Park maintenance is the backbone of a dynamic parks and recreation agency. The varied duties of a parks maintenance worker help ensure that recreation programming, special events, and visits to parks and facilities are safe, positive experiences for the public.
Let’s explore park maintenance and better understand its critical role for parks and recreation agencies.
What is Park Maintenance?
Park maintenance is a blanket term for various tasks involving the upkeep of parks, facilities, and greenspaces managed by a parks and recreation agency. Park maintenance workers spend their days outdoors and indoors tending to the needs of the agency’s many types of assets.
Successful park maintenance takes a proactive approach to care for assets through preventative maintenance and inspections. They also need to handle repairs, general maintenance tasks, and work requests from maintenance and non-maintenance staff.
In many agencies, non-maintenance staff will make work requests for repairs, installations, setup, cleaning, and addressing safety issues. Staff may use a centralized work order system or request work through emails, phone calls, texts, or other communication methods. Maintenance managers will also assign routine work and special projects or tasks.
Types of Park Maintenance Workers
Maintenance Administrators: Maintenance directors and administrators oversee the bigger picture of park maintenance, including budgeting, human resources, strategic planning, and coordinating with other departments. Depending on the agency's size, they may also address incoming work orders, develop maintenance plans, schedule staff, and perform other daily management duties.
Maintenance Supervisors: Maintenance supervisors report to the administrators and oversee a team of park maintenance staff. They may assign daily duties, delegate work requests, set up crews, and schedule work from maintenance plans.
Facility Managers: Facility managers are responsible for designated asset(s). While maintenance may not be the only aspect of their jobs, they often play a critical role in determining and communicating maintenance needs to the team.
Maintenance Technicians: Maintenance technicians carry out everyday tasks and report on their progress. They are responsible for cleaning, repairs, installations, inspections, preventative maintenance, landscaping, and general maintenance tasks.
Maintenance techs can also have a variety of specialties and duties, including:
- Landscaping
- Custodial
- Skilled Trades
- Facilities
- Aquatics
Seasonal Help: Seasonal park maintenance workers assist full-time staff, usually during busier times of the year–like the growing season. Most seasonal staff work for 3 to 8 months out of the year.
Examples of Park Maintenance Duties
Park maintenance departments can perform a variety of duties. No day is exactly the same. Much that gets assigned depends on what’s going on for programming, events, maintenance plans, and unexpected repairs.
Here are just a few examples of what a park maintenance worker may do on their shift:
- Mow a park or around a facility
- Clean up litter on the grounds
- Conduct a playground inspection
- Set up tents, signs, tables, and chairs for a special event
- Check for safety issues at a facility
- Repair a leaky faucet at a facility
- Set up scenery for a children’s program
- Get ballfields ready for upcoming games
- Trail maintenance at a greenspace
- Blowing fallen leaves from a facility’s walkway
- Deep cleaning a gym
- Check and maintain playground surfacing
- Spraying herbicide on weeds or invasive plants
- Removing snow from parking lots and walkways
- Perform routine maintenance on landscaping equipment
Tools & Equipment Used in Park Maintenance
As you can imagine, a park maintenance worker uses various tools and equipment to complete their work. Here are some examples:
Equipment:
- Mowers
- Aerators
- Backhoes
- Edgers
- Chainsaws
- Plows
- Saws
- Utility Vehicles
- Leaf Blowers
- Trimmers
- Pressure Washers
- Floor Buffers
- Snow Blowers
- Snow Plows
- Sprayers
- Tractors
- Wood Chippers
Tools
- Cleaning tools
- Drills
- Pumps
- Painting supplies
- Drywall patching tools
- Sanders
- Rakes
- Handtools
- Line stripers
- Specialty tools
- Shovels
- Spreaders
- Tree Pruner
More park maintenance teams are using technology to help make their jobs easier and free up time for other tasks. For example, automatic mowers and field striping machines allow staff to set up the equipment and let it do its work while they focus on more complicated tasks.
In addition, maintenance management software allows teams to organize and communicate about daily tasks, emergency work requests, and maintenance plans. Automations with this type of software allow park maintenance staff to focus more on the tasks they need to do and less on organizing and admin work related to them.
As technology evolves, the landscape of park maintenance continues to change. Automated technology may replace more mundane tasks, allowing park maintenance workers to focus on complex, specialized tasks.
Essential Skills of a Park Maintenance Worker
Communication: A park maintenance worker’s success depends on good communication skills. The individual must listen, understand expectations, and communicate issues verbally or in writing. They also may need to complete paperwork like work requests, inspections, and daily progress.
Problem-Solving: Park maintenance workers often face challenges and problems that need quick resolutions. Understanding the issue, troubleshooting ways to address it, and picking the best solution is an invaluable skill for a parks and recreation agency.
Adaptable: A lot is going on in a parks and recreation agency, and all the moving pieces can and do affect the maintenance department. Programming schedules, special events, weather conditions, and public usage schedules are all things a park maintenance team contends with daily. Finding ways to work through challenges calmly and professionally helps with the success of your park maintenance career.
Observant: Part of a park maintenance staff’s job is to complete inspections. Inspections can be short daily checks like vehicle inspections or waterpark safety checks. They can also be detailed quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly inspections, such as low-frequency playground inspections.
Passionate: To be and remain successful in park maintenance, it helps to have a passion for the parks and recreation industry. Understanding your powerful impact on your community and beyond can help make weathering the busy, chaotic times easier.
Enjoy the Outdoors: Park maintenance is certainly not an office job. You will be exposed to all sorts of elements depending on where you live. Those who get the most enjoyment out of this career genuinely love being outdoors.
Certifications and Training for Park Maintenance
Many entry-level park maintenance jobs require a high school diploma, a clean driving record, the ability to complete physically demanding tasks, and an aptitude for handling tools and equipment. As part of your training, you will likely complete a CPR, AED, and First Aid certification.
Some maintenance workers may be required to have pesticide applicators or commercial driver's licenses, depending on their duties. Additional training in systems like HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and carpentry can also benefit a park maintenance technician.
As you grow in your park maintenance career, additional training and certifications can help prepare you for new opportunities.
For example, the National Recreation and Park Association offers park maintenance training, including a one-day Playground Maintenance Course, an Aquatic Management Professional Certificate, and a Splash Pad Certificate. The association also has a more involved Park & Maintenance Management School and Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) certification program.
Other agencies and private businesses offer training and certification opportunities in areas related to park maintenance. State associations can also be a good resource for training opportunities.
Park Maintenance Occupational Outlook
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for park maintenance workers between 2022-32 will have an average growth at 3%. Many agencies are actively seeking entry-level park maintenance workers, especially during busy seasons.
The Takeaway
Park maintenance is a dynamic career path where one gets to be outdoors, enjoy a variety of tasks, and serve their community. The impact of their everyday work helps individuals and families live happier and healthier while setting the backdrop for memories that can last a lifetime.