Park Rangers are great storytellers. Sean Smith, former National Park Ranger, used the storytelling gift to write a series of thrillers with a park ranger as the hero. In this episode of the Park Leaders Show, Sean talks about how his time as a ranger led to writing Unleashing Colter’s Hell and Lost Cause. Sean tells us why […]
Podcast
Making Park Visitors Feel Like Insiders
Phil Gaines, Director of South Carolina State Parks, returns to the Park Leaders Show to follow up on his first interview. In this second interview, Phil talks about the Ultimate Outside program. The Ultimate Outsider program turns visitors into insiders by getting them into all 47 State Parks in South Carolina. Phil Gaines knows once […]
Why Your Park is the Most Important Park
When I began my career as a park ranger at Riverside State Park, Jack Hartt would often tell me how lucky he was to the park manager. He convinced me Riverside was the best park in Washington State. I believed him. I followed his lead and proclaimed there was not a better park in the state. Then, […]
Connecting to Wild Places Through Local Parks
When you think of City Parks, what comes to mind? I imagine you don’t think of 29,000 acres and 5,000 individual properties in a single City Park System. That is how much property New York city Parks is responsible for. In an environment that makes me think of skyscrapers and concrete, NYC Parks account for […]
Saving the Hetch Hetchy with Robert Hanna
December 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of John Muir. Muir passed away on December 24th, 1914. His last fight was to save the Hetch Hetchy valley. If you are not familiar with John Muir and the Hetch Hetchy Valley, I am going to spoil the story for you. The valley is under water. […]
Why You Need to Write Great Email
As a leader you have a responsibility to continue to get better. There is one area in particular though, where I think you need to improve and you may not have considered it. If you are a leader, you need to write great email. Email? Isn’t Park Leaders about parks? Yes, of course Park Leaders […]
Building Youth into Leaders with Mary Ellen Sprenkel
Have you heard anyone suggest our country should bring back the Civilian Conservation Corps? I have. And I agree, it would be a good thing for our country. But the Conservation Corps never went away. It just looks different. Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President, and CEO of The Corps Network, joins the Park Leaders Show to […]
How to Create Great Park Signs
Park signs are an important piece of park management. Typically, a visitor interacts with signs more often than they do with park staff. The words on signs create an identity for the park. How many parks take the time to review signs to consider the identity they create through signs? For this episode, Mike Kim […]
Parks are the Caretakers of American History
This episode of the Park Leaders Show is a part two of sorts. My interview with Kelli English was so wonderful and long that I broke it into two parts. The first part of our conversation was about interpretation and storytelling. You can find it here. With the second half of our interview, Kelli talks […]
Helping Visitors Find a Connection to a Park
Kelli English is the Chief of Interpretation for four National Park Units in the Bay Area of California, including John Muir National Historic Site. She has spent her career as a park ranger interpreting stories to park visitors. Now, she interprets to interpreters. She admits, even though her job leans towards administration, she still […]