Did You Know July is Park and Recreation Month?

Since 1985, the United States has celebrated Park and Recreation Month in July to promote building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation and to recognize the more than 160,000 full-time park and recreation professionals — along with hundreds of thousands of part-time and seasonal workers and volunteers — who maintain our country’s local, state and community parks. Through efforts by NRPA, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an official resolution for Park and Recreation Month in 2009 and introduced the resolution in 2017 and 2018. Park and recreation agencies nationwide are recognizing the month with summer programs, events, contests, commemorations, and celebrations. The services that park and recreation professionals provide are vital to our communities — from protecting open spaces and natural resources to helping fight obesity and providing activities and resources for all people. Park and Recreation Month encourages everyone to reflect on the exponential value park and recreation professionals bring to communities.

According to NRPA’s 2023 Engagement With Parks Report, people place a high value on the programs and services that park and recreation agencies deliver to their local communities every day and strongly support their mission. More than 280 million people in the United States visited a local park or recreation facility at least once during the past year, and seven in 10 U.S. residents have at least one local park, playground, open space or recreation center within walking distance of their homes. Also, In the United States, 84 percent of adults seek high-quality parks and recreation when choosing a place to live. And eighty-eight percent of U.S. adults agree it is vital for local park and recreation agencies to engage with every member of their community to ensure offerings meet their needs.

Local park and recreation agencies also play a vital role in the protection of our environment through green infrastructure, maintenance of public lands, preserving wildlife habitats and more. Here are some ways local parks help out our land:

• In addition to helping connect people to nature, local parks create essential environmental stewards who advocate for and protect our most precious public resources — our land, water, trees, open spaces and wildlife.
• Local park and recreation agencies collectively manage more than 11 million acres of open space across the United States.
• Climate-ready parks provide proven, cost-effective and sustainable environmental solutions.
• Parks lower ground temperatures with tree canopy, clean water, reduce flooding and contribute to healthier air.
• Parks reduce the impact of large storms and flooding by serving as sponges that soak up runoff from nearby paved surfaces during rain events. This in turn prevents flooding and decreases property damage. Well-designed parks also reduce water usage by recycling and storing this water for use during times of low precipitation.
• Evidence not only shows that parks are cooler than their surrounding cities, but also that parks contribute to overall urban cooling — parks make our cities more comfortable in the summer!
• According to NRPA’s Sustainability in Parks and Recreation report, park and recreation leaders place high importance on strategies that protect the natural habitat, embrace park infrastructure for stormwater management and lower agency water usage.

This year’s Park and Recreation Month theme — “Where You Belong” — celebrates the many ways park and recreation professionals across the country foster a sense of belonging in their community by providing welcoming and inclusive programs, essential services for all ages and abilities, and safe, accessible spaces to build meaningful connection. This July, let’s unite and share the many reasons why local parks and recreation truly embodies the essence of belonging. Together, we can demonstrate why these spaces are Where You Belong.

Source: National Recreation And Park Association. NRPA encourages all people to share how parks and recreation has improved their lives on social media using #WhereYouBelong. • For more information visit nrpa.org/july.