Audio
Episode 3.0 - Recap and Introduction to Season 3
Transcript
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[National Heritage Areas Podcast Episode 3.0: Introduction]
[Music]
Peter: Hello everyone, this is Peter Samuel. I'm the program manager for the National Heritage Areas Program of the National Park Service in the Northeast Region in Philadelphia. Today I'm here with Jules Long, who's our communications coordinator, and she's going to be talking with us about the podcast series. Welcome, Jules.
Jules: Thanks, Peter. Yeah this is Jules Long, working on season three of the podcast. Pretty excited to do that.
Peter: So before we get started on our first episode, we just wanted to review where we've been and talk a little bit about where the program is right now. The big news for us in the National Heritage Areas Program is a couple weeks ago a bill was passed that designated six new [National] Heritage Areas all across the country.
Jules: Yeah, it's exciting to have new heritage areas. That brings us up to a total of 55. We've got now better representation from the West, where that weren't as many heritage areas before.
Peter: Yeah, it's great. Two in the Northeast Region and three out in the Pacific [West] Region and then one down in the Intermountain Region.
Jules: I just thought it might be good to give a brief overview to kind of remind our listeners what National Heritage Areas are.
Peter: Oh, okay.
Jules: A lot of people are not very familiar with National Heritage Areas. Some people don't even know that they live in one, so I thought that might be a good—
Peter: Yes, that's true. Usually what I say—and I know Jules has been picking up on this as well—is a National Heritage Area is sort of like a national park unit in that that has similar objectives as a national park, which is to protect and conserve resources: natural, cultural, and historic, and recreational resources. But they do it as a partnership. So they are designated by Congress. They receive federal funds from an appropriation by Congress which comes to them through the [National] Park Service. So the Park Service oversees and manages the program but the heritage areas themselves are managed generally by nonprofit management entities and the funds that they receive through us they have to match.
Jules: Yeah, I think that something that's really great about the National Heritage Areas is it's really community based.
Peter: Yeah.
Jules: These are places that are important nationally. These are stories that are relevant to all of America, that are important to know—resources that are important for everybody—but it's really the community that is managing these resources—the history, the nature. It's not the federal government telling them what to do. They are organizing a lot of grassroots communities [organizations], [and] local nonprofits, local city governments, different entities like that, that are really working together, finding out what's best for that particular area. Because what's best for one area may not be the best for another area.
Peter: True. Yeah, that's very well put, Jules. You know the other thing that we try to do here in the Park Service is where we can connect a heritage area up with a [national] park unit. Often, you know, parks are—their strength isn't really reaching out to communities. Whereas, you made a good point that heritage areas are really about community involvement. And often if a heritage area is associated with a park, they can really help that park reach out into the community and, you know, engage with folks who could become stewards of those resources in the future. And often, you know, the other things we like to encourage is that heritage areas develop youth programs, so that they can really engage with young people. Because we do know that the youngsters today are the ones who will really be, you know, helping them conserve and protect these resources in the future.
Jules: Yeah, I've been learning about a lot of those programs that the heritage areas are doing for kids, for students, which are fantastic, because some of them sound really fun. Also really educational and just really great opportunities for kids that wouldn't always get those opportunities, as well.
Peter: Yeah. So, Jules, you're working on season three of the National Heritage Areas Podcast. We've had two great seasons so far. Tell us a little bit about this season.
Jules: This season we'll be focusing on telling all Americans’ stories. This is one of the themes of the National Park Service. So really focusing on those untold stories, or at least stories that are not talked about often in public history, in public memory. We really want to dig into that to share all those stories from all the National Heritage Areas.
Peter: And some of it I guess will be what we call difficult history, which is, sometimes, stories that people may have missed. And sometimes it's a history that is new to people.
Jules: Yeah. Sometimes, you know, that's why a lot of these stories aren't told, because they are difficult. Sometimes it deals with topics like slavery or the Japanese internment during World War II. Those are stories that are really tricky. They’re things that, you know, we're not proud of as Americans. But I think it's really important that as a country we remember that history and act on it as we move forward.
Peter: So I just wanted to review where we have been through the last couple of years with the podcast. In the first year, we really focused on looking at the program overall.
Jules: Yeah, season one really focused on what National Heritage Areas are and how they work. It talked about the purpose of National Heritage Areas, to share and protect natural and cultural resources, everything from history and historic buildings to nature and recreation, and also to promote local economic development and sustainable tourism in the communities within the Heritage Area.
Peter: Yeah, and then last year, although we sort of started out talking about some different projects— trails and an art program up in the Upper Housatonic Valley—the last few episodes were really about immigration and social justice.
Jules: Yeah, season two dove a little bit more into the programs and the initiatives of the National Heritage Areas, a little more detail on that. Trail projects, art programs, different projects related to social justice, like the Underground Railroad Center up in Niagara Falls.
Peter: Oh, right, yeah.
Jules: And of course the immigration history in Baltimore. So how these heritage areas are able to share and advocate for this history, why it's important, as well as these other activities: nature, recreation, conservation, those sorts of things.
Peter: Yeah. Yeah, so I think the notion to tell some different histories and stories this year, you know, connects well with what we did sort of at the end of last year's season. It will really be a good continuation and a deeper exploration of stories within heritage areas. The other thing I just want to note is that while we're located here in Philadelphia and focused on the Northeast Region, we really try to look at the whole program and heritage areas all around the country. I'm certainly hoping we will, you know, maybe be able to spend a little time looking at some of those new heritage areas that were designated, and kind of get an idea of some of what their themes and stories will be as they get developed in their management plans.
Jules: Yeah, that would be great. I'm already talking to some heritage areas in the Southeast, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, working on an episode for that. Also one in the Great Basin National Heritage Area, which is out in Nevada and Utah, so we'll be able to get some more coverage from across the country. And it would be great to have some of those new heritage areas involved as well.
Peter: Yeah, that's great.
[Music]
Jules: We hope you enjoy season three of the podcast.
[Music]
Jules: We'd like to thank James Farrell for writing and producing our theme song. This introduction was recorded at the National Park Service Northeast Regional Office in Philadelphia,
[Music]
Description
In episode 3.0, Jules and Peter briefly recap what National Heritage Areas are, announce some big news for the program in 2019, and introduce the theme of season 3: Telling All Americans' Stories.
Duration
8 minutes, 19 seconds
Credit
NPS Northeast Region
Date Created
04/03/2019
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