At the age of three, I could hardly comprehend the vastness of the Grand Canyon. It did not look anything like my home in Michigan.

With my family I visited several national parks from the Great Smoky Mountains to Big Bend and Sequoia/Kings Canyon. Like many tourists, we snapped photos of the most iconic vistas, historic features or odd incongruous attractions – like the tunnel log in Sequoia National Park.

It wasn’t until years later, when I clumsily hoisted on an external frame overstuffed backpack and ventured off into the Yosemite National Park wilderness with a close friend, that I started to really appreciate wild places. As we hiked deeper into the woods and climbed in elevation, the low-pitched hoots of blue grouse frequently startled us. At the time, we had no idea what animal was making this mysterious call.

After that trip, I was starting to get it – the feeling of “transcendence” often referred to in Ken Burns’ new film “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Naturally, the hero in the first episodes is John Muir (voice of Lee Stetson), who reached Yosemite the first time by walking 300 miles from the Bay Area. The final three in the series will air on PBS stations across the country through Friday. If you missed the previous episodes, don’t despair. You can view them for a limited time on the PBS Web site or buy the DVDs.

Just as this epic series about the national parks airs this week, last week the newly formed National Parks Second Century Commission released an extensive report on the condition of our national parks and a vision for the next century. With that, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story about the growing concern over youth not having access to or an interest in nature.

Then, with all this attention on our national parks, on Monday the New York Times ran an editorial on Ken Burns’ new documentary, making the case that the “best idea needs to be protected and celebrated.”

I don’t know about you, but I am getting the sense that there is an urgency around engaging more Americans to experience wild places and connect to our shared national heritage.

Serving as a reminder of the democratic principles of parks, the words of President Theodore Roosevelt are carved in an archway entrance to Yellowstone National Park and read, “For the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

If you are in the Bay Area, KQED’s QUEST tells the story of the national park right here in our “backyards”.


QUEST on KQED Public Media.

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Ever since I wrote an article on the native oysters of San Francisco Bay, I have been awed by the complexities of our estuary’s underwater ecosystems. Despite its murky appearance, the San Francisco Bay supports a diversity of wildlife — from oysters clinging to pier pilings to bottom dwelling leopard sharks.

This summer I got a little closer to the Bay’s web of life (notably jellyfish, harbor seals and brown pelicans) by training to swim from Alcatraz island to Aquatic Park in San Francisco with a close friend. Before setting this goal, the idea of “open water swimming” had not even occurred to me.

I discovered the Bay Area is full of open water swimming enthusiasts who venture out into the Bay’s cold and choppy waters routinely. Many of them are concerned about the health of the Bay – including seven brave swimmers who plan to Relay for the Bay, swimming over 100 miles, from Sacramento to San Francisco, beginning tomorrow. They will swim 40 nonstop hours from September 18 to September 20, 2009.

The swimmers are members of the San Francisco-based Dolphin Club who want to raise awareness and funding for Baykeeper’s work to protect San Francisco Bay from pollution. The 100+ mile swim route begins in the Sacramento River.

How to Explore San Francisco Bay

• Swim in It: Swim-Art organizes evening group swims at Aquatic Park (Monday evenings) and Treasure Island (biweekly Wednesdays) and expedition swims, including an Alcatraz swim.
• Learn from Bay Nature Magazine and The Bay Institute
• Volunteer with Save the Bay or The Watershed Project (The 25th Anniversary of the California Coastal Cleanup Day is this Saturday)
• Visit Aquarium of the Bay
• Join a club, team or association. Bay Access (advocates for a Bay water trail) provides a comprehensive list from kayaking and kite sailing to dragon boating.

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Wallace Stegner called our national parks “America’s Best Idea.” Based on that premise, award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns spent six years creating a documentary series that portrays our national parks as uniquely American, a symbol of democracy and the “most special places in the nation” that should be preserved for everyone. A diversity of Americans including Asian Americans, Latinos and African Americans have all played important roles in the protection and stewardship of our national parks, yet people of color have been visibly absent from scenic vistas and the backcountry trails. According to a recent visitor study by Yosemite National Park, 88% of park visitors were White; 10% were Asian; 3% were American Indian or Alaska Native and only 1% were Black or African American. By ethnicity, 16% of visitors were Hispanic/Latino.

Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite

More and more, parks and partnering nonprofits are hosting field seminars that explore the lesser-known history of people of color in the national parks. In addition to being a social equity issue, park leaders are realizing that our national parks need an informed, diverse and supportive constituency to ensure the long-term stewardship of these treasures.

In Burns’ “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” scheduled to air on PBS this September, one of the leading storytellers is African American Yosemite Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, who shares these ideals: “There is nothing more democratic than a national park. You are going into a wonderland. You are going into a different world… So why should only one part of the population have that sense of wonder and that experience of discovery? Why can’t African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and everybody have that experience? Because that is part of the experience of being an American, it belongs to everyone.”

In the documentary, Burns reveals “untold stories” of our national parks and the contributions by people of color in their conservation and preservation. Recently called “a rising star” by one reporter, Johnson is profiled in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. Johnson grew up in Detroit, where the national parks seemed like unreachable places. Four years ago, co-producers of the new documentary, WETA and Florentine Films, received support from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund to launch the “Untold Stories project,” in which Johnson brings to light the story of the Buffalo Soldiers and the role of African Americans early in the history of the national parks. The purpose of the project is to engage new and traditionally underserved audiences in the “educational richness of the national parks.”

The film series weaves together stories of people transformed and inspired by the parks today, like Johnson, as well as historical accounts. Chiura Obata, a Japanese artist who moved from Tokyo to San Francisco in 1903, also gained inspiration from Yosemite and the High Sierra. Obata’s studio in Berkeley was recently named a historic landmark. Through his art he also promoted cross-cultural understanding and offered new perspectives on nature, including many Yosemite landmarks. His 1930 color wood block prints titled, “Evening Glow of Yosemite Waterfall;” “Lake Basin in High Sierra” and “Evening Glow of Mono Lake and Before Thunderstorm, Tuolumne Meadows;” are among my favorite works of Yosemite landscapes.

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea is a six-episode series directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan. You can view film clips on the PBS Web site and also share a story of your own experiences in the national parks. The film series will air on PBS beginning September 27, 2009.

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Founded in 1970 and celebrated every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the day when millions all over the world call attention to the need for environmental stewardship and justice. Many celebrations were held last Saturday and others will continue through this weekend.

The National Parks movement has also inspired a legacy of community engagement and environmental stewardship. In the Bay Area, on Earth Day, advocates will officially launch the “Parks for All” campaign in conjunction with the forthcoming release of award winning filmmaker Ken Burns’ new documentary series – The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. KQED Public Radio’s Michael Krasny interviewed Burns and a panel of national park experts on April 21 to discuss the roles and significance of diverse populations in our national parks, highlighting untold and forgotten stories.

The first episode of Burns’ six-part series airs September 27, 2009 on PBS.
A sneak preview of the documentary, followed by an on-stage conversation between Michael Krasny, Burns and writer/producer Dayton Duncan will take place at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco this evening on April 22, 2009, but as of now, the event is sold out.

You can watch a preview of the film on the official companion Web site for the series, which launched today:
http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/

You can also follow The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (PBS) on Facebook.

On Earth Day 2009, the war-torn country of Afghanistan also has something to celebrate: the establishment of its first national park. Band-e-Amir, a park located in central Afghanistan, has been called “Afghanistan’s Grand Canyon.”

Read the story in the New Scientist blog: Afghanistan’s tribute to Earth Day 2009.

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