Giving Thanks.
Forking: My 12 year old daughter is enjoying watching The Good Place. Forking is how they use “the F word” on the TV show, so I figured I’d use it too. The show’s producers were also the creators of Parks and Recreation.
Mostly though it’s a Turkey Day pun– we all need a good laugh these days. XO 😉
As we wind through November, with a non-Thanksgiving ahead, I want to extend my gratitude to our outdoor recreation community providing access to parks, pivoting jobs, making gear, dropping knowledge, continuing stewardship, finding funding, and positive advocacy for us all to get outside and play throughout this forking pandemic.
We give thanks to you, our supporters, donors, landlords, volunteers, advisors and advocates.
Yes, we have been silent since our last update in August, which asked the question, Where Do We Go From Here? Looking back over the summer and fall, our staff scaled back to a minimum, so we could keep Recreation Northwest above water. For so many of us, this feels like a Lost Year. The foundation of our mission “to bring people together” was gravely challenged. The wind was taken out of our sails as we were unable to gather and do what we do best- host quality events and conversations. Oh yea, and drink beer!
Well, the wind has figuratively picked up and we are working on faith that literally “it’s all gonna work out”. While still keeping publicly quiet and relatively to ourselves, we have been pouring positive effort and energy into Parkscriptions program development and formalizing key community partnerships here in our hometown of Bellingham. We are confident that the seeds we’ve sown are going to sprout in Spring 2021. We will be sending out a less cryptic message and details on these developments once we have the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted.
We are a part of a strong community of nonprofits who rely on donations and business support. We applaud those organizations who directly support and respond to the evolving health care needs. We believe that our outdoors approach is part of the solution. Please support us as we continue to evolve our programs. Donate today.
Earlier this year, we recorded a Parkscriptions Day 2020 video to encourage people to get outside and simply use your senses and enjoy the healing benefits of the outdoors. While enjoying your non-Thanksgiving give yourself a Parkscription and get your dose of nature this holiday season.
Yours outdoors,
Todd Elsworth, Executive Director
aka: Mossy-haired lunatic
photo credit: Violet Elsworth
ps- Below are our own, local, state and national tidbits that we’d like to share with you.
Thankful for supporting our Stewardship.
Fairhaven Park Native Plant Garden: Phillips 66 Bench Installed!
We are fortunate to get the support of Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery for our Stewardship work in Fairhaven Park. They contributed funds to support our ongoing care of our mitigation work and Native Plant Gardens. In appreciation, we installed a bench in our Upper Meadow area.
This bench installation project is the intersection of our Stewardship work and @Parkscriptions programming. We are taking care of our native plants and providing a place of solitude to soak in the sights and sounds of nature. The door to the gate is coming soon. Promise!
With Whatcom Park Finder you can search 186 parks in Whatcom County, and all of the State Parks in Washington. Enter your location (city or zip code) to search within a set number of miles, or click on the ‘Filter Results’ button to select parks based on amenities and features.
Whether directed by your health care provider, or self-parkscribed you can choose the park that is just right for your mobility, fitness level and personal needs to Get Your Dose of Nature.
Remember to Recreate Responsibly this season.
One of our Alliance Members, Port Side Productions, launched The Backcountry Marketing Podcast. It dives deep with leaders of the outdoor industry as they discuss the gritty details of their work, personal challenges, and latest adventures. Whether you’re standing in the lift line, shuttling to fresh loam, or cracking a local beer.
Check it out.
For the Holidays
Our community is coming together in a big and beautiful way to support locally owned Whatcom County businesses this holiday season! We are partnering with Sustainable Connections and others on Team Whatcom for Gift Cards Supporting Local Businesses.
Whatcom County’s “Think Local First” eGift Card Program encourages our community to support local businesses by purchasing these gift cards for friends, family and coworkers. With this unique program, customers have just one card that they can use for goods and services at any of the participating local businesses — there is truly something for everyone!
State based with a National reach.
As members of the Recreate Responsibly Coalition, we have this fun news to share with you:
We’re excited to share the collaboration with The Dark Divide Film, starring David Cross and Debra Messing! The filmmakers have created a ‘Public Service Announcement‘ in the form of a movie trailer to support the mission of Recreate Responsibly.
The filmmakers of The Dark Divide want to remind you to #RecreateResponsibly when exploring the outdoors, so they’ve compiled a few hot tips for you from their movie starring David Cross and Debra Messing.
The Dark Divide is based on the true stories of renowned butterfly expert Dr. Robert Pyle’s (Cross) perilous 1995 journey across one of America’s largest undeveloped wildlands. At the urging of his dying wife Thea (Messing), the shy author finds himself in over his head on an epic, life-changing expedition through Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest in search of new species. Featuring music by The Avett Brothers, and art by Jeremy Collins; watch the film on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play and On Demand everywhere! http://www.darkdividefilm.com
National News
The Great American Outdoors Act Coordination and Implementation Task Force released further details about Fiscal Year 2021 Great American Outdoors Act deferred maintenance and Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) projects.
“The Great American Outdoors Act is working to address the historically underfunded, multi-billion-dollar deferred maintenance backlog at our national parks…he Act is expected to be the single largest investment into our public lands in United States history, spurring significant job creation and state and local economic growth.” Source
The Department of the Interior conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives and affiliated island communities to help them prosper.
Thank You. We appreciate your continued support and understanding of the challenging situation we and many community non-profits are facing during these trying times. We are confident we will continue to bring value to the outdoor recreation community and industry.
Your support and donations today will be invested into our survival and the growth of our community.
Todd Elsworth is one of the many “Mossy-haired lunatics roaming the dripping peninsulas”, described in “I’m Here for the Weather” by Tom Robbins. As executive director, he works to fulfill our mission to teach the health benefits of nature, promote outdoor recreation, and steward the places where we play.
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