National Parks Tag

Diversity, Interview, National Parks, Podcast / 12.07.2017

At 95 years young National Park Ranger Betty Reid Soskin is a national treasure. Stationed at the Rosie The Riveter/World War II Homefront National Historic Park in Richmond, California she interprets the cultural narrative of life in America during one of the most turbulent periods in time. Drawing on her personal experience through the 1940s she offers a compelling look into the past that helps us to understand who we are today and chart a course toward a brighter tomorrow. As an African-American woman who endured and survived...

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Commentary, Diversity, National Parks, New Century Vision, On Assignment, Yosemite / 07.09.2016

As fate would have it, I was heading to Yosemite any way. It was just a few days in advance of my departure on a two-week Joy Trip with stops in California then Utah, a sharp right turn to Washington DC and back to California. I had already arranged a few interviews to gain some additional perspective on the role that people of color play in efforts to protect and preserve the natural world. So when a travel editor from the Guardian newspaper in London contacted by email...

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Diversity, Essays, Interview, New Century Vision, Podcast, The Centennial Initiative / 08.08.2016

In March 2016 a group of environmental activists came together to share a vision. Gathered from across the country this eclectic mix of men and women came to Washington D.C. in order to  collaborate on the creation of a plan to protect and preserve the natural spaces of the United States for future generations. As our National Park Service celebrates its 100th anniversary the group aims to make it possible for those in our society least likely to spend time in the outdoors to become passionate stewards of...

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Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, Film preview, National Parks, Yosemite / 27.07.2015

The National Parks are for everyone. A new short film illustrates the efforts underway to invite and welcome more people to enjoy their parks than ever before. Our outdoor public spaces, which include historic sites, memorials and monuments, are indeed open and accessible to anyone willing and able to venture out into the wide world, but there are significant segments of the population that simply don’t. Like many aspects of modern society in the United States of America these divisions of use within our public lands fall steadily...

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Diversity, High Country News, Magazines, National Parks, Yosemite / 27.05.2015

Several miles past the west entrance of Yosemite National Park, a wooden sign marks the location of an historic meeting. On May 17, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt sat by a campfire with naturalist John Muir to discuss the preservation of America’s wild lands. Along the banks of the Merced River, near the steep granite cliffs of Half Dome and El Capitan, they talked about the creation of what would become the National Park System. One hundred and twelve years later to the day, an eclectic group of conservation professionals gathered...

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Adventure Activism, Camping, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Special Events, Yosemite / 13.06.2014

In the fading light of a late spring evening, gospel singer Sista Monica Parker sat humming on a bench at the Yellow Pines Campground in Yosemite National Park. There she waited patiently for others to gather. Quiet at first, her melodic voice gained strength as she swayed to the rhythm of a hymn perhaps not heard in the Valley for more than a century. The sound slowly swelled into a powerful chorus that echoed off the granite walls of El Capitan and Half Dome. Even the birds fell...

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