November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
heat and create a heat map. The
map can be shared with decisionmakers
to drive equitable spending
or seed target programing.
Additionally, invite park users
to simply take pictures and share
when things are going right, like a
rain garden on a rainy day or a butterfly
enjoying a flower in your pollinator
garden. These images can
be shared on social media, used in
presentations and celebrated with
staff who plan, build and maintain
parks and programs.
Teach People to Ride a Bike
Some local sustainability
plans
look to reduce emissions by encouraging
people to walk and bike. You
might have plans for, or currently
maintain, trails through parks that
connect community-wide transportation
networks. There are people
in every community who do not
know how to ride a bike. There are
many reasons for this - it could
be lack of access to bicycles or a
safe place to practice. The park is
a great place to hold a bike clinic
or partner with a nonprofit to
teach people to ride in a safe space.
In areas with robust trail systems,
there
often are opportunities to
rent bikes that are the right size for
older children and adults. If you
need some assistance with an approach,
consider REI's web-based
step-by-step
guide
(tinyurl.com/
33hv32kd). Consider developing a
formal bike program for bike riders
at all levels. Organized rides that
target beginners can be customized
for families, young adults, midlife
professionals or those who lack the
needed resources. Bike riding can
get people out enjoying nature, improve
physical and mental health,
and build community ties.
Park and recreation professionals are
catalysts for positive change in service
of equity, climate-readiness, and
overall health and well-being.
Fly Air Quality Flags
Wildfires on the West Coast,
from California to Washington,
can devastate communities. The
Canadian wildfires impacted air
quality across the East Coast and
the Midwest. I experienced it at
NRPA's main office in Virgina in
June and again in Detroit in July.
This impacted summer camps and
outdoor events, like festivals and
community
recreation.
Children,
older adults and people of all ages
with
compromised respiratory
systems are especially vulnerable.
Some communities are bringing
the Air Quality Flag Program to
recreation centers. The program
uses brightly colored flags based
on the U.S. EPA's Air Quality Index
to notify people and their communities
about outdoor air quality
conditions. Organizations raise a
flag each day that corresponds to
their local air quality forecast. Air
quality forecasts are available at
airnow.gov. This program can be
led by staff, nonprofit partners or
local volunteers in target communities.
The program also can serve
to educate community members on
air quality and equity.
Park and recreation professionals
are catalysts for positive change
in
service of equity,
climatereadiness,
and overall health and
well-being. NRPA is elevating the
essential role that everyone can
play in advancing upstream solutions
and dismantling the systems
that perpetuate climate and health
disparities to build stronger, more
vibrant
and resilient communities
where everyone thrives. Share
your programs, projects and photos
with NRPA's Resilience team at
resilience@nrpa.org.
Ayanna Williams, MSW, is Director of Community and
Environmental Resilience at NRPA (awilliams@nrpa.org).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | NOVEMBER 2 0 2 3
| Parks & Recreation
27
http://www.airnow.gov
http://tinyurl.com/33hv32kd
http://tinyurl.com/33hv32kd
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2023 - Parks & Recreation
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 4
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 5
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 6
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 7
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 9
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 11
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 12
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 14
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 15
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 17
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 19
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 21
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 22
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 24
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 25
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 30
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 31
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 32
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 33
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 34
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 35
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 36
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 37
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 38
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 39
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 41
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 46
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 47
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 49
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 51
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 52
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 53
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 54
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 55
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 56
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
November 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com