Thursday Sessions
June 10, 2021
Full Agenda
9:00 am-9:30 am
General Networking Rooms (O)
Coffee chat, hallway conversations … since we cannot be together in person, join our virtual morning networking rooms to say hello and chat with fellow summit participants.
9:30 am-10:30 am
Trails and the Outdoor Economy – Building Community in West Virginia (P)
Trails and trail networks are significant drivers of the outdoor economy and community development across the Industrial Heartland and the United States. In West Virginia, trails play a central role in a new initiative of the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative (OEDC) at West Virginia University: a remote worker program emphasizing community, purpose and the outdoors, which is designed to support remote workers and their families as they relocate to West Virginia in pursuit of a high quality of life and an outdoor-driven lifestyle. Additionally, a West Virginia watershed organization, Friends of the Cheat, is playing a central role in trail development and advocacy, raising millions of dollars in federal grants to build trails and establish a county Trail Town program. This session will explore the role of trails in a burgeoning outdoor economy and why they will be essential to the type of community development that retains and recruits people to live in West Virginia and the Industrial Heartland.
Speakers:
Greg Corio
Assistant Vice President of the Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, West Virginia University
“Greg Corio is the Assistant Vice President for the Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative at West Virginia University and a social entrepreneur. He leads a department that works on special initiatives to promote outdoor economic and recreational development and STEM education. This includes a major economic development initiative to bring remote workers to West Virginia while highlighting the state’s unique outdoor recreation assets and working with the state and communities to leverage outdoor recreational opportunities. Mr. Corio is the liaison between WVU and the Summit Bechtel Reserve, one of the largest outdoor camps in the world that is located in Southern West Virginia. Through this collaborative work, Mr. Corio initiated two new undergraduate degree programs at WVU in Non-profit Organizational Leadership and Adventure Recreation Management. He also oversaw the development of the Science Adventure School, an outdoor orientation program for middle school students in West Virginia that is held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve annually. Prior to joining the Provost’s Office, Mr. Corio worked in Student Life at WVU since 2004 when he founded Adventure WV, an outdoor orientation program for incoming freshmen. Under his leadership, it grew to become the nation’s largest outdoor orientation program. During this time, he also oversaw the development of the WVU Outdoor Education Center. Mr. Corio then served as the Assistant Dean for Campus Recreation and Outdoor Education from 2014 to 2019.
As a student in the Adventure Sports Management program at Garrett College in Maryland, Mr. Corio invented an artificial ice-climbing wall. He sold the product to the international climbing wall manufacturer, Entre Prises. Mr. Corio completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources at WVU. In his “downtime,” he enjoys backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing and paddling with his family.”
Danny Twilley
Assistant Dean of the Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, West Virginia University
Dr. Danny Twilley is the Assistant Dean of the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative at West Virginia University. In this role he supports the OEDC’s remote worker initiative, community development, outdoor recreation asset enhancement and development, business and workforce development, and research to tell the program’s story. He approaches this work by engaging with communities and facilitating academic collaborations across the University, state and local governments, outdoor industry, and related groups.
10:30 am-11:00 am
Workshop Focus Breakouts (Q)
Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep-dive into the topics covered in the “Trails and the Outdoor Economy – Building Community in West Virginia” summit session.
11:15 am-12:15 pm
Cuyahoga Valley National Park: A National Park for the Community (R)
Trails create physical links between Cuyahoga Valley National Park and communities. Partner relationships and programs enhance these connections. As the park approaches its 50th anniversary, the National Park Service seeks to deepen connections even further through a Community Access Plan. This session will focus on the park’s role as an anchor location within the region’s interconnected park and trail system.
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will:
- Learn the basics of the federal interagency visitor use management planning framework used to create a Community Access Plan.
- Understand how a robust civic engagement strategy can benefit a park planning project.
- Learn the benefits that come from a park embracing its role in an interconnected, regional trail system.
Speakers:
Jennie Vasarhelyi
Head of Interpretation, Education & Visitor Services, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Jennie is the supervisory program manager responsible for interpretation, education & visitor services at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She is responsible for creating experiences that help visitors to access, enjoy, appreciate, and learn from the natural, cultural, scenic, and recreational values of the park.
Pam Barnes
Community Engagement Supervisor and Public Information Officer, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Pam is the Community Engagement Supervisor and Public Information Officer for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She leads staff responsible for community engagement and the volunteer program, media relations and how the public gets information about the park.
12:15 pm-12:45 pm
Workshop Focus Breakouts (S)
Participate in an interactive breakout discussion to take a deep dive into the topics covered in the “Cuyahoga Valley National Park: A National Park for the Community” summit session.
In Person Tours
2:00 pm-3:15 pm
Akron Civic Commons: Restoring Trust and the Co-Creation of Equitable Parks, Trails and Open Spaces (Tour 3A)
Akron Civic Commons is a resident-led community partnership that seeks to co-create, co-design and co-steward accessible, equitable and welcoming parks, trails, and open spaces along 3-miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Akron. This session will examine how Akron Civic Commons addressed issues of mistrust and equity in the Summit Lake neighborhood while led to the $10 million dollar Summit Lake Vision Plan. Using the Akron Civic Commons values of community engagement, socioeconomic mixing, value creation and environmental sustainability, our resident-led work is creating equitable parks, stimulating neighborhood revitalization and creating a legacy for future generations.
- How to build trust and address the legacy of “things being done to and not with, and things promised and not delivered.”
- Using the design-thinking and resident-led process to co-create, co-design, and co-steward accessible, equitable and welcoming parks, trails, and open spaces.
- How the Akron Civic Commons process changes the cultures of individual organizations and impacts residents and individuals to think differently about equity in parks, trails and public spaces.
Lead by:
Additional leads:
- Lisa King, Summit Metro Parks
- Sandy Saulsberry, Community leader and Summit Lake Community Development Corporation
- Michelle DiFiore, City of Akron, Office of Integrated Development
Coordinator:
Andrea Ireland
Andrea_Irland@nps.gov
330-524-4158
Additional Information:
Our workshop will be outdoors and will include walking and may include canoeing.
Location:
380 W Crosier St, Akron, OH 4431
We will gather near the building across from the baseball field.
Required Waiver:
All tour attendees must fill out and return this signed waiver (https://ihearttrails.org/trailsconfwaiverw_covid/) to Dan Sahli at dbs2@clevelandmetroparks.com.
2:00 pm-3:15 pm
Wendy Park Bridge & Whiskey Island Connector Trail Tour (Tour 3B)
Join Cleveland Metroparks’ Chief Planning and Design Officer, Sean McDermott, to tour the new Wendy Park Bridge and Whiskey Island Connector Trail, both part of a federal USDOT Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant-funded suite of projects that will officially open in late June. The Wendy Park Bridge is a new 500-foot bridge spanning the Norfolk Western railway on Whiskey Island that will bring the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail to the shores of Lake Erie at Wendy Park. The Whiskey Island Connector connects the new bridge to link Wendy Park to Edgewater Park, both part of Cleveland Metroparks’ Lakefront Reservation.
- Learn how Cleveland Metroparks worked through property interests and engineering approvals with a major railroad and multiple stakeholders.
- Understand how the “Connecting Cleveland” partnership was leveraged to receive a federal TIGER (aka BUILD and now RAISE) grant to help construct these projects.
- Identify the major project development steps for a federally funded trail project.
Lead by:
Coordinator:
Nancy Desmond
nd@clevelandmetroparks.com
216-372-0469
Additional Information:
This will be a walking tour outdoors. Tour will proceed on foot along a route that will be approximately two miles in length along the paved trail.
Location:
2800 Whiskey Island Drive, Cleveland, OH 44012
This area is accessible by car or via Edgewater Park and the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway and Whiskey Island Connector by bike. The bridge will not be open yet to access from the west bank of the Flats from the south.
Required Waiver:
All tour attendees must fill out and return this signed waiver (https://ihearttrails.org/trailsconfwaiverw_covid/) to Dan Sahli at dbs2@clevelandmetroparks.com.
