With the rise in digital content, it’s easier than ever to deliver a targeted message to your intended audience. And, one type of digital content that I’m a particular fan of is podcasting, which continues to be a platform that is seeing tremendous growth. On today’s episode, you’ll meet the hosts of two other podcasts related to parks and recreation, as we discuss why we’re so passionate about podcasting, what listeners can gain from each one of our podcasts, and how easily accessible content a...
Jul 27, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 97
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 of Open Space Radio, Kathleen Gibi, the executive director for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful...
Jul 15, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 96
*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 for more information on The Genesis Project. We are just about at the halfway point of Park and Recrea...
Jul 13, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 96
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 environments where all people, regardless of their gender identity or expression, are welcomed, accepted an...
Jun 29, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 95
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 illustrating how parks and recreation is impacting communities across the country, and this year was n...
Jun 17, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 94
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 these DEI resources in the form of a very insightful story map — is understanding how our history bro...
Jun 15, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 94
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 human right. Meaning that for the purposes of recreational sports, youth should be allowed to particip...
Jun 01, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 93
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 during the COVID-19 pandemic. On today’s episode, I’m thrilled to be chatting with two individ...
May 20, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 92
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 us were looking forward to recording this one, but we were grateful to be able to chat on this episo...
May 18, 2021•22 min•Season 1Ep. 92
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 specifically about the wildfires that were impacting much of the western part of the country last year...
May 04, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 91
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, resources and communications to demonstrate visible climate leadership, and inspires health leaders to adv...
Apr 20, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 90
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 parks are prioritized. Clement Lau, AICP, is a departmental facilities planner for the Los Angeles...
Apr 15, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 89
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 talented athlete, Abby’s list of accomplishments goes well beyond sports. She was a commencement ...
Apr 06, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 89
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 to learn more about his story of adversity, resilience and how parks and recreation saved his life. T...
Mar 23, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 88
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 joined by one of the event speakers, as well as an individual who is doing vital work with Indige...
Mar 18, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 87
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 professionals have come together in service of their communities, including taking on new roles and pro...
Mar 09, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 87
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 the field of parks and recreation, there seemed to be an obvious choice. Today we are welcoming three ...
Feb 23, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 86
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 storytelling to provide a deeper understanding of an issue. TEDx events are independently organize...
Feb 18, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 85
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 we want a future with truly equitable outcomes. We’re excited to be joined on the show today by three...
Feb 09, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 85
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, and if you joined us at the 2020 NRPA Annual Conference: A Virtual Experience (NRPA Virtual) last Oct...
Jan 26, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 84
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 impacts that are not only felt on a local level, but are absolutely worthy of every bit of recogni...
Jan 21, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 83
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 favorite activity — skateboarding. They realized that access to public recreational spaces was critica...
Jan 12, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 83
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, racial justice movement, climate disasters and more, and we are so grateful to play a small part in he...
Dec 29, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 82
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 in Parks and Recreation” Coffee Talk from the 2020 NRPA Annual Conference: A Virtual Experien...
Dec 17, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 81
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 professionals have been working hard to find ways to meet these needs. One way to meet the needs of ...
Dec 15, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 81
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 prevalent, there’s an increasing need for our youth to have opportunities to engage with nature — and on...
Dec 01, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 80
The December issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of the podcast, we’re going to be diving deeper into one of this month’s feature stories, titled, “ Biodiversity Lays the Pathway to Good Health .” The article explores how the COVID-19 pandemic could become the tipping point for connecting biodiversity with human health, and we’re thrilled to be joined by the author of the article and one of her colleagues to talk a little bit more about it. Joining u...
Nov 19, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 79
If you attended the 2020 NRPA Annual Conference: A Virtual Experience (NRPA Virtual), you may have joined us for the Coffee Talk sessions that we hosted at the beginning and end of each day, when we had the opportunity to chat with park and recreation professionals, thought leaders, subject matter experts and NRPA staff about some of the most pressing issues that are impacting your work. While each of these Coffee Talk sessions was inspiring and thought-provoking, we recognize that not everyone ...
Nov 17, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Today is November 3, 2020 – an important day for our country, our democracy, our values and our future. Today is Election Day! On this day — and over the last few weeks — millions of Americans will head to the polls to make their voices heard. And whether you mailed in your ballot, voted early or are still undecided as you listen to this episode, we know that our guests today are going to provide sage wisdom on all things elections, voting and why it’s important to advocate at the federal, state...
Nov 03, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 78
On this bonus episode of the podcast, we’re going to be diving deeper into one of the feature stories from the November issue of Parks & Recreation magazine, titled, “A New Approach to Parks and Recreation System Planning.” In this article, the author — and our guest on today’s episode — writes about how today’s environment is shifting our thinking about the future of parks and recreation. David Barth is no stranger to park and recreation planning. He is a registered landscape architect, cer...
Oct 29, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 77
