Our Commitment

Washington’s National Park Fund is committed to equity and inclusion of all people, a commitment we share with the National Park Service (NPS) and Washington’s three largest national parks. Alongside our friends at NPS, we aim to ensure that all people feel welcome and comfortable in – and able to access – Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks.

By funding projects that expand access and opportunities for traditionally underrepresented communities – and by building an organization whose leadership, staff, donors, and partners represent diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences – we become more impactful stewards and champions of Washington’s national parks. These values are paramount to WNPF and help to guide our day-to-day actions.

 

How We Got Here

Over the years, Washington’s National Park Fund has enabled dozens of programs and projects in Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks that support and bring in more diverse populations.

In 2018, recognizing that we have a larger role to play in increasing access to the parks, WNPF convened a standing team to address and advance these efforts. In June 2020, our Board of Directors committed to reexamining the role we can play in equity and access and established our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board Committee.

What We've Accomplished

Through this commitment, over the past few years we have:

  • Launched a project funding priority category, Embracing Inclusion, that enables donors to contribute directly to programs that:
    • Promote park access for underrepresented and historically marginalized communities,
    • Create employment opportunities and pipelines for traditionally underrepresented groups,
    • Expand tribal engagement in the parks through internships, community outreach and educational programs, and land stewardship and conservation programs, and
    • Improve accessibility of national park facilities and trails
  • Funded projects and programs in Washington’s national parks that serve communities that are underrepresented in the outdoors generally and the national parks specifically, including:
    • Multiple years of a Latina trail crew at Mount Rainier National Park, in partnership with Washington Trails Association and Latino Outdoors (pictured above, courtesy of Rachel Wendling)
    • School bus transportation to bring young people to Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks, largely from underrepresented and low-income communities
    • Efforts at Mount Rainier National Park for targeted outreach to engage youth and families from diverse backgrounds through the Junior Ranger Program
    • A native plant and food sustainability education program at North Cascades National Park that brings together community groups and neighboring tribes
    • The Access for All project in Mount Rainier, which purchased a High-Efficiency Trail Assessment Process tool (HETAP) to evaluate trails and facilities for individuals with a wide range of accessibility needs
    • Stewardship projects for native youth at Olympic National Park, including a Native Youth Conservation Corps program and a program that brings Makah youth into the park to educate and protect significant petroglyphs on the coast

Lend Your Support

  • Established partnerships with organizations that serve traditionally underrepresented communities to make meaningful connections to better serve these communities
  • Increased access to the parks by launching a series of online Virtual Field Trips which create accessible park experiences for communities who may not be able to experience the parks otherwise
    • Made the Virtual Field Trips more accessible to those who may be deaf or hard of hearing, and the ESL community, by adding closed captioning
    • Expanded these virtual experiences to new audiences, including hosting a Spanish-language Virtual Field Trip and “Trailblazers” which invited members of the WNPF-funded, first-of-its-kind all-native Tahoma climb team to share the significance of the climb

  • Committed to lifting up stories from people of all backgrounds to show the many ways that people experience the national parks and to welcome communities that traditionally are underrepresented in the parks
    • We celebrate and share initiatives and programs that represent the diversity of park experiences that our supporters make possible
    • We feature stories that showcase diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences within Washington’s national parks
    • We publish regular blog posts celebrating monthly national heritage events, highlighting park and NPS activities and resources associated with them
  • Begun the work of increasing representation of diverse communities among our own staff, leadership, and Board of Directors
    • We have worked with DEI consultants to advance our board/staff internal understanding, define our focus, and map out next steps to expand our impact
    • We believe that we as an organization are better representatives of Washington’s parks – and better stewards of our donors’ dollars – when we have voices from diverse backgrounds at the table, both at the staff and leadership level; as such, we aim to have a team made up of people of diverse social and ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities
      • Interested in adding your voice to further our cause by joining our board? We’d love to hear from you: fund@wnpf.org
Screen capture of Spanish language junior ranger video on Youtube

Washington’s National Park Fund joined forces with Mount Rainier National park to produce a video about Mount Rainier’s efforts to reach diverse audiences through their Junior Ranger Program, specifically by providing the program in Spanish. Watch the video.

 

Mount Rainier ranger poses with a Casa Latina participant

Casa Latina’s 2019 visit to Mount Rainier National Park. Jointly organized by Seattle’s Casa Latina, Mount Rainier, and WNPF, Casa Latina day workers and their families were able to experience the park, many for the first time. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Gonzalez.

 

Food sustainability project in North Cascades National Park

Community Resilience through Food Sustainability and Native Plant Education provides native plant education and food sustainability, bringing together North Cascades National Park and local organizations including the Lummi Nation School, Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, Darrington School District, and the Glacier Peak Institute. Photo courtesy of NPS.

 

A group of 12 holding a whine banner with large backpacks in front of trees.

Washington’s National Park Fund partnered with partner with Rachel Heaton, member of the Muckleshoot Tribe and descendant of the Duwamish people, to organize a historic, all-native climb of Mount təqʷuʔmaʔ – the original Muckleshoot name for the mountain many know as Mount Rainier (Tahoma).
Read their story.

The Road Ahead

We recognize that progress comes through action, and there is still much to do. We will continue to push for actionable, mission-driven change that makes Washington’s national parks welcoming and accessible for all people.

Specific areas we are focusing on include:

  • Bringing a broad range of perspectives to WNPF through proactive recruitment of staff, board members, and volunteers who represent diverse backgrounds and life experiences,
  • Highlighting park projects that expand access to and welcome underrepresented groups into the parks, and providing clear pathways to fund those projects,
  • Identifying and growing new areas of collaboration between the parks and organizations serving underrepresented and marginalized communities, and
  • Participating in local community events, such as cultural heritage celebrations, where we can provide resources and support for first-time park visitors and individuals who may not feel welcome in the parks to ensure that all people feel empowered to experience them.

 

Footer photo (below): Ranger in Mount Rainier National Park (photo by NPS)