The Catalyst: The Newsletter for Interpretation in California State Parks

When I began working with California State Parks, it was shortly after COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted. I started as a park aide at Clear Lake State Park, newly introduced to "park life" and unaware of the incredible career opportunities this agency had to offer. My first glimpse into the world of interpretation came when I watched the district’s Interpreter II and III lead a PORTScast in the park. The program focused on soil, decomposers, and the life within the leaf litter—how's that for alliteration! I was tasked with manning the camera equipment, watching from the audience's perspective. What I saw was both interpreters lying on the ground, faces inches from the dirt, magnifying glasses in hand, rediscovering the soil and its creatures with childlike wonder. Their enthusiasm was contagious. I went home that day thinking, "I want to do that! I want to ignite that spark in someone! I would totally lie on the ground and poke through the dirt for a PORTS pr...

To celebrate Women’s History Month, California State Parks is hosting a Women's History Crawl at the Sonoma Barracks Saturday, March 1, 2025, from 11am-5pm. The event will provide a space for the community to come together to learn about, share information on, and celebrate women in California who have made a difference. The event will also include talks given by two sets of authors who will discuss their women centered books. For the history crawl, guests will “crawl” between eighteen organizations tabled in the Sonoma Barracks Courtyard to not only learn about the highlighted women, but to learn about the participating organizations, the services they provide and their future events. There were four key factors in working with the various organizations for this event. The first was to engage the organizations early to increase the chances they would be available, and to give them adequate time to think about the specifics of their role in the event. Beginning last November, email...

On January 29, 2025, over 100 park staff gathered virtually to celebrate the first annual Interpretation & Education Excellence Awards. The ceremony recognized individuals whose work educates and inspires Californians to forge meaningful connections with the natural and cultural stories of our state parks. The awardees exemplify both interpretive expertise and the department's core values, ensuring that parks remain welcoming spaces for exploration, enjoyment, and inspiration for all Californians. Here is a look at this year’s winners: Rookie of the Year: Claire Andrews, San Diego Coast District Claire Andrews, State Park Interpreter I, was honored for “cultivating partnerships to increase equity, access, and relevancy for all people in the North Sector Campgrounds” said her supervisor, Alexandra Latona, the district’s Education and Interpretation Manager. Fellow nominees for Rookie of the Year included: Garrett Fuhrman – Inland Empire District Ali Manzo – Dos Rios  Kyle Floyd ...

How the Service Centers Serve Parks What is a Service Center, where are they, and what do they provide? California State Parks has two Service Centers: one in Sacramento and another in San Diego. The Northern Service Center (NSC) and the Southern Service Center (SSC) trace their origins to the Office of Interpretive Services (OIS), organized in the 1960s. Back then, visitor center design was a collaboration between interpreters, museum curators, exhibit designers, and staff architects. Almost everything was done in-house, and it was a rare exception to utilize outside vendors for interpretive services.  Collaboration continues at the Northern and Southern Service Centers. The potent combination of interpreters, museum curators, and exhibit designers allow the service centers to assist parks and districts with everything from the design of a single interpretive panel for a trail to the development of a new Interpretation Master Plan. This includes the ability to design new visitor c...

Two decades ago, California State Parks launched PORTS: Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students ®, aiming to harness technology to engage a diverse K-12 audience. The global pandemic propelled our popularity, solidifying PORTS as a vital resource for thousands of educators seeking to bring learning beyond the traditional classroom. In 2020, we reflected on our journey and proudly announced that PORTS had engaged over 1 million students since its inception in 2004. Just four years later, we are thrilled to share that we have now reached over 2 million students with our innovative educational programming across California. This milestone is a testament to the dedication of our field staff and the enthusiasm of educators eager to connect their students with the wonders of nature and history. To learn more about the impact of the PORTS Program, we invite you to explore our annual report for the 2023/2024 school year . Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey! — Br...

Strap on your helmet, buckle your seat belt, bring a buddy, and grab plenty of water for hydration as you participate in this year’s OHV Safety Week November 16-24 .   Safety Week is an opportunity for state parks and their partners to showcase safety measures while enjoying California State Parks.   Messaging includes information about sharing the trail, and keeping yourself and others safe while enjoying the park and various OHV recreational opportunities.   Parks host a variety of classes and activities that illustrate these messages. This event is co-hosted by the California Outdoor Recreation Foundation (CORF) and the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) . According to Safety Week co-founder Don Schmidt, “Safety Week was born out of the idea to highlight and enhance off-highway vehicle safety throughout California.   The OHMVR Division works with a large off-highway vehicle community who recognizes the importance of getting participants to in...

Natural resource agencies, California voters, legal cannabis users, and even steelhead trout, are all collaborating to fulfill California State Park's mission in an exciting restoration project in the San Mateo Coast Sector of Santa Cruz District State Parks. With funding from the Cannabis Watershed Protection Program (CWPP) , California State Parks, partnering with the San Mateo Resource Conservation District , is involved in an ecological restoration and climate resiliency project within the Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve . To put this into context: in 2016, Californians voted to legalize recreational cannabis with the passage of Proposition 64. Specifically, the intent of the act, among other actions, is to “…generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new state revenue annually for restoring and repairing the environment.” When someone makes a purchase at a legal cannabis dispensary, some of the tax money generated from this purchase will make its way to State Parks for the p...

Outside the Box Outreach in the Ocotillo Wells District Have you ever asked, “How do we reach the audience that needs us most?” Two interpreters from the Ocotillo Wells District are addressing this question through community outreach, achieved by staying open to all possibilities. Parks in the district tend to serve visitors who are traveling through the area, or who have come specifically to enjoy recreational opportunities. What about the local communities? Taylour Unzicker, State Park Interpreter III for the district, shared CalEnviroScreen 4.0 produced by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. This interactive map allows users to see the intersection between socio-economic levels and exposure to environmental hazards affecting our health. Imperial County has some of the greatest socio-environmental challenges across the state. Taylour has used it to demonstrate the potential positive impacts of parks’ outreach programs. He expressed the importance of seizing opport...