What we experience in our national parks can sometimes leave us at a loss for words, but park-inspired poets prove that finding those words can be nothing short of extraordinary.

To honor the National Park Service centennial in 2016, the Academy of American Poets commissioned 50 poems to celebrate national parks in every state. Today, we’re taking a closer look at five of our favorites, including:

• Ada Limón | Notes on the Below
• Nathalie Handal | Accepting Heaven at Great Basin
• Arthur Sze | White Sands
• Meg Day | The Permanent Way
• Major Jackson | Song as Abridged Thesis of George Perkins Marsh’s Man and Nature

Episode 17, “A Collision of Breaths,” was produced by Todd Christopher.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer

Audio clips courtesy of the American Academy of Poets. For the complete collection “Imagine Our Parks with Poems,” please visit: https://poets.org/imagine-our-parks-poems

The Secret Lives of Parks is brought to you by:

Todd Christopher – Producer & Host 
Jennifer Errick – Producer & Host 
Bev Stanton – Online Producer 
Vaness Pius – Social Media Manager

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks. Learn more at npca.org

Ben Goldfarb was looking forward to a sunny kayaking trip at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas, but unseasonable weather blew his plans apart, and he found himself instead falling face-first into the frigid waters of the Laguna Madre.

In this episode, the award-winning conservation writer speaks with host Jennifer Errick on his new feature in National Parks magazine — the trip he planned to have, the adventure he and his wife actually enjoyed, and how he wove elements of history, nature, wildlife and climate-driven conflict together into a lighthearted, informative story about the austere delights and disappointments of world’s largest undeveloped barrier island. He also shares how he built his career traveling to exciting places and writing about them, and the fascination with a particular rodent that led to his first book.

This episode was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton, Rona Marech, Linda Coutant and Vanessa Pius.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org.

Read Ben Goldfarb’s story about Padre Island, “Into the Wind,” in the Spring 2023 issue of National Parks Magazine at npca.org/intothewind. Read his Summer 2002 story, “Troubled Waters,” at npca.org/troubledwaters.

National Parks magazine is a beautiful award-winning quarterly publication and an exclusive benefit of membership in the National Parks Conservation Association. Start your subscription at npca.org/subscribe.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks.

Learn more and join us at npca.org.

Winter is often a time when we hunker down, shield ourselves from the cold, and sleep off the dark evenings. But it can also be an ideal time to visit parks, once we find a little motivation to turn off Netflix, put on a coat and venture outside.

In this episode, host Jennifer Errick turns to some of her favorite outdoor enthusiasts — her colleagues at the National Parks Conservation Association — for inspiration on where they love to travel in winter. She speaks with Michael Jamison, campaign director for NPCA's Northern Rockies Regional Office, on skating wild ice and finding meditative bliss on rigorous mountain climbs; Theresa Pierno, president and CEO, on the joys of toasting Yellowstone at negative-20 degrees; Miché Lozano, Arizona program manager, on the heritage area that changed their life and career; Cassidy Jones, senior outreach and engagement manager, on the romantic challenge that cleared up a misconception at Acadia National Park; and John Adornato on one of the most remote and idyllic stargazing excursions on the East Coast and how to plan a trip there.

This episode was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton, Vanessa Pius and Linda Coutant.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Special thanks to the staff who contributed their stories, including Southern Appalachian Director Jeff Hunter, whose story we ultimately did not include.

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks.

Learn more and join us at npca.org

Rock Creek Park is one of the oldest national parks in the country. It stretches through the heart of Washington, D.C., and creates a dividing line between neighborhoods to the east and west. 

The Carter Barron Amphitheater, a performing arts venue in the park, once brought these communities together with a mix of big-name concerts and creative programs — but structural problems forced it to close in 2017. Can a new alliance of advocates restore this unique venue for the next generation?

In this episode, host Jennifer Errick interviews Rock Creek Park Superintendent Julia Washburn and Deputy Superintendent Brian Joyner and Rock Creek Conservancy Executive Director Jeanne Braha and Senior Manager of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Tony Richardson. They discuss why so many people describe the site as “magical,” some of their favorite performances, the progress that’s taking place to reopen the theater, and ambitious plans for a reopening.

This episode was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Vanessa Pius.

Special thanks to Alan Spears and Ed Stierli for their invaluable assistance with this episode.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Learn more about the Carter Barron Alliance.

Learn more about this podcast at thesecretlivesofparks.org.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks. 

Learn more and join us at npca.org.

Witness trees were present for pivotal moments in our history but the stories they would tell, if they could, don’t have to die with them―thanks to a fascinating partnership between national park sites and student artists and designers. Host Todd Christopher visits Antietam National Battlefield’s renowned witness tree ― the Burnside Sycamore ― with natural resources manager Joe Calzarette, explores The Witness Tree Project’s unique mashup of history and design with RISD faculty members and founders Dale Broholm and Dan Cavicchi, and learns about the project’s impact from RISD student and participant Esther Akintoye.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer

Learn more about The Witness Tree Project and view galleries of the objects created by student artists at witnesstreeproject.org.

The Secret Lives of Parks is brought to you by: 

Todd Christopher – Producer & Host
Jennifer Errick – Producer & Host
Bev Stanton – Online Producer

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks. Learn more at npca.org

Channel Islands National Park and the marine habitat that surrounds it make up one of the most biodiverse coastal regions in the world, with a long and rich cultural history. It’s the traditional home of the Chumash people, and members of these seafaring Tribes have been working for decades to preserve their lands and waters from drilling, development and other threats. After a devastating explosion at an oil well in 1969 devastated birds and marine life along the coast, the Chumash and their allies have been seeking formal federal protections in the form of a national marine sanctuary. 

In this episode, host Jennifer Errick interviews guests Violet Sage Walker, Chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and nominator for the proposed sanctuary; Sarah Barmeyer, Deputy Vice President of Conservation Programs for the National Parks Conservation Association; and Paul Michel, Regional Policy Coordinator for the West Coast Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They discuss some of the reasons this region is so special, what could be included in a proposed national marine sanctuary, and how Tribal members might remain involved in managing these lands and waters after the designation.

This episode was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher and Bev Stanton.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Learn more about the proposed sanctuary at chumashsanctuary.org.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks. Learn more at npca.org

This week marks 67 years since the trial of Emmett Till’s murderers, a miscarriage of justice that focused the attention of the world on the tiny town of Sumner, Mississippi, galvanized international outrage and grief, and sparked leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to act. Today, advocates want to see the courthouse where the trial took place preserved as a national park site and want to continue to use the story of the Till tragedy as a way to facilitate conversations around race and racism and further healing in the community and beyond.

Host Jennifer Errick features insights from Alan Spears, NPCA Senior Director of Cultural Resources; Benjamin Saulsberry, Public Engagement and Museum Education Director for the Emmett Till Interpretive Center; and Dr. Percy Washington, educator and pastor of the Sweet Canaan Church of God in Christ, on the history of this shocking hate crime, what the culture was like in Mississippi before and after the tragedy, and how advocates now are preserving Till’s story and using it to work toward truth and justice.

This episode was produced by Jennifer Errick with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Kyle Groetzinger. Additional assets by Eric Barese and Jeff Taylor.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Learn more about the Emmett Till Interpretive Center at Emmett-Till.org.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks. Learn more at npca.org

How far would you go to save a place you love? For Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, who was incensed by a proposal to pave his beloved C&O Canal into a parkway, the answer was all the way. Host Todd Christopher explores the media sensation that was the Douglas protest hike of 1954 and speaks with Mike Darzi and Carol Ivory, co-chairs of the epic One Day Hike where a new generation of park enthusiasts now goes the distance every April.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer

“The Canal Song” was performed by Michael Clem

The Secret Lives of Parks is brought to you by: 

Todd Christopher – Producer & Host
Jennifer Errick – Producer & Host
Bev Stanton – Online Producer

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks. Learn more at npca.org

One of the most remarkable figures in American history was born into slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in March 1822. No one could have predicted the incredible life that this girl, Harriet Tubman, would go on to lead. On the eve of Tubman’s 200th birthday, host Jennifer Errick explores what this American legend was really like and what we can learn at some of the park sites that interpret her history. Guests include Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association; Dana Paterra, park manager at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center; Kate Clifford Larson, American historian and Tubman biographer; and Diane Miller, program manager for the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom with the National Park Service.

Learn more about Harriet Tubman’s early history and download audio tour information on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway website at https://harriettubmanbyway.org/; learn about Tubman’s namesake park on Maryland’s Eastern Shore at https://www.nps.gov/hatu/index.htm; and learn about the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1205/index.htm. Original theme music by [Chad Fischer](https://www.chadfischermusic.com/).

Sound effects by Ismael Gama Jr.

This episode was produced by Jennifer Errick with moral and technical support from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Vanessa Pius.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association. With more than 1.6 million members and supporters, NPCA is the nation’s only independent, nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to protecting national parks. Learn more at npca.org.