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In our final installment of our three-part series (see Part 1 and Part 2) on maintaining outdoor surfaces we are going to discuss trail maintenance. There are many trail maintenance requirements to think about, and they vary based on the type of trail involved. For example, a hiking trail requires different maintenance processes from a skateboarding trail. Here are some things to remember when dealing with all types of trail maintenance.

Roads and parking lots play a large part in recreation. Visitors must travel on roads to get to their favorite picnic and hiking spots or other venues. They also need clean, safe places to leave their vehicles while they enjoy the amenities those venues have to offer. Therefore, paved surfaces like roads and parking lots are the backbones of such locales.

In the parks and recreation industry, turf management is a major component. The word “turf” encompasses plant materials like trees and shrubs, as well as grass, golf greens etc. When considering turf maintenance, you must think about where certain turf is located and how it is used. For example, a picnic area might have a lot of traffic. Therefore it might need more intensive and more frequent maintenance than areas with less activity. This three-part series will cover many aspects of turf management. We will begin with soil care.

This is the final installment of a three-part series (see part one and part two). In this article, we are going to examine the pros, cons, dos, and don'ts of outsourced maintenance.

The use of Dashboarding software use in the Parks and Recreation field has risen sharply over the last several years. If you aren’t familiar with dashboarding software, it is software that can present numerous data points at once in a single display. You can think of it as being similar to the dashboard in a vehicle, which displays such important points as the speed at which the car is traveling, how much gas is in the tank and so forth. In the Parks and Recreation field, dashboarding software can be particularly helpful. However, it also has potential pitfalls.

There are many different issues and tasks to juggle in the Parks and Recreation industry. Working in the field does not simply require a love of the outdoors or ability to relate well to people. You also need to constantly stay informed and on top of the upkeep and management of whatever properties or facilities are in your care. One way you can do that is by consistently keeping track of your asset loads.

You have probably heard the term “paper trail” many times over the years. It originated back in the “old” days before computers were widely used and everything was tracked on paper. The idea of a paper trail was to use paperwork like breadcrumbs. Each one referenced a previous one. In that way, people could track how all sorts of processes progressed over time.

Electronic work order systems provide ways to stay organized and coordinate efforts, regardless of the number of staff members involved or the specific type of recreational location being maintained.

When working in the Parks and Recreation field, there are certain procedures that are absolutely vital in terms of not just keeping properties in good condition but also keeping your agency protected. One of those procedures is regular inspection of systems, equipment and structures. Here are some reasons why inspections are critical, as well as information about how to streamline your inspections processes.

You must be diligent as a Parks and Recreation professional. Inspections are essential. Questions you may have include “What do I need to inspect?” and “How can I make the inspection process easier?” Let's answer those and related questions, beginning with some common areas where inspections may be beneficial.

Park maintenance is a multi-tiered industry. There are many steps and phases involved in property care. One of the most advanced aspects of the industry is predictive park maintenance. Predictive park maintenance aims to determine when the functionality of various systems begins to lose efficiency. By identifying issues in their early stages, predictive maintenance can be performed before catastrophic system or equipment failure has the chance to occur.

In the parks and recreation field, a certain amount of reactive maintenance is absolutely required. For example, we must act quickly to repair damages after storms. However, preventive maintenance is also essential. Preventive maintenance is simply the performance of tasks designed to reduce later maintenance requirements and safety issues. But how exactly is preventive maintenance beneficial?

Reactive maintenance is the process of cleaning up damage or repairing equipment or structures after failure has already occurred. For example, as parks and recreation workers, we may have to perform reactive clean up of fallen trees, repair electrical systems or even rebuild entire structures after damage is already done. If staff calls upon the maintenance department for a special event setup, that would also fall under the category of reactive maintenance.