Urban Public Lands
Public lands aren’t just national parks – no matter where you are in the country, we advocate for every citizen to have access to public land right outside your door.
The Center for Public Lands embraces urban parks and green space and having land to explore in and near cities. We seek out opportunities to nurture our urban public lands for people to enjoy as parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces.
Building Capacity for Education Programs at Gateway National Recreation Area
Western Colorado University Master in Environmental Management graduate Kathryn Gilson collaborated with the National Park Service to revitalize Gateway National Recreation Area’s education program. Gateway, located in the largest metropolitan area in the United States, is situated across three boroughs of New York City and in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Millions of local and traveling visitors take advantage of this proximity to the city every year.
Considering New York City public schools, private schools, and school children near the Sandy Hook Unit of the park, Gateway provides public land and education opportunities for over 1 million students. To effectively reach these metropolitan students, the Interpretation and Education division of Gateway needs to be as diverse and multifaceted as the learners of the surrounding communities.
Kathryn worked alongside leadership within the Interpretation and Education Division of Gateway to revitalize Gateway’s strategic education plan. To do so, Kathryn met with leadership, site supervisors, natural resource staff, and field interpretive staff to get the most complete picture she could of the specific resources, opportunities, and challenges for education programming. The resulting strategic plan for education at Gateway emphasized increasing capacity with dwindling resources and focused on co-produced goals for environmental education, interpretation, and outreach.
Synergistic Sustainability at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park
Located in Atlanta, Georgia the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park (MALU) is a unit of the National Park Service. As Atlanta’s top tourist destination, MALU attracts large numbers of national and international visitors. Historic buildings contribute to the historic fabric of MALU and provide for the benefit, inspiration, and education of current and future generations of park visitors. Several historic structures at MALU have been vacant for over twenty years. Master in Environmental Management alum Tina Smiley works with the National Park Service exploring options to connect the NPS mission of sustainability to restoration in order to harness the principle synergy within a historic community. Tina’s work demonstrates how historic preservation, energy efficiency, and environmental sensitivity can be mutually reinforcing.
Connecting the San Francisco Bay Area with its Wild Pumas
For his MEM project Joe Acampora helped the Felidae Conservation Fund Bay Area Puma Project to characterize puma populations in the San Francisco Bay Area and better engage the public with this information to improve tolerance and appreciation for this critical species. Joe's project included the following:
Geographic Information Systems: GIS map products, study design, and data analysis
Field Technician: Setup/checks of cameras, camera grids, and hair snare mechanisms
Outreach events: Worked at numerous events speaking to members of the public and other organizations about the Bay Area Puma Project’s work
Public Speaking Engagements: Delivered public talks at private functions on behalf of the Bay Area Puma Project
Volunteer Orientation: Developed a guidebook and presentation on public communications
Joe's work helped the organization spread awareness and clear up many local misconceptions about pumas while meeting academic requirements and advancing him toward his MEM degree.