Apply to participate in the Engaging Youth in Designing Healthier Communities Summit September 9 – 10, 2026 Learn best practices in engaging with youth in community assessment, design, and change. All participants are eligible to apply for youth community engagement kits! Applications are due by August 3, 2026. What: WOW-E Engaging Youth in Designing Healthier Communities Who: Extension professionals as well as community and youth program leaders When: September 9 – 10, 2026 Where: Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas 17360 Coit Road Dallas, Texas 75252 Fee: $50 Summit participants are… Read More →

We are always seeking assistance with our applied research and case studies. If you are willing to share plans, policies, and documents and/or participate in listening sessions or inadept interviews, please sign up for our park practitioner panels.

Learn best practices in engaging with youth in community assessments, design, and change! All participants are eligible to apply for youth community engagement kits! Applications are due by July 15, 2026. What: WOW-E Best Practices in Engaging Youth in Designing Healthier Communities Summit Who: AgriLife & PVAMU Extension agents and paraprofessionals and community leaders When: September 9 – 10, 2026 Where: Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas (17360 Coit Road Dallas, Texas 75252) Fee: $50 AgriLife & PVAMU Extension Summit participants are eligible to apply… Read More →

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Urban and Municipal Park’s 2025 – 2026 workshop schedule is now posted. To learn more and register, visit our workshops page. From Dream to Green: Best Practices in Modern Day Park Planning 8:30am – 12:30pm Learn how to compile or update a Community Park System or Site Plan. We will review common components of plans, identify what is most meaningful for your organization, and provide time to brainstorm how to begin implementing a planning process for your park system or specific sites within your… Read More →

Recreation and youth development professionals who run day camps, afterschool programs, and enrichment classes can develop accessible programs for youth with disabilities! Erin Fogarty, MS, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, is offering workshops on approaches to include youth with disabilities in recreation and camp programming. These workshops will equip staff with recommended practices, accommodations, and resources to ensure youth of all abilities are included. Certificates of completion provided to attendees. For questions: contact Erin Fogarty, Disability Community Coordinator- North Region, at Erin.Fogarty@ag.tamu.edu or 972-952-9283.

We’re excited to present presentations and posters at this year’s National Recreation and Park Administration (NRPA) 2025 annual conference in Orlando, Florida. Come see us! Tuesday September 16, 2025 1:00 – 2:30PM – NRPA Research Posters Room: W310 Why a Walk to the Park is not a Walk in the Park for All Speaker: Dr. Jamie Rae Walker For more than 55 years, park and recreation researchers have studied patron access to parks. Much of this historic research has focused on park location and park distance. A set… Read More →

Can’t wait to teach about Planning Tools at Aggie Turf Day 2024! Click to here learn more. Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7:15 a.m. Texas A&M AgriLife Water and Land Resources Building 17360 Coit Road Dallas, Texas The 2024 Turfgrass and Landscape Field Day will be held at the Water and Land Resource Building at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, October 2, 2024. This is an excellent opportunity to learn directly from Texas A&M educators and experts about the latest advancements… Read More →

Last weekend as we culminated our first week of shelter in place in North Texas, the rain lifted and spring was in the beginning of a beautiful bloom. Naturally, people flocked to their local parks. While it is not uncommon to see parks full of people at the beginning of spring or after several days of being stuck inside because of rain, the issue was compounded by people needing to get out for restorative time and physical activity due to the shelter-in-place ordinance. Park overcrowding typically impacts park… Read More →

Help Design the RPTS Parklet for Dallas Parking Day! Students and Alum, we would love for you to share your ideas for a Parklet by Monday, September 17, 2018. Please submit ideas that celebrate the value of Recreation and Parks and Parklets as well as the RPTS Department and RPTS Extension (classes, alum, outreach). You can suggest games, print materials, Parklet designs, etc. We have a budget of $1000 and everything must be purchasable at a local (Dallas) store and printed at Fed Ex. Submit your ideas by… Read More →

Join Art Hushen, President NICP, Inc, Brian Nolff, Dallas Pd, and Jamie Rae Walker, Ph.D., Urban & Municipal Park Specialist,  to learn about how you can use design, management, and positive use to makes parks, trails and open space feel safer and be less sustainable to crime.  Register by May 17, 2018 at https://agrilife.org/urbanparks/cpted/.