There are many good reasons why park and recreation departments should consider adopting more green and sustainable practices: reducing landfill waste; reducing toxic chemical use to benefit employees, citizens, and the environment; reducing your department’s carbon footprint; and being a leader within the local government for sustainability policies and practices. Another great reason is to help your bottom line.

Parks managers of the 21st century need to run facilities in more cost-effective ways to counter rising operating costs, tighter budgets, and the increased demands of the facilities and services. This article discusses ways to decrease energy, water, fuel, and product use in ways that help sustain your department and the environment at the same time.

My work on this topic began in the fall of 2008, when I volunteered to form the City of Missoula, Montana’s Green Team to develop a list of ways in which the city's approximately 500 employees could reduce energy, fuel, water, and product use that would cost nothing (or very little) to implement. I began by researching the internet and talking with people in my community who are working on climate change. Helpful resources included Best Practices for Climate Protection: A Local Government Guide and The United States Conference of Mayors Committees on Energy and the Environment.

By early 2009, the team produced a “best ideas” list of 25 ways that city staff could reduce the cost of energy, fuel, water, and product use, which was then sent out by the mayor to all employees as the city’s new Green Policy. Many of the listed items are applicable to parks departments, but this article will also go beyond this list to address ideas specifically targeted at parks departments.

Reducing Utility Bills

This is the area where immediate cost savings can be seen by implementing the following practices:

• Turn off lights and electronic equipment when not in use and use power strips to make it easy to turn off equipment completely (“ghost” electric use can range up to 10 percent of your electric bill).

• Reduce lighting where possible—many office areas are often “over-lit” and you may be able to take out light bulbs or at least not always turn them on all day, every day.

• Use more energy-efficient fixtures. The City of Missoula has changed out nearly 700 incandescent or fluorescent lights city-wide. The estimated energy cost savings is just over $20,200 a year; the projected average savings per fixture is $30 a year. Install automatic light sensors that turn off ceiling lights in offices where no motion is detected for 10 minutes. Here is a great cost comparison chart of LED/CFL/incandescent bulbs.

• When it’s time to replace/upgrade office equipment, purchase Energy Star-rated equipment.

• Adjusting thermostats saves three percent per degree—consider 68 degrees during the winter and 74 during the summer.

• Make sure all doors and windows are properly sealed on all park buildings.

• Replace old HVAC systems with more efficient models. This is the most costly upgrade on this list, but the payback period is about eight to nine years, and after that the cost savings can really add up. Many cities have achieved this upgrade through a performance contract with Johnson Controls.

Reducing Fuel Consumption and Costs

Large cost savings can be achieved with no or little up-front investment in this area:

• Adopt a policy of no unnecessary idling of engines. Park employees can be unaware of how much fuel they are wasting by idling. Making it a policy and taking the time to explain why will reduce your department’s fuel consumption.

• Reduce highway speeds by 5 to 10 mph and regularly check tires for proper inflation.

• Carpool to meetings and conferences and use video or webinar conference opportunities.

• Train staff on job efficiency practices such as getting the job done correctly the first time and taking with them all the necessary tools for the job in order to avoid extra trips.

• EcoDriving Training can reduce fuel use by 15 to 30 percent. This manual is a great resource.

• Create “No Mow” zones where appropriate on parkland and greenways.

• Match the vehicle to the job: don’t take a huge truck/SUV when a mini-truck will do. A half-ton truck costs about $1.29/mile and gets nine miles per gallon versus a mini-truck that costs about $0.42/mile and averages 37 miles per gallon for city driving.

• Create park maintenance districts to best utilize staff time and resources. Missoula Parks utilized GPS units on park vehicles for fleet management and redrew park districts to greatly reduce having to cross major intersections or making left-hand turns (the two biggest users of fuel). This has saved Missoula Parks more than 3,000 gallons of fuel in only six months.

Reducing Water Consumption and Costs

Many cities are fortunate to have a majority of their water come from wells at little to no cost. That is not the case in Missoula and other cities that have huge water bills to contend with during the summer months. Here are ways to reduce water use:

• Decrease the number of watering days for parks and greenways where active playing fields are not present, and in some places, not watering at all, allowing grasses to go dormant.

• Water late in the day or early during cool temperatures.

• Mow grass at higher levels—three inches of grass retains moisture longer.

• Maintain older irrigation systems which often leak hundreds of gallons of water.

• Replace, where appropriate, Kentucky bluegrass with natives or avoid planting bluegrass in the first place—try xeriscaping with low-water plants where appropriate.

• Mulch around trees and shrubs to reduce evaporation.

• Utilize water Ooze Tubes for trees. Mulch rings and Ooze Tubes save water and staff time. Here is an FAQ on Ooze Tubes.

Where to Start

One way to not get overwhelmed by how and where to start adopting green practices is to evaluate what your department is already doing, which may include many of the recommendations listed above. Next, consider forming a green team to help identify and prioritize items that will work best for your particular parks department. Identify key players in your department who have an interest in sustainable practices and invite them to help form the green team. Get buy-in from all managers and engage employees through the green team and staff training—making it a part of the parks culture will help ensure success.

 

Jackie Corday is the Open Space Program Manager for Missoula Montana Parks & Recreation.