Community engagement is critical area of community involvement for any water trail. Engagement leads to community support and community ownership. This in turn leads to community focused events and activities. Adopt a Creek events, water trail clean-ups, activities that enhance awareness and more. Community engagement anchors community support for enhanced public access. Click link to review “How to Hold an Adopt a Creek” event.

Explanation on the above infographic. Visitor “playbook” is what multi-use activities a visitor to the Rancocas Creek Water Trail (RCWT) can enjoy and participate in before, during and after visiting. Automated actions are those that provide access to folks via a computer. While the issue is termed “work flow” it is valid to say the workflow is “visitor flow”.

BISNIS stands for “Business for Nearby Independent Splash”. or what activities a visitor can participate in anywhere along the RCWT.

Assignments are areas that one get involved in that support the areas of enhanced public access. There is no rote area of assignments. If one wants to discover say a launch one can review a water trail segment for issues that engage oneself. Personal assignments are notes that one keeps that help others see the forest in the tree’s. These are landing, site, way-point, put-in, take-out areas and the like.

Inventory Leverage Allocations equates to public access areas. Shared interests are those that are considered common-ground. These are determined by talking, discussing, sitting down w any one of numerous groups and or other stakeholders at a specific area of the RCWT. For instance: improving an existing access ramp. Start talking to people and one finds out that a critical mass of people have an interest in the issue. This starts and anchors a conversation and resolution of issues.

Collaboration is name of the game. There is no magic bullet. Collaboration and cultivating common ground takes time. It requires personal commitments. It is willingness to push the area to find common ground. Activities help build trust. Look not where we have been but rather where we are going.

Data-Points. These are loosely determined any place a visitor has a location where they interact w way-point, landing, site or any where they stop or access or leave the RCWT. Question that cements data-points are who, what, when, where and how a visitors experience can be enhanced .

Sometimes these areas as above can be automated. Sometimes and it is my experience that one will have a hybrid system of data points that anchor on personal issues that merge into common ground that yields to a fun, enjoyable time for any visitor of the RCWT.