September 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 98

2010 NRPA Congress&Exposition

National Recreation Foundation
Community-based edible gardens
are a great way to get urban children and teens connected with gardening, provide them with fresh
fruits and vegetables, and educate
them on the importance of nutrition. NRPA is promoting edible
gardens through the Grow
Your Park program in partnership with the National Recreation Foundation. The program
includes a Community Gardening
Handbook, specific to park and
recreation settings, which will be
published both in print and on the
NRPA website. This handbook provides a comprehensive outline on how to start a community garden and tips to overcome
obstacles once the garden is established. The Grow Your Park
program is projected to involve an additional 1,000 children
across the country in community gardening in 2011.

The NRPA Golf Coalition
In December 2009, the leaders of the national golf organizations (listed below) met in Ashburn, Virginia, at NRPA headquarters to discuss the game of golf within the park and
recreation landscape, and its multiple benefits to the public.
The results of this summit delivered a commitment on behalf
of NRPA to bring together the deep expertise, cross-disciplined knowledge, and keen insights of each respective golf
entity, to be housed on the NRPA
website. Further, each organization has entered into partnership agreements with NRPA
in order to ensure that best
practices, research, educational programming, health
and conservation benefits,
advocacy, and cross-communications objectives are shared.
The coalition members include:
American Society of Golf Course Architects, Audubon International , Golf Course Builders
Association of America, Golf Course Superintendents
Association of America, National Alliance for Accessible Golf, National Golf Course Owners Association, National Golf Foundation, The PGA of America, and World
Golf Foundation.

96 Parks & Recreation

SEPTEMBER 2010

www . N R P A . O R G

Major League
Baseball (MLB)
N R PA partners with
Major League Baseball
to encou rage youth
participation and emphasize the fun element of baseball. The
partnership with MLB
over the past several years has enabled approximately 1.3
million young people across the country to engage and participate in MLB programs. Together, NRPA and MLB are collaborating on the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Initiative.

Professional
Golfer's
Association
T he P rofes sion a l G o l f e r 's A s soc iat ion ( P GA)
of America and NRPA have a collective goal to provide opportunities to engage youth, families, aging populations and
disabled persons with the overall benefits of playing golf. Together, we are providing education materials, access to programming and resources via the PGA Family Course Program.
In addition, The PGA will share research on the economic impact of golf overall and areas specific to parks and recreation,
the health and wellness benefits derived from playing golf,
connecting youth with nature and environmental conservation.
Through this continued partnership, park and recreation professionals will have access to subject matter experts, resources and tools to grow the game.

The Säjai® Foundation
The Säjai® Foundation and NRPA collaborated and developed the Wise Kids®
programs; Wise Kids; and Wise Kids
Outdoors. T hese
science-based
curriculums teach
children about the
energ y-ba la nce
concept and inspire
them to begin a journey of making wise nutrition and activity choices. Both the Wise Kids and Wise Kids Outdoors programs leverage local parks and recreation agencies and other
youth programs to deliver wellness messaging and practical,
hands-on activities that get kids moving and learning about
healthy living.

September 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2010 - Parks & Recreation