February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Renovations at Ken-O-Sha Park in Grand
Rapids, Michigan, include a natural playscape
using recycled fallen trees, a portable restroom,
an outdoor classroom and more.
Get Active!
Strategies to increase the use of parks, trails and greenways for physical activity
By Teresa Morrissey
L
ocal park and recreation agencies serve as Community Wellness
Hubs (nrpa.org/CommunityWellnessHubs): trusted gathering
places that connect every member of the community to essential
programs, services and spaces. Wellness hubs advance health
equity, improve health outcomes, and enhance quality of life across
seven dimensions of well-being. Park and recreation professionals who
foster wellness hubs create environments for all people to thrive in their
communities - which includes providing opportunities for physical activity.
Physical activity is one of the
best things people can do for their
health
(tinyurl.com/hckjzmbz).
Access to recreation facilities and
park visitation correlate with greater
physical activity (tinyurl.com/
bdhx3at6), and people who use
park amenities are three times more
likely to achieve recommended levels
of physical activity than nonusers
(tinyurl.com/2ytwp3ku).
While
the health benefits of parks
20 Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 3
are well-documented, additional
research has been needed on factors
that contribute to increased
park use for physical activity. In
2021, the Community Preventive
Services Task Force recommended
park and recreation and public
health professionals combine infrastructure
improvements with
additional activities as a strategy to
increase physical activity in communities
(tinyurl.com/2ve86mfh).
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Infrastructure
improvements
include
developing new parks, trails
or greenways, and adding to or
upgrading existing spaces. Combining
infrastructure
improvements
with additional activities -
such as community engagement,
structured programming, public
awareness campaigns
or access
enhancements - can encourage
communities to use parks, trails
and greenways to get active.
Implementation
To support
professionals
in implementing
the recommendation,
NRPA developed the Active Parks!
Implementation
ActiveParksGuide). This
Guide (nrpa.org/
work
supports the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's
Active
PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
http://www.nrpa.org/CommunityWellnessHubs
http://www.tinyurl.com/hckjzmbz
http://www.tinyurl.com/bdhx3at6
http://www.nrpa.org/activeparksguide
http://www.nrpa.org/activeparksguide
http://www.tinyurl.com/2ytwp3ku
http://www.tinyurl.com/2ve86mfh
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2023 - Parks & Recreation
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 4
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 5
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 6
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 7
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 9
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 11
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 12
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 14
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 15
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 17
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 19
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 21
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 22
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 24
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 25
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 30
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 31
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February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 33
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 34
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 35
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 36
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 37
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 38
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 39
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 41
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43
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February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 46
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 47
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 49
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 51
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 52
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 53
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 54
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 55
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 56
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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