1. A complete transformation was launched in 2004 through the Imagine Your Parks plan and 20-year tax, thanks to you!

In 2004, BREC implemented the 10-year strategic plan, called Imagine Your Parks. The first Imagine Your Parks plan spanned from 2005-2014 and was funded by voters, who approved a new property tax which funded the much-needed improvements and an expansion of the park system. The Imagine Your Parks plan detailed construction projects planned for all the parks across East Baton Rouge Parish, including the addition of twelve community parks, five dog parks, Liberty Lagoon Water Park and much more.

Before Imagine Your Parks was completed, BREC began the process of surveying the community and conducting brainstorming sessions, community meetings, and public planning meetings. By the end of 2014, a second 10-year strategic plan had been compiled, called Imagine Your Parks2: Better Parks - Better Living. Which laid out the future for BREC parks from 2015-2024.

As the original Imagine Your Parks plan came to an end in 2014 and projects were concluded, BREC immediately began implementing the Imagine Your Parks2 plan using the 20-year Imagine Your Parks property tax millage. 

During the execution of this plan and with the help of your imagination for EBR, BREC brought home the Gold Medal for the 2022 Top Recreation and Park Agency in the U.S.!

2. The Imagine Your Parks 3 plan and renewal of the 20-year tax will fund the completion of projects that will be transformational for East Baton Rouge Parish.

Some examples include:

• Hundreds of miles of needed greenways (ie. off-roadway connectivity trails) which are identified in the Capital Region’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan will connect parks to neighborhoods, transportation routes, and to other parks. Some notable greenways that will be completed are the completion of the Health Loop and the trail connecting Downtown Baton Rouge to the Scotlandville Parkway trail which will eventually lead to Southern University.  
• Future phases of the reimagination of BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo, which include the completion of the African Continent exhibits including the Gorilla viewing pavilion, the Great Atchafalaya Swamp exhibits, Asian continent exhibits, completion of the South American continent exhibits, and the Children’s Discovery Center and new Animal Ambassador building.
• Future phases of the Greenwood Community Park Master Plan, which include a sports field complex, trails, adventure facilities, a cross-country course, the build-out of the new Adventure Playground, and a new water play area.
• Build-out of Airline Highway Park into Airline Highway Community Park, which will include new pickleball courts and a boat launch into Bayou Manchac among many other exciting amenities!
• State of the Art recreation centers that will serve as emergency staging areas during times of declared disasters at Memorial Sports Complex and Airline Highway Park. View the renderings here! 
• Updates to Liberty Lagoon and a new Universal Playground at Independence Community Park.

To see renderings of future capital projects, choose your park project below!

3. BREC parks and programs offer East Baton Rouge Parish residents free opportunities to socialize and connect with others.

According to the Trust for Public Land, at a time when the nation is deeply polarized along political, economic, racial, and ethnic lines, parks and public greenspace combat polarization through social connectedness. BREC’s 175 parks and diverse amenities provide parish residents with free opportunities to socialize and meet their neighbors. BREC also offers a multitude of opportunities to rent rooms, pavilions, fields, and spaces to host gatherings at BREC parks. BREC also offers hundreds of programs and events every year that offer residents of all ages opportunities to meet their neighbors and make new friends.  

Did you know that BREC puts out a Playbook twice a year that lists all programs, classes and events happening during that time of the year? It is the perfect tool for you to see what's going on in your area or throughout the parish! Click below to check out the current 2024 Fall Playbook showcasing everything for August to December!

4. BREC offers enrichment opportunities that enhance the quality of life in East Baton Rouge Parish and have the potential to make life-changing impacts on residents.

In 2023, BREC offered more than 280 programs across the entire recreation system, which includes but is certainly not limited to, Camp BREC which offers unique summer camp experiences across 38 different camp locations in the parish, First Tee Junior Golf Program which teaches life skills through the game of Golf, free swim lessons, and BioBlitz which engages participants to identify as many unique species living in BREC parks as possible. At the 2023 Bioblitz, 682 species were identified at BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center within only two days!

Each year Camp BREC hosts approximately 5,848 campers throughout the summer and during school breaks. Campers experience recreational games, community field trips, recreational sports, cultural arts, develop new friendships, and much more. From recreation to theatre to animals and science, there is camp for children of all abilities. 

Want to see some exciting numbers for 2023 Camp BREC? View our 2023 Camp Wrap Up Sheet or check out some highlights from camp yourself!

5. BREC saves EBR residents who utilize parks for exercise, over $8 million every year in healthcare costs due to improved health outcomes!

This was determined by a study conducted by the Trust for Public Land. Parks encourage people to be more physically active and enjoy the outdoors, which can improve their fitness, prevent obesity, lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and boost mood. Studies have shown that exposure to nature can also enhance cognitive function, creativity, and memory, as well as lower the risk of depression and anxiety.

View the full Trust for Public Land Report below!

6. BREC and the City-Parish have a joint goal for every resident within city limits to reside within a 10-minute walk to a park by the year 2050.

In 2017, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome signed onto Trust for Public Land’s 10-Minute Walk initiative and BREC has been working toward this goal ever since.

As of 2023, the city of Baton Rouge ranked 62^nd out of 100 for residents’ access to parks among the 100 most populated cities in America that have made the 10-minute walk commitment. The report indicated that Baton Rouge has less parkland, smaller parks, and lower access to parks than some other cities but spends more on parks and offers more amenities in existing parks. Additionally, from an equity perspective, Baton Rouge residents living in neighborhoods of color have access to 47% more nearby park space than those living in white neighborhoods, and residents living in lower-income neighborhoods have access to 52% less nearby park space than those in higher-income neighborhoods.

  Where are the parks needed the most?

Baton Rouge alone has 101 parks. Trust for Public Land has mapped park access for every urban area in the U.S., including Puerto Rico. Their ParkServe® mapping platform helps you pinpoint park investments to address park need, climate, equity, and health. Check out the interactive map below!

7. BREC’s visionary resiliency plan leverages the power of our parks to battle extreme weather conditions, environmental challenges, and public health threats head-on. 

During the Great Flood of 2016, BREC parks held over 10 billion gallons of water (enough to fill Tiger Stadium 71 times!) which would have otherwise flooded local homes and businesses. As the largest single landowner in the Parish, BREC has the unique opportunity to utilize public land to assist in stormwater management through nature-based stormwater management approaches that will increase storage capacity and help augment conventional gray infrastructure. BREC saves the parish almost $3 Million each year in stormwater management costs through its current green infrastructure, and this will continue to grow as the resiliency plan continues to be implemented.

BREC’s Natural Resources Management Division created rubrics for scoring parks on their ecological value and natural capital value. The rubrics assess a variety of conditions and services like carbon sequestration, urban heat index and stormwater benefit through reduced runoff. A stormwater runoff coefficient comparison of five BREC parks shows the difference development can make as a fully forested park has a runoff equivalent to 41 Olympic swimming pools, a partially forested community park: 81, one with grow zones: 89, another with partial tree canopy: 110 and a fully developed neighborhood park: 260

   Learn more about BREC's commitment to resiliency and sustainable stormwater management below!

8. The thousands of trees within BREC Parks protect wildlife habitats, provide shade to reduce urban heat, and remove approximately 127 tons of pollution from the air in East Baton Rouge Parish every year.

If BREC’s tree canopy did not exist or were replaced with more developed forms of land use, the community would incur more healthcare costs from increased air pollution and rising temperatures. Preserving and connecting people with nature is a priority for BREC, which is why BREC has a Natural Resource Management Plan and teams dedicated to the management of its valuable natural resources, including a Natural Resource Management division, an Urban Forestry division with Certified Arborists, and a Conservation programming division.     

BREC also created the Green Force, a trained volunteer group dedicated to creating more native natural areas in EBR Parish. The program works with the Louisiana Master Naturalists, providing volunteer opportunities to graduates. In 2023, Green Force volunteers dedicated 1,125 hours to conservation projects in BREC parks across the Parish. New volunteers complete an 8-hour training course with existing members taking a recertification course. Other park systems across the country are now replicating this program.

Did you know? 

• BREC manages 3,000+ acres of conservation land
• BREC has 2 blueway launches + more to come. You will be able to access 14 Miles of Blueway Trails
  from BREC Launches.
• BREC has documented 1546 species of flora + fauna in our parks
• At least 10 different habitat Community types are protected by BREC parks:
  Beech-Magnolia Forest
  Bottomland Hardwood Forest
  Cypress-Tupelo Swamp
  Mixed Pine Hardwood Forest
  Prairie Terrace Loess Forest
  Scrub/Shrub Swamp
  Small Stream Forest
  Spruce Pine Hardwood Flatwood
  Shortleaf Pine/Oak Hickory Forest
  Prairie Terrace Loess Forest

9. BREC provides annual economic benefits of more than $300 million to East Baton Rouge Parish making the capitol region a more attractive place to live, work, and play.

Green spaces can often be overlooked when undefined benefits are compared with well-defined costs of maintenance, programming, and operations. However, these parks and facilities provide tangible and measurable economic benefits to residents and visitors. An economic study conducted by the Trust for Public Land isolated and quantified many of these benefits, helping to articulate the value provided by the BREC park system to East Baton Rouge Parish residents.

Among the quantified economic benefits noted, some included:

• Homes located within a half mile of BREC parks are valued higher than comparable homes not located near parks. The study estimated that BREC parks increase property values in East Baton Rouge Parish by approximately $20.8 million.
• BREC parks, programs, and events generate over $26 million in economic tourism impact every year by visitors from other parishes and states. Some of the facilities that saw the largest numbers of tourists include BREC’sBaton Rouge Zoo, BREC Golf courses, Liberty Lagoon waterpark, Knock Knock Children’s Museum, and Burbank Soccer Complex.
• BREC parks drive economic development by attracting affluent retirees, knowledge workers and talent and homebuyers.

A study commissioned by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) in 2021 to better understand how white-collar professionals in key target areas perceive the Baton Rouge area found that professionals choose EBR due to quality-of-life factors including access to outdoor activities such as hiking and biking.

Entertainment options and outdoor activities are important drivers of likelihood to relocate to Baton Rouge, and Baton Rouge performs relatively well on them.

Although important, Baton Rouge performs less well on access to high quality schools, quality housing options, weather and climate, and as a community that embraces diversity.

10. BREC is intentionally inclusive, offering something for everyone, including amenities, programs, and events for residents of all ages, genders, income levels, races, abilities, etc.

BREC is committed to serving the public and enhancing the quality of life in East Baton Rouge Parish for all residents. Programs, facilities and services of BREC are available to all citizens regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. By offering these programs and events, BREC hopes to create a more inclusive, healthy, and happy community. Some examples include:

• BREC offers activities such as fitness classes, dance lessons, arts and crafts, bingo, card games, field trips, and social gatherings for seniors aged 50 and older, often times working with the EBR Council on Aging. These programs aim to enhance the physical, mental, and social well-being of seniors and foster a sense of community among them.
• While all BREC programs offer inclusive options for patrons of all abilities, BREC also provides specific recreational opportunities for people with disabilities through Adaptive sports, aquatics, camps, special events, and leisure education. BREC also collaborates with other organizations to offer programs such as Therapeutic Horseback Riding, Challenger Baseball, and Special Olympics.
• BREC offers discounted admission to BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo on designated dates and times, free swim lessons during the summer, free events, . These days are meant to make these facilities more accessible and affordable for everyone, especially low-income families and individuals.
• While Camp BREC, BREC’s premier summer and holiday camp program is already a subsidized program to keep prices affordable, BREC also offers scholarships to eligible children who want to attend camps but may face some financial barriers. The scholarships cover the full or partial cost of the camp registration fee, depending on the financial need of the applicants.