My Park Story: Karli Reeves

Karli works a table for a World Migratory Bird Day and Accessible Birding Pop-Up at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center

Photo courtesy of Karli Reeves

Birding and hiking are beloved activities in national parks, but what ensures that all visitors can participate in them? The Let’s Go Birding internship program through Environment for the Americas in partnership with the National Park Service, supports park sites in expanding opportunities for visitors, including individuals with disabilities.

Karli in her Environment for the Americas uniform

Photo courtesy of Karli Reeves

At Indiana Dunes National Park, recent Let's Go Birding intern Karli Reeves helped design programs and activities to make the park experience more accessible. Originally from northwest Florida, Karli was first introduced to the National Park Service during a marine biology class visit to Gulf Islands National Seashore. This experience sparked a lasting interest in public lands and accessibility.

Much of Karli’s internship was structured around hosting migratory bird events for park visitors. Interpretive outreach with local disability-focused organizations in Northwest Indiana led to more accessible birding programs and local bird pop-up events. These functions and World Migratory Bird Day events offered educational materials about how to protect migratory birds in urban park environments.

An ASL sign card that Karli created for her “Birds in Sign: Learn ASL with Indiana Dunes” program

Photo courtesy of Environment for the Americas

Karli created innovative activities, including bird walks that taught participants how to identify local species, hands-on bird crafts for youth, and other sensory friendly activities. Laminated flashcards featuring hand signs with the American Sign Language alphabet and graphics for common park birds offered a visual and tactile way for visitors to engage with bird identification. This was one of the larger projects she worked on called, “Birds in Sign: Learn ASL with Indiana Dunes.”

She also designed most common seasonal bird guides for the Great Marsh Trail and Miller Woods, which are birding hotspots within the park. These physical pamphlets provided key features to look out for during specific seasons.

Applying her previous skills and accessibility knowledge gained as a research specialist in the College of Medicine at the University of Central Florida, she contributed to conducting trail evaluations for the park’s pop-up event sites to identify how accessible they were, including Miller Woods at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education and the Great Marsh Trail. For example, she would assess if someone in a wheelchair could access the area, noting how many benches were available, and how far apart they were.

World Migratory Bird Day Celebration with local organization Paladin at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education

Photo courtesy of Karli Reeves

The activities and resources developed by Karli allowed more people to connect with nature and wildlife. Birding and hiking have become more inclusive for a wider audience, reinforcing the idea that national parks are spaces meant for everyone. By intentionally removing barriers and expanding opportunities, this work helps ensure that all visitors can fully experience and enjoy the outdoors.

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