HOW THE FAIRWAY POOL "WENT GREEN"

with contributions from Nathan Nogelmeier

For several years, the staff members at the Fairway Pool in Fairway, Kansas, had implemented green practices and products, such as push button showers and policies on breaking down and recycling concession boxes.  At the end of the 2007 swim season, Parks and Recreation Director, Nathan Nogelmeier, recognized that his staff had the ability to truly make the facility green and to get the community involved at the same time. 

“I told the staff prior to the 2008 swim season that I would like to see them come up with a contest that would generate patron involvement in our green efforts.”  So before the season began, the managers, assistant managers and head lifeguards developed the details of the new “green” contest and decided that “each season, the management team will implement a noticeable change in the operations of the swimming pool to make Fairway a more environmentally friendly facility.”  

Everything started in 2008 with the winner of their new contest, and they kept the idea simple: patrons were asked to submit practical suggestions on how to make Fairway Pool a more environmentally-friendly place.  “Participants were informed that the winning entry would be selected on both its merit as well as its ability to be implemented; for example, going chemical free wouldn’t be practical.”  The winner would receive a $100.00 gift card to Lowes Home Improvement Store, as well as a 1-year subscription to “Greenability”, a local magazine promoting environmental lifestyles.

The contest was publicized at the pool on poster boards and through e-mails to season pool members; and in an environmentally-friendly fashion, the staff called for ideas to be submitted to the pool staff either on recycled paper or through e-mail. 

At the end of the contest, they had more than 30 submissions that ranged from recycling containers, which staff members were already working on prior to the start of the season, to adding solar panels to the facility. 

The contest team, headed by head lifeguards Morgan Fry and Tara O’Flaharty, went to work on evaluating the viability of the top ideas.  “There were many good ideas and it took the head guards about two weeks to explore the feasibility on several of the submissions.  We really liked a patrons’ suggestion of going to all corn-based paper products in the snack bar; however, it turned out to be cost prohibitive as most applicable products were as much as 10 to 15 times more expensive than what we are currently using.”

The winning suggestion?  Electric hand dryers, which will be placed in the restrooms prior to the 2009 swim season.  And even though it seems like it’s a common sense solution, the suggestion will save the facility $300 per season, not to mention eliminate the need for paper towels.

But after the season was all said and done, Nathan and his staff received a valuable lesson in leadership and participation, not necessarily in anything green.  “Fairway Pool’s green efforts are the direct result of its season staff initiatives.  I think it is important to let the seasonal staff take the lead on projects like this as it gives the project a “grass roots” feeling which promotes a sense of ownership amongst the staff, rather than the sense of a top-down approach from the supervisors.  There was a strong sense amongst the staff that this was something they wanted to do as opposed to something they were being forced to do.”

This article was brought to you by Water's Edge Aquatic Design, with contributions from Nathan Nogelmeier, Parks and Recreation Director for Fairway, Kansas.  Please contact Heather Jensen, hjensen@wedesignpools.com, if you have any questions related to the content of this article.