Eppley suggests relevant training and websites
At the Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands, we recognize that parks are for everyone. This June, we want to celebrate Pride by sharing a little bit about the ways that parks not only preserve the heritage of the LGBTQ+ community, but also how parks are helping write this history going forward.
First and foremost, of course, is Stonewall National Monument. The only National Park Service site dedicated to LGBTQ+ heritage, it tells the story of the Stonewall Uprising, which helped pave the way for the movement towards such moments as the legalization of gay marriage and broader acceptance of different sexual orientations and gender identities.
To learn more, visit their website here: https://www.nps.gov/ston/index.htm
Stonewall, however, is not the only National Park Service site whose story features the LGBTQ+ community. The National Park Service offers a list of sites that have ties to the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, and the stories of the community, here: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/parks-and-lgbtq-heritage.htm
While an important keeper of our national heritage and history, the National Park Service is not the only park organization that highlights the LGTBQ+ story. One example is how Central Park Conservancy shares the history of New York City’s Central Park and the LGBTQ+ community here: https://www.centralparknyc.org/articles/lgbtq-history
Many of the most recognizable celebrations of Pride, and events which help write the community’s future stories, take place in parks and public lands. Pride events are held in parks in cities across the country: from Washington, DC (District of Columbia), Chicago, and Los Angeles, to smaller cities like Indianapolis, Minneapolis and St. Paul, and Toledo, to small towns, suburbs, and cities like Avon, Colorado, Narberth, Pennsylvania, and South Bend, Indiana.
Looking to learn how to better tell the stories of your city’s own LGBTQ+ community in your park? We offer a free, self-paced training on the Foundations of Interpretation, as well as our Fundamentals in Interpretation certificate program for those looking to advance their interpretive skills further.
Always, if you are looking to help make sure that your next Pride, or any event, is accessible and inclusive? We offer a similarly online course, the free Foundations of Accessibility program to help kickstart your learning around access, and for those looking to develop your skills more fully on the topic, our Foundations of Accessibility certificate program provides an in-depth look at the skills you will need to make your space more inclusive.
Parks are a public good. And that means that everyone, regardless of who they love, how they look, how they present, or how they interact with the world, has the right to enjoy these spaces.