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Visitor in a hallway with numerous paintings and busts of suffragists

Program

Women in Parks

Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument
NPS Photo / Victoria Stauffenberg

Introduction

Unearthing, preserving, and highlighting women's stories tied to our parks.

In 2020, the National Park Foundation (NPF) launched a new fund to support projects and programs that help the National Park Service (NPS) share a more comprehensive and inclusive American narrative that amplifies the voices of women whose vision, tenacity, and resilience moved them to climb mountains, take down barriers, protect the environment, and lead social movements. Women in Parks supports national parks and park programs that highlight stories of women who made history and continue to shape our future.

National parks across the country share stories of visionary women, trailblazers who dared to imagine a different future. Now more than 100 years after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, we must continue to help expand the stories and perspectives shared through national parks. It’s critical that we recognize centuries of unrecognized and under-recognized sacrifices and contributions made by women, including Black women, Indigenous women, and all women of color. Through Women in Parks, NPF is highlighting the contributions women have made to our country and the role they continue to play.

Program Highlights

High overhead shot of paddlers in a canal on a sunny summer day
Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

A video program was produced and aired in 2021 on PBS (WCNY) and across multiple channels including YouTube, radio, and social media about how women traversed the Erie Canal to attend rallies in Seneca Falls to pass the 19th Amendment. Their contributions helped create a culture of social reform movements still evident along the Erie Canal today.

Stairs leading up to the Memorial Garden at Cesar E Chavez National Monument
César E. Chávez National Monument

A research project was created to document the experiences of Mexican, Filipina, and Chicana women farm workers in California to develop future in-park programs. These programs highlight women’s contributions to their families, communities, and a labor movement that established United Farm Workers, the nation’s largest farm workers union today.

Stone steps leading up to a domed structure
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument

A new program was developed to research and develop educational materials about the life of Carrie A. Tuggle, a prominent civil rights activist, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.

Nicole Martin poses on a farm with mountains in the background
Women's History in the Pacific West Fellow

Dr. Nicole Martin is serving as the Women's History in the Pacific West Fellow, supported by NPF in partnership with NPS. Dr. Martin's fellowship is helping deepen the understanding of the region's rich diversity through scholarship addressing gender, race, class, and the ongoing legacy of settler colonialism.

Program Updates

Partners

Thank You

  • Anonymous
  • Ms. Susan Byrd and Mr. Mark Lampert
  • Cowlitz Tribal Foundation Statewide Fund
  • Free People
  • John G. and Jean R. Gosnell Foundation
  • The Hearst Foundation
  • Janet and Deonne Kahler
  • Ellen Malcolm
  • David Marchick
  • Carolyn L. Miller
  • Wea Ohrstrom Nichols
  • Nancy Nordhoff
  • Ms. Allison Peacock
  • Tavan Pechet
  • Louise Stephens
  • Sarah Stephens
  • Regina and James Williams
  • Adam Yenser

Related Areas of Work