With more than 10,000 agencies across the United States, parks and recreation has the potential to implement community-wide sustainability measures that improve the environment while promoting human and ecosystem health — which could lead to cost savings. In many locales, park and recreation professionals adopt many strategies and actions that promote greater sustainability including measures that can reduce agencies’ carbon footprints and water usage. However, parks and recreation also face limited staffing and financial resources — and often tepid political will — when trying to implement these efforts.

To understand how park and recreation professionals are working to make their agencies and their communities more sustainable, the NRPA Research team surveyed park and recreation professionals to understand better the activities and programs their agencies provide that promote more sustainable, resilient communities. The 20-question survey focused on the agencies’ goals, the level of financial and political support for these efforts, and the challenges and barriers hampering greater success.

The nearly 200 survey responses serve as the basis of this Sustainability in Parks and Recreation report.    

Read the Report