System-wide green infrastructure in parks plays a critical role in protecting communities from the harmful effects of climate change and enhancing community resilience, including providing shade, reducing localized flooding, and improving physical and mental health.

NRPA is working to ensure park and recreation professionals have the tools to communicate about, championfor and standardize greener parks to improve community well-being, especially in communities facing environmental, health, economic and social injustices.

Resources

NRPA, in partnership with the Willamette Partnership, developed a suite of resources for park and recreation professionals and partners to address the unfair climate-related health impacts and champion for solutions. Learn more about this work in the Creating Greener Parks for Health video.

• Executive Summary
• Greener Parks for Health Communications Toolkit highlights powerful evidence and messaging of greener parks. This resource includes one-pagers that provide facts and statistics around each benefit:
  
  • Health Benefits of Greener Parks
  • Economic Benefits of Greener Parks
  • Social Benefits of Greener Parks
  • Environmental Benefits of Greener Parks
• Greener Parks for Health Policy Action Framework recommends the creative use of new and existing policies and funding mechanisms at the federal, state and local levels to encourage greener parks.
• Greener Parks for Health Toolkit provides key actions to advance cross-sector solutions to greener parks.

Webinar Series

The Greener Parks for Health webinar series, hosted on NRPA’s online learning system, will highlight evidence, targeted messaging strategies, policy and funding mechanisms, and case studies to help you advance greener parks in your community. A recording of the webinar, presentation slides and other resources now are available to everyone:

• Exploring the Connection of Parks, Green Infrastructure and Health
• How to Talk Persuasively about Greener Parks
• Creative and Fair Policy and Funding for Greener Parks
• Best Practices for Achieving Greener Parks

Research

NRPA, in partnership with the Willamette Partnership, conducted a review of the literature, policies and perceptions around parks, green infrastructure and health outcomes. While this research supports greener parks as a solution to advancing health outcomes, continued resource creation, messaging, investment and research is needed to support park and recreation professionals. Below are summaries of these research efforts:

• Evidence linking green infrastructure and health
• Policy and funding opportunities
• Landscape assessment of the field
• Summary of the 2019 Parks, Green Infrastructure and Health Cross-Sector Workshop

Photo credit: Philadelphia Water Department