The Catalyst: The Newsletter for Interpretation in California State Parks

Lessons from BIGI 13 True learning happens through community, not through top-down instruction. The Basic Interpretation for Guides and Interpreters (BIGI) training has always embraced a community learning style. In this January’s offering of the class, participants grappled with the tough stuff of our past, shared ideas and insights, and left the week feeling energized and empowered. Here are but a few of the tips and tricks that emerged from the BIGI community.    Gamify Your Program  In an age of apps and smartphones, everything from banking, to tracking your likes or dislikes of coffee, tea, and beer, offers a badge, ribbon, or some other electronic accolade. That’s not even to mention the opportunity for side-quests. People like to collect, track and earn points and rewards. So, why not harness the human desire to be rewarded by, for example, turning animal identification into a mystery to be solved? You could talk about food chains in an interpretive program, or you...

The North Beach Entrance at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve/State Beach (SNR/SB) has a new set of picnic tabletop panels thanks to a recent project between the San Diego Coast District (SDCD) and the Southern Service Center. The original panels were installed in January 2021 as part of accessibility improvements that included a new picnic area. The three bilingual panels were designed to be read from either side of the picnic table. Park staff has noticed that litter is not a problem in this area and that these “table runners” have definitely helped.  Last year, we noticed the panels were beginning to fade. SDCD had funds to replace the panels and SSC coordinated printing with a vendor using a powder coating process directly onto aluminum, rather than the high-pressure laminate process used on the original panels. SDCD installed the new panels a few days before January 2025.                   

Dockwalker Trainings Dockwalkers provide one-on-one outreach in local harbors to share best clean boating practices and help boaters appropriately discard of used oil and waste products. In 2025, the California Division of Boating and Waterways’ Boating Clean and Green Program is offering both virtual and in-person Dockwalker trainings. During the virtual trainings the instructor will be live and participants will be able to ask questions. A reminder to current Dockwalkers if you were trained 3 years ago it is time to get recertified. Please register for an upcoming training. Dockside Podcast Dockside is the podcast that helps you save and enjoy the waters you love by sharing clean and safe boating practices. This podcast is brought to you by the California State Parks and the California Coastal Commission. The most recent episode  features a conversation with Weston Boyles, the Founder and Executive Director of Rios to Rivers and Danielle Rey Frank, the Director of Development an...

The relationship between California State Parks and its volunteers is critical to our mission. The person who shoulders the responsibility of nurturing and assisting the staff who coordinate the many volunteers contributing their time and skills to our parks programs is Rachel Young, Volunteers in Parks Program Coordinator in the Partnerships Division. The Volunteers in Parks Program had been part of Interpretation and Education for forty years, before moving over to the Partnerships Division in 2018 along with Cooperating Associations, other nonprofit partners, and Concessions. Rachel began working with the department in May of 2018, about six months prior to the transition. The first big project was to roll out “Better Impact,” the statewide volunteer management software, which, among other things, tracks the hours and schedules of volunteers. Volunteer Coordinators in the field assume the responsibility of working with volunteers and maintaining a park’s volunteer program. When adde...

Spring is one of my favorite seasons. Seeing all the green grass and watching trees blossom and flowers bloom leaves me with a sense of hope and optimism.  The start of 2025 has been rough for so many people. We’ve had parks burn. I am hearing a lot of fear and uncertainty around what is taking place in the federal government and how it might impact us in state parks.  In California State Parks we remain committed to making parks more inclusive and welcoming for all visitors and to continue to build climate literacy. I want to encourage you when you feel weighed down by things to get out into nature, enjoy the springtime beauty, and to breathe deeply. All of you do amazing work and continually inspire me. Thank you for the work you do and the passion and commitment you bring. The work you do is vital. —Heather Holm

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 ...

Under the leadership of the Interpretation and Education Chief, Heather Holm, and in partnership with the California State Parks Foundation, the California State Parks Interpretation and Education Team will develop a 5-year strategic plan over the course of 2025. This plan takes a holistic landscape approach to the planning process creating a roadmap for interpreters statewide. Division, the field, and any aspect of state parks that touches interpretation will be considered in this plan. Surveys, a series of meetings, and interviews will be implemented to gather input from all interpretation and education employees. According to Holm, “The Interpretation and Education Strategic Plan will shape the statewide direction for the next five years. Feedback gathered from all interpreters will help inform policy updates and changes, identify training needs, and set priorities.” Once completed and approved, the 5-year plan document will be available to all in the department and to our park part...

  Watershed Wednesday Webinar: Protecting Wildlife We invite you to join us for our next Statewide Webinar on Wednesday, 2/26 from 1-2pm on Zoom.   What is the connection between cannabis, trash cans, and protecting wildlife? February’s webinar will explore this topic with a panel of California State Parks experts from three different program areas. You’ll hear from a Supervising Park Ranger, an Environmental Scientist, and a Park Interpreter about their dedication to protecting wildlife in our parks. Come find out about statewide efforts to improve human-wildlife interactions and leave inspired to create unique wildlife protection experiences in your own parks. Webinars are FREE and open to all State Park staff, volunteers, and partners. Please forward to your volunteers and partners who may be interested. Training credit is available in FOCUS following the webinar. Zoom recordings of all statewide webinars are available within a week following the live broadcast.  ...

Back in the thick of Covid, interpreters brought our parks to the quarantined masses through the 360° platform RoundMe. Unfortunately, RoundMe shut down in 2023 and all uploaded tours went kaput. But if your park still has those images on a shared drive, or a 360° camera resting in a file cabinet, you have options. Crystal Cove SP recently published a 360° tour through the platform ThingLink. The Northern Buttes District has been creating tours through a real estate platform called Kuula. High-quality, interactive 360° tours provide a vivid, in-depth look at our park sites. Interpreters can add photos, videos, external links, item descriptions and more. These 360° tours are an accessibility tool, ensuring that those unable to visit in-person can still experience the beauty and significance of our parks remotely. The tours also provide an excellent resource for blended access field trip visits. Unintentionally, this medium has also served as a critical tool in the aftermath of the arson...

The Hearst San Simeon State Park elephant seal docent program has demonstrated exceptional impact in 2024, engaging over 127,500 visitors through 8,328 volunteer hours across various interpretive activities. Led by California State Parks Interpretive Staff, docents have received outstanding visitor feedback, with visitors praising their knowledge, friendliness, and ability to create memorable learning experiences. Looking into 2025, the program aims to strategically expand and enhance its volunteer engagement. Key objectives include diversifying the volunteer base, improving training opportunities, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. With 77 current docents and plans for spring recruitment and training, the program is poised to continue its significant contribution to environmental stewardship and public education.   — Monica Rutherford, State Park Interpreter II, San Luis Obispo Coast District

  Here are some events, theme weeks/months, trainings, holidays, and other dates to know for Winter / Spring 2025:

  Your questions answered! Dear Master Interpreter:  I appreciated your guidance about finding ways to do evaluations for docent groups (peers, audience, self RAPPORTS) in the previous issue however I need help dealing with the actual one-on-one coaching of a volunteer docent. One of my docents has been with the park longer than I and knows the history after statehood very well. However, this docent does not seem to want to provide stories of indigenous lifeways, in place since time immemorial, to their program. I’ve shared the outline of content developed in agreement with our local tribal community through the efforts of our Tribal Liaison with all docents and yet I can’t seem to get this one docent to do their part. What can I do? — Spreading Respect for Tribal Communities Dear Spreading Respect: It can be one of the most challenging parts of your job as a docent coordinator when you need to sit down with a docent and coach them on their programs suggesting improvement and ...