Month-long celebration, themed “Our Park and Recreation Story,” highlights the impacts of parks and recreation in communities nationwide
This July, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), the nation’s leading advocate for parks and recreation, invites everyone to celebrate Park and Recreation Month. This year’s month-long celebration is themed “Our Park and Recreation Story” and honors the stories of how communities across the country are stronger, more vibrant and more resilient because of parks and recreation.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with unique challenges in how we gather and interact, local parks have remained essential, with many of our community members finding a new appreciation for the park and recreation professionals that manage the vital programs they rely on,” said NRPA President and CEO Kristine Stratton. “Along the way, parks and recreation have become the center of so many experiences and memories — moments that park and recreation professionals help make happen.”
Local parks are often people’s first experiences in nature, our introduction to a favorite hobby or physical activity. They are places to gather with friends and family, spaces to celebrate life’s special moments, spots of respite and healing, sites that connect us with essential community services and so much more.
During Park and Recreation Month, NRPA encourages park and recreation agencies and their communities to share the stories, memories and experiences created in their local parks and recreation, using the hashtag #OurParkAndRecStory.
Since 1985, people in the United States have celebrated Park and Recreation Month in July to promote building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation, and to recognize the more than 160,000 full-time park and recreation professionals — along with hundreds of thousands of part-time and seasonal workers and volunteers — that maintain our country’s local, state and community parks.
In addition to visiting a park or recreation area during July, you can get involved in Park and Recreation Month by:
- Sharing stories about what parks and recreation mean to you on social media with the hashtag #OurParkAndRecStory.
- Thanking your local park and recreation staff during Park and Recreation Professionals Day on July 16.
- Downloading the official Park and Recreation Month poster and hanging it up, taking pictures with it or sharing copies of it with your community.
- Submitting a poem for the collective “Our Park and Recreation Poem” with bestselling author Kwame Alexander.
- Learning how to create an impactful #OurParkAndRecStory video in the recorded webinar with Filmmaker Casey Stein.
You can learn more about Park and Recreation Month by visiting: www.nrpa.org/July.
Park and Recreation Month is proudly sponsored by Active Network and Merrell.
To learn more about NRPA, visit www.nrpa.org.
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About the National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. With more than 60,000 members, NRPA advances this mission by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals and advocates — the catalysts for positive change in service of equity, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being. For more information, visit www.nrpa.org. For digital access to NRPA’s flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit www.parksandrecreation.org.