February 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 43

Celebrating YOU this July

uly is Park and Recreation Month, and this year we
want showcase the diversity of park and recreation
professionals! In addition to individuals of various
ages, abilities, races, genders and backgrounds, we'd like
to see park and recreation professionals from communities big and small across the country in various career
paths, taking part in their unique day-to-day activities.
We want the world to see what we already know:
that park and recreation professionals are our unsung
heroes, making our communities great places to live,
work and play. Do you have a colleague who you think
deserves national attention? Submit a photo of them,
along with a short story about how they've impacted
you or your community, for a chance to be featured in
the July issue of Parks & Recreation magazine. For more
information, visit nrpa.org/July.

2020 NRPA Award
Applications Due March 27

RPA now is accepting applications for the
Innovation Awards, Spotlight Awards, scholarships and fellowships. Applications also are
being accepted for the National Gold Medal Award
Program. Don't miss out! Visit nrpa.org/Awards today
to learn more.

Parks and Green
Infrastructure for Health

RPA is working to ensure that park and recreation professionals have the tools and knowledge to plan for and integrate green
infrastructure into park projects to address climate impacts, improve community health conditions and advance equitable access to quality green spaces and parks across the country. Through the Parks and Green
Infrastructure for Health initiative, we have conducted a literature review,
landscape assessment and policy scan to understand the current research
and policies that support and connect projects to public health outcomes,
as well as the barriers and challenges park and recreation and other municipal staff encounter when advancing green infrastructure.
Our research confirms that green
infrastructure is a widely used tool
in communities to address stormwater concerns and meet stormwater regulations; however, there is a
research, policy and knowledge gap
in connecting green infrastructure
to public health benefits beyond the
applied broad environmental impacts on mental and physical health.
In October, NRPA hosted the
Parks, Green Infrastructure and

Health Workshop (nrpa.org/GI
HealthWorkshop) to address these
gaps by bringing together parks,
environmental, and health and
equity experts to test messaging,
draft creative policy action recommendations and identify key policy
areas that need further exploration.
Some of the key priorities that rose
to the top for participants include:
* Direct funding for operations
and maintenance at the local,

state and federal levels, including
funding for evaluation, monitoring and adaptive management
* Support for interagency cooperation and integration around funding and planning green infrastructure projects at the local level
* Additional research around
climate change, housing and
anti-displacement policies, as
they could be critical ways to
advance green infrastructure in
parks
These priorities will inform the
messages and policy recommendations shared in a Parks and Green
Infrastructure for Health Communications Toolkit and Policy Action
Framework, which are expected to
be completed in summer 2020.
Visit the Parks and Green Infrastructure for Health website (nrpa.
org/GIHealth) to learn more about
the project and findings as well as
to read the literature review, landscape assessment, policy scan and
workshop summaries.

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Parks & Recreation

February 2020 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020 - Parks & Recreation