California State University, Channel Islands working with National Parks Service in increase access
Minority youth often have little history using parks for recreation and other outdoor activities.
To reverse that trend, the National Parks Service Foundation is teaming up with California State University, Channel Islands to develop culturally relevant outreach programs to engage college-age youth ages 18-25, the university reported this week in a media release.
“Are the parks meaningful for you and, if not, why not?” are just some of the questions that will be asked by a student team at the university.
The effort began when Donald Rodriguez, associate professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management at the university, was invited to Washington, D.C. to speak to the National Parks Foundation regarding the issue of engaging college-age youth with the National Parks Service.
Upon his return, the university received a grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Fund to create an interdisciplinary research team consisting of Rodriguez, Jose Alamillo, associate professor Chicana/o Studies and Tracylee Clarke, assistant professor of Communication.
The professors then hired one Hispanic student from each of their respective academic areas (Iliana Espinoza, Jose Tlaxcuapan, and Paul Paredes), to work with the research team throughout the project and to explore minority participation among their peer groups. This work is part of the students’ Capstone projects, the university reported.
Not only are the parks interested in this kind of data, but also manufacturers of sporting goods and recreational equipment like R.E.I., the Nature Conservancy and the Wilderness Society, the university reported.
The outdoor community wants to understand the concerns and needs of this diverse population so they can appeal to the next generation of users. The underserved youth are the fastest growing demographic and are often highly urbanized with no history of socialized nature based recreation activity. Being familiar with the outdoor life means not just an appreciation of nature but of different ecosystem services like open space, clean water, wildlife habitat, and clean air, the university reported.
The culturally relevant outreach programs being developed by the team will be used to create a template for use with other park staffs.
In April and May, Clarke, assisted by Rodriguez and Alamillo, will conduct three field training workshops to share information from the project, specifically with the NPS interpretive staff at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Channel Islands National Park and Cabrillo National Monument to help the staffs of these parks become aware of particular challenges associated with reaching underserved audiences. The research team will also work with NPS staff to design and implement workshop assessment instruments to be integrated into the three NPS workshops for park personnel.
The university, as a Hispanic Serving Institution, reported that it has been actively engaged with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Channel Islands National Park, with members of the Park staff involved in the planning and instruction of various courses.
Rodriguez said he hopes that once CI’s project is complete it can serve as a model of student engagement by the university’s feeder community colleges and eventually by the CSU and other 4-year universities.
For more information on the program, visit http://www.csuci.edu/news/releases/2011_nationalparkservice.htm