Wednesday July 16th Breakout Sessions
Youth Programs
Best Practice
Sheridan Steele, Superintendent
Acadia National Park
Sheridan is leader in the No Child Left Inside and will discuss the successful initiative that he has implemented at Acadia that addresses the "compelling reasons" related to reasons kids are not connecting with nature today. Sheridan’s presentation is called "Mother Nature Knows Best: no child left inside".
Opportunity to Collaborate
Judy Forte, Superintendent
Martin Luther King NHS
MLKJ NHS has been involved with youth programs for many years and is very successful in encouraging youth to consider NPS as a career. Judy will present a successful program that is an initiative with a Title 1 (underprivileged students) high school where the park has partnered with the teachers to teach and enlighten the students about the MLK HS and the NPS.
Tourism
Best Practice
Cindy Orlando, Superintendent
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
In 2007 Expedia, Inc. and the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (WHA) embarked on a partnership with Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with the mission of promoting and protecting the park, a World Heritage Site, through sustainable tourism. Cindy will describe how the park, in close coordination with Expedia and WHA, developed a series of activities to educate the tourism and travel industry in the state of Hawaii about the World Heritage cultural and natural values of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and their role in ensuring site conservation through sustainable tourism. The model can be applied to all units of the National Park System.
Opportunity to Collaborate
Fred Boyles, Superintendent
Andersonville NHS
Three years ago, Andersonville NHS developed a tourism promotion program to encourage more visitations at Andersonville. The Historic Site is off the beaten track and can be difficult to find. The goal was to draw more visitors off of I-75 with its 45,000 average daily traffic count to visit the park. Fred will present this program that partnered the park with the local tourism council and the park friends group that substantially increased visitation to the park.
Diversity
Best Practice
Woody Smeck, Superintendent
Santa Monica Mountains, National Recreation Area
Santa Monica Mountains NRA, is a leader in efforts and methods to increase racially diverse participation in park programs. Woody will present best practices that the park is using to successfully drawing diverse youth to the park and attract diverse candidates for NPS employment.
Opportunity to Collaborate
Tara Morrison, Superintendent
African Burial Ground National Monument
Since 2003 the NPS has provided assistance to the General Services Administration by leading efforts to engage diverse audiences in planning for the future of the African Burial Ground. With the establishment of the African Burial Ground NM in 2006, new opportunities for collaboration are now possible. Tara will present the efforts to sustain involvement of the African descendant community in New York while engaging new audiences.
Emerging Technology
Best Practice
Connie Rudd, Superintendent
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Connie will facilitate a lively discussion regarding emerging trends in technology. Participants will contribute to the discussion about the challenges of using current technology, predicting trends that are worth our investment, legal and ethical uses of technology, as well a survey of Best Practices within comprehensive park operations. Expect this to be very participative session!
Opportunity to Collaborate
Ralph Moore, Superintendent
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Ralph will present a new and innovative partnership program that incorporates state-of-the-art technology to view Brown Bear via video camera with off-site interpretation in a gateway community and broadcasting via the web. This brings Brown bear viewing from a very remote area only accessible by float plane to many virtual park visitors. This successful program brings the NPS experience to many visitors that would otherwise not enjoy this experience.
Citizen Stewards
Best Practice
Kevin Brandt, Superintendent
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park
Kevin Brandt and the management team of the C&O Canal National Historical Park are hard at work reconnecting 29 communities and political jurisdictions to their historical roots along the canal. This has not only brought political and financial support to the park but has greatly strengthened the sense of stewardship each of these communities has for ‘their stretch’ of the canal. This citizen stewardship has led to successful ARPA prosecutions and vigilance for boundary encroachments, advocacy for park interpretation and tourism and a fledgling canal stewards program which has volunteers taking on upkeep of bulletin boards, boat ramps, campgrounds and grounds maintenance as well as serving on bike and foot ‘patrols’ of the towpath and major side trails. This past spring the park’s new ‘friends’ group accomplished nearly 100 projects with nearly 1,000 volunteers over a one month period. Learn from and laugh at our trials and tribulations but imagine having more outside funding than the regional office’s contracting officer can obligate!
Opportunity to Collaborate
Jock Whitworth, Superintendent
Zion National Park
Jock will present the innovative and inclusive development of the Zion Shuttle Program, a program that involves the gateway community of Springdale, Utah as a park partner in a mutually beneficial visitor transportation system. While Jock was not the "father" of the Zion Shuttle he certainly is an effective proponent of its continued success.
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