
Leslie Knope, a midlevel bureaucrat in an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department, hopes to beautify her town (and boost her own career) by helping local nurse Ann Perkins turn an abandoned construction site into a community park, but what should be a fairly simple project is stymied at every turn by oafish bureaucrats, selfish neighbors, governmental red tape and a myriad of other challenges. Leslie's colleague Tom Haverford, who delights in exploiting his position for personal gain, is as likely to undermine her efforts as to help her, while her boss, Ron Swanson, is adamantly opposed to government in any form, even though he's a bureaucrat himself.

Leslie asks for help staging an event; Ben gets a new hobby; April and Andy adopt a pet.

Leslie and Ben disagree about her campaign ad; Chris makes Ron uncomfortable; Andy and April go to the doctor.

After receiving feedback from a focus group, Leslie and Ben plan a casual bowling party; April, Jerry and Chris compete to see who can raise the most money for Leslie's campaign.

Leslie tries to find Ann a date for Valentine's Day; Ben asks Ron to help with the scavenger hunt Leslie sent him on; Chris is upset about his love life.