A valley with colorful trees and a river in the background. An image of a mountain with trees in the background.
The outdoors are essential to our happiness, health, and well-being.

Quality parks and green spaces are fundamental for sustaining equitable, resilient communities. Access to nature and the outdoors—close to home, in the cities and communities where people live—is a matter of health, equity, and justice. That’s why we work alongside communities across the country to create, protect, and steward the nature-rich places that are vital to human well-being.

We’re driven by four commitments: equity, health, climate, and community.

Reducing Disparities

Research shows that systemic racial and economic disparity is at the heart of our nation’s park equity gap.

We’re working to make sure that everyone has access to safe, quality outdoor spaces to connect with nature and each other. And we’re turning data into action and producing research that helps communities create real change.

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See Our Capabilities

Our Mission: Improving Public Health
Our Mission: Improving Public Health
Improving Public Health

Green spaces have the power to alleviate stress and anxiety, reduce obesity, strengthen social ties, and improve overall physical and mental well-being. Here’s how we’re using outdoor spaces to promote better health in communities across the U.S.

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Our Mission: Strengthening Communities
Our Mission: Strengthening Communities
Strengthening Communities

From community forests to local parks, quality outdoor spaces and places are a fundamental requirement for sustaining healthy, equitable communities that are resilient and prepared for change. They provide social, educational, and cultural gathering opportunities that strengthen community ties and foster community leadership.

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Explore Our Community Stories

Our Mission: Creating Climate Resiliency
Our Mission: Creating Climate Reiliency
Creating Climate Resilience

Green spaces can make communities more resilient against flooding, drought, and other environmental dangers by reducing heat islands, absorbing stormwater, and more.

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Read Our Climate Report

Our Mission: Preserving Culture and History
Preserving Culture and History

From reconnecting tribes and Indigenous communities to their ancestral lands to preserving the cultural sites tied to Black American history, we’re dedicated to building a more equitable and inclusive future—starting with the outdoors.

Explore Our Black History and Culture Work

Learn More About Our Tribal Land Work

Rally for public lands on May 6 2017 in Salt Lake City, UT.
Securing Funding for the Outdoors

Our advocacy work mobilizes support for critical bills and policies to secure funding and leverage for the creation and protection of parks and outdoor spaces. In 2023 alone, we generated $1.4 billion in funding.

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Our Mission: Bringing More Parks to More People
Bringing More Parks to More People

We’re partnering with mayors nationwide to bring quality parks to everyone, everywhere, with our 10-Minute Walk® program. And mayors across the country are pledging to bring everyone in their community a park within a 10-minute walk of home by 2050.

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Find Your City in Our ParkScore® Index

Read About Our Projects and the Communities They Serve

Since 1972, we have made a deep and lasting impact on communities nationwide.

Learn more about our completed projects and what we’re working on next.

We Are Changemakers

We’re committed to creating and protecting more places that bring us outside—parks, trails, community forests, playgrounds, and public lands—and making them available and welcoming to all. Explore each initiative below to see how.