February 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16

RESEARCH
The Sustainability in Parks
and Recreation Report
By Kevin Roth
I
t is the mission of parks and recreation to support vibrant, healthy,
resilient communities through its infrastructure, amenities and programming.
The more than 11 million acres of land managed by
agencies nationwide have the power to mitigate the impact of severe
weather and climate change, improve tree canopy equity and help native
habitats flourish. But there is much more that parks and recreation can do
to make their communities more sustainable.
For example, park and recreation
leaders work to reduce their agencies'
carbon footprints and water
usage to comply with city, state or
federal mandates. Parks and recreation
also educates the public on the
importance of this work, showcasing
best practices and connecting their
communities to sustainability efforts.
However, many agencies face challenges
in advancing their sustainability
work. Scarce funding and staff resources,
evolving technical expertise
and lack of political leader prioritization
keep these efforts from achieving
their full maximum potential.
NRPA recently released a report
based on a survey of nearly 200
park and recreation leaders that
explores how they are working to
make their agencies and communities
more sustainable. The Sustainability
in Parks and Recreation report
(nrpa.org/SustainabilityReport)
views agencies' goals, the level of
financial and political support for
these efforts, and the challenges and
barriers hampering greater success.
The survey found that at least
two-thirds of park and recreation
leaders place high importance on
strategies and actions that protect
the natural habitat, embrace park
infrastructure to manage stormwa16
Parks & Recreation | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 3
ter better and lower agency water
usage. Other important sustainability
focus areas include decreasing
landfill waste and water usage and
reducing or eliminating the use of
carbon-based energy.
Sustainability Plans
Nearly every park and recreation
agency has sustainability strategies
and takes actions that aim to reduce
energy usage, decrease water consumption
and/or protect the natural
habitat. But only 43 percent have or
operate under a formal sustainability
plan with specific goals and targets
developed by either the agency
or the city/town/county/state under
which it operates. This includes:
* 14 percent of agencies that have
their own formal sustainability plan
* 29 percent of agencies that operate
in a jurisdiction with a formal
sustainability plan
The plans typically focus on:
* Protecting the natural habitat
* Reducing/Eliminating the use of
carbon-based energy
* Reducing landfill waste
* Using
park infrastructure
stormwater management
* Reducing water usage
Twenty-eight percent of park and
recreation agencies have a goal or
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
for
mandate to reduce their carbon footprint.
Forty-four percent of those
agencies aim for net zero emissions.
Nearly a third of agencies aim for a
net reduction of 50 to 99 percent in
carbon emissions, while a quarter look
to reduce net emissions by less than 50
percent. Fifty-nine percent of park
and recreation agencies aim to achieve
their carbon footprint goal by 2030.
Taking Action
To achieve their sustainability goals,
a majority of agencies are planting
trees, transitioning to native and
climate-adaptable plants, and updating
and
retrofitting
buildings
and
other infrastructure. These
agencies are drawing from their
own operating and
gets, state and federal
capital budgrants,
public-private
partnerships, and collaborating
with other government
agencies in their jurisdiction to fund
these and other sustainability actions.
Additionally, a majority of survey
respondents indicate that local
lawmakers, community
leaders
and the general public support their
agencies' sustainability efforts. This
is critical as park and recreation
leaders will be relying on greater
access to funding and resources to
make their most aspirational sustainability
goals a reality.
Sustainability plays a growing and
vital role at park and recreation agencies
nationwide. Park and recreation
leaders are continually reviewing and
updating their plans to address their
communities' specific needs and goals
while leveraging the latest knowledge,
best practices and technology to advance
these sustainability efforts one
community at a time.
Kevin Roth is Vice President of Research,
Evaluation and Technology at NRPA
(kroth@nrpa.org).
http://www.nrpa.org/SustainabilityReport
February 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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