In a pioneering global initiative, the International Lifeguard Critical Incident Response Alliance (ILCIRA) and the Center for the Advancement of Military and Emergency Services Research (AMES Research Center) at Kennesaw State University announced the upcoming launch of the “Critical Incident Prevalence & Impact Study in Aquatics.” 

The National League of Cities (NLC) has released its Decades in the Making Toolkit, which summarizes a two-year study by NLC of four cities, and outlines best practices for advancing stronger outcomes for children and families using proven and replicable strategies.

The Trump Administration’s recently released budget request for fiscal year 2026 proposes a reversal of the Great American Outdoors Act by gutting the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is the country’s major source of funding for conservation and recreation projects across the country, according to the LWCF Coalition. 

A recent national survey commissioned by the Better Play Initiative found that a majority of American adults are concerned about playground safety, and see recycled rubber surfaces as a part of a potential solution to safer, more accessible play.

Some 33,000 people got outside to celebrate trails on Rails to Trails Conservancy’s annual nationwide celebration of trails, spending $1,3 million, and racking up 3.4 million minutes of physical activity. 

Washington, D.C., was rated the nation’s best big-city park system by the 2025 ParkScore index from Trust for Public Land—holding the spot for five consecutive years, and narrowly outscoring Irvine, Calif., Minneapolis, and Cincinnati, to retain its title.

National Park Trust commemorated the 15th anniversary of Kids to Parks Day on Saturday, May 17. 

In Ohio, Cedarville University’s exercise science program recently partnered with Exercise is Medicine On Campus (EIM-OC), an initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), to promote physical activity as a vital component of student health and well-being. 

More than 100 swim lesson providers across the country will split more than $850,000 in grant funding to support them as they provide American children and adults with swimming and water safety skills. 

Of 4,000 Americans surveyed, nearly three-quarters (74%) oppose the closure of national public lands, and nearly as many (71%) oppose selling public lands to the highest bidder, according to a national poll from Trust for Public Land and conducted by YouGov.