Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

We caught up with Becky Dunlap, a passionate park and recreation professional and advocate, last week at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis to find out why she thinks parks and rec is the perfect job for millennials, the need for the field to continue to evolve in order to stay relevant, and why park and recreation professionals should be so proud of what they do!

In our 25th episode, we invited you to send us your ideas for future podcast episodes. Lucky for us, Jessica Cannaday, CPRP, Marketing and Communications Manager with Oak Brook Park District, sent in an idea to cover universal recreation. Universal recreation is the philosophy driving Oak Brook Park District – the idea that park and recreation facilities and programs should be open and welcome to all. Visit www.openspaceradio.org for resources from the show.

In this episode, we reflect on some of our favorite past episodes, talk about some of our plans for the future of Open Space Radio and discuss what we love about park and recreation professionals. The passion that park and rec professionals have for what they do is unparalleled — it amazes us every single day — so naturally, we wanted to scream it from the rooftops (or into our mics).

On today's episode, we chat with Tom Norquist, president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA), about how risk and adventure play is stepping back into the limelight and can help kids' independence and creativity. You'll also want to hear about his own adventure playground that he built in his backyard — it's so cool that one NBC Nightly New Reporter cancelled her flight back home to stay longer!

On today’s episode, we’re talking with Peter Kageyama, one of the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference keynote speakers. Kageyama talks about why he loves parks so much, why he thinks that parks and rec are the “fun department” and why he’s so excited about speaking with park and recreation professionals at the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference in Indianapolis.

Today’s guest is the Waukegan Park District’s Community Relations Manager, Teddy Anderson. In this episode I’m talking with Teddy about all the cool events that they’re planning for Park and Recreation Month, the conservation efforts going on in Waukegan Park District, and her life growing up in and around parks — she even got married in a park!

On today's episode, we're talking about the importance of summer meal programs and the impact that parks and recreation is making in communities across the country through the Summer Food Service Program. Thanks to funding from the Walmart Foundation — NRPA's biggest partner in the fight against childhood hunger — we've worked to increase the capacity of our local park and recreation agencies to reach more at-risk youth, serving over 85 million meals to over 4.5 million unique children in 310 cities

May is Older Americans Month and park and recreation agencies play a crucial role in serving older adult populations. In this episode, we speak with Mr. Joe Trevino, a 93-year-old veteran, and Irma Yepez-Perez, a Senior Management Analyst at the City of Fresno PARCS department. What we learn from them is that community is vital to our health and wellbeing and that inspiration can be found everywhere.

A story about a baby Barred Owl who fell from its nest and, after the heroic acts of Ted Mattingly, was returned safely to its nest in the trees behind NRPA's headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia.

The nation’s largest STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) celebration took place this past weekend at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The 5th USA Science and Engineering Festival featured more than 3,000 exhibits, 30 stage shows and attracted approximately 350,000 people. This year’s theme was “Where can STEM take you?” and the primary goal of the weekend was to inspire the thousands of kids in attendance.

On today’s episode, we’re discussing a new research report titled “From Green Space to Digital Place.” The report takes a look at smart city strategies and how cities are capitalizing on technological advances. It also reveals public interest and attitudes toward digital solutions for park and recreation services.

On today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Jerome Fleg, a medical officer with NHLBI’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, discussing simple things you can do during the month of February, and throughout the year, to ensure your heart is healthy. After all, in order to live your best life and love those around you, you have to have a healthy heart.

Technology has changed the way we do pretty much everything in our daily lives. With technology-based transportation and convenience services such as Uber, Lyft, ZipCar, Instacart for groceries and Amazon for basically everything else, the ways people are getting around cities is changing drastically. These services dramatically reduce the need for people to use their personal vehicles, and this could mean a change in the future of land use in urban areas.

In today’s episode, we’re taking a look at a city and mayor who have done some incredible work when it comes to park access. We recently had the privilege of speaking with San Francisco Recreation and Parks General Manager, Phil Ginsburg, about becoming the first city to achieve the goal of the 10-Minute Walk campaign, where 100 percent of the residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park.

For Mayor Hillary Schieve, Reno’s parks and recreation isn’t just key to improving the quality of life for her residents, it’s vital to attracting and retaining quality businesses and solving some of their biggest challenges, like homelessness. Acknowledging that park and recreation staff have the most interaction with the homeless in Reno, staff are key to connecting homeless to aid such as the Reno Works program.