Park Stories

How the Northeast Community YMCA puts Birmingham residents’ needs first  By Elena Smith It's a Tuesday morning at the Northeast Community YMCA.  The gym echoes with music and laughter from a SilverSneakers class, 50 members strong. Preschoolers proudly show off artwork to their teachers. Members squeeze in morning workouts before work. Upstairs, walkers make laps around the track while catchi...

How the Huron-Clinton Metroparks are building systems where everyone belongs By Huron-Clinton Metroparks On a summer afternoon at Lower Huron Metropark in Wayne County, Mich., a father in a wheelchair rolls down a paved path to a fishing pier, casts a line, and waits for a bite beside his children. It’s an unremarkable scene, and that’s the point. Getting him there took intentional planning that m...

Nine13sports’ new bicycle skills and safety park is an investment in Indianapolis By Macey Shofroth An old, dilapidated parking lot sat on the corner of 29th Street and the Canal in northwest Indianapolis for many years. It had become a receptacle for illegal trash dumping. It took Tom Hanley, founder and CEO of Nine13sports, a few years to track down who owned the property. Soon after, Hanley and...

PARK STORIES A podcast from PRB Connecting Hickory Hill Park The art and science of trail bridges By Eric Kidd Welcome to Park Stories , a podcast from PRB. Every park has a story. In Park Stories , we bring you the people, ideas, projects, and places shaping parks and recreation—and the lessons you can take back to your own community. A quick word from our sponsor. This episode of Park Stories is...

PARK STORIES A podcast from PRB The Colorado River Is Drying Up For the Lower Basin, pools are a question of equity and resources By Karen Fischer Welcome to Park Stories , a podcast from PRB. Every park has a story. In Park Stories , we bring you the people, ideas, projects, and places shaping parks and recreation—and the lessons you can take back to your own community. A quick word from our spon...

Growing More Than Food How Delta Fresh Foods cultivated community through play By Juliet Ruggiero Welcome to Park Stories , a podcast from PRB. Every park has a story. In Park Stories , we bring you the people, ideas, projects, and places shaping parks and recreation—and the lessons you can take back to your own community. A quick word from our sponsor. This episode of Park Stories is brought to y...

PARK STORIES A podcast from PRB How Great Bike Parks Become Community Destinations Five lessons from MOmentum Bike Park in Joplin, Missouri By Bianca Montoya Welcome to Park Stories , a podcast from PRB. Every park has a story. In Park Stories , we bring you the people, ideas, projects, and places shaping parks and recreation—and the lessons you can take back to your own community. Today’s story t...

Sport and social clubs look to parks for fitness and community   By Mary Helen Sprecher The fastest-growing demographic of athletes in parks isn’t made up of youth athletes, although it does include many people who once were. Adult participants are joining the rapidly proliferating leagues of sport and social clubs.

Inside Moreno Valley’s Adult Flashlight Egg Scramble By Jeremy Bubnick 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. Produced by Moreno Valley’s Parks & Community Services Department, the Adult Flashlight Egg Scramble has become a signature spring event, selling out every year and drawin...

A creative Halloween letter-writing program sparks local—and global—connections By Chris Orr The Tulare Parks & Recreation's "Letters to Jack Skellington" is a community-engagement program designed to promote literacy, community connection, and a holiday spirit. In 2025, the program went viral as the department received 5,000 letters from all 50 U.S. states (as well as Guam and...

Eco-friendly elements improve operating efficiency at new aquatic facilities By Brianne Sanchez Coloradans who love to swim, splash, and soak with a view of Mount Sopris will soon do all three more sustainably at a new Carbondale Aquatics Center, scheduled to open in May 2026. The Western Slope’s first all-electric aquatic facility replaces a crumbling, vinyl-lined 1970s-era pool, fulfilling long-...

The Note and Float Life Jacket Fund boosts water safety with life-saving donations By Rachel Griffiths Nearly two decades ago, the Note and Float program was created by Dr. Tom Griffiths while he served as the Director of Aquatics at Penn State University. The program is a free drowning-prevention strategy for facilities to adopt, identifying weak and inexperienced swimmers, and requiring them to...

How preventive maintenance reduces downtime, controls costs, and protects community access By Myles Phelps Every community pool tells a story—from early-morning swim practices to first lessons and lifelong fitness. These facilities quietly support daily life in ways most patrons never see. But their success depends on more than construction or programming. It depends on preventive maintenance —the...

Parks can be a prescription, but who gets them? By Karen Fischer

Working smarter to improve waste collection in Georgetown County, South Carolina By Jackie R. Broach

The maintenance blueprint that sustains Inland Greens By Jonathan Batts and Charles Davis Long before Wilmington, N.C., wakes up, before the first golfer tees up the day’s opening shot, work at Inland Greens is already in motion. At 6 a.m., crews step onto the course with mowers humming, sand moving, and turf shaking off the night’s heaviness. By the time the course opens, every green is rolled, e...

How Miami’s The Underline built an economy of connection By Eulois Cleckley Miami has always been a city that moves fast and dreams big. From its art deco past to its tech-forward present, this community thrives on reimagining what’s possible. That same energy fuels The Underline, a 10-mile, multimodal, urban park beneath Miami’s Metrorail that serves as a corridor of connection, commerce, and cul...

How Louisville is using science to shape a healthier downtown By Travis Ragsdale When city leaders in Louisville, Ky., signed the Greenprint Charter, they weren’t launching another beautification project. They were testing whether science and collaboration could reshape the future of an urban core. The initiative brings together government, researchers, and community partners to examine how target...

Midewin Tallgrass Prairie offers a new blueprint for conservation By Karen Fischer I don’t know what a prairie looks like, yet I spent years living in the Midwest. But neither do you, even if you’re reading this, from the Midwest, right now. In fact, no one knows what a prairie really looks like because it has long been gone.

Discover how camps across the U.S. are transforming outdoor spaces into vibrant pollinator gardens filled with music. In this CampFest webinar, Percussion Play explores how nature-inspired outdoor musical instruments invite campers to slow down, connect with the environment, and create music together. Learn how these multi-sensory spaces support wellbeing, environmental education, and inclusive pl...

How Asheville Parks & Recreation is building a mentorship program that works for its community By Christo Bubenik Parks and recreation professionals often see their roles as providing spaces and opportunities for people of all ages to stay connected, discover new things, and reach their highest potential. However, one age group is notoriously hard to reach: teens and tweens. As young people st...

How civic architecture can redefine resilience By Jeff Kuhnhenn As communities face frequent climate events, social disruptions, and infrastructure challenges, civic architecture is being reimagined as a front line of resilience. Libraries, recreation centers, and municipal buildings—once regarded as the background fabric of civic life—are increasingly recognized as essential public assets that ca...

Mobile recreation units help residents access amenities and build community By Brianne Sanchez Can giant yard games like Connect Four encourage neighbors to connect more? Leaders in the rapidly growing suburb of Bondurant, Iowa, believe so. Recreation plays an important role in strengthening relationships in the city, which experienced an astounding 90.8 percent population increase from 2010 to 20...

How to run a successful recreation facilities referendum   By Emily Gebhardt Recreation centers, public parks and trails, pools, and athletic facilities form the foundation of community wellness and engagement. Successful funding for park districts and projects requires a multifaceted approach. Community support and funding are critical; without that backing, a parks and recreation project is less...

By Dave Herpy In today’s dynamic world of parks and recreation, effective leadership is more essential than ever. This field plays a vital role in enhancing the quality of life in our communities, yet the challenges facing our teams—staffing, burnout, and ever-evolving public needs—require intentional leadership grounded in purpose. Drawing from my book, Leading with Purpose: Achieving Your Highes...