As trusted voices in the center of our community, land managers at Madison Square Park are working to define sustainable land management practices and engage community members in restoring and supporting urban wildlife. Madison Square Park Conservancy launched an ongoing effort to restore and maintain native habitats in our seven-acre green space by increasing the amount of native plants in the park, reducing the impact of our operations, and encouraging community members to make changes in their daily lives that will benefit the environment. This presentation will explain the strategies our team uses to work both internally and with the community to maintain a healthy park and reintroduce native species to the greater area. We will demonstrate the scalability of this work — proving, with the right information and guidance, any size green space or individual can get involved in restoration projects in a sustainable, affordable and meaningful way.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand how native plants restore and enhance ecological services.
2. Learn how urban green spaces can be both ecologically rich and aesthetically pleasing.
3. Recognize how your green space can encourage the planting and appreciation of native plants in your communities.

The goal of environmental education (EE) can be described as, “A positive transformation of an individual’s environmental ethics, environmental knowledge, environmental awareness, environmental attitudes and behavior.” In most current urban EE programs, youth often are taught about ecology as it should be in a perfect world where there are no cities, though those who have visited a city in recent years may have noticed the lack of green space. There is also this thought surrounding green space, that once it is incorporated into a neighborhood, the rich white person will come in and raise the rent. While incorporating EE in the public school system might prove a bit challenging, we can bring EE sessions to the community youth for free with our local community centers or community organizations. This can include using items we already have, as most are familiar with recycling, but also engaging youth through performing and visual arts.

Learning Objectives:
1. After attending this session, attendees should be able to administer fun and engaging environmental activities.
2. After attending this session, attendees should be able to express understanding when teaching environmental education topics.
3. After attending this session, attendees should be able to acknowledge socioeconomic status when teaching about the environment.

We will give an overview of the Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) Game Plan for a Healthy City guiding principle of “Every Drop,” which emphasizes responsible water use and describes the DPR Water Conservation Program successes and innovations in achieving these goals. We will start with the past program initiatives, including the Central Control buildout, Denver Water partnerships, and advanced water budgeting and consumption reports. We also will discuss present day innovative programs, such as our Drone Monitoring program, weather station network, water restructuring magnets, and our newly formed Lake Management Program. We will then discuss the future of the program, which will be creating DPR water manager positions once the Central Control buildout is complete and continuing our collaborative Recycled Water Advisory Committee, which studies the effects of re-use water on vegetation in urban parks. The future also holds advanced water budgeting that will account for water requirements for different landscape typologies.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand various water conservation strategies used at one of the largest park systems in the semi-arid West and the headwaters of the Colorado River.
2. Learn about successful implementation of water conservation strategies in a park maintenance program.
3. Learn about innovation in water conservation.

Historically, disenfranchised communities have been left out of parks planning, severely limiting their access to open space. The advancement of GIS data and tracking technology has paved the way to understand the intersection between human behavior and design. The Park Network Analysis Model maximizes this data by performing a nuanced gap analysis to understand a person’s preferred route to and from a park and their experience in between. The speaker will discuss the tool’s development and its value in comparing existing conditions with social behavior to inform equitable decision making. The session will explore applications of the tool to identify improvements, such as roadways, streetscapes and lighting, that increase pedestrian safety, and the potential of locating new parks based on demand. The speaker will emphasize analysis’ importance in better understanding underrepresented neighborhoods more deeply and advocating for improvements that promote accessibility and equitability.

Learning Objectives:
1. Attendees will understand how to harness data and technology to inform design decision-making.
2. Attendees will create thoughtful route alignments to and from parks to improve use, accessibility and economic activity.
3. Attendees will learn how this tool prioritizes quality of life and economic resilience in park development.

Does your neighborhood have a high-quality playground? The answer could depend on a range of factors like race, income, and the presence of parks and open spaces. Identifying these patterns of who has access to high-quality spaces for play and who doesn’t is a critical first step in solving play space inequity. In this speed session, hear from the play experts at KABOOM! about the Playspace Inequity Prioritization Index (PIPI), a new methodology for estimating play space inequity — the systemic lack of access to quality spaces for play — in communities across the United States. We will describe the 21 factors involved in this methodology, look at examples from Baltimore and three regions of Colorado, and show how quality data is incorporated into the model. We also will discuss assessments of play space access in other jurisdictions and how attendees can get started.

Learning Objectives:
1. After attending this session, attendees should be able to understand what play space inequity is and why it matters.
2. After attending this session, attendees should be able to understand who is most likely to experience play space inequity and the many factors that contribute to it.
3. After attending this session, attendees should be able to understand the different data types you need (access, quality, population characteristics and built environment) to map and assess play space equity.

A beautiful, open-to-the-public community garden was built in Frisco, Texas, between the senior center and a popular playground. As expected, there were problems with produce poaching. If you build a fence, you gain security, but what do you lose? This session, led by Education and Outreach Supervisor Cory MacGillivray will focus on how reimagining the purpose of a community garden can open new possibilities for education, outreach and unique programming that extends beyond the resident gardeners. We also will discuss the pitfalls of an open garden in a high-traffic area, as well as some practical solutions.

Learning Objectives:
1. Analyze how the purpose of a community garden drives the management of the garden.
2. Propose solutions to the difficulties that come with having an open, high-traffic community garden.
3. Describe programming opportunities that are afforded by an open, high-traffic garden.

SFSP, CACFP, NSLP, SNAP, WIC — it’s the whole alphabet! This session will help park and recreation professionals identify what federal nutrition and benefit programs are available to ensure their community members have access to opportunities that provide meals and nutrition support. The session will provide an overview of programs, as well as ways in which professionals can layer them to maximize the benefits.

Learning Objectives:
1. After attending this session, attendees should be able to understand the different types of federal programs.
2. After attending this session, attendees should be able to advocate for parks and recreation's role in nutrition programs.
3. After attending this session, attendees should be able to feel confident supporting access to meal and nutrition services.

This speed session provides an overview of NRPA’s Data and Mapping Resource Library. The library houses a collection of relevant, publicly available databases and visualizations curated for park and recreation professionals and advocates. From the county level to your local neighborhood, these resources serve as a starting point for exploring data on a variety of topics — including demographics, health and wellness, environmental resiliency, and other key areas of interest for park and recreation professionals. In this session, you’ll learn how to navigate the library and explore at least one of the 50+ data resources. You’ll walk away inspired to explore how these data and mapping resources can give your agency quick access to actionable data to make informed decisions.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the types of data and mapping resources included within the library and how those resources might be useful within their agency.
2. Navigate the Data and Mapping Resource Library to find resources that interest them using the “Categories” and “Topics” filters.
3. Access an individual data and mapping resource that most interests them.

The purpose of this session is to educate current and future CPSI's about the requirements needed to become a CPSI Instructor. Even if you are not ready to be an instructor right now, stop by to learn the requirements and how you can make a difference in the lives of children around the world.

Learning Objectives:
1. Provide participants with the requirements to become a CPSI Instructor
2. Answer any questions about the CPSI Instructor Application

The pandemic ushered in an unprecedented series of challenges that have required an ethical core, compassion and competence — essentially, the three leadership brains. Parks and recreation must have strong, capable and courageous leaders at the helm now more than ever. The future will always rely on the choices we make — and those choices will lead to the next chapter of the park and recreation story that future generations will read and judge.

Learning Objectives:
1. Define and describe society’s influence on character and values.
2. Identify political and social ethical issues that affect the field of parks and recreation.
3. Determine the impacts of teaching, enforcing, advocating and modeling that ultimately contribute to a greater good.