The National Forest System Trail Stewardship (NFSTS) Funding Program awarded a total of $262,000 to 17 trail projects in U.S. Forest Serve regions across the country. Each project supports trail maintenance that is led by dedicated volunteers.

Washington, D.C., was rated the nation’s best big-city park system by the 2023 ParkScore index, says Trust for Public Land. Saint Paul, Minn., placed second, and Minneapolis climbed to third.

The labor shortage of the past couple of years has had a major impact on aquatic facilities, and the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance has responded by working to expand the pipeline for pool professionals. In keeping with this goal, the PHTA has announced a major milestone in its workforce development program as it launched its brand-new jobseeker website.

As the summer travel season approaches, IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, announced that its 2022-2026 Global Theme and Amusement Park Outlook Report forecasts a 7% boost in attendance for North American theme parks, with an estimated attendance of 308.5 million in 2023.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness states that one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year. Recently, NCAA research released survey data showing that college athletes and coaches have mental health conditions similar to those of the general public.

Childhood drowning is on the rise, and since kids are at more risk of drowning during the summer as they enjoy time in and around pools, lakes and oceans, the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA), has kicked off its Water Safety Champion campaign. 

A new study from the American Camp Association (ACA) outlines the lasting positive impact of camp and the ways that a quality camp experience helps support young people in developing valuable skills, learning who they are and preparing for life beyond camp.

The nonprofit Global Wellness Institute has released its Wellness Policy Toolkit: Physical Activity, which takes a deep dive into the causes of rising levels of physical inactivity around the world, and suggests tangible ways that new policies, government resources and public-private partnerships can tackle the crisis. The toolkit outlines six distinct areas of policy action, from encouraging activity via the built environment to integrating activity into the medical system.

With a gift of $5 million from Citadel founder and CEO Kenneth Griffin, the U.S. Soccer Foundation plans to develop 50 new mini-pitches for soccer in Miami-Dade County. The Miami-Dade County Soccer Initiative is a $10 million campaign that will dramatically increase opportunities for children living in under-resourced communities across the county to play and benefit from soccer.

Nearly 50 million American adults—almost 19% of the total adult population—have played pickleball at least once in the past 12 months. This represents an increase of 35% since the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) last concluded research in August 2022.

While less than half (46.4%) of all respondents to the Industry Report survey in 2023 said they currently include walking and hiking trails at their facilities, more than seven out of 10 respondents from camps (76.4%) and parks (71.2%) said they currently include walking and hiking trails.

We asked Industry Report respondents about their involvement in a variety of initiatives related to inclusion and outreach, conservation and wellness, and in every case, park respondents were the most likely to be rising to the challenge.

Overall, fewer respondents to the Industry Report survey in 2023 were planning to add staff at their facilities than in 2022. In 2023, 32.6% of all respondents said they were planning to add staff at their facilities, compared with 37.1% in 2022.

2023’s Industry Report Survey shows a significant jump in the number of respondents who have plans to add features at their facilities over the next few years. In 2023, 46.6% said they had such plans, up from 39.1% in 2022, and 37.1% in 2021.

While the general Industry Report survey population named staffing issues as their top challenge in 2023, for college respondents, staffing issues were eclipsed by problems with equipment and facility maintenance.

According to the 2023 Industry Report survey, 83.4% of respondents with aquatics have a lifeguard on duty at their facilities.