The National Recreation and Parks Association

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is starting a community engagement and outreach process to develop a needs assessment to address regional recreation, beaches, rural areas and open space.

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As Congress begins to consider funding for the fiscal year 2022, the House Committee on Appropriations — the committee overseeing this process — has announced “Community Project Funding,” which is a revised version of “earmarks,” or federal funding for congressional district-specific projects.

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On the latest episode of Open Space Radio, we’re joined by Dr. Samose Mays, the director of Bryan County Parks and Recreation and the Georgia Recreation and Park Association district two commissioner, to learn more about his story of adversity, resilience and how parks and recreation saved his life.

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Recent conversations with the CDC, American Camp Association and other national out-of-school time organizations, as well as newly released studies highlighting the effectiveness of multi-layered prevention measures in camp and childcare settings, have confirmed that while summer camp programs will continue to have significant prevention and mitigation strategies in place this year, they can safely operate (yay!).

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Learn about the successes of a Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz in Peoria, Arizona, and join us to raise awareness of pollinators nationwide by hosting a Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz in your community this September and you could win one of three $1,000 prizes or one of three Scotts Miracle-Gro prize packs to help with your pollinator habitats or programs!

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Park and recreation professionals continue to play a vital role in the community when it comes to testing and vaccination distribution. In the latest NRPA Parks Snapshot, we find 82 percent of park and recreation agencies across the country supporting these efforts.

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The April issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of the podcast, we’re diving deeper into one of this month’s cover stories, “Protecting the Land and Its History.” We're joined by Sara Sinclair and Stephanie Lozano about the importance of land acknowledgment and amplifying Indigenous voices.

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To help park and recreation agencies maximize the economic relief opportunities provided by the American Rescue Plan, NRPA's public policy and advocacy team has prepared a summary of the relevant provisions of the bill.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on just how essential parks and recreation is to our communities and has forced agencies to get creative – to adapt and reimagine programming and other offerings as we all adjust to new norms following the pandemic.

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Park and recreation agencies are uniquely suited to serve as community nutrition hubs, connecting all members of the community to programs and services that improve health outcomes.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently extended waivers that allow all children to continue to receive free nutritious meals through the summer.

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We're two days away from the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and on today’s episode of Open Space Radio, we're joined by Jesús Aguirre, NRPA board member and superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Allison Colman, NRPA's director of health, to discuss the impact the pandemic has had on parks and recreation.

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To educate the public and build confidence around the COVID-19 vaccines, The Ad Council and COVID Collaborative have launched the “It’s Up to You” campaign. Through the campaign, various toolkits, creative assets, and other resources are available to support messaging for community-based organizations and employers.

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Youth are one of the most powerful yet under-utilized community groups. So, how can park and recreation professionals engage with youth in their community to serve as leaders, inspire change, and support critical life skills and career readiness?

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