Playground safety isn’t just about the physical space and infrastructure. Park and recreation professionals also should consider how the social experiences of playground visitors can be improved through an equity lens. Join NRPA staff and playground experts for a conversation on how to promote positive experiences for anyone enjoying a playground.

With the increasing scarcity of water resources, water conservation is key to maintaining our natural resources and fiscally sustaining our organizations. Join Jim Laiche of The Toro Company as he explores important elements of water conservation through irrigation operations and design.

Every day, in communities across the country, park and recreation professionals are making their communities better places to live, learn, work and play through their role as stewards of Community Wellness Hubs. Learn more about NRPA’s vision for Community Wellness Hubs, explore ways park and recreation can improve health across seven dimensions of well-being, and hear from peers about the impact of their Community Wellness Hubs.

To wrap up Pride month, join a conversation as we explore how public parks have served as both places of joy and spaces of resistance for the LGBTQ+ community.

Park and recreation agencies are trusted spaces capable of hosting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) enrollment drives with the support of local health offices and community partners. Join this session to learn about advocacy opportunities that can position agencies as these trusted spaces, to reflect on the available food resources in your community and to learn from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and the field about opportunities for increasing nutrition security within your community.

Do you need to communicate the economic value of parks (which is billions nationwide), but are unsure where to start? Join this event for a lively exploration of how to translate data into compelling narratives that you can take back to your communities. Learn how to translate data from the National Economic Impact Study and about the application of data from a recent New York City report.

As community challenges and priorities evolve, park and recreation agencies must adapt to meet increasing responsibilities in order to stay relevant in their communities. Join as staff from the Bristol (Connecticut) Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services Department outline how they became integral to their community through programmatic and organizational responses to a changing world.

Explore the use of the Climate.Park.Change. toolkit to advance community-driven solutions based on data and evidence-informed strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Nationally, Climate.Park.Change. taps into the unique opportunity that the park and recreation field has by leveraging its essential public green spaces in communities across North America to advance climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies at scale through localized, community-driven solutions.

Interested in green infrastructure? Join members from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NRPA to learn about federal funding and other resources that can support green infrastructure projects in local parks. Participate to get updates, hear more about helpful resources, and have your questions answered on the assistance available to you and your organization!

Join us for a talk with Rasul Mowatt, department head of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University, as he discusses the role of race and whiteness in recreation and public spaces. This talk is best suited for individuals who have more advanced knowledge of diversity, equity and inclusion and have previously explored concepts of privilege and white supremacy.

It’s Women’s History Month! Join us in partnership with the Women in Parks and Recreation Facebook group to learn about the goals of the nonprofit organization, and how this community of women is carving out space to celebrate and empower one another.

How are networks of open space agencies, nonprofit organizations and local initiatives fueling innovations in the practice of caring for parks in the field of parks and recreation? This talk presents core principles for fostering innovation and finding the connections that lead to more impactful park and recreation work.

At NRPA , we believe that equity must be at the center of all we do. Park and recreation professionals are a critical lever for addressing historical and systemic inequities; yet there are gaps in the field about what equity has to do with parks and recreation and how we can serve as agents for change in our communities.

Join NRPA’s public policy and advocacy team for this educational series, held quarterly, to learn about the federal resources potentially available to your agency. This talk focuses on the new infrastructure investments that the federal government is making and the ways you can access them.

Parks and recreation facilities play an important role in health promotion, social inclusion and achieving adequate physical activity. People with intellectual disabilities experience greater health disparities compared to people without intellectual disabilities, but access to and participation in inclusive physical activity can greatly improve these disparities. Participate in this learning opportunity to access resource; see successful, evidenced-based, inclusive fitness programs; learn adaptation strategies; and hear about online trainings that can make your programming more inclusive for all people.