Trails Forever

Healthy Parks-Healthy Living/ Trails Forever: Status Report
October 20, 2005; revised November 16, 2005
Greater Washington National Parks

Background

In February 2005 a work session with NPF, UNILEVER/ Lipton Tea and NPS staff from NCR and headquarters was held to discuss the Healthy Parks-Healthy Living Initiative. Lipton Tea, a subsidiary of Unilever--a NPS Proud Partner, is promoting a Healthy Parks, Healthy Living campaign that features the health benefits of recreation, wellness and drinking tea. Lipton has targeted 5 markets nationally and wants to work with NPS in each area. They are targeting the "Healthy Hedonists"--that segment of the population that is 21-40, professional, and who care about exercise. Metro-Washington, DC is one of Lipton’s markets and they wanted to partner with the Greater Washington National Parks.

NCR representatives suggested that the Healthy Parks-Healthy Living effort be integrated with the Greater Washington National Parks Trails Forever campaign. Trails Forever is intended to:

“To attract visitors to raise greater awareness of the Greater Washington National Parks as a way to encourage them to use the parks and contribute to their stewardship.”

NPF and Unilever-Lipton agreed to design Healthy Parks-Healthy Living to support NCR’s Trails Forever campaign and agreed to launch both efforts at a June 3, 2005 event at Rock Creek Park.

A workplan describing the partnership was jointly prepared and approved.

Results

· Healthy Parks-Healthy Living Kick-Off: On June 3, 2005 the National
Park Foundation, National Park Service and Unilever-Lipton launched the Healthy Parks-Healthy Living/ Trails Forever Kickoff at Rock Creek Park. Over three-hundred people attended the event which was covered by regional television and radio stations. As part of the event NPS, NPF, and Unilever-Lipton produced ten park trail brochures and a commemorative Trails Forever poster. A regional trails guide is being prepared and trail maps are being prepared to be displayed at each of the parks.

· Trails Forever Grants: Unilever-Lipton, through the NPF, provided
funds to NPS for park trail projects. NCR used a portion of the funds to create a Trails Forever Fund within the Greater Washington National Parks Fund, and other dollars to fund specific projects. NPS used the private donation to leverage other federal funds.

Five parks and the NCR Volunteer Coordinator funds for the following eight trail projects.

Greater Washington National Parks Trail Maintenance Tool Shed for park volunteer projects, Regional VIP Program: $2,500

PHNST Public Events with Potomac Heritage Trail Association: $2,400

PHNST Fort Circle Parks Summary Document with the University of MD College Park: $2,500

First and Second Manassas Trail Loops with MD Outdoor Club, American Hiking Society, and the Battlefield Equestrian Society: $2,493.90

President's Park Trail Maintenance Weekends, Trail Weekend Interpretive Activities, and Trail Maintenance Activities: $2,471.27

On-going Trail Projects at Catoctin Mountain Park with multiple groups, volunteers, SCA, and the Boy Scouts: $2,020

Prince William Forest Park unpaved bike routes with Potomac Appalachian Trail Club: $2,500

Prince William Forest Park Bicycle Boardwalk with Alternative Spring Break students, Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts, and the International Mountain Biking Association: $2,500

· Trails Forever Forum: As a way to engage the public in Healthy
Parks-Healthy Living/ Trails Forever NPS, NPF and Unilever-Lipton held a Trails Forever Forum in September at the Metropolitan Washington’s Council of Government.

The forum included: 1) A brief overview of the National Park Service’s Trails Forever Campaign, the Greater Washington National Parks Fund and the National Park Foundation, by Glenn Eugster and Angela Hearn; 2) Remarks by Trish Zenobi, Marketing Director of Lipton® Tea on the Unilever/Lipton Tea and the National Park Service’s Healthy Parks-Healthy Living initiative which is designed to highlight the vitality, wellness and outdoor recreation benefits inherent in National Parks; and 3)Remarks by Bob and Barbara Lamborn of Chesapeake Country Cycling of Maryland on bicycling, fitness, and positive life styles, and their design of a 2,500-mile bicycle route network connecting trails, parks, forests, fish and wildlife lands and other sites throughout the Delmarva Peninsula in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Sixty people participated in this forum.

· In October 2005, as part of the Healthy Parks-Healthy Living/
Trails Forever effort, NPS and the US Park Police held The Horsemen’s Forum at Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium, 5200 Glover Road, N.W., Washington, D.C.. A crowd of more than 130 people enjoyed nationally known speakers including, Buck Brannaman, Walter Zettl, Dr. Hillary Clayton, Robert Nelson, Dr. Robert van Wessum, and others. Mr. Brannaman did a two-hour demonstration on groundwork techniques for training the police horse. All of the speakers participated in a panel on the state of the art on good horsemanship today and improving the working partnership between horse and rider. The forum raised over fifteen-hundred dollars for the US Park Police Horse Mounted Unit.

· National Parks Advisory Board(NPAB), Health & Recreation Committee
Presentation: On October 18, 2005 in San Antonio, Texas Nancy Aust and Trish Zenobi, representing Unilever/ Lipton, and Glenn Eugster, representing the National park Service, made a presentation on Healthy Parks-Healthy Living/ Trails Forever to the Health and Recreation Committee of the NPAB. The presentation served to illustrate how the Healthy Parks-Healthy Living effort links health and recreation through corporate assisted park projects.


2006 Activities

· 2006 National Parks America Tour: Mel Poole, Supt. of CATO and
Glenn Eugster met with Nancy Aust and Sarah Pittman of Unilever to discuss possible participation of the Greater Washington National Parks in the National Parks America Tour. The Tour is a volunteer-driven initiative designed to provide National Parks with manpower resources to complete important projects and engage communities in the National Park experience. NCR superintendents and regional leaders have been surveyed to determine the level of interest in participating in the Tour.

· 2006 Trails Forever/ Healthy Parks-Healthy Living initiative: Mel
Poole and Glenn Eugster met with Nancy Aust and Sarah Pittman of Unilever to discuss the second year of the Trails Forever/Healthy Parks-Healthy Living initiative. NCR, along with NY-NJ Harbor and the Golden Gate National Parks, was one of three NPS areas selected to participate in the second year of the initiative. Regional leaders and superintendents have been surveyed to identify the level of NCR interest and possible ideas for next year.

· Unilever Intern Program: Glenn Eugster met with Lauren Beck, Sarah
Pittman and Nancy Aust from Unilever, Clarissa Mendez from the Student Conservation Association, Angela Hearn of the National Park Foundation, and Wendy O’Sullivan of NPS-WASO, to discuss the potential for Unilever Intern for a NCR park (or parks). NCR superintendents have been surveyed to determine which parks have an interest in participating.

· Trails Forever Forums: Additional Healthy Parks-Healthy Living
Trails Forever Forums are being planned for 2006.

For Further Information Contact

J. Glenn Eugster
Assistant Regional Director,
Partnerships Office
National Park Service
National Capital Region
1100 Ohio Drive, SW, Room 350
Washington, DC 20242
(202)619-7492 phone
(202)619-7220 fax
E-mail: glenn_eugster@nps.gov