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

March 1, 2022

By: Jen Semsak, WNPF Board Member, Chair of the Marketing and Communications Advisory Council, and member of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

In March, the National Park Service celebrates Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the role women have played in the history of our nation. First celebrated in 1981 when Congress passed legislation that authorized the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week,” March has long served as a time to commemorate the contributions women have made to the United States.

Our parks and public lands have benefitted from many of these contributions over the years.

 

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 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. Take a walk in the footsteps of some of these incredible women on their Travel Where Women Made History website – it will take you through a wide range of historic places associated with women’s history, offering tools to “travel” digitally or in-person. Explore their interactive story maps to see where women have made a difference nation-wide.

 

The National Park Service also shares stories from the history of the suffrage movement, and many NPS sites pay homage to the acts of brave women that led to the 19th Amendment which guaranteed women the right to vote. Learn about the history of the suffrage movement in the Suffrage in Sixty Seconds video series, produced by the National Park Service:

Suffrage in 60 Seconds video

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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