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
Addressing Issues at the Intersection of Climate and Health — Episode 089
In celebration of April being Earth Month, and with Earth Day coming up on Thursday, we’re excited to be discussing a program focused on creating leaders for climate solutions. The program, Climate f…
Equity-Centered Planning Is About More Than Just Metrics — May Bonus Episode
The May issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of the podcast, we’re diving deeper into one of this month’s feature stories, “From Plans to Parks.” In this arti…
What Inclusion and Accessibility Means to a Special Olympian — Episode 088
Today’s episode is airing on April 6, National Student-Athlete Day. While today’s guest is no longer a student, she has been an athlete for Special Olympics Minnesota for 19 years. Abby Hirsch, who w…
From Experiencing Homelessness to Becoming a Community Leader — Episode 087
A few months ago, we came across a post on LinkedIn that really pulled at our heartstrings and demonstrated how resilient a person can be when they have their mind set on a goal. The post chronicled…
The Importance of Amplifying Contemporary Indigenous Voices — April Bonus Episode
The April issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of the podcast, we’re diving deeper into one of this month’s cover stories, “Protecting the Land and Its Histor…
One Year Later: COVID-19 and Parks and Recreation — Episode 086
When this episode airs on March 9, 2021, we will be two days away from the one-year anniversary of coronavirus (COVID-19) being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The past year has…
Creating a Space for Women in Parks and Recreation — Episode 085
Women’s History Month starts next month, and we thought it would be a good time to tackle a topic that has been on our episode wish list for a while now — women in parks and recreation. Parks and rec…
Building ‘An Equal Future’ with TEDxCollegePark — March Bonus Episode
The March issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of the podcast, we’re diving deeper into the feature story, “Ensuring ‘An Equal Future’ for All,” which introdu…
Creating Opportunities for Underserved Youth in Louisville — Episode 084
As we’ve discussed before, the unfortunate reality about outdoor recreation is that not everyone has equitable access to these opportunities and there are people who don’t necessarily feel welcome or…
Coffee Talk Replay: Park Equity and Racial Justice — Episode 083
As we continue to work on centering equity in all that we do, and as the fight for racial justice and equity in the United States continues, we wanted to revisit a conversation we had last year about…
Celebrating Parks and Recreation’s Inaugural 30 Under 30 — February Bonus Episode
The February issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s episode, we’re diving deeper into this month’s cover story, “30 Under 30 for 2021.” We know from our work at NRPA that the…
How a Group of Teens Is Bringing a Skatepark To Their Community — Episode 082
It is our first Open Space Radio episode of 2021, and we’re so excited for another year of great conversations on the podcast. To start the year, we’re thrilled to be talking with a group of inspirin…
2020 Reflections and Looking Ahead to 2021 — Episode 081
It’s hard to believe 2020 is almost over. This year has been challenging in so many ways, and on our final episode of the year, we’re looking back at some of the conversations we’ve had, discussing t…
Emerging Trends in Parks and Recreation — January Bonus Episode
The January 2021 issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and this month’s issue features the highly anticipated cover story, “Top Trends in Parks and Recreation 2021,” by Rich Dolesh, NRPA’s…
How Farmers Markets Benefit the Whole Community — Episode 80
Over the past decade, there has been steady growth across the farmers market industry nationwide, with new farmers market locations popping up in communities of all shapes and sizes. And, many park a…
How Every Kid Outdoors is Increasing Access to Parks — Episode 079
We have waxed poetic over the past several months about how critical it has been to get outdoors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and parks have proven to be the destination of choice for many peopl…
How Biodiversity Creates Healthy Communities – December Bonus Episode
The December issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of the podcast, we’re going to be diving deeper into one of this month’s feature stories, titled, “Biodivers…
Community Healing in the Wake of Trauma — Episode 078
If you attended the 2020 NRPA Annual Conference: A Virtual Experience (NRPA Virtual), you may have joined us for the Coffee Talk sessions that we hosted at the beginning and end of each day, when we …
How to Make Your Voice Heard on Election Day and Beyond — Episode 077
Today is November 3, 2020 – an important day for our country, our democracy, our values and our future. Today is Election Day! On this day — and over the last few weeks — millions of Americans will h…
Park and Rec Planning in a New Era with David Barth — November Bonus Episode
On this bonus episode of the podcast, we’re going to be diving deeper into one of the feature stories from the November issue of Parks & Recreation magazine, titled, “A New Approach to Parks and Recr…