South Whiteshell Trail Association. Several years ago, under the umbrella of South Whiteshell Trail Association, he became the SWTA Mountain Bike Trail Building Coordinator and has planned, designed, supervised and has been actively involved in the building of the Blue Highway Route and the Five of Diamonds Route at Falcon Trails Resort.

Colin Ferguson joined Travel Manitoba as President and CEO in early 2011. Since

then, he’s had the opportunity to travel to all corners of the province experiencing all that makes Manitoba an ideal travel destination. Well known in Winnipeg’s advertising and marketing community, prior to joining Travel Manitoba, he was partner in Ferguson Walker Marketing Communications and earlier, Senior Partner and General Manager of Palmer Jarvis Advertising/Palmer Jarvis DDB, working with local, provincial and national clients. He has also been active in the not-for-profit sector, as one of the founding directors of Partners in the Park, now Assiniboine Park Conservancy; president of the Children’s Hospital Research Foundation; and strategic planning and marketing lead for Winnipeg’s hosting of the 1999 Pan Am Games. He is also the Founder of the Canadian Women’s Bandy team headquartered in Winnipeg - currently ranked fourth in the World.

Speaker Biographies

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Darcy Granove is the founder and principal of Little Bluestem Landscape

Architecture + Design. With over fifteen years of experience in landscape architecture, design, and public engagement, she has a wealth of experience across a vast range of scales and project types. Darcy is an advocate for the inclusion of recreational trails in schools, parks, and large scale community network systems. She has worked extensively in trail development, including North East Pioneer’s Greenway, the Chief Peguis Greenway, and the Border to Beaches portion of The Great Trail (for Trails Manitoba). She has successfully lead projects from permitting, routing, and stakeholder engagement, to GPS ground truthing, construction documentation, and project management. Darcy is passionately committed to making better places, and engaging communities in the process.

Janell Henry is an Ojibwe from Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation (MB.) Over the

last ten years she has been involved, at different capacities, with organizations like Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery, La Maison des artistes visuels francophones, Cluster New Music +Integrated Arts Festival, A Good Fool’s Hard to find Bluesfest, CKUW 95.9 FM and Winnipeg Trails Association. Henry’s curatorial practice challenges the Indigenous/Canadian dichotomy while working from within both realities

Jamie Hilland is a Sustainable Transportation Planner with Urban Systems in

Winnipeg. Jamie has worked on a number of Transportation Planning projects across

Canada, including the Active Transportation Master for the City of Windsor, the Active

School Travel Strategy for TransLink in Vancouver, Study and Design of the Ruby/

Banning Greenway for the City of Winnipeg, Study and Design of the McDermot/

Bannatyne Protected Bike Lanes for the City of Winnipeg, City of Winnipeg Climate

Action Plan, Wolseley to Downtown Walk Bike Project, City of Edmonton Cycling

Strategy, Northmount Drive Bike Lane project for the City of Calgary , and School Travel

Planning for the City of North Vancouver. Jamie sits on the Expert Advisory Board of the

Canadian Institute for Health Research funded Child Active Transport Safety and

Environment Study, and the Policy Committee of the Association of Pedestrian and

Bicycle Professionals.

Speaker Biographies

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Online registration is now open! Visit our website for more information.

www.recconnections.com

Developing Open Spaces For All

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.

Marika Olynyk is an ecologist and environmental educator. She strives to

facilitate meaningful opportunities for people to connect with the natural world and explore their role within it. Marika believes in bringing together multiple perspectives and approaches to advance our city and everyone’s well-being. She works in the areas of public outreach and youth engagement.

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.

Tom Selby started his Parkour journey in 2006 after being introduced to the

small but dedicated Winnipeg Parkour community by my brother Marc. Over these 14 years he has been actively involved with planning jams (training sessions), coaching, performing, choreographing, training and encouraging others to move. He currently manages the Parkour & Ninja Warrior Department at Serratus Movement Centre, where it has been a great priviledge to coach and inspire a new generation of Parkour practitioners.

Speaker Biographies

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Todd Reichardt has over 20 years of senior park management experience lead-

ing a diverse range of service portfolios including open space maintenance, business & asset strategies, park infrastructure & pathways, water management & urban forestry. He is keenly interested in mashing up innovative technologies and asset management principles to improve park service delivery models. He is an advocate for continual service improvement through performance measures and benchmarking. Todd actively applies his business process improvement, financial acumen, analytical & leadership skills in his current role as Manager-Parks N&W Region for the City of Calgary. Todd holds a B.S.A. and M.Sc. in Medical Entomology from the University of Manitoba.

Lindsay Somers is a wellness leader in Winnipeg specializing in communications,

engagement and community health development. She has nearly a decade of experience inspiring and building active communities. Lindsay owned and operated her own boutique training studio in the Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District for nearly a decade. Lindsay has developed successful programs like Learn to Run and Learn to Skate, engaging and encouraging thousands of Winnipeggers to take their first steps toward a healthier lifestyle outside in Winnipeg - in all seasons. A passionate leader and communicator, Lindsay has appeared on CBC, CTV and Global television to discuss lifestyle and health topics relevant to Manitobans. She has written and developed content for Canada’s national voice on active living ParticipACTION, The Forks, The Exchange District BIZ, CancerCare Manitoba and Westjet Magazine.

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