Morrisville Active Kids Strategic Plan

Active Kids Strategic Plan

Greenways/Trails & Nature Play

Strategy: Identify areas for nature preservation or conservation within subdivisions to preserve nature play opportunities.

Development in dense areas reduces forested spaces. Besides the environmental benefits of trees, exposure to nature has many mental health benefits. Further, youth expressed interest for nature preservation to support spaces for unstructured activity.

Action Steps for Implementation

Task 1  Explore development policy options to ensure or incentivize nature preservation and/or conservation. In a dense area that is still seeing development, it is challenging to preserve existing natural areas. However, there are options to preserve forested areas or trees.

Task 3 

Examine options to revise open space ordinances to re-define open space within subdivisions to require some level of nature-based application other than grass-lots or landscaped stormwater features. Review how parks are defined in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan for how Parkland Payment-in-Lieu collected may be used to provide nature-based recreational opportunities near neighborhoods.

Task 2 

Task 4 

Create nature preservation/conservation. Financial incentives or policies may be needed to ensure efforts are made to preserve natural spaces, forested areas and trees. Incentives may be geared toward property owners and/or developers. financial incentives for

Partner with environmental organizations to organize nature walks of neighborhood subdivisions.

Resources National Wildlife Foundation. What is Nature Play? https://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/ Kids-and-Nature/Programs/Nature-Play-Spaces.aspx National Wildlife Foundation. National Guidelines for Nature Play and Learning Places. https://natureplayandlearningplaces.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Nature-Play- Learning-Places_v1.2_Sept22.pdf

Potential Partners:  Planning Department 

Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department

Engineering/Stormwater Department Land Trust or Conservation group

   

Strategies for Tree/ Conservation. http://www.scenic.org/issues/tree-conservation/ strategies-for-tree-conservation

National Wildlife Foundation

Audubon Society

City of Fayetteville, NC. Incentives for Tree Preservation. http://fayettevillenc.gov/ home/showdocument?id=3459

Evaluation Measures: 

Despot D & Gerhold, H. (2003). Preserving trees in construction projects: identifying incentives and barriers. Journal of Arboriculture , 29(5), 267-79. http://joa.isa-arbor.com/ request.asp?JournalID=1&ArticleID=104&Type=2

Policy and/or established financial incentive dedicated to nature preser- vation and/or conservation

April 25, 2017

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