Date: September 27 - 29, 2009
Location: Blair County Convention Center (southcentral PA near Altoona)
Conducted by the PA Recreation and Parks Society with assistance from a variety of partners (including PEC!) and funding from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Call for presentations!
The organizing committee is looking to fill approximately 20 breakout session slots. There will be 4-5 time slots available in each of four tracks, which are described below. Sessions are 1:15 in length. Multiple presenters per session are encouraged. This could be people speaking to different facets of the same trail or project, or people speaking to the same topic (e.g. maintenance) as it pertains to different trails. Depending on the volume of proposals, the selection committee may ask presenters to share a session even if they did not submit jointly. Thanks to our state agency partner, a modest amount of financial support is available to assist presenters with registration, lodging, and transportation costs.
Proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee based on the following criteria:
· Overall fit with the needs and interests of the PA Greenways and Trails community
· Fit with the specific tracks identified below
· Novelty relative to topics and presenters from past Summits
· Costs related to the session
To submit a proposal, please visit http://www.prps.org/educationgreenway.htm. There you can download a form which will provide us with information about you and your session. The form requires Microsoft Word. The completed form should be emailed to info@greendiamondtrails.com. Any other questions about the Summit may be directed to this same address. If you are submitting a joint proposal, please use a separate form for each presenter with the same session title on each form.
Also visit http://www.prps.org/educationgreenway.htm for information on advertising and exhibiting information.
Tracks and Session Guidelines for Presenters
Track - Community and Economic Development
Focus - How trails relate to and facilitate community and economic development.
Potential session topics - trails and tourism, attracting trail-related businesses (food, lodging, outfitters), economic benefit studies, promotion and marketing, role of heritage areas, signage and interpretation, Trail Towns, economic benefits of historic preservation
Track - Health, Wellness, Active Living
Focus - Why and how should traditional trail advocates partner with the health care community to develop and promote trails?
Potential session topics - research on how the availability of trails impacts healthy living, examples of successful partnerships with the health care community, trails as safe routes to school, trails in the educational curriculum, trails for rehab, trail use by seniors, active transportation, addressing underserved populations
Track - Technology
Focus - Examples of how 21st century technology is being employed in the development, promotion, and use of trails.
Potential session topics - GIS/GPS/mapping of trails for development purposes and/or for user purposes; geo-caching on trails; use of email, web sites, forums, social networking for trail advocacy and promotion; technology for trail safety and security (lighting, call boxes, 911 locator); heritage, cultural and landscape interpretation using alternative media sources
Track - Maintenance and Management
Focus - Planning and funding trail maintenance for the long-term.
Potential session topics - management plans, traditional or innovative funding sources (grants, endowments, revenue streams), recruiting and utilizing volunteers, recruiting and utilizing board members, innovative maintenance practices or partnerships, management models for long-distance networks