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New and Noteworthy
Examining and Sharing Best Practices in Partnerships
Community Engagement and Place-based Education
New Research Center Focused on Place-based Education, Evaluation and Community Engagement
National Leadership Council Creates Strategy and Education Council
Sharing Best Practices on Civic Engagement
Celebrating Stewardship: An Atlas of Places, People and Hand-made Products
Cultivating Leadership
Analyzing Trends in Conservation and Stewardship
Publications and Conservation Resources
To Learn More

Stewardship begins with people. This atlas celebrates the personal stories of stewardship, while illustrating its broad, rich geography. Its inspiration comes from people taking care of special places. For more than 30 years, Mary Lee Begay (right) has woven traditional Navajo rugs for Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site in Ganado, Arizona. Dave Evans, a fifth-generation Pierce Point rancher at Point Reyes National Seashore, California, is developing innovative, sustainable approaches to keep agriculture alive on the peninsula. Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Judy and Bill Carson and Kit Trubey, owners of The Orchard at Alta Pass in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, encourage local theater and music, while growing heirloom apples. These are faces of stewardship—friends, neighbors, and communities in and around our national parks, heritage areas, and national historic landmarks. They preserve authentic traditional cultures and landscapes, demonstrating for local residents and visitors alike an enduring stewardship ethic and a commitment to sustainability.

A project update is the beginning of an exploration of the connections between places, people, and special products. This update includes three case studies illustrating good stewardship and highlighting traditions and innovations that advance conservation and sustainability. In An Atlas of Places, People, and Handmade Products, we will include more stories from more places. With this project, we plan to create a network of park people and producers eager to share their knowledge and experiences.

Principal Project Objectives:

 cover of Atlas publication





woman weaving
Mary Lee Begay weaves a traditional Navajo rug.
Photo: Jeff Roberts

Recognize people practicing stewardship that sustains important landscapes and living cultures.

Demonstrate the relationship between people, special products, and landscapes and explore issues related to marketing, branding, and certification.

Highlight the biodiversity value of cultural landscapes.

Model sustainable behaviors to visitors and neighbors, demonstrating a commitment to community stewardship of landscapes.

Enhance relationships between parks and neighboring communities.

Build a network of people and organizations involved in this work.
National Park Service
National Park Service
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
Shelburne FarmsUniversity of VermontQLF Atlantic Center for the Environment		 National Park Service