Sacramento – August 29, 2024
It is never too early or too late to kick-start an environmental career. California State Parks and Parks California are thrilled to announce that 14 local organizations are receiving the 2024-2026 Career Pathways Grants totaling over $1.1 million to help train individuals for careers in parks and public lands.
The Career Pathways Program supports workforce development partnerships between California State Parks and local organizations that meaningfully address key access barriers and prepare participants for park careers. The program aims to not only prepare the next generation workforce with necessary skills but also expand awareness about the diversity of careers in parks and public lands, connect participants to mentors and professional networks to support them in their career journey, and help participants navigate state hiring processes.
“Parks California is committed to cultivating career training opportunities in California State Parks for everyone,” said Kindley Walsh Lawlor, President and CEO of Parks California. “By coordinating partnerships between communities and parks, our Career Pathways Grants Program fosters future leaders, ambassadors, and caretakers of our shared lands.”
The grantees will work collaboratively with California State Parks to offer work experiences and training in park operations and stewardship, such as wildfire resilience projects, trail building, habitat restoration, and visitor services. Additionally, the grantees connect participants to job networks and provide career advice and additional resources, such as equipment, wages, meals, and travel reimbursement.
“Nurturing a diverse and skilled workforce is crucial to ensuring the sustained stewardship of California’s treasured park system,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “The Career Pathways Grants Program aligns with our department’s Path Forward Strategic Plan and embodies the Newsom Administration’s Jobs First initiative. The program supports our efforts to prioritize developing a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce.”
“Nurturing a diverse and skilled workforce is crucial to ensuring the sustained stewardship of California’s treasured park system,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “The Career Pathways Grants Program aligns with our department’s Path Forward Strategic Plan. The program supports our efforts to prioritize developing a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce.”
For the 2024-2026 Career Pathways program, grant funding from State Parks’ Waterway Connections Initiative and the generous support of private donors helped Parks California engage organizations that could connect participants to water-related outdoor access and experiences. Priority was given to organizations that planned projects in parks along inland waterways, lakes, rivers, and watersheds. For example, the San Joaquin County Office of Education’s Greater Valley Conservation Corps is partnering with California State Parks to offer youth corpsmembers natural resources career training and work experience at Brannan Island State Recreation Area in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
“I’m really excited for these grants and thankful to our partner Parks California for supporting them,” said Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. “Helping all interested Californians find careers in State Parks team builds an Outdoors for All. It will help all Californians see themselves represented among those who work on our public lands, which helps create a feeling of belonging and ignites the passion of future environmental leaders.”
Grants were awarded in a competitive process to organizations that met eligibility criteria and submitted an application. Activities are expected to help nearly 250 people build skills. Activities will take place from July 2024 to July 2026.
One awardee is the Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT), a Native-led non-profit founded by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, that stewards ancestral Mutsun and Awaswas lands using both traditional and modern approaches. The AMLT Native Stewardship Corps is a program for high-school and college-aged Tribal members that combines work training, career development, and cultural education. The Corps contributes to resource conservation projects, including fuel reduction and coastal prairie restoration at Año Nuevo State Park.
Another awardee is the Sierra Nevada Alliance’s Lake Tahoe Ambassador Program, which trains low-income students for summer jobs in the Tahoe Basin, offering paid opportunities and pathways for further education. Participants engage in interpretative talks, distribute stewardship materials, and assist with environmental data collection in partnership with state parks along Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. This program empowers local youth to become stewards of their ecosystems, fostering the next generation of climate scientists and conservation professionals.
Here is the complete list of the 14 organizations awardee organizations:
Amah Mutsun Land Trust
Audubon Canyon Ranch
Civicorps
Crystal Cove Conservancy
Ecological Workforce Initiative
Hispanic Access Foundation
Insight Garden Program
LA Conservation Corps
San Joaquin County Office of Education
San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust
Santa Monica Mountains Fund
Sierra Institute for Community and Environment
Sierra Nevada Alliance
Yurok Tribe
To learn more about each grantee click here.
ABOUT PARKS CALIFORNIA
Parks California was launched in 2019 as a new model of public, private, and non-profit partnership. As the official statutory non-profit partner to California State Parks, working statewide, it’s uniquely positioned to innovate and work hand-in-hand with communities and experts to bring resources together, ensuring that everyone can experience healthy and thriving parks for generations to come.
This year, Parks California celebrates 5 years of partnering with over 100 non-profits and tribal groups to help more than 28,000 people experience one of California’s 280 state parks – many for the first time ever – so that they can start a lifelong love of nature.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, popularly known as State Parks, and the programs supported by its Office of Historic Preservation and divisions of Boating and Waterways and Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation provides for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. Learn more at parks.ca.gov.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Parks California, media@parkscalifornia.org
California State Parks, Newsroom@parks.ca.gov
Crystal Cove Conservancy intern sets up a trail camera to conduct wildlife monitoring. Photo: Parks California
Sierra Institute’s P-CREW learning how to conduct fuels reduction in Plumas-Eureka State Park. Photo: Parks California
