Open Space Radio
Open Space Radio is a podcast for park and recreation professionals and outdoor advocates that aims to share inspiring and engaging stories about community, connection, and the impact of local parks and recreation. New episodes are released every other Tuesday. Open Space Radio is the official podcast of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) — Because everyone deserves a great park.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 200
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
What Does It Take to Raise the Bar in Parks and Rec? — Episode 27
In this episode, we sit down with Becky Dunlap, a passionate park and recreation professional and advocate, to hear about how she ended up in a career in the field she loves so much without even real…
Universal Recreation: Meh or Magnificent? — Episode 026
In our 25th episode, we invited you to send us your ideas for future podcast episodes. Lucky for us, Jessica Cannaday, CPRP, Marketing and Communications Manager with Oak Brook Park District, sent in…
Celebrating Our 25th Episode: Why We Love Park & Rec Pros — Episode 025
Happy 25th episode! This is a huge milestone for Open Space Radio, and we recently hit another milestone — we surpassed 10,000 downloads of the show! Thank YOU for listening and joining us on this jo…
How Risk Play Can Benefit Kids — Episode 024
On today's episode, we chat with Tom Norquist, president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA), about how risk and adventure play is stepping back into the limelight a…
Parks and Rec Brings the Fun — Episode 023
On today’s episode, we’re talking with Peter Kageyama, one of the 2018 NRPA Annual Conference keynote speakers. Kageyama is an author, whose book For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between Peopl…
Celebrating "A Lifetime of Discovery!" — Episode 022
Park and Recreation Month is right around the corner, and we’re super excited to celebrate with you all in a few days. As many of you already know, the theme this year is A Lifetime of Discovery, and…
How Parks and Rec Served Over 85 Million Meals — Episode 021
On today's episode, we're talking about the importance of summer meal programs and the impact that parks and recreation is making in communities across the country through the Summer Food Service Pro…
Parks and Rec is Transforming the Lives of Older Adults (and Vice Versa) — Episode 020
May is Older Americans Month and park and recreation agencies play a crucial role in serving older adult populations.
According to NRPA’s 2018 Agency Performance Review, 41 percent of park and recrea…
The Great NRPA Owl Rescue — Episode 019
Last Monday evening, a group of Boy Scouts were on the trail behind NRPA's headquarters when they came upon a baby Barred Owl who had appeared to have fallen from its nest more than 40-feet up in the…
What Do Dream Parks Look Like to Kids? — Episode 018
The nation’s largest STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) celebration took place this past weekend at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The 5th USA Sci…
Parks and Recreation in a Digital World — Episode 017
On today’s episode, we’re discussing a new research report titled “From Green Space to Digital Place.” The report takes a look at smart city strategies and how cities are capitalizing on technologica…
How to Improve Your Cardiovascular Health and #MoveWithHeart — Episode 016
It’s February — the month of love. People everywhere are rushing through Hallmark stores and florists to get their significant others heartfelt cards, flowers and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Al…
How the Rise of Technology Could Help Us Reclaim Our Paradise — Episode 015
Technology has changed the way we do pretty much everything in our daily lives. With technology-based transportation and convenience services such as Uber, Lyft, ZipCar, Instacart for groceries and A…
Why Everyone in San Francisco Lives Within a 10-Minute Walk to a Park — Episode 014
In today’s episode, we’re taking a look at a city and mayor who have done some incredible work when it comes to park access. The city is San Francisco, California. Unfortunately, since recording this…
Mayor Hillary Schieve on Why Parks and Recreation is Vital to a Thriving Reno — Episode 013
Mayor Hillary Schieve is one of the more than 150 mayors across the U.S. who has signed on to the 10-Minute Walk Campaign — an effort between NRPA, the Trust for Public Land and the Urban Land Insti…
9 Minutes with 9-Year-Old Kedar on How to Save Pollinators — Episode 012
NRPA has always been a champion for pollinators, but in the past few years as bee and monarch populations have seen scary rates of decline, we’ve stepped up our involvement in helping to save pollin…
5 Healthy Out-of-School Time Myths Busted — Episode 011
In today’s episode, we chat with Ava DeBovis and Daniel Hatcher from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Alliance works with NRPA on Commit to Health — our program to increase healthy eating…
Why 3 National Orgs Came Together to Promote Proximity to Parks — Episode 010
On October 10, 2017, the Trust for Public Land (TPL), the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) came together to launch a campaign called 10-Minute Walk.
…
Are You Annoying? And Other Fun Tidbits to Have Conversations that Matter: Interview with Jessica Pettitt — Episode 009
We’ve all been there. All of a sudden, a normal conversation takes a difficult turn and we find ourselves at a loss. Do we fight? Do we leave the conversation all together and avoid the offending per…
Drones in Parks: Part 3. Opportunities, Innovative Uses and the Future — Episode 008
In this third and final installment of our series on drones in parks, we speak with Rich Dolesh, NRPA’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives on the future of drones in parks.
In part one, we looke…