Sustainability and Environmental Resilience in Parks — Episode 163

On today’s episode of Open Space Radio, I’m excited to share our collab episode with GovLove Podcast, which we recorded live back in October at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference.

This was our first live episode recording — with an audience. So, besides the obvious nerves that came along with that, it was such a fun, enriching conversation and it definitely won’t be our last! I was honored to co-host this conversation alongside Ben Kittleson, manager at Raftelis and co-host/producer of GovLove. GovLove is a production of Engaging Local Government Leaders and is a podcast about local government with the goal of telling informative and unique stories about the work being done at the local level.

On this episode, we discuss the important environmental resilience work taking place in Columbus, Ohio, and Boulder, Colorado, as well as how NRPA’s Sustainability in Practice program equips park and recreation professionals to develop and implement community-driven sustainability practices. Joining us were the brilliant:

• Bernita Reese, director of recreation and parks for City of Columbus, Ohio
• Ali Rhodes, director of parks and recreation for the City of Boulder, Colorado
• Michele White, senior program manager for NRPA.

Tune in to learn how park and recreation professionals are essential in advancing climate solutions to build a healthy, resilient and equitable future. You’ll also learn:

• How you might already be doing this work, just not naming it explicitly
• Park-specific sustainability actions and planning principles to assist your efforts
• Strategies to enhance support from your community and local leadership
• Ways of embedding sustainability and resilience into your organization, as opposed to having it perceived as “another thing”
• And so much more!

I want to give a special shoutout and thanks to everyone who joined us for the live recording — we appreciate you showing up and supporting both of our shows and the important work we discussed. And for those about to listen for the first time, thank you for tuning in! I hope this transports you to the conference so you can feel a bit of the energy if you weren’t able to join us.

I hope you enjoy the episode, learn something new, and if you have any ideas for a topic we can discuss on a live recording at next year’s conference, send us an email at openspace@nrpa.org!

Related Links:

• NRPA’s Sustainability in Practice Program (Apply by November 15!)
• Columbus Recreation and Parks
• City of Boulder Parks and Recreation
• GovLove Podcast

Have feedback about this episode or Open Space Radio overall? Share it with us!

If you enjoyed this episode or learned something that might help you make a positive impact in your community, please consider donating to NRPA to not only support our storytelling efforts, but also our mission to advance parks, recreation and conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all at nrpa.org/donate.

We are getting very excited to travel to Atlanta (in just one week!) to connect with thousands of our closest park and recreation friends at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference. And on today’s episode, we’re talking with someone who is local to the Atlanta area and might have some insider tips if you’ll be joining us next week.

Jamiah Flagg, CPRP, is the operations coordinator at Douglasville Parks and Recreation in Georgia, and after sharing a blog post with us about her 2023 conference experience, we knew we wanted to chat with her further since this year’s conference is right in her backyard.

We discussed what receiving NRPA’s Diversity Scholarship in 2023 meant to her, how her conference experience motivated her to become a Certified Park and Recreation Professional, and the boost in confidence she feels with another year of experience under her belt.

Tune in below to learn more about Jamiah, her conference tips and more. You’ll also learn:

• What inspired Jamiah to get into the field of parks and recreation
• What Jamiah’s 2023 NRPA Annual Conference experience meant to her
• What she’s looking forward to at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference
• Tips for conference attendees and recommendations for first-time Atlanta visitors
• Why Jamiah feels like parks and recreation is where she belongs
• And much more!

Related:

• Connect with Jamiah on LinkedIn
• Douglasville Parks and Recreation

Have feedback about this episode or Open Space Radio overall? Share it with us!

If you enjoyed this episode or learned something that might help you make a positive impact in your community, please consider donating to NRPA to not only support our storytelling efforts, but also our mission to advance parks, recreation and conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all at nrpa.org/donate.

On today’s episode, we welcome a superstar of out-of-school time programming! The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is making a huge impact on youth in the DC area through its weekly after-school group mentoring program, Roving Leaders. Among countless initiatives and opportunities that are part of the program, top of mind this time of year is the fact that Roving Leaders visit with students in schools outside of program times. They are truly going the extra mile.

DPR’s Roving Leaders program has been around since the 1950s, building relationships of trust with teens, youth, professionals, community leaders, and public and private sector organizations.

The mission of the program is to prevent, neutralize, and control hostile behavior in youth and youth groups through the development of positive relationships between teens/youth and outreach workers. Roving Leaders utilize recreation and leisure time activities as the intervening vehicles for redirecting antisocial and aggressive behaviors.

At the center of the program is Danielle Hunter, chief of the Roving Leaders. Danielle has been with DPR for more than 24 years, and her impact has certainly been felt across the city.

Tune in below to learn more about Danielle and this impactful program. You’ll also learn:

• Ways the Roving Leaders are engaging youth in the community and the types of activities involved
• How the program is impacting youth in DC
• What qualifications or training Roving Leaders undergo to effectively mentor and support youth
• How the program and DPR are providing safe, culturally relevant and effective resources
• How NRPA’s Out-of-School Time Youth Mentoring Grant helped to expand access to this program
• What the future holds for the Roving Leaders Program and much more!

Related Links:

• DCDPR’s Roving Leaders
• Follow Roving Leaders on Instagram
• Follow DCDPR on Instagram