Public parks are a core part of Americans’ lives. According to the National Recreation and Park Association, most U.S. residents visit their local parks and recreation facilities about 22 times a year (or nearly twice a month!), and about 275 million people visited a park or recreation facility at least once during the past year.
In addition to being a hub for socializing, parks bring communities a host of mental and physical health benefits. Why not extend these benefits to more members of your community and their four-legged companions?
Animal-friendly programs and events can attract new visitors to your parks and community center, while keeping regular visitors engaged by appealing to their interests. We’ll explore best practices for hosting animal-friendly park events, as well as creative ideas to help you turn your park into a go-to destination for pet owners and their companions. Let’s begin!
Best Practices for Animal-Friendly Park Events
While your parks and recreation staff likely have experience running events, involving animals can introduce new challenges and considerations. To keep attendees safe and happy, follow best practices like:
- Set clear, firm guidelines. Establish rules for pets and owners to prevent potential conflicts. For example, you might require leashes, up-to-date vaccination records, and basic training. Share these rules during registration and send reminders ahead of the event.
- Require advanced registration. Because these programs often involve more stringent guidelines, you should require advance registration rather than accept walk-ins. This gives participants the time they need to submit vet records, waivers, and any other required documents.
- Provide adequate facilities. Ensure attendees have access to plenty of shelter, water, and waste disposal stations. During especially hot or cold months, you might add tents for shade, fans, or outdoor heaters as needed.
- Plan for emergencies. Have professionals on-site to take care of injuries for both humans and animals. Consider having a member of animal control or an animal behaviorist attend in case there are any conflicts between pets.
- Partner with local animal organizations. Collaborating with these groups helps raise awareness of their cause while boosting community engagement. For example, a shelter could hold an adoption event at your park to help more animals find loving homes.
Don’t forget to look for additional support from businesses in your community when organizing these programs. After all, who doesn’t love supporting animal-related causes? Double the Donation recommends seeking out corporate sponsorships, which provide direct support to charitable organizations. Usually, this type of sponsorship comes in three forms: financial, in-kind, or media.
If you’ve secured a corporate sponsorship, companies can donate funding to support your animal-friendly park events. Or they can provide in-kind support like dog hydration stations, or help you with marketing through professional graphic design support or promotion to their customer base.
Top Animal-Friendly Program Ideas
With these best practices in mind, you’re ready to kick off your program planning with a great idea like:
Social and Community Engagement Events
These events are fun to plan because you can get as creative as you want! Here are some of our favorite event ideas:
- “Bark in the Park” Festival: You can have this as an annual or a seasonal gathering, hosting animal-themed events like a dog fashion contest and trick demonstrations. You can invite local vendors and food trucks for more fun.
- Themed Golf Tournament: Have a charity golf tournament that benefits local animal shelters. To entice people to participate, you can offer themed signage, player apparel swag, and adorable merch.
- Dog Agility Leagues: This is the type of event that high-energy breeds like Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers will love. This idea is similar to a recreational sports league, except with dogs competing to see who finishes an obstacle course the fastest.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can even combine two of these ideas into one. For example, you can have dog agility contests during your “Bark in the Park” festival.
Educational Programs
Educational programs on animal welfare can support both prospective and current pet owners in your community. For example, there might be a lot of people in your community who are interested in adopting a pet, but they don’t know anything about taking care of animals. Or, there may be pet parents who still feel overwhelmed.
Here are a few programs you can host:
- Educational Workshops: Invite local trainers or veterinarians for free classes on obedience, leash etiquette, or pet first aid. To make the registration process for these workshops and classes seamless, use your recreation software to manage bookings.
- Adoption Drives: Are there any local shelters that are struggling to find homes for their animals? Why not partner with them by hosting an adoption drive? You can even have some of the dogs in the park so that interested people can check them out.
- Vaccine and Microchip Clinics: If your park is in a high-visibility area, consider partnering with local animal shelters or clinics to host pop-up stalls administering vaccines and microchip implants for pets.
Business Partnerships
While many of these ideas are free or low-cost, partnerships can also help generate revenue. This partnership can take a few forms, such as:
- Pop-Up Dog Daycares: Invite local boarding facilities to host shaded “VIP cooling zones” or temporary play areas. This way, park visitors can drop their pets off at any of these areas while they go enjoy other park activities. We recommend partnering with responsible businesses that have strong kennel management practices, experience with animals, and software to responsibly manage registrations and capacity.
- Sponsored Happy Hours: Partnering with local pet-friendly breweries or cafes to host evening park socials can help attract pet owners who also love a good drink. If you disclose that a percentage of proceeds goes to park maintenance, they’ll be incentivized to support even more.
- Mobile Grooming “Spa Days”: Have a few local mobile groomers set up in the park, offering discounted grooming services like nail trims or quick washes. This brings convenient services directly to parkgoers.
Digital Programs and Marketing Initiatives
If you’re looking to improve online visibility, digital programs and marketing initiatives can help. Here are a few ideas to try:
- Virtual Pet Contests and Sponsor Showcases: Keep the community engaged online during the off-season with virtual photo contests sponsored by local groomers. In addition to your park reaching new audiences, this showcase can also be a way for pet professionals to expand their digital marketing efforts.
- Social Media Spotlight: Create a recurring social media feature highlighting a local park visitor and their pet. Just make sure you ask the visitor’s permission before posting their photos on social media, as some might prefer to keep their privacy.
- Interactive Maps: Create an online, mobile-friendly map that highlights animal-focused features like pet-friendly trails, water stations, and waste bins. This makes the park much easier for pet parents to navigate.