About Rhonda Bouma
Rhonda Bouma is the Deputy Director of Operations for Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission.
Resources
Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation
Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission
National Park and Recreation Month
Transcription
Rebekah Warren: This is 89.1 WEMU. For more than three decades, Issues of the Environment has helped our community better understand the environmental issues impacting our lives, our health, and our future. I'm Rebekah Warren, your host. Every July marks the arrival of National Park and Recreation Month, a nationwide initiative dedicated to highlighting the profound impact local parks and recreation systems have on making communities stronger, healthier, and more resilient. This year's commemoration comes as Washtenaw County celebrates its bicentennial, providing an opportunity to look beyond parks as simply places for recreation and to consider the many ways that contribute to environmental stewardship, public health, education, and community connection. Joining us today is Rhonda Bouma, Deputy Director of Operations for the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission. Rhonda, welcome!
Rhonda Bouma: Thank you for having me!
Rebekah Warren: This year's Parks and Recreation Month campaign focuses heavily on the power of parks and public spaces, being a concept meant to explore how public lands serve as engines for well-being and connection. As Washtenaw County celebrates 200 years of history, how has the role of parks evolved? And why is it important to think of parks as an essential community infrastructure, rather than simply a place for leisure and recreation?
Rhonda Bouma: So, the power of parks and recreation, it can mean something different to everyone. Here at Washtenaw County Parks, that means the power of nature, the power of play, power of wellness, and the power of community. Our park system is able to connect people to different things, like healthy lifestyles or just different outdoor experiences, and to connect each other within the community.
Rebekah Warren: And speaking of ways for people to get out in nature, Washtenaw County now manages more than 40 nature preserves and has completed over 40 miles of the Border-To-Border trail. What can you tell us about the long-term vision behind creating a system that not only provides recreation opportunities, but also directly connects residents to nature areas throughout our entire county?
Rhonda Bouma: The Border-To-Border Trail is an incredible initiative, that is in part due to multiple organizations and partnerships. And getting that trail system, basically, in people's backyards gives them an opportunity to have recreation essentially out their back door. And the trail provides opportunities for people: biking, walking, running, all different modes of recreational means. But it's an incredible opportunity for people to get out and just experience nature in different areas of the county.
Rebekah Warren: Many residents might not consider themselves avid hikers or outdoor enthusiasts, but they just like being outside. What do you think that investments like the Border-To-Border trail do to make nature just more accessible and more welcoming to a broader range of people in our community?
Rhonda Bouma: Passive recreation is also recreation. You don't have to be tromping through the woods in your hiking boots. You can also take a paved trail walk and be a nature observer. Some people claim themselves to be "outdoorsy" and some people are just "outsidey" people. And they like to be outside among nature. They don't like to immersed within it. And the Border-To-Border trail provides that opportunity for people.
Rebekah Warren: I love that! "Outdoorsy" versus "outsidey."
Rhonda Bouma: Right.
Rebekah Warren: And some of us, I think, are those people on different days. Some days I'm outdoorsy, and some days I am just outsidey. So, I love that! I'm Rebekah Warren, and this is Issues of the Environment on 89.1 WEMU, where we look at local environmental issues and their connections to the larger world. We're talking today with Rhonda Bouma, Deputy Director of Operations for the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission about National Park and Recreation Month and the role parks and public spaces play in environmental stewardship, public health, and community lives. Rhonda, you mentioned that a role that you play at the Parks and Recreation is looking specifically at the facilities. This summer, Washtenaw County is investing in facilities like the Meri Lou Murray Recreations Center and continuing to support destinations, such as Rolling Hills Waterpark and Blue Heron Bay. Why are these facilities important not just for recreation, but for overall health and wellness of our community? And what can you tell us about the upgrades that we should be looking for?
Rhonda Bouma: So, these facilities are all staples within our community and means of recreation. Specifically, the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center, we just underwent a natatorium renovation for the pool area, which includes things that the customers will see as soon as they walk in, including a new public art mural, new saunas, family changing rooms, and then things they may not see directly, like an air handling system, new lighting. And so, there's a lot of things on the backend that we're investing. Rolling Hills Waterpark just had an overhaul of their mechanical room, so that customers won't see those, but they'll experience them as the users. And so, we're invested in maintaining these investments into our facility, so that we can commit to ongoing recreation for generations to come.
Rebekah Warren: One of the things we hear about some types of recreation is it can cost money to do some of the things that we want to do. Some of it is free, like you said, walking on the Border-To-Border Trail or being out in one of our nature preserves. But some other issues, like maybe playing a round of golf, have a cost associated. You at the Parks and Rec Commission have worked to make programs more accessible through initiatives, like Youth on Course at the Pierce Lake Golf Course. Why is affordability such an important part of your mission right now?
Rhonda Bouma: Our goal as a department is to serve as many patrons as we can and to get people outside and enjoying recreation and everything that we have to offer. So, we're constantly looking at ways that we can subsidize pricing, how to keep it affordable for residents, and different ways that can offer free programming. A lot of our nature programming is free or very affordable. We have Independence Lake Park. That features Blue Heron Bay Spray Park with a great affordable family recreation opportunity. And then, Youth on Course is just a way, a partnership, where we can make golf more accessible to young people. All they need to do is register with Youth on Course and then schedule a tee time with Pierce Lake. It's a very affordable fee. Our day camps and different programming we offer scholarships for, which is a new initiative for this year. And so, we're always looking at ways of how we can serve the most members of the community while still offering these programs as a whole.
Rebekah Warren: I think of that as a series of investments for future generations. The parks have often faced funding pressures when budgets become tight, yet our Washtenaw County voters have repeatedly supported investments in parks and recreation. So, when you're out and about and you're talking with local residents and taxpayers, what case do you make for parks as long-term environmental and community investments?
Rhonda Bouma: A lot of the decisions that we make in terms of what improvements or additions are going to be made to the park system are a direct result of public input and surveys, so the more input we can get from the public helps drive our decisions for our capital improvements, for park expansions, facility renovations. And so, the more that we can get out into the public and educate them on our park system and which parks are part of the Washtenaw County system, the more input, feedback, and collaboration we can have with the public.
Rebekah Warren: I love that idea of making it personal, and you've spent many years now working in parks and recreation. Is there a particular park, trail, preserve or project in the Washtenaw County system that best captures what these public spaces mean to a community or mean to you personally?
Rhonda Bouma: Me personally, Rolling Hills County park has a soft spot in my heart. I worked there for 15 years before taking my current position. But I think in terms of our department as a whole, every park and every preserve has something unique about it. So, depending on what people are looking for, each park or preserve is going to offer something different. We have an awesome tool on our website called "Find Your Wild!" that allows people to filter out different parts based on location or recreational amenity or different types of trails, so people can find exactly what they're looking for and then make that park and recreation part of their daily routine.
Rebekah Warren: That is very helpful! I know folks will check that out: Find Your Wild on your website. We talk a lot about the importance of getting physical exercise, to being outside for our physical health, but we also hear a lot these days about the important for our mental health of being outside of the home and work and finding third spaces where we can connect and gather and build community. How do you think county parks and public spaces can help fill that role?
Rhonda Bouma: There are different groups who utilize our parks for meeting groups, for meeting new people, for learning a new trade. We have the Michigan Folk School where students can learn traditional or modern skills. They have woodworking classes, fiber arts, cooking, stained glass, blacksmithing, basically any sort of skill you can think of. The Michigan Folk School has a class for that. And people are always making new connections that way and making new friends. Nature-based learning that's offered through our park naturalist have a a very strong community and strong connections through those users. And then, our camp and recreational opportunities offer people to find like-minded individuals and lifelong friends through our nature programming, like birding, archery or women's nature camp that are offered. There's always a way to make a connection and escape life problems and kind of release stress and and find a new way to recreate.
Rebekah Warren: Rhonda, thank you so much for joining us and for the engaging conversation today! That was Rhonda Bouma, Deputy Director of Operations for the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission and this week's guest on Issues of the Environment. As Washtenaw County marks its bicentennial and National Park and Recreation Month is celebrated across the country, these public spaces and parks offer a reminder that investments in our environment are also investments in people. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it here every Wednesday. Thank you for listening! I'm Rebekah Warren, and this is your community NPR Station, 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti.
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