Steps to keep recreational facilities safe from carbon monoxide poisoning this summer By Eric Spacek Ah, the joys of summer camps and recreational activities—eager youngsters learning new sports, campers forming lifelong friendships…and dozens of children ending up in the emergency room because of carbon monoxide poisoning. Those hospital visits ar…

How camps can practice inclusivity for all youth By Hannah Howard How should leaders ensure that everyone who comes to a camp or recreation program feels supported, safe, and seen? Likely, most program directors are already trying to ensure safe spaces for all participants. But what else can they do to intentionally create affirming spaces for gend…

Food service requires healthy, nutritious menus prepped in clean, safe environments By Jason Schaitz Food service at camp can be essential or nonessential depending on the type of program. Whether the service is already offered or being considered, some factors should be kept in mindBy PRB+ Magazine

Three Fantastic In-Service Trainings By Christopher Thurber You’ve invested time and creativity into pre-season staff training, perhaps combining some pre-arrival video training modules from ExpertOnlineTraining.com with some creative on-site workshops and scenarios. Thanks to these efforts, the summer has hummed along, but now it’s midsummer. Are …

Leagues must prepare volunteers for worst-case scenarios By John Engh Recently, I came across a story that really hit home. The event happened on a local youth baseball field near our office. Most likely, however, it struck a chord because the story involved a 6-year-old boy playing baseball, and it brought me back to my baseball-coaching days.…

R. J. Thomas Mfg. Co. steps into the national spotlight on popular TV show By Justin Jorgensen Cherokee, Iowa-based R. J. Thomas Mfg. Co. was recently featured on "World's Greatest," a half-hour TV show that focuses on telling “the story behind the story.” The segment (in episode #361) premiered on Bloomberg TV in February 2024, but is now availabl…

Using the concept to aid in protecting natural and historic resources By Harold J. Nolan The conservation and/or preservation of both recreation- and historic-based resources begins with the unifying concept of environmental management. Two interdependent thrusts turn that concept into results. The first includes managing recreation, park, and hist…

Festivals need thorough emergency-action plans for unpredictable summer weather By Kitty Weiner Summer has arrived in full force, and so have residents’ desires to get outside. Be it lounging in parks, walking through neighborhoods, riding bikes, or going to festivals, there’s plenty to draw locals to the outdoors.…

Leveraging management technology to increase customer satisfaction By Brian Stapleton Parks and recreation departments are critical to the overall well-being of communities. Residents are encouraged to get physical and mental exercise through classes, activities, and equipment provided by these departments. Group events help facilitate a connection…

Leaders can help employees thrive by observing how they feel about their duties By Ron Ciancutti I have two sons. One excelled in football and the other in rugby. Both received a college scholarship based on their abilities in the respective sports. Both were average students with a typical 18-year-old’s indifference to their future careers and goa…

The case for restorative waterparks By Karen Fischer One hot summer day when I was five years old, my mother broke her ankle coming down a slide in a busy waterpark. In the chaos that ensued, kids crowded around me, stretchers carried my mother off over my head, and I couldn’t find the family friends with whom we’d traveled to the park. It was a ni…

Safe spraygrounds are necessary for young patrons By Nikki Kelly Waterparks are the rock stars of summer, with their towering slides and lazy rivers attracting thrill-seekers of all ages. But let's be real—they're not always the best fit for the smallest adventurers. With height restrictions and associated fees, waterparks can sometimes leave toddl…

Public engagement drives multimillion-dollar renovation in City Lake Park By Dave Toms The year was 2017. Like a time-worn photograph, City Lake Pool showed its age. The 1.25 million-gallon “cement pond” was quickly becoming obsolete in an era of lazy rivers, water cannons, and colorful dumping buckets. It was due for a significant renovation. Howe…

A hydrogeologist offers perspective on water-management solutions By Rob F. Good Jr. Golf course irrigation has become a highly engineered science of pumps, piping, sprinkler heads, controls, automation, and telemetry, configured to maximize efficiency and conservation. Advances in system design have been driven by architect and player expectations…

A horticultural oasis reimagined for music and play By Jody Ashfield Botanical gardens are often thought of as serene settings, spaces for horticulturalists and garden enthusiasts to discover and research flora and fauna. Research and education at botanical gardens around the world have been vital in protecting endangered plant species. However, a …

The Land sports complex features flexible designs for a vast range of activities By Nick Henninger The Land is a premier sports, recreation, and events complex currently under construction in Saraland, Ala. The $72-million park spreads across 100 acres and will offer a wide range of indoor and outdoor amenities. The goal of the facility is to servi…

How the Oregon coast became accessible to everyone By Melissa Hart In 1966, having witnessed how property owners cordoned off private beaches in California and Washington, Oregon Governor Tom McCall alerted the media and jumped into a helicopter. He disembarked outside a Cannon Beach hotel and lobbied for public ownership of the coast from sea to v…

The Marina Park Sailing and Boating Center makes watersports accessible to all By Gale Nye Pinckney “We giggled like kids when we got back to the dock. We had that much fun!” That’s how a longtime instructor described a recent ocean sailing class at Marina Park in the City of Newport Beach, California. “The wind was blowing hard, and we all worked …

Free fitness programming helps residents rediscover Jacksonville’s parks By Dan Biederman and Greer Gavin Riverfront Parks Conservancy (RPC), the nonprofit responsible for the activation of riverfront parks in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, retained the placemaking firm Biederman Redevelopment Ventures (BRV) in June 2023 to plan and implement free…

Is your community ready for a parkour park? By Heidi Lemmon Parkour has been around for centuries and provides a full-body workout, which has led to the development of current fitness trails and military obstacle courses. Modern parkour consists of daredevils leaping between buildings, somersaulting off walls, and scaling tall buildings. This doesn…

Equity, accessibility, and variety attract teens to aquatic pipeline By Jefferey Spivey Though no two parks and recreation departments are the same, many seem to be stumped by the same problem – creating aquatic programming for teens. This demographic is especially vulnerable to peer pressure, with friends and trends dictating how they spend their …

Energized staff, maintenance, and planning are essential for strong operations By Brian Hill and Sophia Young With proper preparation, the outdoor pool season will start out strong, but keeping up the momentum month after month can become a challenge. Lifeguard staff may begin to experience burnout, the water chemical balance can change, reducing i…

How aquatic group-exercise classes enhance lifelong health By Haley Ragan Health is the most important aspect in life. An individual’s health allows one to experience life freely and make the most of it. Holistic wellness considers multidimensional aspects of wellness. It encourages people to think about physical, mental, emotional, social, intelle…

Wayfinding signage project cleans up safety and navigation concerns By Colleen McCarty Signage in Saw Wee Kee Park once consisted of an inaccurate map on a kiosk in the parking lot, and painted stripes on trees along the 11 miles of mountain-biking trails. This not only made the trails difficult to navigate, but local authorities expressed concerns…

Sparing parks and open spaces from the worst of the damage caused by wildfires By Cassie Olgren Monument, Colo., is a small, historic town sitting in the shadow of the eastern-most edge of the Rocky Mountains. Locals refer to this area as the Front Range. Living along the Front Range affords residents spectacular views and sunsets, proximity to cou…

Investing in campers builds a bridge to create leaders By Katie Ridinger The Counselors in Training (CIT) program—a camp-leadership initiative for 7th and 8th graders that began in summer 2023—was the beginning of a program that will last for years. Younger campers began asking where the CITs were every day and expressing their dream to someday be …

Although a powerful conservation tool, maintenance and funding limit widespread installation By Jefferey Spivey For more than a decade, green roofs have taken hold in various North American cities, with some serving a purely ecological purpose, while others have grown into major tourist attractions. Despite this track record, many park departments …

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is a destination for conservation education By Patrick Thibaudeau The need for transformation is more urgent than ever. The threat is no longer invisible; we can feel it and see it. Record temperatures and weather events are killing many people and sickening others, damaging property, crops, and treasured…

Striking just the right balance makes for happy visitors and habitats By Jane Peterson Parks and recreation is all about balance. While there is a desire to provide guests with access to an abundance of recreational opportunities, Michigan’s Oakland County Parks staff members also recognize it’s important to care for the land to which the public en…

Weighing the Benefits of Organic Management of Natural-Grass Fields By Jefferey Spivey When it comes to improving natural-grass fields—be it bare spots, pooling, or other problems—many park departments turn to tried-and-true solutions. “One way is to use a chemical-intensive system and have the lawn people come every few weeks and lay down chemical…

Getting It Right Before Anything Goes Wrong By Danielle Spence In an age of increasing threats to student safety, collaboration between school districts and park districts has become a vital part of emergency preparedness. Natural disasters, unforeseen security threats, and shootings are only a few of the possible situations. Over the past 5 years,…

Active Shooter Preparedness in Parks By Josh Campbell Imagine a holiday weekend at a park bustling with visitors when you hear what sounds like fireworks. After all, it's summer and fireworks complaints have been non-stop for a week. But these fireworks are different; they are not the usual bottle rockets or lady fingers. Something must have gone w…

How to evaluate (and justify) potential revenue streams By Mark Nagel As one final project before I retired from the city of Elko New Market, Minn., I was asked to scan the nation for potential revenue sources for evaluation, and make recommendations to diversify our current revenue base for future park projects.…

In 2024, effective park management will require balancing staff and visitors’ evolving needs By Jefferey Spivey Change management is crucial for leaders in any field. Whether it’s adopting innovative technology, navigating employee turnover, or launching new programs, successful leaders are often those who handle curveballs with ease and expertly g…

Creating a program to show that every employee matters By Annie Olson No matter the size of a park agency, all of them struggle with resource needs. However, what some people often don’t recognize is that the most valuable resource of any organization is its employees. At the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB), a 2015 assessment of employ…

All I know I learned from my horses By Shannon Coates I’ve never heard an effective leader say that leadership is easy—it’s not. In fact, it can be incredibly difficult at times. Not only does an individual in charge have to make sure the day-to-day needs of an organization are met, but he or she is also responsible for helping each person become t…

Tips to create simple marketing messages that work By Ryan Wille It takes a lot of effort and planning to stand out in today’s world full of people constantly being treated as potential customers. Studies show the average person is exposed to roughly 4,000 marketing messages every day, and the number is growing.…

By any other word would be a logo re-design By Sara Green, Shannon Palmer, and Stephanie McDermott Since 2020, state parks have seen massive upticks in visitors. The pandemic forced people to self-reflect and find new ways and places to interact. As a result, the outdoors became a safe haven for many, and state parks became an avenue for those look…

ADA requirements for digital parks and recreation communications By Brian Stapleton In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, technology holds a paramount position in the functioning of local governments, influencing every facet of their operations. From streamlining administrative tasks to enhancing civic engagement, technology assists in mod…

How do you know when you’re ready to lead? By Bill Plessinger I had been at my previous parks and rec position for more than a decade when I landed a great job in central Ohio for a Gold Medal-winning agency, with more responsibility and many more employees to lead. It was tough saying goodbye. The position and the people had been good to me. Befor…

Take a step back and look at what players need to aspire to be great By John Engh When I run into people from my youth-sports days, they tell me what a great coach my dad was and how they still remember some of the ways he motivated them to work harder and be better.By PRB Magazine

Reach out to the elderly and children with messages of kindness and caring By Ron CiancuttiBy PRB Magazine

A framework for implementing these principles in today’s park design By Troy Houtman With many changes in programming, ADA-access, and opportunities to inclusively serve all members of a diverse community, a paradigm shift has occurred, and it’s time that it is recognized in the way parks are designed.…

A Chaska redevelopment project pays tribute to its industrial past while embracing a favorite local sport By Tom Betti and Tracy Nicholson “Chess on Ice” has come a long way from the frozen ponds of Scotland. While the sport of curling rewards great skill and precision, Chaska, Minn., wanted to reward the community with a great place to play, pract…

Using data and partnerships to determine sports-field placement By Clement Lau Park planning has become increasingly data-driven in recent years. For instance, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) collects and analyzes a high volume and variety of data to prepare major plans and studies, with key examples including the 20…

Retaining instructors is the key to a quality program By Stephanie Chelar The heart and soul of any fitness center is its group-exercise program. Nearly 40 percent of members will participate in these classes at some point, and the American College of Sports Medicine designated group fitness within the top-three trends of 2020 (Thompson, 2019). So,…

How a former golf course became the first veterans park in Geauga County, Ohio By Sandy Ward At the center of Geauga County, Ohio, along the main artery Route 44, lies a new park with more heart than most. Veterans Legacy Woods quickly gained recognition as the county’s 27th park and its first dedicated to U.S. veterans.…

Horseshoe Bay Nature Park offers visitors an opportunity to explore the region’s natural heritage By Sarah Yant Visitors to Horseshoe Bay Nature Park are welcomed at the entrance by a cedar coyote fence bearing the park’s distinctive logo: a purple Texas thistle nestled in the curve of a horseshoe. It’s a fitting symbol for a place whose existence …

Conversations can lead to common-sense solutions By Ron Ciancutti Long before business meetings included projections and metrics, the people sitting around a table talked about how things were going. They asked about the families and inquired about the “work family”—the gang that worked together all day. In the park system where I worked, there wer…

Understanding all components of a project budget By Thomas Betti Envisioning the possibilities of a new community center or sports facility is exciting, but when the costs of a project add up, the last thing anyone wants to see is a surprise. To bypass aggressive finger-pointing, the best advice is to avoid any comparison with similar facilities an…