Amy shares what she and others are doing to be role models for women wanting careers as park rangers.
An industry historically male-dominated but now with more and more women thriving in their roles in national parks. A great job for those who love the outdoors and want to share their passion with other.
San Diego County, California, in the southwestern corner of the United States is quite large, and is one of the biodiversity hotspots in the U.S. We have deserts, mountains riparian areas, coastal areas, and many many places in between. Our County encompasses multiple cities, and over 150 parks and preserves.
I am a project manager at the County of San Diego’s Department of Parks and Recreation in California. I am a landscape architect by training, and have been part of the Development team at DPR for three years. My job involves overseeing the development of new features within parks, and sometimes new parks or trails as well. My job duties are diverse, from hiring design consultants and construction contractors to balancing project budgets and gathering public input about which projects and park features they want to see. There are about 20 of us in the development division, so that we can spread the huge work load around!
A typical day…
I work closely with the operations (park rangers and maintenance workers) and environmental teams, and manage projects like the construction of new sports courts at the County center in downtown San Diego, new trails at one of the lakes in southeastern San Diego, and a new wedding gazebo at a park in Old Town where we have multiple 1800s houses preserved in one site. A typical day for me may include a meeting at a construction site with a contractor to make sure the concrete is poured correctly, then back to my desk to review invoices, look over plans for another project, and perhaps have a meeting with executives about what’s coming next. I don’t usually get to work in a park like the rangers would, but sometimes I do get to hike and get paid for it! That’s a nice perk!
Women in the Wild
Just before Covid, a handful of the rangers and others within the department created the “Women in the Wild” program, “designed to teach outdoor skills in a fun, nurturing and non-competitive environment.” The program consists of monthly outdoor activities designed to encourage local women to experience the outdoors. We have yoga classes, a hiking series, a backpacking trip, an outdoor movie, kayaking, and multiple other activities. At the beginning of each activity, the rangers and other female staff introduce ourselves and tell the participants a little about our jobs.
Highlighting what women do in the outdoors
We try to highlight the fact that we do have women thriving in the historically male-dominated career of park ranger, and that there are other jobs available for those who love the outdoors and parks in particular. The program revived after covid lockdown eased, and we have been pretty successful in the past several years. I’ve participated in hikes, camping, kayaking, wreath-making, and a few other activities in the past two years.
If you are interested in getting involved or starting something similar yourself read more here …
