Celebrating Women’s History Month in Washington’s National Parks

March 13, 2024

By: WNPF’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

From the stories shared at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park to the historic feats at Mount Rainier National Park, women’s history can be found at every park across the nation.

We’re inspired by women in the National Park Service, like Betty Reid Soskin, who highlight the stories that are important to the fabric of our nation. Bringing her own experiences as a Black woman living in the Bay Area and working in a segregated union hall as a file clerk during WWII to her work, Betty spent more than twenty years with the NPS bringing light to stories that historically have been overlooked. As she told in a 2014 NPR interview, “What gets remembered is a function of who’s in the room doing the remembering.”

Here at Washington’s National Park Fund, we are proud to join our park partners in exploring the stories of women of all cultural backgrounds and traditions who have engaged in civic life throughout American history, as well as the many women who serve or have served as leaders, trailblazers, and pioneers in the stewardship of public lands today.

Learn More & Be Inspired

“Women’s history is full of amazing stories of both ordinary and extraordinary people,” says the National Park Service, and we couldn’t agree more. At Mount Rainier National Park, we recently funded an internship that provides college students with the experience of presenting Mount Rainier’s popular astronomy program, helping park guests peer beyond our planet during summers at Paradise. In this blog, get to know the staff that got their “foot in the door” through this internship that WNPF was proud to support. You can also learn about the inspiring program in this video:

Embracing Inclusion is one of the four priority project categories that we fundraise for each year. Among the projects that fall under that category, this year, Mount Rainier’s Climbing Program is seeking funding for a women’s fellowship position to enhance the gender diversity of the team. Historically, the program’s 17 positions serving park search and rescue and other mountaineering functions have been filled almost exclusively by men. In 2022, for the first time ever, there were five women in the climbing program, resulting in a much more positive dynamic that boosted the comradery, professionalism, and respect among team members – critical factors in creating a safe and effective team in an often-dangerous environment. WNPF is excited to raise funds for this and the many priority projects this year. You can find past and current projects that we raise funds for in our Project Portfolio.

Check out some more of our favorite resources to learn more about women’s history this month:

Cover photo: WNPF is proud to support projects and programs in our parks that serve communities that are underrepresented in the outdoors generally and our national parks specifically, including three years of a Latina trail crew at Mount Rainier in partnership with the WTA and Latino Outdoors. You can learn more about our efforts on our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion page. Photo courtesy of Rachel Wendling.

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