This July, show and share the LOVE for parks and recreation! Chance to Win Gift Cards for sharing your pics!

This July, show and share the LOVE for parks and recreation!

Do you LOVE your local parks and recreation? Then go on, brag about it this July and tell everyone what makes them so great! You might even WIN some great PRIZES!

Absolutely, love, nature.  There would be no life, without it. This was a collage I did for Earth Day.

Check out the Show UR Love for Parks and Recreation Weekly Photo Contest! Submit photos that express your love for local parks and recreation areas following our weekly themes and get your friends to vote. We'll be rewarding weekly prizes of $100 gift cards and a grand prize of one $500 gift card at the end of the month. Find out more information and get those cameras ready!

I absolutely love our Metro Parks here in Central Ohio.  Below is from my last trip to High Banks.

Find participating Park and Recreation Month locations. We'll be updating this list frequently so check back! If you don't see your local park and rec on here, don't worry! Check your local listings to see what might be going on in your community.

Don't forget to follow National Recreation and Park Association on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

July is national Park and Recreation Month and your local parks are encouraging everyone to come out this month and experience all the wonderful aspects of parks and recreation. Nationwide, recreation departments have organized events and activities to help families spend quality time together, enjoy nature and get active. This provides a great opportunity to not only make the most of the beautiful weather, but also to take a stand against the obesity epidemic and technology trends that consistently keep more kids indoors and living less active lifestyles.

As part of Park and Recreation Month, the National Recreation and Park Association is encouraging everyone to show the love for local parks and recreation and wants everyone to answer the question, "I Love my Parks and Recreation Because..." They have a fill in the blank social media poster that can be filled in and shared, and a fun month-long weekly photo contest that encourages everyone to show and share the LOVE for local parks!The NRPA website includes information on all of the above initiatives, free downloadable resources as well as a calendar of events scheduled nationwide.

With kids out of school, the vacation celebration includes bouncing off the walls and fighting over the TV, tablet and computer screen. Think about your summer days as a kid - spending time outside hunting for salamanders, playing kickball with neighborhood friends, exploring the trails and woods, fun summer camp days at your local rec center, and swimming until your fingers shriveled. Many of us have so many happy memories from summertime and want our children to have those same experiences too.


While we can always tell them of the fun we had as kids, it is so much better to show them. And you know what, you don't have to go far to have these enriching experiences that make lasting memories - you just have to head to your local parks and recreation. There are great places right in your community to go have some family fun all summer long!


Show your LOVE!

Download and print out the official Park and Recreation Month poster and fill in the blank with the reasons you love your local park and recreation in your community! Then take a picture or even video yourself, family, and friends with this poster so you can show the LOVE.

Post the photos and videos to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Websites, and blogs. Tag NRPA and/or email the link to July@nrpa.org. Use the hashtag #ParkRecLuv!

They'll be featuring many of these photos in social media posts, on  Facebook covers and possibly in future issues of our magazine! Please note, Park and Recreation Month is a family-friendly activity. Please no distasteful or vulgar photos or videos.

This was a sponsored Ad, tho I do love our local parks, and I believe sometimes we do have to go out, and breath in some fresh, clean air when we can.  So I think it's a great thing to take our children out. The nature photos are of parks I've been to in Ohio! Hope you enjoyed, and take your loved ones out too.