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Last week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released an alarming report warning that there are only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.
Each of us in our disparate contexts are confronted with the reality that our world is changing. Regardless of where we live, a changing climate is going to affect how we live, eat, thrive and breathe. Whether it’s flood, fire, drought or rising sea levels, we are all among the 96 percent of Americans who live in a county that’s been a federally declared disaster area since 2010, and science tells us that none of us are immune from this global contagion. I’m not interested in litigating scientific findings, because the data and science are clear. We are at a global tipping point, and how we respond now is how we will be judged by future generations.
We as a parks and recreation industry have the opportunity to lead, and we should and must seize that mantle. Regardless of your feelings on the politics of climate science, we have an obligation to the kids we feed, expose to nature and enrich to do our part. There are two ways we can take up that mantle: mitigating greenhouses gas emissions and adapting to a climate that is changing.
Parks and Rec Role (Examples limited only by my lack of imagination):
Mitigation:
- Work via regulatory and market based schemes that will pay you to plant trees and preserve natural areas as carbon sinks
- Retrofit vehicle fleet and retool operations to create a carbon free operations
Adaptation:
- Install green infrastructure to mitigate stormwater runoff
- Acquire land in floodplains that can be redesigned and repurposed to prevent catastrophic flooding while creating immense recreational, health and economic benefits
- Create plans and operationalize those plans to allow community and recreation centers to serve as shelter in place venues when disaster strikes
- Use parkland to capture rainwater and recharge groundwater supply
- Plant drought tolerant plant species
- Utilize predictive modelling/climate data in the park and master planning processes
There is a lot of noise out there. We can’t do much about the murder of journalists in diplomatic compounds, about humanitarian strife in Syria or Yemen, about trade wars or about encroaching nationalism and nativism. But what we can do is leverage the power of parks and recreation in nearly every community in our fragile democratic experiment to tell our kid and grandkids that we did everything we could to ensure that the world that we know and love can and will exist.
NRPA is gathering our best and brightest in Miami this January to put some thought behind what we can do now and in the future. Join us for this critical conversation as we learn from national experts and see on-the-ground examples of how Miami is facing their changing reality head on.
It’s time for action — what will you do and how will you be judged?
Kevin O'Hara
Vice President of Urban and Government Affairs
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Featured
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As predominant land owners within communities across the nation, park and recreation agencies are on the front lines of facing climate change. From rising sea levels to strong, more frequently-occurring weather events, agencies can and should be key players in developing resiliency strategies. Using Miami-Dade County, one of the most at-risk coastal areas in the world, as both setting and example, we’ll explore the role of park and recreation agencies in maximizing the value of parks and open spaces for resilience. Join us in Miami January 16-18, 2019.
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Take the fear out of voting in the upcoming mid-term elections! Join NRPA’s Public Policy Team for a Facebook Live event airing on Wednesday, October 31 at 1:00 PM ET to learn more about the variety of roles parks and rec agencies play in supporting voting in your community. We'll also cover why it is important to vote in the mid-term elections, informational resources about voting in your state, key issues being tracked during the 2018 mid-term election season by the Public Policy Team, and opportunities to advocate for parks and rec through the Park Champion initiative. Did you already cast your ballot? Show us you’re not spooked by voting! Tweet a picture of your “I Voted” sticker to @NRPA_News using the hashtag #IVote4Parks.
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Stories That Matter
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Route Fifty
A number of cities are rolling out resilience strategies full of projects that need funding, and impact and mission-related investors make a good fit.
Parks and trails in Michigan and New York are receiving $200 million from a foundation funded by the former owner of the Buffalo Bills.
National Recreation and Park Association
NRPA's Out-of-School Time Report explores the scope and missions of out-of-school time programs.
Cities across Oregon are transforming industrial waterfront sites into recreation opportunities.
The Dirt
Maintenance may not be something that excites designers, clients, or the public, but its implementation–or lack thereof–can make all the difference in the success or failure of a project.
The Dirt
You don’t have to travel to New York to experience Brooklyn Bridge Park with the help of virtual reality.
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We need more parks if we want our cities to be more resilient to climate change.
Sustainable City Network
Urban trees should not be an afterthought or taken for granted. Instead, they should be included in all stages of planning for sustainable communities.
Next City
Last week, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced the broad outlines of a plan to knit together climate-change adaptation strategies along 47 miles of waterfront.
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After Shalisa Hayes' son was killed by gun violence, she asked Washington state for help in getting a community center in Eastside Tacoma to provide a safe space for kids in the community.
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WAMU 88.5
It’s not what you think.
Route Fifty
Children in some states scored better than others in engaging in physical activities, a report finds.
The State of Obesity
The obesity rate for youth ages 10 to 17 ranged from 8.7% in Utah to 26.1% in Mississippi, according to the most recent state-by-state data from the 2016-17 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH).
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National Recreation and Park Association
Beginning Monday, October 29, we will be accepting education session proposals for the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. This is a great opportunity to share your knowledge and unique experiences with your peers on a national level. Need some help? NRPA's senior education manager, Tom Crosley, shares his top five tips for submitting education session proposals on NRPA's Open Space blog. Want an added bonus? Speakers always get a complimentary one-day conference pass for the days they speak, but, this year, NRPA is giving away one FREE Full Package Registration to one randomly selected person whose proposal is selected for the 2019 NRPA Annual Conference.
The Digital Harbor Foundation
The Digital Harbor Foundation, with support from Schmidt Futures and in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association, the National League of Cities, and the Association of Science – Technology Centers is announcing the launch of the Rec-to-Tech National Design Challenge to build a scalable model that creates maker and computer science education programs serving youth in rec centers around the country.
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Because Everyone Deserves a Great Park
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© 2018 National Recreation and Park Association, All Rights Reserved
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