What is Park Protectors?
Park Protectors is a virtual group for young adults (ages 18-35) in California to learn about local environmental issues and news, share events, and participate in advocacy. The group meets every other Tuesday from 4-5PM on Zoom. You can sign up and see the next meeting date at this link: https://bit.ly/ParkProtectors
Why Park Protectors?
California Environmental Voters started this group in partnership with California Native Plant Society (CNPS) because we want to engage younger generations with conservation work. The deluge of news and emails can be overwhelming, and it’s often difficult for people to sift through the noise and understand what’s going on and how they can help.
As activists, we’ve learned a lot about how to effectively make an impact on climate progress, and we want to provide a space for people to learn more and get involved. Park Protectors is run by early career conservation professionals who are excited to offer support, guidance, and opportunities for young adults interested in environmental issues. College students in particular have historically been at the forefront of protests and change, and Park Protectors serves as an easy pathway for them to jump into the conservation movement.
The Importance of Park Protectors
Public lands are beneficial in so many ways: to fight the climate crisis, protect plants and animals, and preserve access to nature for recreation. At EnviroVoters, we work with coalitions to prioritize the voices of Indigenous peoples as they manage public lands through co-stewardship and co-management agreements with the federal government. We’re building a movement to educate and empower the next generation to fight for our future.
At our first meeting, we talked about the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in Siskiyou County, a newly established national monument that protects over 220,000 acres of land, including aquifers that supply clean water to millions of residents of Northern California. We encouraged attendees to contact their federal representatives through email and social media to show their support for Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. Since then, we’ve had meetings on campaign organizing and the utilization of social media for activism.
We hold meetings every two weeks, so check out https://bit.ly/ParkProtectors to sign up and find out about the next meeting.
