How can we learn from other park professionals while we push to create greener, more habitable cities?
This week on Podparks, we’re discussing collaborative park making, and park professionalizations and certificates with Mayu Ferrufino, Director of Cuscatlan Park Foundation, from San Salvador, El Salvador.
Mayu has had lifelong positive experiences with parks, which led her to the Latin American parks world and to direct Parque Cuscatlán, one of El Salvador’s largest parks. In this role, she has undergone plenty of professional development courses and park manager certifications, which have given her the knowledge and tools to better advocate for parks at a local and regional level.
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Mayu and Alice discuss the nuances of park management learning, and the need to consider both universal approaches to park management as well as culturally relevant perspectives and experiences that tap into regional park management issues.
Park professionalization tools have helped Mayu navigate the challenges and complexities of working in a conservancy that is part of a public private partnership. She discusses the implications of dealing with ever-changing municipal leaderships that have different understandings of the intrinsic value of parks, and how collaboration approaches have evolved with a deeper understanding of the relationships between humans and nature.
As part of her efforts to create a strong foundation for park investment across the world, Mayu is working alongside World Urban Parks to create a city-level certificate that recognizes efforts in the promotion and enhancement of local parks.
This “Cities for Parks” award would strive to push cities to become more habitable through park creation and management, recognizing that parks and green spaces are essential for human well-being. Learning from park-level certifications will help the Cities for Parks initiatives to become a tool to guide city leadership and park managers to create green spaces that are connected to their communities and environment.
This podcast is only one of the many resources available inside the WUP member platform. Discover more resources and connect with park professionals around the world at www.worldurbanparks.org