The funeral service for Christine Lewis, Seniors/Keenagers Program Coordinator, City of Decatur Active Living, will be Saturday, August 1st, at 1:00 p.m. at Divine Mortuary located at 5620 Hillandale Drive, Lithonia, Georgia 30038, phone number 770-322-8000.
There will be a viewing prior to the Funeral Service from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. There will be a reception starting at 4 pm at the Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore St. All are welcome to attend.
The Competition
Teams compete for prize money by uprooting invasive plants at Dearborn Park, near the corner of S. Candler Street and Midway Road. Officials from DeKalb County and the City of Decatur will judge the quality and quantity of work done to each group’s designated work space.
Save the Date!
Park Renewal Day is Saturday, Nov. 7, 8 am to 12:30 pm (Registration: 7:30 to 8 am). Food and live entertainment follow the work session. At least one member from each team must attend one of two training sessions hosted by DeKalb County Parks and Recreation in the gym at Decatur Rec Center, 231 Sycamore Street. Teams must register by Oct. 24. Space is limited, so sign up now.
Click here for more information.
Park Renewal Day 2008
The inaugural Park Renewal Day, on a drizzly Saturday morning in November 2008, drew more than 100 enthusiastic volunteers to help restore Dearborn Park’s natural ecosystem so that choked-out native plants can return and thrive. The effort was an unqualified success. By the end of the day, 11 teams of volunteers had cleared more than an acre of invasive non-native plants and other debris. They brought immediate improvements to the park habitat and set the standard for future Park Renewal Day events.
The quality of work done by each team was scored by a panel of community notables that included State Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield; County Commissioner Jeff Rader; Gary Pfeiffer from DeKalb County; and Clarence Scott, Decatur native and former NFL football player. Prize money for charitable causes was awarded to the four highest-scoring teams.
Winning teams were:
First place: Invasive & Persuasive
Second place: Ivy League
Third Place: Decatur Bulldog Boosters
Fourth Place: Kudzu Krunchers
Do Not Burn |
Avoid Sun Tanning and Tanning Beds |
Generously Apply Sunscreen |
Wear Protective Clothing |
Seek Shade |
Use Extra Caution Near Water, Snow and Sand |
Watch for the UV Index |
Get Vitamin D Safely |
The funeral service will be Saturday, August 1st, at 1:00 p.m.
at Divine Mortuary located at 5620 Hillandale Drive, Lithonia, Georgia 30038, phone number 770-322-8000.
There will be a viewing prior to the Funeral Service from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
There will be a reception starting at 4 pm at the Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore St.
Shoehorning Parks Into Cities
From Boston to Seattle, cities are finding ways to create parks in untraditional places. Amid new high-rises, parking lots, and shopping malls, cities are reclaiming space for parks once occupied by factories, railyards, and airports. Parks are sharing space with schoolyards and cemeteries and being built atop roofs and reservoirs. A new paper from Peter Harnik, director of TPL's Center for City Park Excellence, tells the story of these "Shoehorn Parks." Originally published in the May 2009 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine, the paper previews Harnik's book on creating parks in cities, due for release in Spring 2010.
Download and read the full article here
http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/ShoehornParks_Article_FinalVersion.pdf
Read the latest park-related news at cityparksblog.org, the blog chronicling trends, best practices and ideas concerning urban parks around the country and beyond.
Summer Teen Pool Party for City of Decatur Residents!
6 to 8 pm, Friday, July 24th, Ebster Pool
-This event is for city residents ages 12 to 19 years old only
-Free admission
-Snacks, & music!
-Additional parking available behind the Ebster Recreation Center off Electric Ave. and on West Trinity in front of the Ebster Gymnasium/Decatur Police Dept.
-To swim, must wear an actual bathing suit, not jean shorts, cotton shorts, etc.
For more info., please contact Maggie Hamilton at hamilton.mag@gmail.com or 404-377-7231.
Click HERE for "The Playwork Primer", from the Alliance for Childhood.
Click HERE for the "Playwork and Play" info. sheet.
Click HERE for an interesting video from the National Institute for Play.
10 Reasons Play Can Make You Healthy, Happy, and More Productive
Recess helps kids do better in school
By Nancy Shute, US News & World Report
Posted March 9, 2009
Play is not trivial; it's a basic biological drive as critical to our health as sleep or food. That's the word from Stuart Brown, author of the new book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul (Avery, $24.95). Here are 10 ways that play makes life better:
Play has been scientifically proved to be good for the brain. All animals play, even though playing is not immediately productive and is sometimes dangerous. Yet grizzly bears that play the most survive longest. Rats that socialize more with other rats develop bigger, more complex brains. And play stimulates nerve growth in the portions of the brain that process emotions and executive function.
Play teaches us to use our imaginations. Imagination is perhaps the most powerful human ability, letting us create simulated realities we can explore without abandoning the real world. Children start to tackle imaginative play around age 2, when they tend to begin telling silly stories. As kids grow older, the line between pretend and real becomes more solid, but imaginative play continues to nourish the spirit.
Rough-and-tumble play teaches us how to cooperate and play fair. Research in humans and animals has shown that roughhousing is necessary for the development of social awareness, cooperation, fairness, and altruism. This is particularly true for preschoolers; what looks like anarchy on the playground is an experiment in the give-and-take necessary for the mastery of social skills. One researcher found that early forms of play, such as chasing, relate to social problem-solving skills that children develop later on. And if young rats are denied rough-and-tumble play, they develop serious social problems in adulthood and aren't able to mate.
Play helps us learn to be friends. When children are 4 to 6 years old, they start "mutual play"; listening to other kids' points of view and incorporating them into imaginative games. This mutual play is the basic state of friendship that sustains us throughout our lives.
Sometimes the best way to learn a complicated subject is to play with it. That's why kids often learn computer systems faster than adults; they aren't afraid to just try stuff out and see what works. Kids don't fear doing something wrong. If they do, they learn from it and do it differently the next time.
Kids do better academically when they have recess. Middle schoolers who are more physically fit do better on academic tests, and grade schoolers who have more than 15 minutes of recess a day show better behavior in class than children who have less or no recess. Animals remember things better and longer when those things are learned through play, perhaps because of the total involvement and focus that play requires.
Physical play delays mental decline in old age. Research on this is still in the early stages, but older people who get regular exercise are less likely to suffer cognitive decline. Doing crossword puzzles, brain teasers, and other thinking games seems to help, too.
A little play can help solve big problems. Play is nature's great tool for creating new neural networks and for reconciling cognitive difficulties. When we play, dilemmas and challenges naturally filter through the unconscious mind and work themselves out. Even a few hours spent doing something you love can make you new again.
Playing at work is not just useful; it's essential. When the going gets tough, the tough go play. Firefighters and police officers use joking around and dark humor to cope with the dangers of their work. Most of us don't face the risk of dying on the job, but there is always the danger of looking bad, costing the company money, or being laid off. Play gives people the emotional distance to rally. In his book, Brown recounts a story about a CEO he knows who gathered employees to talk about a recent bad quarter. The CEO took the blame for the company's performance, then told the employees that under every seat was a toy dart gun with foam darts and that they were all invited to take a shot at him. The CEO then went on to explain how they were going to turn things around. The foam darts told everyone that the situation was not so dire: It was OK to have some setbacks, admit failures, take the hit, and figure out ways to fix the problems.
When we get play right, all areas of our lives go better. One of the hardest things to teach kids is how to make it past difficulty or boredom to find the fun. Making all of life an act of play occurs when we recognize and accept that there may be some discomfort in play and that every experience has both pleasure and pain. Advanced play, the black belt of play, comes when we realize this and act on it. Then, our work is our play and our play is our work, and we have a hard time telling the difference between them.
To learn more about the benefits of play, you can check out this Q&A with Play author Stuart Brown.
We need your help! FODC is in the process of identifying the 700 to 1,000 veterans' graves in the cemetery by doing walking surveys. If you would like to help locate these graves, there are two opportunities: this Saturday, July 25, beginning at 9 a.m. or next Wednesday, July 29, at 9 a.m. We will meet at the cemetery office, and we promise that you will find this interesting!
Please contact Nancie Sill, who is in charge of the survey, if you have any questions or to let her know that you are coming to help. Nancie's email address is nanciesill@comcast.net, or you may call her at 404.247.8888. Also, if you know of a veteran's gravesite and want to make sure it's included, please let Nancie know.
We are grateful to Victoria Collier of The Elder and Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC, for her generous sponsorship of this project.
~~ The Friends of Decatur Cemetery Committee, a project of the Decatur Preservation Alliance
The good news is that you can prevent UV radiation from hurting you. You need to practice good sun safe habits while you are young. You should stay sun-safe all of your life.
This survey is for city residents with toddlers and hours for McKoy Pool once the school year begins.
Please click here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=FukEW7kWESdE_2bu7ydE1R4w_3d_3d
Summer Teen Pool Party for City of Decatur Residents!
6 to 8 pm, Friday, July 24th, Ebster Pool
-This event is for city residents ages 12 to 19 years old only
-Free admission
-Tiki-smoothie bar, snacks, & music!
-Additional parking available behind the Ebster Recreation Center off Electric Ave. and on West Trinity in front of the Ebster Gymnasium/Decatur Police Dept.
-To swim, must wear an actual bathing suit, not jean shorts, cotton shorts, etc.
For more info., please contact Maggie Hamilton at hamilton.mag@gmail.com or 404-377-7231.
Snake, Insect & Poisonous Plant ID Training
Sponsored by DeKalb County Parks & Recreation
Date: Thursday, July 16th
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Location:
Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center
3181 Rainbow Drive, Decatur, Georgia 30034
Speakers:
Thomas Floyd, Wildlife Biologist
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Lynwood Blackmon II, Extension Agent
DeKalb County Extension Service
Charlie Monroe, Natural Resources Manager
DeKalb County Parks and Recreation Department
For more info., please e-mail Charlie Monroe, camonroe@co.dekalb.ga.us.
Summer Teen/Pre-Teen Pool Parties
for City of Decatur Residents!!!
6 to 8 pm, Friday, July 10th, Ebster Pool
6 to 8 pm, Friday, July 24th, Ebster Pool
-All City of Decatur Teens and Pre-Teens Welcome!
-FREE ADMISSION!
-Tiki-smoothie bar, snacks, & music!
-Additional parking available behind the Ebster Recreation Center off Electric Ave. and on West Trinity in front of the Ebster Gymnasium/Decatur Police Dept.
For more information, please contact Maggie Hamilton
at hamilton.mag@gmail.com or 404-377-7231.
Another Hat Tip to Decatur Metro. Here is a link to the Playborhood website, and their interesting mission:
"Free, unstructured play (or what we refer to as simply “play”) has virtually vanished from the lives of most children in America. We are committed to doing whatever we can to bring it back for our children and yours."
Here's an accompanying newspaper article:
American children spend an average of less than half an hour a week in unstructured outdoor play, according to a 1999 study by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. A 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation study found that children between 8 and 18 years old spend an average of nearly six hours a day with electronic media, be it TV, video games or computers.
http://www.decaturga.com/events_july4.aspx
Celebrate July 4th with Parade, Concert and Fireworks
Join Decatur's July 4th Pied Piper Parade as it winds through downtown Decatur. Decorate your wagon, ride your bike, skate, or walk in this event.
The City Commissioners will lead the parade in the mini-firetruck. Neighborhoods and organizations are encouraged to make floats and join the fun.
Parade line-up is at the First Baptist Church of Decatur at 5:30 p.m. The parade begins at 6 p.m. It ends at the Community Bandstand on the square with a presentation of colors and the Star Spangled Banner.
Anyone may participate in the parade but those with vehicles must register by completing the July 4th Pied Piper Parade Guidelines form.
The concert, featuring the Callanwolde Concert Band, begins at 7 p.m. in the Community Bandstand. Fireworks begin at dark (approximately 9 p.m.) and are shot from the top of the DeKalb County parking deck.
For information call 404-371-8386 or email cheryl.burnette@decaturga.com. For 24-hour information call the Decatur Events Hotline, 404-371-8262, or check this website.
