World Parks Academy

The webinar will introduce and launch the new Children Play and Nature Policy developed by World Urban Parks. Three members of the Standing Committee will inspire participants through the sharing of their projects.

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The City of Calgary embarked on an initiative that encouraged greater independent play, riskier play and a reconnection with nature. From adventure playgrounds to a Play Charter, come learn how we are changing the ways Calgary plays.

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This previously recorded one-hour webcast is designed for park and public agency employees who are interested in obtaining the Certified Park Professional (CPP) or Certified International Park Professional (CIPP) credential.

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This is an opportunity to hear from and engage with two keynote speakers from the World Urban Parks' Congress in Melbourne earlier this year. Learn about how the thinking of parks and cities is developing. Hear from Daniel Raven-Ellison as he explains what a National Park City is and describe how this big idea could transform life in cities. He'll describe why and how London is becoming the world's first National Park City before inviting participants to join an international conversation about the future of the concept. Learn how World Urban Parks, from Chair Jayne Miller, is addressing the pressing global impact and challenges that urban growth and density will have on our parks, leisure and sport and people's well being, specifically the outcomes of the International Parks & Leisure Congress from the Melbourne Statement.

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Plant & City is the French national center for research and experiments on green spaces and urban landscaping. Established as an association (nonprofit organization), it currently has more than 500 members (local authorities, landscaping firms, design offices, research and training establishments, etc.). Learn More

This recorded webcast is designed for park and public agency employees who are interested in the history of parks. The session will include historical details, drawings and photographs of the people and places who make up the story, their objectives, successes and failures.

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Being in tune with community needs drives successful agencies. However, there is more to it than the “build it and they will come” philosophy.

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Lighting enhances, extends and promotes the use of parks and public places after dark. The way we light our parks can have serious effects on public perception of safety and can cause negative effects on people and the environment.

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In this webcast participants will learn to think about green space as a canvas; a piece of art where people can interact with everyday landscape in a new and temporary way. Ralf Witthaus, International Land-Artist based in Germany, will provide examples from the Federal Lawn Show in Cologne and other lawnmower drawings to teach a creative and alternative approach to incorporate art in public parks.

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This previously recorded one-hour webcast is designed for park and public agency employees who are interested in obtaining the Certified Park Professional (CPP) or Certified International Park Professional (CIPP) credential.

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In this session participants will learn about the impacts of urbanization on communities’ physical and social health around the world. Using case studies from Johannesburg, South Africa, and from other international locations, this webinar will provide examples of the challenges park managers face during an era of rapid urbanization and population growth. Participants will gain knowledge of strategies used to maximize social and physical health benefits to communities.

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Trees are as important as ever in our growing cities – the need to provide large canopied shade trees to cool cities is important. Providing adequate root volumes to allow large healthy trees to grow without infrastructure conflicts is also important.

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Parque del Agual was established in Zaragoza, Spain as part of the 2008 Water and Sustainable Development International Expo. Built on 140 hectares of unused, abandoned cropland and bordered by canals, Parque del Agua is one of the largest parks in Spain and attracts visitors from all over the world.

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The New Zealand start-up Geo AR Games officially launched their Augmented Reality Playgrounds in March 2016 and has since then worked with over 100 councils to get kids off the couch and physically active outside through Mobile AR games. As one of the world’s 1st outdoor AR pioneers the founder and CEO Melanie Langlotz has got some stories to share, which will help game developers, park authorities or anyone looking at Urban gaming options understand the risks, hurdles and ideas for a new business model to get the community active outside.

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Climate change is a global challenge and the effects on everyday life are increasingly felt throughout the world. Urban parks and natural areas play a significant role in cities’ resilience to extreme weather events, their capacity to mitigate greenhouse gases, and in people’s awareness of the causes and effects of climate change. This webinar/lecture takes the City of León Mexico and its largest urban park, Metropolitan Park of León, as a case study of how urban parks can be linked to the adaptation, mitigation and education on climate change in emerging cities.

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This webinar will provide an introduction to Plante & Cité, France’s research-based center for landscape and urban horticulture. Ludovic Provost will present case studies on a variety of research topics relating to urban green space challenges and solutions in France. Findings from Plante & Cité’s research will illustrate how technical benchmarking can help professionals’ to reach best practices and inspire park agencies worldwide.

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Scott Shipley and Scott Martin each have a variety of experiences in the development and programming of whitewater recreation amenities across the US. The intent of this program is to familiarize park professionals with the activity, present the latest developments in the industry relating to amenity design and recreational use patterns, and explore the conditions that make for successful whitewater activity integration into park and recreation systems, particularly in urban settings.

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The Latin American committee of World Urban Parks Emerging Cities region presents the 2025 Work Agenda which includes upcoming International Urban Parks Congresses and park forums in addition to other park and recreation initiatives being led throughout Latin America. The WUP Emerging Cities region unites cities around the world experiencing common issues such as urban sprawl, immigration, informal developments, inequality among many other conditions, and specifically, underdeveloped green space and green space management. Hear from the Latin American committee’s park and recreation industry leaders as they present on exiting developments and opportunities happening throughout Latin America.

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The Playground Maintenance Technician (PMT) training program is the most comprehensive, long-standing maintenance and inspection training program in the country. It teaches systems, process, and best practices in proactive maintenance. The PMT program has successfully trained boots-on-the-ground staff in school districts, parks, and risk management pools across the country, equipping their staff with the knowledge, skills, and practices to most effectively prevent incidents and minimize liability.

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Value Branding with Corporate Partners (JK McKnight, Scott Martin Facilitator)

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This webinar will bring together speakers from cities and city networks around the world. In the webinar, we aim to share some thoughts, ideas, and experiences on the role that nature (and specifically urban parks) is playing in urban life at this current moment, in light of COVID-19, and how cities (given the need for differing regulations) are bringing parks to people and connecting people with nature, if at all. We would like to explore if there is more appreciation of parks and nature at this time, and if this is telling us anything about what the role of nature will be in the future of our cities. We will hear from a diverse range of perspectives, acknowledging that the situation is contextual and different in each part of the world. We might also explore how cities are using parks at this time, and how urban residents perceive the importance of nature in our cities, especially in relation to the pandemic. We will aim to communicate recommendations on the value of parks and keeping access to nature open, which is especially pertinent these days. We will highlight here how platforms like CitiesWithNature provide tools for cities to remain connected to the global community who is standing in solidarity with their response efforts. The webinar will also discuss and compare experiences, approaches, and responses from a variety of contexts and provide a space for reflection and discussion. Finally, we will share stories around how the need to connect online has come to the fore, especially in relation to information sharing around public spaces and the importance of nature for human health and wellbeing.

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The impact of climate change on parks and protected areas is accelerating, resulting in rising temperatures, more intense and more frequent wildfires, increasingly intense river flooding, and the inundation of low-lying coastal areas due to sea level rise. This webinar will highlight the strategies that three urban park sites, the Bay Area’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco’s Crissy Field, and Louisville’s Ohio River Greenway are using to address the impacts of fire, flooding, and sea level rise.

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Great parks and public spaces are places where everyone, regardless of age or ability, feels a sense of belonging. But many parks aren’t designed, maintained, and programmed in a way that meets the unique needs of children and older adults. Creating Parks and Public Spaces for People of All Ages: A Step-by-Step Guide seeks to change that. Created by AARP, 8 80 Cities, and the Trust for Public Land, this guide is an exciting new resource for community leaders and residents who are interested in building more inclusive public spaces.

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In this webinar, we will step you through a variety of inexpensive options and thought processes to design interactive digital experiences, apps, or games for your community while taking a birds-eye view of how that fits in with your community engagement, marketing, and overall education resources.

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The World Parks Academy calls upon all city leaders and park managers around the world to take action and consider the important role that parks play in creating healthy cities and communities.

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Join City Parks Alliance, World Urban Parks and World Parks Academy for a webinar exploring strategies for managing biodiversity in a changing climate.

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In July 2019, London became the globe’s first city to adopt the National Park City Charter and become the first National Park City. Join founder and urban recreation/conservation provocateur Daniel Raven-Ellison for a talk that explores the evolution of the movement, London’s path to adoption, and lessons learned in the first year of the program’s deployment in one of the world’s great urban centers. Participants will also get to speak with Jayne Miller from World Urban Parks to discuss ways their communities can be a part of this movement and possibly become one of the 25 National Park Cities across the globe by 2025.

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Park Prescription programs can be as diverse as the communities for which they are designed and they often include collaboration between park and public land agencies, healthcare providers, and community partners.

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Parks for All is a uniting document that is enabling the Canadian parks community to take collaboration to a new level. Parks for All is the first of its kind in Canada – a single action plan for the municipal, provincial, territorial, national, and Indigenous Canadian parks communities. This webinar will outline the process by which the sector and government collaboratively built a joint action plan to move the parks sector to the forefront. The webinar will demonstrate how through an inclusive action plan - Parks for All - the Canadian parks continuum is aligning efforts and achieving more together.

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In part two of this free webinar series, join us for inspiring ideas of play and resiliency from around the world. Learn about physical materials like playful care packages to combat social isolation in inner cities and Play It Safe Kits to re-envision streets for play; recreation opportunities using Indigenous games; and practical toolkits for families to connect with nature during COVID-19. Advocating for active and outdoor play at home and in parks and nature is uniting the world’s Parks and Recreation Professionals together to share ideas and expertise to help heal all families in the world. #naturenevercloses

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This introduction is designed to inspire you to submit a park and park team and give you insights on the panel’s evaluation process.

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Urban green spaces grow increasingly in importance as cities expand with rising population densities and ever-increasing development over the next several decades. How do we set-aside and create parks while preserving necessary wild and planned green spaces within the greater pressures for urban development? What skills and resources do park professionals need to deal with the modern unique green space challenges?

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Join us for The Green Heart - Emerging Research in Healthy City Design on October 22, 2020 @ 10:00 AM EST (New York Time).

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Join us for A Free-Market Perspective – Urban Park Systems from Emerging Cities to Industrialized Legacy Metro Areas (The State of Our World's Cities) on September 24th, 2020 @ 10:00 AM EST (New York Time).

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Join colleagues from across Latin American for an exploration and visual tour of urban park innovations, creations, and initiatives across the region.

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What if there were 1,000 rope swings put up in every major city? What if streets were for people instead of cars? What if parks were used by everyone? What if cities became National Park Cities? What if parks were funded as part of country's health services? Could the COVID19 Pandemic provide an opportunity to rethink the green and blue of Cities - What if we could do it better? Join us for a webinar to explore the power of "What if?" as we launch a campaign to share and explore our own #WhatIfs. In this session we'll hear about some big "What if?" questions asked by leaders, influencers, and thinkers on National Park Cities from the National Park City Foundation and Salzburg Global Seminar. The conversation will then be opened out for participants to share their own "What if?" questions that will be explored by the panellists. What's your "What if?". What if you joined us? Learn More

Originating in England in 1996, the Green Flag Award program now recognizes and rewards over 2,000 well-managed parks and green spaces in 15 countries around the world. In this webinar we will explore what makes the program such a success - Is it the unique combination of peer-to-peer judging with political influence? The flexible approach to the 8 key criteria? Or its growing stance as a management ‘mantra’ amongst park professionals. In addition to this you will learn how you can apply the methodology to improve your day to day management of parks. Join us as we navigate these questions and more in this friendly and informative presentation. Learn More

Discover innovative public space development, programming, design, and management from cities across North America and the world.

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A place, a vision and a community, National Park Cities are all about making life in cities greener, healthier and wilder, and inspiring more people to enjoy spending time outdoors. Inspired by London becoming the world's first National Park City in July, people around the world are asking if their city can also be a National Park City, and if so, what it would mean.

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