April is Earth Month, and all month long, NRPA is celebrating the ways that parks and recreation is a climate hero. I encourage you to check out some of the top ways that park and recreation professionals are creating healthier, more sustainable communities and tackling the world’s toughest climate issues.

On today’s episode, we take a look back at a few episodes from the past year, in which my guests talked about climate solutions, sustainability, and all things protecting and preserving nature and the spaces that do so much for us.

Tune in to the full episode below to hear clips from these previous episodes (and I encourage you to listen to each full episode, as well):

• On one of our most recent episodes, episode 131, I spoke with Norma Edith García-Gonzalez, director of Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, to discuss how she's leading with equity, as well as L.A. County's recently adopted 30x30 plan to address climate change and conserve 30 percent of lands and coastal waters by 2030.

• On episode 124, I was joined by staff from City of Detroit Parks and Recreation: Jac Kyle, a manager I for nature programming, and Rachel Felder, a naturalist, to learn more how partnerships are helping advance their work, fight environmental injustices, and create a new generation of environmental stewards in Detroit.

• On episode 122, I was joined by Maneula Barón, a Colombian-American sustainability activist, artist and founder of The Girl Gone Green, an inclusive community that fosters social and environmental change and encourages people to live more consciously. We discussed where to start with your own environmental programming at your agency, as well as how to effectively communicate environmental issues through the lens of others.

• On episode 112, I was joined by Jad Daley, CEO of American Forests, to discuss how trees play a critical role in building environmental resilience, cooling our neighborhoods, and improving the health of our communities. We discuss why trees in urban areas are so important and the various roles that trees play when it comes to our health, in terms of reducing heat, filtering air pollution and more.

• And finally, we take it all the way back the 2022 April bonus episode, when I talked with my colleague, Ayanna Williams, NRPA’s director of community and environmental resilience, about all things Earth Day. We discussed ways park and recreation professionals are building more resilient communities, ways to ensure decision-makers prioritize environmental justice beyond Earth Month or Earth Day, and more.

Listen to the episode for the full story.