NOVA Parks News
THROWBACK THURSDAY—BUILDING TEAMWORK
Thousands of people who grew up in Northern Virginia remember their field trips to Hemlock Overlook Regional Park in elementary school. They enjoyed an exciting day in the woods, complete with a zip line thrill, and they learned to communicate and work as a team.
But did you know that the park itself is a product of multiple collaborations in planning, construction and operation?
Hemlock Overlook was a project that started in the mid-1970s - a joint venture between the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (now NOVA Parks) and Fairfax County Public Schools. During the time of the park’s construction, over 250 High School students were engaged in jobs such as drafting, carpentry and masonry. Drop-out rates at this time period were high, and endeavors such as this kept many students from leaving school by allowing them to gain both academic credit and valuable vocational skills at the same time. The joint professional and amateur construction team worked together to build everything from dormitories, a dining hall, meeting rooms, trails, signage and all activity areas.
Once the park was opened for operation in 1985, Northern Virginia Regional Parks partnered with George Mason University in a collaboration effort that worked the day-to-day operations of the entire facility. At one time, all freshmen at Mason went through the teambuilding challenge course. The park offered many internship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the university and they, in turn, offered the park a dedicated and educated work-staff for all areas of operation.
Today, NOVA Parks continues to operate Hemlock Park in a collaborative manner with the Adventure Links Corporation, continuing its focus on teamwork and team- building in the Northern Virginia region. Each year, the park still provides thousands of children from area schools field trips with environmental education and teambuilding.
Most great things happen through partnerships, and Hemlock Overlook Regional Park stands as a monument of partnering and working together.
