Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

Since New Year’s Eve falls on the same Tuesday as a new episode, we felt it would be fitting to reflect on the past year and share some of our resolutions moving into 2020. On this episode, we discuss the ways we’re both going to make sure self-care is a priority in the new year. As much as it gets thrown around as a buzzword these days, it’s so important, and absolutely necessary in order to be our best selves.

To kick off our monthly Parks & Recreation magazine bonus episodes, we're diving deeper into one of our most popular annual articles by none other than NRPA’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Rich Dolesh. This highly-anticipated article in Parks & Recreation magazine explores upcoming trends in the field, and we're excited to chat with Rich on the show about things like eSports, micromobility, conservation efforts and more of the things that will be popping up in parks and recreation in 2020.

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, many cities and towns are gearing up for celebrations to ring in the New Year. And while there are a lot of ways you can make your celebrations special, nothing quite brings it all together like fireworks. We chat with John Prue, Installation Program Director at Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR), Naval Station Great Lakes, and Wynn Cramer of Melrose Pyrotechnics about the things a park and recreation agency should consider when putting on a fireworks display.

A life hack is a clever tip or technique for accomplishing a familiar task more easily and efficiently. And, with so many park and recreation professionals having to wear multiple hats — sometimes in the course of a single day — anything that can efficiently simplify a task and save time is usually welcomed pretty warmly. On this episode, we’re looking back at one of the questions that we asked attendees at the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland: What is your park and recreation life h

As a native Washingtonian, a park and rec kid, and a long history of serving the community, Delano Hunter is well suited for the role of director of D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DCDPR). We were honored to have him join us at NRPA headquarters recently to talk about how DCDPR is finding ways to serve members of the D.C. community through innovative programming, special events and community partnerships.

This episode was recorded on the exhibit hall floor at the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference, so you might hear some background noise - it's the sound of over 8,000 passionate park and recreation advocates. On this episode, we talk with Sue Yerkes, Director of Grandview Parks & Recreation, about how some insightful kids in her family motivated her to advance in her career, as well as inspire others to do the same!

On today's episode, we chat with Molly Gallant and Bob Wall of Baltimore City Recreation and Parks about programs they’ve implemented to make sure kids in the city have access to quality outdoor recreation opportunities close to home. We talk about the importance of providing access to outdoor recreation opportunities in fostering future stewards of public lands. We also discuss the ways that outdoor rec can break down barriers and what access to outdoor recreation means to Molly and Bob personally.

Today’s episode of Open Space Radio is a special one because it is officially our 50th episode! It was hard to imagine having 50 episodes when we launched two years ago, but we’re here and we’re thriving. And since it’s our 50th episode and we’ve been reflecting on when we first started, we thought it would be appropriate to use this episode to explore one of the questions we asked people while we were in Baltimore at the NRPA Annual Conference: What piece of advice would you give to your younger

Today’s episode is a special edition of Open Space Radio — we’re diving behind the scenes of the upcoming 2019 NRPA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, which is happening September 24-26. We’re releasing this episode a little earlier than we typically do, in hopes that those of you who are attending can tune in as you fly, drive or hike your way to Baltimore. For those of you who are unable to attend, we still have some great tips that you can apply to other conferences!

Digital marketing can be a useful tool for park and recreation agencies that want to promote their programs, special events and offerings to a broader audience, but it can also be overwhelming, whether you’re new to marketing or not. On today’s episode, we chat with Stephen Gendreau, Director of Advertising and Media Operations for ACTIVE Network, about what digital marketing means for parks and recreation and the most important thing you need for your digital marketing efforts to succeed.

In this episode we are taking on some listener requests for more podcasts on park and recreation programming. Today, we’re looking at intergenerational programming – what it is, how it’s working in the field and how it’s impacting those who participate in the programs. We interviewed three people in order to collect these different perspectives and you’ll likely notice that our mics and audio sound a bit different interview to interview as they were done in different locations.

eSports, or video game competitions, isn’t new, but it is a growing trend. So much so that eSports is starting to make a space for itself in the world of parks and recreation. Cort and I had the opportunity to chat about eSports with Neelay Bhatt — Vice President at PROS Consulting, NRPA board member, and an established thought leader in the field of parks and recreation. In this episode we discuss what eSports is, its impact on parks and recreation and the potential opportunities it presents.

On today’s episode, we’re joined by two people who know a thing or two about advancing in the field of parks and recreation. Joining us are Michael Kalvort, CPRE, the Recreation Services Director for City of Boca Raton, Florida, and Hayley Herzing, NRPA’s Senior Manager of Membership. We talk about the importance of saying ‘yes’ to everything you can, certification, networking, mentorship, being part of a state or national association, and continuing to learn.

It’s no secret that working in parks and recreation comes with its share of unpredictable moments. You really must be ready for anything — and many times these moments provide those deeply-satisfying laughs you can feel throughout your entire body (whether it’s instantly or one of those “this will be funny when we look back on it” moments). On this episode, we chat with a few folks to get the full story behind their responses to our Instagram post asking about funniest moments while on the job.

Happy Park and Recreation Month! Throughout July, we celebrate all of the great things that are happening in local parks and recreation centers nationwide. This year’s theme for Park and Recreation Month is Game On, and we’re excited to have some fun all month long! We’re joined today by SaulPaul, a musician with a message. SaulPaul was a keynote speaker at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis, and he’s back to help us celebrate Park and Recreation Month this year.