Learning objectives: Summarize the goals of the LWCF State Assistance Program; Outline the eligibility requirements to receive LWCF funding for a public outdoor recreation project; Define what is a SCORP and how to align with state specific requirements; List three tips/resources to assist in the planning process.

Learning objectives: Define the critical steps of planning and developing a LWCF project; Outline the steps to creating and managing a project timeline; Summarize a successful case example of a public outdoor recreation project funded through LWCF; List three helpful tips/resources to assist in submitting a successful application.

Learning objectives: Summarize the LWCF funding expectations after being awarded and for long term sustainability and compliance; List important considerations to take as you prepare for the completion of your project; Summarize a community case example that used LWCF funding to deploy evidence-based best practices to support health and wellness; List three helpful resources to assist in project completion, celebration, and sustainability.

Biophilic design comes from biophilia, which literally means a love of nature but also recognizes human dependency on nature. The concept was popularized by Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson, and Yale social ecologist Stephen Kellert. Design activates biophilia by creating equitable places of everyday life, where people and nature intersect, beginning in early childhood. Research strongly suggests that nature has multiple positive impacts on health and wellbeing across the human lifecycle and promotes caring for the planet and each other. Sixty years ago, Only One Earth was published, warning us to care for the health of our biosphere and the deadly consequences of not doing so – now looming. The good news is that international treaties and conventions developed, expanded, and refined over the last several decades can now empower action. Inspiring international examples, design strategies, principles, and practices, at the building, site, neighborhood, and city scale will focus on biophilic design thinking applied to urban neighborhoods, parks and playgrounds, child development centers and schools, streets and greenways, health facilities, and multi-use commercial districts. The growing body of research will be translated into human centered design action to restore and conserve nature in daily life. Landscape architects, architects, planners, park and recreation professionals, and others involved may see themselves as cultural change agents and planetary lifeguards supporting human evolution in a healthy, equitable direction.

To share the great work in Parks and Recreation agencies, join us for Good News, a monthly, interactive Zoom show where leading park and recreation professionals will share best practices that inform their work and the resulting positive impacts on communities.

Schools are considered ideal settings for advancing health and wellness initiatives for youth. Most youth attend schools, most schools have resources for health and wellness, and most schools are located in communities with park and recreation agencies. National frameworks even exist for school health and school physical activity where community engagement is identified as a key component for building healthier generations of youth. The challenge is how. How can park and recreation professionals successfully engage and partner with schools to collectively support health and wellness initiatives for youth?

​A comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) is the guiding framework for implementing physical activity opportunities across the school day and school context. The goal of a CSPAP is to provide daily opportunities and support structures for youth to engage in and benefit from a physically active lifestyle. Regular health-enhancing physical activity behaviors among youth can be accomplished across five CSPAP components: a) physical education, b) physical activity during school, c) physical activity before and after school, d) staff involvement, and e) family and community engagement. This comprehensive approach to active school settings has advanced evidence-based practices and opportunities for community collaborations.

Plants increase community value in a number of ways beyond just their natural beauty. In this session, we’ll discover the many benefits that plants can provide communities, examine how a number of sites, from playgrounds to dog parks to bus shelters increased play and recreation value through the addition of key plants, and share tools to help parks, schools, and communities identify the unique benefits of a variety of plants to promote activity, imagination, sensory stimulation, and more. Attendees will come away with confidence on how to choose plants that will thrive in their region, and provide health, wellness, and recreation value for generations to come.

For weeks of working and schooling at home, parents and families have experienced firsthand the importance (and implications) of daily physical activity. Now, with summer months ahead, what is known about summertime youth physical activity and strategies that will help families and youth be active during COVID-19? Join us for a virtual chat with leading international scholars on the topic as they share their research-based recommendations and answer your questions. Recommended reading and viewing: An article by Drs. Sallis and Pratt — A Call to Action: Physical Activity and COVID-19 Read the Research — Youth Physical Activity in Summer vs. School Year: Patterns and Disparities Disclaimer: The opinions of the speakers in these events do not necessarily reflect the views of PlayCore and its brands. 

The webinar contains examples and tangible steps to implementing Play Streets in any community as well as case studies illustrating how each of our four community partners created and implemented Play Streets.

This webinar will focus on how and where children from specific ethnic/racial subgroups are active and inactive during the school year and summer and how parks and recreation can specifically increase physical activity among kids under 14 years of age. Additionally, this webinar will touch on the implications of this research for parks and physical activity during the time of COVID-19.

The Youth Engagement and Action for Health (YEAH!) project works nationally with African American, American Indian, Latino, Asian, and Pacific Islander lower-income urban/rural middle schoolers to take an in-depth look at their neighborhood’s strengths and weaknesses that are most likely to affect physical activity. Using a group-based program curriculum that is designed to help youth advocate for policy/environmental changes that promote physical activity, youth collect information through small groups and are taught to set priorities for improvements around problems they identify.

Park and recreation professionals faced an uncharted year with COVID-19. NRPA launched a weekly national survey in late March 2020 to understand how members were navigating the evolving response and recovery efforts in their communities. Over 2000 surveys were completed by NRPA members and key quantitative findings were summarized on NRPA’s website. One open-ended question asked each week related to “your agency’s efforts surrounding COVID-19 and the role parks and recreation is playing in your community.” The 500+ unedited responses submitted and shared on NRPA’s website were qualitatively coded by content areas. Results represent a wide range of municipality types, population, budget sizes, and funding structures. This session will present key learnings and creative strategies emerging from the forums related to overcoming challenges and elevating the value of parks and recreation during a pandemic.