Diving Deeper Into the 2020 Park and Rec Trends — January Bonus Episode

Are you ready for a bonus episode of Open Space Radio? In
addition to the episodes we release every other Tuesday morning,
we are adding an extra episode each month that takes a deeper
look at Parks & Recreation magazine’s feature article.
Starting with the January 2020 issue of the magazine, you can now
enjoy a bonus episode of Open Space Radio and expanded content on
the magazine every month!


To kick it off, we are diving deeper into one of our most popular
annual magazine articles, written by none other than NRPA’s Vice
President of Strategic Initiatives, Rich Dolesh. This
highly-anticipated article in Parks & Recreation magazine
explores upcoming trends in the field and we're excited to chat
with Rich on the show today.


On this episode we explore how one of the hottest topics of 2019
(check out eSports at the Rec Center? — Episode 046) is going to
continue its momentum into the new decade. Not only is the Sports
Emmy Awards going to have an awards category for outstanding
eSports coverage, but we may also see a rise in demand for
eSports coaches in parks and recreation.


Tune in below to hear about other technology that park and
recreation professionals may start to see more of in 2020, like
commercial drones (to deliver pizza to your park event) and
micromobility devices that are faster, quieter and better able to
navigate various types of terrain.


We also talk about:


How conservation efforts of park and recreation agencies are
going to increase in 2020.

How agencies will ban Glyphosate — an herbicide that has
links to negative impacts on human health and wildlife, despite
the EPA declaring it safe earlier this year.

Green burials and human composting — which is exactly what it
sounds like.

“The Mosquito” — a sonic disruptor device that emits a
high-frequency noise that can only be heard by people ages 13-2.



Check out the full episode to hear Rich’s thoughts on all this
and more. 


Are you seeing these trends? We’d love to hear your personal
experience. What else do you see popping up in parks and
recreation in 2020? Email us your predictions to
openspace@nrpa.org! You can even send us a voice memo with your
story and we may play it in an upcoming episode.