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July 27, 2025
BG Parks & Rec asked to take bigger role in making city more resilient against climate change – BG Independent News
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A Bowling Green citizen urged the city’s Parks and Recreation Board Tuesday to help make Bowling Green better prepared for climate change.
Jim Evans, a scientist and one of the authors of the city’s recently adopted Bowling Green Climate Action and Resiliency Improvement Plan, asked the board to incorporate the plan into its annual budgets and planning process.
Specifically, Evans suggested that park buildings be equipped to operate as cooling centers on extreme heat days, and that the parks pilot some “green infrastructure” and educate residents to do the same.
The plan cites ongoing and completed activities by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. But it also lists functions the department should do to address the ongoing climate crisis, he said.
“In my opinion, the Parks and Recreation Department and this board can play significant roles in many of the important issues identified in the report, including some that have not been the traditional purview of the department,” Evans said.
Because of these new responsibilities, he suggested the Parks and Recreation Department and board advocate for more funding.
Evans talked about two examples of how parks and recreation could help with climate resiliency.
- Urban flooding is increasing due to more frequent and more intense rainfall overwhelming city storm drains. The National Weather Service data for Northwest Ohio shows that since 1990, heavy rains are 24% more frequent, and the most intense 1% of rains deliver 42% more water.
- Extreme heat incidents are also increasing, when the combination of temperature, humidity, wind speed, and ground cover conditions exceed the ability of humans to thermoregulate by sweating. In Bowling Green, at 100% humidity, an extreme heat occurs when the temperature exceeds 93%. According to Evans, BG averaged seven extreme heat days per year in 1990, increasing to about 20 extreme heat days now, and projected to reach 38 days per year in 2050.
Both of these climate change incidents could benefit from more green space, more canopy trees, and more native vegetation, Evans said, crediting the Parks and Recreation Department with already assisting.
However, Evans said, more can be done. The latest trend in mitigating urban flooding is called “green infrastructure,” which includes installing green roofs, rain barrels, rain gardens, bioswales, restored wetlands and retention ponds, and use of permeable pavements.
Evans suggested the Parks and Recreation Department install these on city-owned land as pilot projects, and educate the public about them. There could be community-based grants and matching funds to promote these on private property, he added.
To help during extreme heat days, Evans suggested park buildings be equipped with backup electrical power and water supplies, to serve as resiliency cooling centers.
“As an earth scientist with over 50 years’ experience in science and public policy, I am well aware that we are in a global climate crisis,” he said. “All of Bowling Green’s city departments need to be responsive to this challenge, and the Parks and Recreation Board needs to be a strong advocate for the Parks and Recreation Department taking on continued and additional responsibilities, and getting the resources it needs to do so.”
