Park People

Parks have the potential to do far more than provide recreational amenities, they can serve as catalysts for neighborhood revitalization, environmental restoration, and long-term economic development. In this session, Rowena Young will share how the Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency has leveraged strategic, place-based investments to transform underutilized properties into resilient communit...

Today, we talk with James McLamb about why great camps still change lives and what smart camp leaders are doing differently. You can watch this podcast here .  You can read the article here.  

How do you take a big idea and turn it into a built reality? This session brings together the city administrator, civil engineer, and lead architect from the recently completed River Run Park in Northport, Alabama for a conversation about how a right-sized project became a community-changing investment. Through a transparent look at project origination, early decision-making, and the collaboration...

Food waste is one of the biggest sustainability opportunities hiding in plain sight at camp. This session explores practical strategies for preventing and measuring food waste, recovering edible food, composting what's left, and engaging campers and staff in the process. Through camp examples and interactive tools, including Compost Heroes, participants will leave with realistic ideas for kee...

Explore project phasing and communication with stakeholders, community members, and future users from a member of JLG Architects’ Sports Studio, Adam Barnett. With Maple Grove Community Center as a case study, JLG will discuss bringing the community’s vision to life while remaining open, how our team kept constant communication with the city, and how the public remained informed and engaged.  Watc...

Today, we talk with Bianca Montoya, Communications Manager for American Ramp Company about five lessons from MOmentum Bike Park in Joplin, Mo. and how those five lessons turn great bike parks into community destinations.  You can watch the podcast here .  You can read the article here . 

Brian Hill spent nearly 20 years in the public sector of the aquatics industry before joining Waters Edge Aquatic Design. He has extensive experience managing and staffing facilities, overseeing special events, and understanding the daily maintenance needed to keep facilities functioning smoothly. He excels at understanding how a facility operates and what it takes to keep the pool itself running...

Why do some dog parks thrive while others become muddy, costly headaches? Join dog park consultant Christina Clifton as she shares the biggest mistakes communities make when designing off-leash areas—and how to avoid them. Learn practical strategies for site selection, drainage, layout, budgeting, maintenance, and long-term success through real-world examples and lessons learned from hundreds of d...

Intergenerational play is gaining momentum as a transformative approach to community design—where every space becomes an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to connect, move, and grow together.  Today, we sit down with Kent Callison, Director of Marketing for GameTime to learn more about his ParkFest session.  According to Callison, this session will explore the latest trends and emer...

Great playgrounds invite every child to find their own way to play, yet inclusion is still too often treated as a checklist of compliance rather than a question of lived experience. This session highlights how rope-based play environments naturally support inclusion by offering layered levels of challenge, sensory engagement, and freedom of movement. While the ADA has improved accessibility for ph...

Today, we talk with Troy Smith, CSFM, Sports Fields Segment Manager at SiteOne Landscape Supply about how parks and recreation professionals can spot early warning signs, improve playability, and prevent costly repairs to high-traffic turf areas.  You can read the article at PRBPlus.com You can watch the Podcast on YouTube . 

Today, we talk with Shelly Mitchell-Talley about how her YMCA expanded adaptive fitness. As Talley says, for many families, securing a fitness program tailored to a loved one’s needs remains elusive; they must actively seek it out. Conventional programs rarely prioritize adaptive support, leaving people with disabilities excluded from spaces intended to foster health, confidence, and community. Fo...

Doing More With Less How AI and automation are reshaping parks and recreation engagement From community events and youth sports to engaging with the public, there are many reasons people choose to work in parks and recreation departments. However, spending hours behind a computer usually isn’t one of them. That’s why parks and rec teams across the country are exploring how AI (artificial intellige...

The opening of Blue Surf Bay Waterpark at the Carson Ross Community Recreation Complex in 2024 marked a major shift for Blue Springs, Mo. It introduced the community’s first public aquatic facility and re-established an aquatic division within the parks and recreation department after several years without one. Because both the facility and division were developed simultaneously, anticipation arou...

Today’s playgrounds can trace their origins to sand play. The playground movement grew out of ideas championed by child advocates in the 1880s. First, Friedrich Froebel, the German educator known as the father of kindergarten, introduced a movable sandbox in his “children’s garden.” The idea of using sand as a material for play expanded into “sandcastles,” or piles of sand. A Berlin-born doctor, M...

Community playgrounds strive to be spaces that families return to many times. For this to happen, playgrounds need to keep ideas and opportunities for play fresh so children remain engaged, challenged, and eager to come back. Today, we sit down with Scott Roschi, Creative Director for Landscape Structures, to discuss how a circuit-style design approach keeps children engaged and coming back. Watch...

Designing urban parks typically does not start from scratch. More often, designers inherit not only complex sites and aging infrastructure, but also sites and spaces deeply rooted in city and community history. Today, we sit down with Todd Martin, City Landscape Architect for the City of Columbia, S. C., Mark Johnson, FAIA, FASLA at Civitas and Jenny Horne, Project Manager at Stantec, to  talk abo...

Today, we sit down with Rowena A. Young, Executive Director of the Palmetto CRA, to talk about Connor Park in Palmetto, Fla. and how a CRA turned contamination into climate infrastructure.  You can view this podcast here .  You can read the article here . 

Today, we sit down with Rich Albright, the CRO at PlayPower, to talk about the playground revolution.  Playgrounds have always been cornerstones of childhood, but today’s communities are reimagining what play looks like. Rather than cater exclusively to toddlers or elementary-school children, the most successful play spaces are increasingly designed for all ages. From community recreation centers...

When people describe a task as “a walk in the park,” it’s a way of saying it’s easy, straightforward, and pleasant to accomplish. Walking to parks, on the other hand? Those trips can be perilous. Often times, pedestrians must risk crossing busy roads to reach their favorite recreation spaces. Thankfully, collaborations among advocacy groups, community-based organizations, transportation planners,...

This past summer, parents across the country received notice from their schools: The institutions were cracking down on cell phone policy enforcement and, in some cases, outright banning phones in the classroom. Today, we sit down with Sarah Veader, Assistant Vice President Risk Control at Church Mutual Insurance Company about the complex reality behind youth device bans. Want to watch instead? Yo...

Day by day, minute by minute, we are all aging. This part of life is a gift, or at least that’s how it’s viewed at the Silver Center in Liberty, Mo. Today, we sit down with Haley Ragan to learn what makes the Silver Center tick, and how you might incorporate some of those tactics in your community.  Prefer to watch the podcast, you can do so here .  Want to read the story? You can do that here.  

Egg hunts are traditionally associated with children, baskets, and daylight—but the City of Moreno Valley, Calif., has proven that play has no age limit. Today, we sit down with Jeremy Bubnick, Director of Parks & Community Services for the City of Moreno Valley, CA (pop 215,000) to discuss how you can bring this program to your community.  Prefer to watch? You can view this podcast here . Or,...

Today, we sit down with Kate Mannerings from Percussion Play to discuss how a remarkable Girl Scout, working on an outdoor-music park for her Gold Award project, raised the funds, designed the space, and got it installed at the popular Rotary Youth Camp in Lee's Summit, Missouri.  If you prefer to watch the podcast, you can access it on our YouTube channel . Or, you can read the story on our...

Today, I sit down with Jill Moore, an inclusive play expert for Landscape Structures. She walks us through why an intentional design approach is needed -- and shares some laughs with me as we talk about her experiences navigating the world with mobility issues. Its a fun conversation. I hope you enjoy it. If you want to watch, you can access the Park People podcast on our YouTube channel . Or, on...