This-N-That

Pathway Lighting Reinvigorates Popular Running Trail

Community feedback spurred the renovations of the Amazon Park Running Trail in Eugene, Ore. The popular 5.5-mile bark and mulch pathway was re-built with a thicker rock base, new surfacing, and drainage. In addition, lighting was introduced or upgraded along sections of the trail.

A particular quarter-mile stretch of the trail runs between the woods and Amazon Creek, and walkers and joggers had expressed concern about the lack of lighting on the narrow path. So, the city of Eugene approached HL Stearns Lighting & Controls to propose a solution.

Hydrel’s 3100C was selected. The impact-resistant bollard was chosen because it was able to address the project’s multiple lighting considerations, including safety, ambiance surrounding habitat, light pollution, energy efficiency, and durability. A total of 47 round bollards were installed along one side of the path.

USDA Takes Action To Strengthen Pollinator Research Support

Washington—The U.S. Department of Agriculture strengthened its commitment to advancing research and programmatic priorities that support pollinator health by forming a USDA National Pollinator Subcommittee.

© Can Stock Photo / SteveBB

The subcommittee will be part of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board, which provides feedback to the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA’s science agencies and university collaborators on food and agricultural research, education, extension and economics priorities and policies.

The NAREEE Advisory Board’s Pollinator Subcommittee will provide input on annual USDA strategic pollinator priorities and goals and will make pollinator health-related recommendations to strengthen USDA pollinator research efforts. USDA is both a major funder and conductor of pollinator research, with research initiatives spanning across five USDA mission areas.

To learn more about USDA pollinator activities and research efforts visit USDA’s Pollinator website.

Field Notes

Schmidt Associates, a regional architecture, engineering, and interior design firm, has hired Veena Reddy, AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP has been hired as a project manager|associate based in the firm's Louisville, Ky., office.

Rain Bird Launches TREE STORIES Docuseries

Azusa, Calif—Trees enrich our lives in many ways, and global irrigation manufacturer Rain Bird is celebrating them with a new docuseries, TREE STORIES. Now streaming on YouTube and hosted by Emmy Award-winning personality Elliott Bambrough, the short films showcase some of the most iconic trees in the United States.

Calling himself the “Tree Narrator,” Bambrough travels the country in search of trees with unique histories and science. Through beautiful cinematography and storytelling, he shares the emotional connections people have with these remarkable trees.

Certified Arborist Tyler Hill provides additional facts about the tree featured in each TREE STORIES episode at rainbird.com/treestories. He also shares advice about how to encourage similar trees to thrive in today’s conditions, as well as information about Rain Bird’s essential tools for tree health.

For more information, visit www.rainbird.com.

Jean Carlo Emer, Unsplash

Study Shows Parks Make People Happy

Feeling unhappy? Go find a city park—the bigger the better—and try taking a walk outdoors. That’s the upshot of a major new study that measures the happiness effects of city parks in the 25 largest U.S. cities.

“These new findings underscore just how essential nature is for our mental and physical health,” says University of Vermont scientist Taylor Ricketts, noting that parks are the primary source of nature for millions of people. “These results are especially timely given our increased reliance on urban natural areas during the COVID pandemic.” 

The study builds on the team’s landmark San Francisco research, which used unlikely tools—Twitter posts and geolocation data—to create an effective method to quantify the happiness benefit that people get from nature. 

Whose parks make them happiest? 

Researchers found that U.S. cities differed a lot in the size of the happiness benefit that their parks provided to users: 

• Indianapolis

• Austin

• Los Angeles

• Jacksonville

• Chicago

• Dallas

• Memphis

• Denver

• New York

• San Diego

• San Francisco

• Philadelphia

• Phoenix

• San Jose

• Detroit

• Seattle

• San Antonio

• Houston

• Fort Worth

• Washington

• Columbus

• Charlotte

• Boston

• El Paso

• Baltimore

Scientists were surprised by several top ranked cities in the study—including Indianapolis, Austin and Jacksonville—which have lower per capita funding levels for parks compared to some other cities on the list. 

A more powerful predictor of happiness than park funding per capita (which previous research by others had suggested would be key) was park size. The happiness benefit was highest in parks over 100 acres in area, followed by parks 1 to 10 acres in size. 

WhiteWater Awarded Gold Standard 

Vancouver, Canada—Water park manufacturer WhiteWater has achieved the Gold Standard status as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.

Presented by Deloitte, Gold Standard is awarded to firms who have maintained multiyear Best Managed status and demonstrated their commitment to the program. This award recognizes outstanding business performance of companies that are headquartered in Canada or are Canadian owned or managed and have a revenue of $50 million or more.

The Best Managed Companies program involves a rigorous process. More than financial performance, it evaluates strategy planning, development, and execution, as well as people, innovation, and continuous improvement. This year, 31 new companies achieved Gold Standard for a total of 115 in this high-performance club. WhiteWater is the only one in the attractions sector.

RC Mowers Breaks Ground On $4.8M Facility

Green Bay, Wis.—RC Mowers, a manufacturer of remote-operated robotic mowers, has begun construction on a $4.8-million office and production facility with plans to begin operations there in February 2023.

Founded in 2018, RC Mowers manufactures remote-operated robotic mowers for commercial use. The mowers are built to safely mow steep slopes, difficult terrain and other hazardous landscapes, resulting in decreased labor costs and greater profitability. The mowers comply with, or exceed, ISO and ANSI standards.

The 36,300-square-foot building is located on a 7-acre site adjacent to the company’s current location. It will feature 9,300 square feet for office operations and another 27,000 square feet of production space. The facility will provide the growing robotics mower manufacturer with three times the space it currently has.

STIHL Inc., Briggs & Stratton Announce Manufacturing Relationship

Virginia Beach, Va.— STIHL Inc. and Briggs & Stratton announced a manufacturing relationship that will expand the offerings of STIHL products in the U.S. STIHL will launch a line of zero-turn mowers for professionals and homeowners. The new products will be available in select authorized local STIHL dealers beginning in January 2023. Briggs & Stratton will manufacture the new line of zero-turn mowers to meet STIHL specifications and quality standards.