Nature center supporters call for additional operating hours | ARLnow

Supporters of Gulf Branch Nature Center are pushing to develop the hours of Arlington nature facilities, because the 2023 county finances proposes to maintain hours at pandemic ranges.

In a letter to the group final week, Friends of Gulf Branch Nature Center president Duke Banks took problem with the County Manager’s proposed finances, which might preserve the county’s two nature facilities open solely three days per week. That’s in distinction with the facilities’ six day per week schedule previous to the pandemic.

The causes for the cuts are because of security and practicality.

A brand new Department of Parks and Recreation directive, as director Jane Rudolph famous in a finances work session earlier this month, is that two workers members are actually required to open a county facility when beforehand just one was wanted. That coverage was put in place in response to a sexual assault that occurred on the Barcroft Recreation Center in 2019.

The different is that with extra digital packages — and faculty area journeys nonetheless restricted, partially because of a bus driver scarcity — nature center workers are extra usually going into faculties as an alternative of scholars coming to the amenities themselves.

Banks says that his group understands the challenges, however believes it’s essential to rent a couple of additional staff to maintain the character facilities open as usually as doable.

“Friends of GBNC understands the need for safety, and we laud nature center staff members on their flexibility in continuing to provide programs during COVID — both to the public and schools. However, these emergency initiatives don’t justify closing Arlington’s remaining nature centers three days a week,” Banks says within the letter. “Our nature centers anchor the creative new programming, providing essential facilities like exhibits, restrooms and shelter (during storms) and serving as a physical focal point that makes nature accessible to everyone, young or old, rich or poor.”

As Rudolph introduced up on the work session, staffing and hiring stays a problem throughout the division (in addition to within the county as a complete). She famous that the division is making an effort to “meet people where they are” by taking nature center programming out of the amenities and into group facilities, in addition to faculties.

“There is nature center programming happening, it just isn’t always happening in the nature center,” Rudolph mentioned on the work session.

Banks and Friends of the Gulf Branch Nature Center disagreed with the strategy, saying that structured programming shouldn’t be a driver of when the character facilities ought to be open.

“Many folks visit nature centers without attending a program and thus would be denied access to the nature centers at a time when the public’s visits to our parks have significantly increased during COVID,” Banks mentioned within the letter. “With our highly urbanized environment and the pandemic-related fallout, children need the respite of enjoying nature now more than ever.”

The two county-run nature facilities, Gulf Branch and Long Branch, averaged about 21,000 guests yearly in 2018 and 2019, in response to a county report.

Rudolph made a degree to say that the operational modifications is probably not everlasting. The division is at the moment evaluating not simply what number of days the character facilities ought to be open, however their hours as nicely.

The facilities are at the moment open 10 a.m. to five p.m., with no night hours, however Rudolph mentioned that there’s a risk of utilizing some cash to maintain the facilities open later this 12 months, after children are out of college and oldsters return from work. This might make facilities extra accessible with out opening on additional days, officers mentioned.

Friends of the Gulf Branch Nature Center will not be the one group advocating for deliver nature facilities hours again to pre-pandemic ranges. During the work session, representatives from the county’s Park and Recreation and Forestry and Natural Resources commissions additionally expressed a need to have the character facilities open longer.

Supporters of Gulf Branch Nature Center are asking those that agree with them to ship an e-mail to the County Board and County Manager expressing “how important it is to keep our nature centers accessible to the public and how disappointed you are by the proposed cuts to the nature centers’ public hours.”

The full letter from the group is beneath.

Hello Friends of Gulf Branch Nature supporters!

My title is Duke Banks, and I’m the brand new President of Friends of Gulf Branch Nature Center (Friends of GBNC).

During the COVID pandemic, the group has been quiet. But now we’re able to reengage, and my mission is to revitalize the Friends of GBNC and to advocate not solely for Gulf Branch Nature Center, but additionally for all nature facilities.

OUR FIRST CHALLENGE: We should reply promptly to the County Manager’s proposed fiscal 12 months 2023 finances (which shall be authorized in early April). In it, the supervisor proposes to chop nature center hours from the pre-pandemic degree of 6 days per week, to three days per week–a 50% discount within the hours the center is open to the general public.

Why are these cuts being proposed?

1. A Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) directive has been issued–for safety causes–that require DPR amenities to have two staffers current earlier than a facility could also be opened. Previously, just one staffer was required to open a facility.
2. During COVID, nature center workers pivoted towards virtual-only packages. When faculties reopened, workers offered packages on the faculties, on condition that area journeys to the character facilities weren’t but possible.

Friends of GBNC understands the necessity for security, and we laud nature center workers members on their flexibility in persevering with to supply packages throughout COVID–each to the general public and faculties.

However, these emergency initiatives don’t justify closing Arlington’s remaining nature facilities three days per week. Our nature facilities anchor the inventive new programming, offering important amenities like reveals, restrooms and shelter (throughout storms) and serving as a bodily point of interest that makes nature accessible to everybody, younger or previous, wealthy or poor.

We additionally disagree with DPR Director Jane Rudolph’s current response to a query about center hours: She intends to make use of nature center programming as a foundation for figuring out public entry to center amenities. Many people go to nature facilities with out attending a program and thus can be denied entry to the character facilities at a time when the general public’s visits to our parks have considerably elevated throughout COVID.

With our extremely urbanized setting and the pandemic-related fallout, kids want the respite of having fun with nature now greater than ever. APS and private-school area journeys to the character facilities ought to be restarted ASAP. Our children shouldn’t be “welcomed” with a “Closed” signal on the door.

In a $1.4 billion finances, funding so as to add a couple of extra non permanent staff, enabling the facilities to reopen to the general public at pre-pandemic ranges, is NOT a serious expense.

Though the Park and Recreation and the Forestry and Natural Resources Commissions have expressed concern concerning the discount in hours on the nature facilities, the supervisor and County Board should hear from the general public if we would like nature facilities’ public hours to be restored to regular, pre-pandemic ranges.

Two methods you may make a distinction:

1. Please ship an e-mail to the County Board at [email protected] and County Manager at [email protected]. Tell them how essential it’s to maintain our nature facilities accessible to the general public and the way disenchanted you might be by the proposed cuts to the character facilities’ public hours. Ask that they finances accordingly to maintain the character facilities opened 6 days per week. Use the template beneath to chop and paste or customise your personal message:

Dear Chair Cristol and members of the County Board,

Please reject the proposed finances’s plan to chop our nature facilities’ public hours from 6 days down to only 3 days per week. Our nature facilities anchor not solely programming but additionally present important amenities like reveals, restrooms and shelter (throughout storms) that make nature accessible to everybody, younger or previous, wealthy or poor.

Given Arlington’s rising urbanization, we want extra entry to nature, not much less. Getting again to regular after a punishing pandemic should embrace restoring the general public’s entry to Arlington’s nature facilities. Please present the mandatory funding to keep up the pre-pandemic 6-days-a-week degree of service.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Insert Your Name Here]

2. Consider making feedback to the County Board at subsequent week’s public finances listening to–Tuesday, March 29, 2022, starting at 7PM:https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Departments/County-Board/Events/County-Board-Budget-Hearing.

See Guidelines for Speaking at Budget and Tax Rate Public Hearings (arlingtonva.us). Register upfront right here to talk on Tues., 3-29-2022, 7 pm: Budget Hearing Speaker Sign-up Form (arlingtonva.us)

Many thanks for your help and preserve a watch out for extra information and data from Friends of GBNC coming quickly!

Best,

Duke Banks, President

Friends of Gulf Branch Nature Center