Play isn’t just for children—it’s a fundamental part of living a vibrant, healthy life at any age. Join physician, author, and internationally recognized speaker Dr. Bowen F. White for an insightful and inspiring conversation on the power of play in promoting physical, emotional, and social well-being. Drawing from decades of work in preventive and stress medicine, Dr. White will explore the critical role of playfulness in reducing stress, improving mental health, and fostering genuine human connection. This session invites recreation professionals, wellness advocates, and lifelong learners to embrace the health benefits of play and lead by example in creating joyful, thriving communities.

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.

In order to ensure equitable use by all, aquatic agencies and facilities must understand, embrace and respond to inclusive guidelines and programming, align to community needs, and implement innovative ways to offer environments that serve diverse individuals. This session will explore evidence-based health benefits of water immersion, share meaningful facility design strategies, and review ADA and ABA guidelines to make your facility a place for everyBODY to enjoy.

The Unleashed: Off-leash Dog Park Design Trends and Planning Tips guidebook helps communities effectively advocate for the many benefits of off-leash dog parks. Dog parks provide enjoyable ways to recreate and exercise for both dog owners and their dogs. They also create community destinations. Research shows there are many positive effects for individuals that own a dog(s); as well as health and social benefits of owning a dog, caring for it, and recreating outdoors with pets. In addition, design considerations and case study examples are outlined to effectively design a dog park and champion initiatives that provide meaningful outcomes supporting overall health and social benefits for the community.

As climate change accelerates, cities must rethink how they manage water, mitigate flooding, and create sustainable environments. PlayCore, in partnership with The Cultural Landscape Foundation, presents an on-demand series featuring global leaders in landscape architecture and urban water management. Hear from visionaries including Kongjian Yu (China), Kotchakorn Voraakhom (Thailand), Herbert Dreiseitl (Germany), Jasper Hugtenburg (Netherlands), and Mia Lehrer (USA) as they share case studies and strategies on sponge cities, river restoration, blue-green infrastructure, and water-conscious urban design. This international series highlights how nature-based solutions transform water from a threat into a resource, building healthier, more resilient cities worldwide.

Providing a truly inclusive play or park experience requires thoughtful planning and attention to ensure that site furnishings and amenities are more usable by more people, including those with disabilities, to the greatest extent possible. The placement or location of site furnishings and amenities and their operability is key to providing an inclusive play and park experience. Site amenities and design considerations within the built environment should be integrated throughout park destinations to support inclusive, intergenerational play and recreation. Scoping and technical guidelines for benches, picnic tables, grills, waste and recycling receptacles, picnic pavilions, drinking fountains/bottle fillers, telescopes, docks and piers, fitness equipment, toilet rooms, signage, and temporary events will all be addressed. This is the fourth session of a yearlong four-part Beyond the Minimums accessibility series. This webinar includes real-time captioning and video remote interpreting (VRI) upon request. To request video interpreting services and/or resources in an alternate format, please email core@playcore.com at least two weeks prior to the live webinar date.