Pictured: Bernita Reese (left) and Ali Rhodes (right) during our live podcast recording session at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference in Atlanta. Photo by Caught in the Moment Photography.

On this episode of Open Space Radio, I’m excited to share our collab episode with GovLove Podcast, which we recorded live 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. Our esteemed guests, joining us to share their wisdom were:

• 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 thank you 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, email us at openspace@nrpa.org!

Listen to the episode for the full story.

Related Links:

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

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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.