2023 was a busy year for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation!

We started important new programs. We enriched our communities by providing nourishing food and low-cost or free activities. We helped residents find good-paying jobs. And we helped make our city a cleaner and greener place.

Here are some highlights from a banner year:

Parks & Rec enriched communities

Parks & Rec provides high-quality, safe, accessible programs and services year-round. In 2023 we: 

• Served over 1 million free meals to Philadelphians. 
• Hosted low-cost summer camps for more than 8,000 summer campers.
• Opened all 60 available pools.
• Provided 18,882 free life-saving swim lessons. 

Parks & Rec put people to work year-round

Every year Parks & Rec hires thousands of seasonal workers. We also fill dozens of good-paying permanent jobs. In 2023, we: 

• Recruited, trained, and certified 366 lifeguards. Learn how to become a lifeguard.
• Employed 314 Pool Maintenance Attendants. 
• Hired 1,239 youths and young adults to work at our sites. These WorkReady positions are provided by Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN). Learn more about our summer youth employment program.

Parks & Rec worked towards a greener Philadelphia

Parks & Recreation continues to make Philadelphia a greener place. In 2023 we: 

• Launched the Philly Tree Plan and Urban Agriculture Plan. These plans will: 
  • Grow and care for the city’s urban forest. Learn more about the plan’s vision, mission, and goals.
  • Grow healthier communities. Explore this first-of-a-kind plan.
• Gave away 1,767 yard trees to residents across the city through Tree Philly. Learn how to get a yard tree.
• Planted 743 street trees. Complete this form to request a street tree.
• Restored natural lands by planting 5,713 trees and shrubs in parks across the city.

We don’t just plant trees, we take care of them. In 2023 we addressed 1,958 tree emergencies. That’s an incident involving a tree falling on a street or home during a storm or from other natural causes. 

Parks & Rec made our sites more sustainable

Greening isn’t just about trees. It also includes removing liter, reducing waste, and increasing sustainability. To help make Philadelphia more sustainable, in 2023 we:

• Created an innovative partnership with Bennett Compost. This project:
  • Composted 17,975 lbs. of food waste.
  • Trained 336 recreation center staff and 638 youth in composting and food waste.
  • Returned 75 cubic yards of compost to community farms and gardens. 
• Donated 12,191 pounds of food to those in need in 2023. This included unclaimed meals from our food program. Read about our sustainability efforts.
• Co-hosted Love Your Park service days with the Fairmount Park Conservancy. At these events held each spring and fall we jointly:
  • Recruit more than 3,000 volunteers.
  • Remove more than 1,000 bags of trash and organic recycling. 
  • Promote volunteer clean ups throughout the year. View upcoming events.

But wait—there’s more in store for 2024!

This February, Parks & Rec will hold the 2nd Annual Philly Phreeze Fundraiser. Last year’s inaugural event saw more than 150 Philadelphians jump into an icy Kelly Pool. The money they raised helped support Parks & Rec lifeguards. Learn more about the Philly Phreeze.

Parks & Rec also launched the first-ever Unity Cup Women’s Tournament in 2023. We’re looking forward to an expanded tournament in 2024.   

In 2023 we reopened 39 renovated places to play. We’ve got many other projects that will reopen this year. Stay tuned for these and other exciting things coming to Parks & Rec in 2024. View the list of new places to play.