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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-06-25 Dryden Recreation and Youth Commission June 25, 2014 Members Present: Stephanie Mulinos (Chair), Kathy Gehring, Tracy Kurtz and Rick Ryan Recreation Director: Jennifer Jones Town Board Liaison: Joe Solomon Guests: Dave Hall, Shelly Lester, Nikki Nease Youth Services Coordinator: Kris Bennett The Commission lacked a quorum. Introduction of guests: The members and guests introduced themselves to each other. K. Gehring also serves on the Tompkins County Youth Services Board. R. Ryan also serves on the Town of Dryden Conservation Board. Shelly Lester is the Rural Youth Services Coordinator. She has replaced Linda Schoffel at Cornell Cooperative Extension. Program Reports a. Dave Hall attended the meeting and reviewed his written report with the Commission . Please see attached documents. b. Nikki Nease brought flyers for her summer programs. She also reviewed her June report with the Commission. Please see attached documents. c. Shelly Lester reviewed the budgets for the OURS/YOURS programs and the Dryden Youth Programs. The budget is on target to date. Report from the Town Board: J. Solomon didn’t have anything to report other than the appointments of Rick Ryan (expires 2015) and Kathy Gehring (expires 2016). Old Business: Common Grant – The DRYC used the Common Grant program last year for the 1st time. The question is whether it should be used for the youth services award as well. This year all of the award money went to Cooperative Extension to support the OURS and YOURS programs and the Youth Employment program. Youth Needs Assessment: The Commission continued to discuss how they are going to meet with the stake holders. They determined to meet with the stake holders on October 7th from 6-8 PM. K. Bennett agreed to draft a letter to send to the stake holders. Open Space Plan: R. Ryan explained to the Commission that the Conservation Board has been charged with leading the Open Space planning with huge input from the Ag. Committee and the DRYC. The members were given a copy of the NYS Open Space definition and the one that the Conservation Board developed. S. Mulinos asked what the value of an open space plan. Why do we want one? R. Ryan said it was to preserve the rural character of the Town, to help the Town Board make decisions and to maximize infrastructure but mostly to retain our agricultural community. He explained that the Conservation Board is using the Glenville open space plan as a template. S. Mulinos said it is hard to have an opinion about a definition without knowing what the definition will be used for. It isn’t a binding piece of legislation, it is just a plan. It will guide and directed the zoning and planning. R. Ryan shared the concern the Conservation Board has regarding the recent mowing and ditching that has been done by the Highway department. S. Mulinos shared that one of the groups that applied for a Community Grant asked why they were turned down. She is suggesting the DRYC set up guidelines/ goals and expectations. The Commission discussed whether they want to combine the July and August meeting. The next regular date is July 23rd. They did not decide on a set date at the meeting but determined later to keep the regular meeting date. The meeting was adjourned at 9PM. Respectfully submitted, Erin A. Bieber Deputy Town Clerk Dryden Youth Programs Youth Report 6/25/2014 David Hall Finished Programs 1) Monday Makers A: Participants: 12 B: Monday Makers is a youth-inspired program, meaning that all that we do comes from ideas within the group. This planning encourages thinking about logistics, cost and practicality. The planning process also encourages a bit of compromise as well as creativity. We finished out our spring together with a trip to Buttermilk Falls State Park. Half of the group had never been to see any of our local gorges. We worked on hiking together in a safe way, following the posted rules and getting in some great exercise. This group worked on being polite, listening and learned about consequences from good as well as bad behavior. In the end this group matured and become closer to each other. 2) Primitive Pursuits – Session 2 A: Participants: 17 B: Primitive Pursuits teaches youth the basics of wilderness survival, nature awareness and stewardship. Through challenges, games and activities, participants learn critical skills such as how to stay warm, create a matchless fire, procure safe water and find food. As time and circumstances permit we introduce crafts such as cordage making, basketry and bow making. Our final meeting was spent in the rain as we learned to make fire in this challenging condition. “You need fire the most when it is most difficult to make” is my mantra. After many failed attempts and some difficult learning, over half the group successfully made fire in the rain. This past spring I have been emphasizing awareness and observation skills. Students learned to look, listen and conceal themselves so that they can become better observers of wildlife. On our final day I introduced the slack line, essentially a low tight rope, which helps to increase balance skills which helps when sneaking up on wildlife. On student said to me that since he started participating in Primitive Pursuits he has “become closer to nature and has more confidence”. 3) Community Helpers A: Participants: 11 B: Community Helpers gets our youth involved with service projects that better their school and community. Once again we are getting involved with the Dryden Sustainability Club and will help with their garden and the upcoming greenhouse build. In addition to community service this program gets kids learning by doing. We will be using hand tools to build raised garden beds. The greenhouse project never really came together for us. Engineering issues kept us from helping with the structure’s final building phase. Instead we help deliver mulch, weeded in the garden and spent some time removing invasive species from the woods behind Dryden. My group enjoyed being with each other and it was nice to chat while we weeded and worked with the mostly older students in the Sustainability Club. 4) Lunch Bunch A: Participants: 41 B: Lunch Bunch provides a positive outlet for students during their lunch period. I transitioned out of my Teen Challenges program which ended several weeks ago and provided a new permission form for the spring. I did this because of the popularity of my in-school programming. Groups became too large and a bit of a crowd control issue. With my new, smaller groups it is easier to focus on teambuilding activities and really get to know my participants. This program provides an outlet for students to try new things in a safe setting. It encourages teamwork, creative thinking and getting active. We played lots of active games this spring including scatter ball, ultimate Frisbee and Dragon Jewels. Besides providing a healthy energy outlet, these activities encourage teamwork and strategy. I have made countless positive connections through this program with many students joining my after school routine who otherwise wouldn’t have. My in school program allows me time to get to meet new youth and help to connect at least some who really need to get involved in positive ways. 5) Adventure Club A: Participants: 8 B: I am planning a 4 day/3 night canoe trip after school lets out. My group, invite only, is getting together 2 afternoons to help in the planning process. We will be going over gear, logistics and possibly some canoe technique. Our plan is to travel to Lows Lake in the Adirondacks which is a primitive wilderness area which doesn’t allow motor boats or float planes. Our trip is scheduled to leave on June 21st and be back on the 24th. I have met with the rookies and have gone over our gear list and talked to parents. We are all very excited to go and are hoping the bugs aren’t too pesky. I am proud to say that 2 of my alumni will be volunteering on this adventure. Megan Ludgate and Connor Roberson, who are both in college now, are amazing young people who will add so much to this trip. 6) Fun with Frisbees A: Participants: 9 B: Fun with Frisbees encourages youth to try something new and fun. Learning to play Frisbee asks kids to pay attention to detail, try, try again and have fun. As skills improve we have been able to increase the difficulty of the games we play. We started with Frisbee bocce and then tried our hand at a big game of Ultimate. This program ensures that everyone goes home having had a good dose of exercise and fun. I am seeing technique improve from week to week which helps participants enjoy Frisbee games more and more. We finished up by playing an amazing game of Ultimate. I was pleased to see how everyone improved at Frisbee over our time together. It is very satisfying to be able play a real game where people can throw and catch well. Upcoming Programs Summer Skies - Please go to our website at - http://ccetompkins.org/4h/rural-youth- services/dryden Summer Skies is filling up fast with Outdoor Cooking and Animal Explorer full.