Page 8 - 2022 Annual Report

SERVING THE COMMUNITY:
3 Ways BREC Connects with our Community
After working with consultants and a community advisory panel, BREC staff drafted a community engagement policy which was
01 passed by the Commission in October of 2022. It was highlighted in a national panel by Trust for Public Land as a model for municipal organizations to follow and will ultimately create community advisory committees for every park in the BREC system. The first one will be created to give input and help collect input for BREC’s 10-year master plan and corresponding three-year strategic plans. BREC will
use their input for park improvement projects, programming and operational improvements.
University Lakes is one of the most beautiful and highly used recreational areas in EBR Parish and includes BREC’s City-Brooks
02 Community Park, City Park Lake and Lake Erie. As the man-made lakes deteriorated, BREC was the first to pledge $5-million toward a massive revitalization and dredging effort. In all, six partners including the State, City/Parish, LSU and Baton Rouge Area Foundation are funding the project. The first phase kicked off in 2022 with pre-construction work despite soaring inflation, material shortages and staffing issues in the construction industry. Each milestone of the project will be tracked and communicated to the public through web
and social media, community presentations, mid-year and annual reports.
Since its opening in 2016, BREC has worked with a unique high school for at-risk students that requires paid internships to fund tuition.
03 In 2022, BREC had interns working in Athletics, Communications, Superintendent’s Office and the Zoo. Each week, supervisors provide timesheets and feedback on student performance and BREC has celebrated the graduations of several of its former interns while
providing mentorship as they transition to college.
PLAYING WITH A PURPOSE: Measuring the Benefits of BREC Services
BREC’s annual 24-hour Bioblitz event uses citizen scientists to catalogue species in BREC Parks. In 2019, BREC invited schools and incorporated Louisiana’s new science curriculum into the data collection process, allowing students to learn from professional scientists. In 2020, the program went virtual, expanding to two-months, and in 2021, GIS was used to create a dashboard for participants to view. Since the program began, participants have recorded 3,337 species in BREC Parks using the iNaturalist app. The information creates a baseline of data for conservation management plans and informs interpretative signage to help visitors understand the biodiversity of BREC parks.
Since learning that Louisiana ranked first in the nation for drowning deaths, BREC began contacting with both SELA Aquatics and the YMCA providing more than 2,400 free swimming lessons to more than 300 children in 2022. Including paid lessons at Liberty Lagoon Water Park, BREC provided lessons to 710 children with nearly 5,7000 lessons taught. Since these programs began, the state has improved and now ranks fourth worst in the nation which means BREC will continue to focus on teaching life-saving water skills.
During COVID-19, BREC’s volunteer program – except for the Green Force which works in conservation areas – was largely dormant. Indoor facilities closed, events and programs were held virtually and the need for volunteers plummeted. In addition, the Volunteer Manager left the agency, and the position was transferred to the new Partnership Division where the program was revamped, and a new staff member hired. The new baseline is 325 opportunities filled by 325 volunteers. These volunteers completed more than 11,705 hours of service saving taxpayers nearly $300,000.
8