SOME THOUGHTS ON THE BENEFITS OF PARKS AND RECREATION TO A COMMUNITY
Parks, open space and natural areas are essential to ecological survival
- Green space protects habitat, biodiversity and ecological integrity
- Green spaces improve air quality - removing carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and other pollutants from the air
- Outdoor recreation is one of the best approaches to environmental education - a key to long-term sustainability
- Protecting land from development (keeping it as open space) mitigates against potential environmental disaster (flooding, slip zone, aquifer depletion)
- Trail and pathway systems save energy and protect air quality by encouraging non-motorized transportation
- Arts/culture is one of the best ways to express the spirituality of the land, thereby encouraging stewardship ethics
Recreation is essential to personal health!
- Recreation helps people live longer
- Recreation prolongs independent living for seniors - keeping seniors vital and involved in community life
- Recreation and fitness significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke
- Recreation and fitness combat osteoporosis
- Recreation and fitness combat diabetes
- Recreation and fitness help in preventing specific types of cancers - particularly in the colon, breast and lungs
- Recreation and fitness helps prevent and rehabilitate back problems
- Recreation and arts/culture contribute to mental health
- Recreation and arts/culture enhance overall health and well-being
- Recreation is a proven therapeutic tool - helping to restore physical, mental and social capacities and abilities
Recreation is key to balanced human development
- Recreation is essential to the development of our children and youth:
- We learn motor skills (physical) through play and sports
- We learn social skills through play and sports
- We learn creativity through play and arts/cultural activity
- We develop intellectual capacities and concepts through play - and many other life skills
- Recreation provides the opportunity for adults to develop their full and holistic potential
- Recreation and adult leisure learning provide exceptional opportunities
Recreation is essential to quality of life
- Recreation and arts/culture build self-esteem and positive self-image
- Recreation and arts/culture enhance life satisfaction levels
- Recreation and arts/culture enhance perceived quality of life - for individuals, families and communities
- Recreation, sports & arts/culture nurtures growth, acquisition of life skills and independent living for those with a disability
Recreation reduces self-destructive and anti-social behaviour
- Recreation, sports and arts/culture reduce self-destructive behaviour and negative activity in youth - an antidote to smoking, substance abuse, suicide and depression
- Recreation and arts/culture can reduce crime
- Recreation and arts/culture can reduce racism - building understanding between diverse cultures
- Recreation reduces isolation, loneliness and alienation
Recreation builds strong families and healthy communities
- Families that play together, stay together
- Recreation provides safe developmental opportunities for the latch-key child
- Recreation, sports and arts/culture produce leaders who serve their communities in many ways
- Recreation, sports and arts/culture build social skills and stimulate participation in community life
- Recreation is often the catalyst that builds strong, self-sufficient communities (ie sport groups, arts guilds)
- Art/culture helps people understand their neighbours, their history and their environment
- Recreation and arts/culture build pride in a community
Recreation reduces health care, social service and police/justice costs
- Fitness and well-being reduce both the incidence and severity of illness and disability - lowering healthcare costs
- Recreation supports families - reducing costs of social service intervention and foster care
- Recreation reduces crime and social dysfunction - reducing police, justice and incarceration costs
Recreation and parks are significant economic generators in the community
- Recreation and fitness improve work performance - increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, decreased staff turnover, reduced "on the job" accidents
- Recreation & arts/culture attract businesses to the community - prime economic development & relocation magnets
- Recreation, sports and arts/culture are the attractions that draw tourism - the third largest and one of the fastest growing industries in the world today
- Recreation, fitness, sports and arts/culture are significant economic generators on their own - providing many jobs
- Small investments in recreation, sports and arts/culture often yield large economic returns - money generated by events, capital development and providing ongoing services is spent several times in the community
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