Open Space Radio

The August issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today's episode, we're diving deeper into one of this month's feature stories, titled, " A River Runs Through It ." The article explores the Tennessee RiverLine and the partners who worked to advance stewardship and equitable access to the 652-mile Tennessee River. Joining me today is the author of the article, and previous guest o...

*Content note: In this episode, you will meet Jennifer Holmes, a mother who tragically lost her son, Genesis, in a drowning accident. This episode contains an emotional account of her traumatic experience, so please listen with care when you feel you are able to, as the content may be triggering for some listeners. If you are unable to listen but want to learn more, please visit the links below fo...

As we continue to lift up stories of inclusion in celebration of Pride Month, my colleagues Allison Colman, NRPA's director of health, and Teresa Morrisey, a program manager on NRPA's Park Access team, recently published a blog post on the Open Space blog titled, " A Pathway to Trans Inclusion in Youth Sports ." I highly recommend checking it out to learn more about building more inclusive environ...

The July issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, which not only means it's time for a bonus episode, it also means that we're only a few days away from July, and Park and Recreation Month is extremely close. As you may know, each year for Park and Recreation Month, we host a cover contest for the July issue of the magazine. Each year we receive so many incredible photos and stories illust...

In line with keeping equity at the center of all we do, NRPA recently released a suite of diversity, equity and inclusion resources for park and recreation professionals. NRPA's mission of advancing parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people depends on equity being central to our work. An important piece of this – which is included in t...

Today is the first day of Pride Month, yet, as we kick off this month-long celebration designed to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community, we continue to see many states introducing harmful legislation aimed at preventing transgender youth from participating in sports. At NRPA, it's our position that being recognized as the gender with which you identify is a basic hu...

The June issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today's bonus episode of the podcast, we'll be diving deeper into one of this month's feature stories, " Mental Health Care in a Pandemic ." In the article, Parks & Recreation's Associate Editor Lindsay Hogeboom explored the ways park and recreation agencies have provided mental health services to their staff and their communities du...

Today's episode is a very bittersweet one, as we are bidding farewell to one-half of the Open Space Radio team. Roxanne Sutton, NRPA Director of Communications and the creative mind behind launching Open Space Radio, will be moving on and pursuing some really cool new adventures soon — but this, unfortunately, means she will no longer be co-hosting the podcast. We won't lie to you, neither one of...

On today's episode of Open Space Radio, we're re-releasing one of our Coffee Talks from last year's NRPA Virtual, where we discussed the importance of park and recreation professionals being prepared for disasters due to a changing climate. We were joined by Kenny Weigandt from Willamalane Park and Recreation District in Oregon and John DiSpaldo, a regional preparedness liaison for FEMA to talk sp...

In celebration of April being Earth Month, and with Earth Day coming up on Thursday, we're excited to be discussing a program focused on creating leaders for climate solutions. The program, Climate for Health, was founded by ecoAmerica and NRPA has partnered with them to bring the initiative to park and recreation professionals.  Climate for Health is a national initiative that offers tools, resou...

The May issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today's bonus episode of the podcast, we're diving deeper into one of this month's feature stories, " From Plans to Parks ." In this article, Clement Lau details how the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is implementing equity-focused park and recreation plans to ensure that communities with the highest need for pa...

Today's episode is airing on April 6, National Student-Athlete Day. While today's guest is no longer a student, she has been an athlete for Special Olympics Minnesota for 19 years. Abby Hirsch, who was born with Down syndrome, competes in various sports, including basketball, bocce ball, bowling, downhill skiing, poly hockey, powerlifting, SOfit, swimming, and track and field. In addition to being...

A few months ago, we came across a post on LinkedIn that really pulled at our heartstrings and demonstrated how resilient a person can be when they have their mind set on a goal. The post chronicled the journey of one individual who went from experiencing homelessness to becoming the director of a park and recreation agency and a leader in his community, and we knew we wanted to connect with him t...

The April issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today's bonus episode of the podcast, we're diving deeper into one of this month's cover stories, " Protecting the Land and Its History ." If you tuned in to last month's bonus episode, then you're probably just as excited as we are for tomorrow's TEDxCollegePark event, " An Equal Future ." On today's episode, we're thrilled to be j...

When this episode airs on March 9, 2021, we will be two days away from the one-year anniversary of coronavirus (COVID-19) being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The past year has been filled with challenges, adaptations, pivots and so much more. We're battling multiple health crises on top of economic pressures and racial injustices. And through it all, park and recreation pro...

Women's History Month starts next month, and we thought it would be a good time to tackle a topic that has been on our episode wish list for a while now — women in parks and recreation. Parks and recreation, like many professions, was once a male-dominated industry. Now, however, those figures seem like they may be shifting. When thinking about who to bring on the podcast to talk about women in th...

The March issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today's bonus episode of the podcast, we're diving deeper into the feature story, "Ensuring 'An Equal Future' for All," which introduces a new TEDxCollegePark virtual event that park and recreation professionals won't want to miss. Many of us have seen a TED talk on one topic or another, and they have become a powerful way to use st...

As we've discussed before, the unfortunate reality about outdoor recreation is that not everyone has equitable access to these opportunities and there are people who don't necessarily feel welcome or safe in certain spaces. And while we continue advocating for equity in parks and recreation, it's important to recognize that there are many systemic barriers in place that need to be broken down if w...

As we continue to work on centering equity in all that we do, and as the fight for racial justice and equity in the United States continues, we wanted to revisit a conversation we had last year about what equity in parks and recreation really means for today's episode of the podcast. We were fortunate to have each one of the individuals you'll hear from today on previous episodes of the podcast, a...

The February issue of  Parks & Recreation  magazine is out now, and on today's episode, we're diving deeper into this month's cover story, " 30 Under 30 for 2021 ." We know from our work at NRPA that there are a lot of talented, passionate young professionals in the field of parks and recreation. These individuals truly serve as everyday superheroes in their communities and are continuing to make...

It is our first Open Space Radio episode of 2021, and we're so excited for another year of great conversations on the podcast. To start the year, we're thrilled to be talking with a group of inspiring teenagers from Lunenburg, Massachusetts, who decided to take a middle school project and turn it into something way bigger that would provide them, and others, a safe space to participate in their fa...

It's hard to believe 2020 is almost over. This year has been challenging in so many ways, and on our final episode of the year, we're looking back at some of the conversations we've had, discussing the lessons we've learned, and looking ahead at some of our hopes and goals for 2021. This year, park and recreation professionals have been on the frontlines of a global pandemic, economic collapse, ra...

The January 2021 issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and this month's issue features the highly anticipated cover story, " Top Trends in Parks and Recreation 2021 ," by Rich Dolesh, NRPA's retired vice president of strategic initiatives and Parks & Recreation magazine's editor at large. On today's bonus episode of the podcast, we're replaying the full session of our "Emerging Trends i...

Over the past decade, there has been steady growth across the farmers market industry nationwide, with new farmers market locations popping up in communities of all shapes and sizes. And, many park and recreation professionals have seen this growth firsthand. With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic increasing barriers for access to healthy food for so many across the country, park and recreation...

We have waxed poetic over the past several months about how critical it has been to get outdoors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and parks have proven to be the destination of choice for many people to get their necessary physical activity, recharge their mental health batteries and find a sense of community. And, with school systems adapting to the pandemic and distance learning being more prev...