Community Spotlights

Park Friends Network Celebrates Best Practices at Annual Conference

by Lindsey Walker on February 5, 2017

Over 70 Park Friends joined us on Saturday, February 4 for the annual Park Friends Network Conference, which was organized around the theme of “Best Practices” this year. Members of the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Stewardship Team organized this special event to bring together members of Park Friends Groups from across Philadelphia to learn more about how to be the best park friends they can be.

After a warm welcome from PPR Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell and FPC Executive Director Rick Magder, Barbara McCabe, Director of Strategic Engagement of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, offered her perspective on the most important “best practices” for Park Friends Groups to adopt, including an open path to Friends Group membership, hosting regular public meetings, and regularly communicating with neighbors and partners.

The Stewardship Team then hosted workshops on:

After lunch, David Gould, Deputy Director of Community Engagement & Communications for Rebuild Philadelphia, and George Matysik, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, joined us for an update on Mayor Kenney’s Rebuild initiative.

Many thanks to the University of the Sciences for hosting us!

Interested in joining or starting a Park Friends Group? Check out the list of active groups here.