Released November 2024! This session will review the importance of creating inclusive spaces for all individuals to experience belonging in the community through recreation & leisure activities. The presenter specifically will focus on ways to include individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in recreational programming and using specific supports and resources to bolster success.

Coming December 2024! Enjoy this session from the NRPA 2024 Virtual Conference! Across the United States, more than 100 million people — including 28 million children — do not have access to a high-quality park within a 10-minute walk of home. This might appear to be a problem for city park and recreation agencies to solve, but new research from Trust for Public Land (TPL) suggests local agencies are not the primary actors in acquiring or opening new local parks. Instead, city planning and economic development agencies — which oversee residential development policies — and real estate developers are the key driver of parkland acquisition and creation. A TPL review of park and greenway openings between 2018 and 2023 across 10 representative U.S. cities finds that across 76 openings in these cities, 67 percent were built on land acquired from real estate developers via municipal requirements for either land donations or fees to fund the acquisition of park space needed for residents of their new development. There are two primary ways cities are acquiring parkland as part of real estate development: parkland dedication ordinances and impact fees. This presentation will share an overview of these policy mechanisms and summarize how cities can structure these policies to ensure the park access gap doesn't widen.

Coming December 2024! Enjoy this session from the NRPA 2024 Virtual Conference! As the adage goes, “Times have changed,” and so must our recruitment practices. The traditional approach of asking candidates to simply submit qualifications is no longer sufficient. To stay innovative and attract top-tier talent, parks and recreation professionals need to embrace unconventional hiring practices. We will delve into the transformative approach adopted by the City of Las Vegas. In a groundbreaking initiative, the city organized a unique hiring event designed to evaluate potential team members beyond their qualifications. The emphasis was on identifying individuals who not only possessed the necessary skills but also harmonized with the existing team’s culture. This carefully curated event featured a diverse panel of interviewers representing five agencies and varying roles. Learn firsthand how this innovative hiring strategy allowed the City of Las Vegas to attract quality team members for a pioneering project. Discover the keys to fostering a culture fit, creating a dynamic team synergy, and ensuring long-term success in the ever-evolving landscape of parks and recreation. Explore the future of recruitment with us as we redefine the hiring process, embracing strategies that align with the expectations and preferences of the new generation of professionals.

Released November 2024! This online learning event equips participants with tools to build or enhance a dynamic volunteer program, focusing on recruitment, onboarding, appreciation, and the distinction between leading and managing, to support their organization's mission and goals.

Coming December 2024! The CDC Branch Chief for the Drug Free Communities (DFC) program will present the rates of youth substance use in the United States and how the DFC program addresses youth substance use. She will then discuss ways park and recreation departments can collaborate with DFC coalitions, and how they can also directly apply for the funding themselves. A representative from the Douglas County, Kansas, DFC coalition and their local park and recreation department will then share a real example of how they successfully worked together on reducing youth marijuana use in their community.

Released November 2024! Presenters will discuss youth mentoring in parks and recreation and how tools from NRPA’s Equity in Practice work can be applied to programs to build diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Learners will leave knowing where to find resources for youth mentoring in parks and recreation, what the Equity in Practice core competencies are and examples from the field of how these ideas can be applied to everyday interactions.

Released October 2024! Presenters will discuss youth mentoring in parks and recreation and how tools from NRPA’s Equity in Practice work can be applied to programs to build diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Learners will leave knowing where to find resources for youth mentoring in parks and recreation, what the Equity in Practice core competencies are and examples from the field of how these ideas can be applied to everyday interactions.