November 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 58

NRPA Update
Making the Case:
Parks and Health

ithin our field, it's common knowledge that access to parks,
recreational opportunities and open space is beneficial for our
health, both physical and mental. As park and recreation professionals, we get it. But, do our elected leaders? Do the people
who wield control over our funding truly understand how well-established is
the link between parks and healthy habits?
In February, NRPA, Active Living
Research and a host of park and recreation leaders convened a workshop to
attempt to answer that very question.
We wanted to know what research already existed that could help demonstrate the health benefits of parks,
where any research gaps might exist
and how we could best communicate
this information to decision makers.
We discovered that a robust body of
research is already available to help us
make our case - the challenge lies in
how to disseminate that information.
Communications Kit
To help you better communicate the
benefits of parks to the overall health

of your communities, we've developed
a comprehensive communications kit
replete with substantive data you can
begin using immediately. It includes:
Parks and Health Fact Sheets
These easy-to-use HTML-formatted
sheets are broken down into different
issue areas with citations, so it's easy
to cut and paste from our website to
your documents. Formatted PDFs
you can print and distribute are also
included - go to www.nrpa.org/
ParksandHealth/Fact-Sheets to examine the materials.
Infographics Library
This page contains links to publicly
available infographics that help tell the
story of the positive
impact of parks on
community health
and well-being in
easy-to-scan visual
content. Downloadable infographics are
available at www.
nrpa.org/ParksandHealth/Infographics-Library.
Parks and Health
PowerPoint Slides
These slides con-

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dense the information from the fact
sheets. For each fact sheet topic, there
is one master slide with several data
points, followed by four to six slides
with one fact and one image apiece.
The slides are designed to supplement
your presentation, as the content,
layout and design can be modified
based on your needs. Download the
slides from www.nrpa.org/ParksandHealth/Presentations.
Success Stories
Several examples drawn from NRPA's online database highlight park
and recreation agencies from around
the country that are serving as public
health leaders in their communities.
Read more at www.nrpa.org/ParksandHealth/Success-Stories.
Social Media Calendar
We've included ready-to-use social
media posts to coincide with optimal
times of the year to start conversations with your community about
how they use parks to get and stay
healthy. Explore this resource at
www.nrpa.org/ParksandHealth/Social-Media-Calendar.
Testimonials
Researchers and elected officials discuss the health benefits of parks and
how those benefits translate into tangible, positive impacts within our communities. Read more at www.nrpa.
org/ParksandHealth/Testimonials.
A comprehensive overview of all
the Making the Case documents
and links to all the above-mentioned
materials is available at www.nrpa.
org/ParksandHealth. For more information about these resources,
contact NRPA Director of Strategic
Health Initiatives Zarnaaz Bashir, at
zbashir@nrpa.org.

November 2015 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2015 - Parks & Recreation