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As this issue comes out, I’ll be building on the momentum of an energizing 2024 NRPA Annual Conference in Atlanta. November finds me speaking at the Indiana Park and Recreation Association Conference, where park and recreation professionals are leaning statewide into the mental health benefits of connecting youth and people of all ages to nature. I go from there to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where I’ll be celebrating the city’s Partners in Parks initiative and how it has advanced parks and recreation throughout its community. It’s tremendously exciting to see how park and recreation leaders are addressing big issues by working on the ground in very specific ways to create solutions. That is all about seeing both the forest and the trees.
At the conference, we launched our strategic plan and talked a lot about the Seven Dimensions of Well-Being and the importance of taking a systems-level approach. It’s easy, when dealing with a million details, to lose our perspective and to miss the forest for the trees. I hope that by taking a step out of your day-to-day responsibilities and participating in the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference, you were able to get a bit of perspective, and I similarly hope that this issue helps you learn what colleagues in other places are doing to maintain a perspective on both.
Virginia’s NOVA Parks (aka, Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) is embarking on a novel approach to creating funds for specific projects by tapping into a significant and often overwhelming challenge — climate change. By recognizing the financial benefits of environmental services and capitalizing on those services, they are creating a bank of funds that they can use to finance projects like wetlands rehabilitation, for example. This creative solution is helping at both the macro and micro level — the forest and the trees, literally.
Los Angeles County is going deep into public engagement by bringing the public into its entire plan — every year. Rather than strictly focusing on project-by-project consultations, park and recreation leaders are reinforcing a commitment to hold annual public meetings to update community members about park facilities, recreational programming and capital projects, as well as provide an opportunity for them to identify priorities that should be addressed in the agency’s annual budget. This is a major investment in building trust and transparency with the community overall. Given the size and scope of the county’s program, I am sure that park and recreation professionals have a lot of questions about how it’s going. The story, “Connecting With Communities,” on page 40, helps to shed light.
The last “forest and the trees” example this month comes from Philadelphia, where the city is reckoning with the fact that about 90 percent of its more than 400 neighborhood parks, recreation centers and libraries need investment. Through its city beverage tax, Rebuild Philadelphia is systematically addressing that backlog of needs. Author Casey Heilig delves into this expansive program in “Philadelphia’s Rebuild Initiative” on page 34.
Lastly, back in September, I shared that I had launched a search for NRPA’s first chief research and impact officer, a leadership role that will be dedicated to growing our research, evaluation and impact practice. I’m very pleased to share that November 12 marks the start of our new leader’s work at NRPA, although some of you may have had a chance to meet him in Atlanta. For more than 20 years, Garrett Warfield, Ph.D., has used research, evaluation and data science to help nonprofit organizations, businesses, schools and government agencies achieve their goals and deliver positive benefits to the people they serve. A servant leader with a passion for helping others, Warfield has applied his expertise for the past 10 years to Year Up, a nonprofit working to ensure that every young adult has the support to break through barriers and achieve their full potential. He is excited to apply his knowledge and abilities to a cause very near and dear to his heart — parks and recreation!
I’m feeling so much pride and enthusiasm about the work of this field and the strategic plan NRPA is launching in the new year. By keeping an eye on both the forest and the trees, we will deliver on our promise — building strong, healthy and connected communities.
Kristine Stratton is NRPA’s President and CEO.