November 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 52

N R PA U P DAT E

Introducing the Sustainability Institute

J

oin us February 2-7, 2020, in Wheeling, West Virginia, as NRPA introduces a new partner school in conjunction with Oglebay's National
Training Center and North Carolina State University, focusing on organizational sustainability. The curriculum for this course was developed
alongside the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its Green Scientific
Advisory Group to teach students how to create a sustainability plan for
agencies, while broadening an understanding of sustainable practices and
expanding personal, professional networks.
This one-year school will engage
participants in a process of plan-

ning and creative problem-solving,
highlighting themes - such as reducing environmental impacts of
utilities, understanding concepts of
environmental and economic resilience, and focusing on the soft skills
needed to implement and maintain
the plan by engaging various stakeholders. The courses will introduce
terminology and concepts, define
metrics for tracking progress and
develop an understanding for utility and other data in establishing
baselines for success in relation to
challenges that participants face at
their agencies. When developing
sustainability plans, participants

NRPA's New Product
Spotlight Video Series

W

hen you see a playground feature that
looks like it came to
life from the pages of a children's
storybook, do you ever wonder
what could have inspired such a
unique design?
NRPA was curious too, so
we decided to interview some
of the people behind the latest
park and recreation products to
get insight into the inspiration
behind the designs.

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Parks & Recreation

Our new Product Spotlight
video series tells the story behind
the design and development of
some of the newest playground
features, fitness equipment, software, maintenance equipment
and more. These interviews go
beyond the basic features and
dive into what makes these products unique.
To watch the latest Product
Spotlight videos, visit www.nrpa.
org/ProductSpotlight.

| N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

will formulate a mission, vision
and goals within various categories
being explored, draft a plan outline for their individual agency and
establish a plan for gaining stakeholder feedback and support.
NRPA has partnered with this
school, as there is potential within the
Sustainability Institute's curriculum
to fill in identified professional development gaps in the area of conservation and agency resilience to climate
change, along with economic factors
related to increasing costs of waste
management, utilities and other services. If you are a park facility director, this is a valuable training opportunity, as the course content currently
focuses on the planning and management of facilities but will expand
in the coming years to also focus on
resilience and sustainability planning
for parks and open space. For more
information about this school and to
register for 2020, please contact Oglebay at ntc@oglebay.com.

PRODUCT
SPOTLIGHT
The Inspiration Behind the Products
November 2019 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2019 - Parks & Recreation
