Civic Engagement - National Park Service

Bronze relief of The Massachusetts 54th Regiment on Boston Commons by sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens















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	Case Studies Cane River Creole NHP Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site Gettysburg NMP Gulag Museum Independence National Historical Park and the National Constitution Center Manzanar NHS Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP - Education Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP - Walking Tour New Bedford Whaling NHP Sotterley Plantation Valley Forge NHP Valley Forge NHP-GMP Washita Battlefield NHS Wycoff House



	Timeline & Past Accomplishments

CASE STUDIES Civic engagement is being applied throughout the National Park Service. To help in better understanding how civic engagement is implemented, a series of case studies are being developed to demonstrate the concepts applied at diverse locations, under varying conditions, and through various disciplines including interpretation, education, resource preservation and planning.
Cane River Creole National Historical Park With an emphasis on scholarship and telling stories from many points of view, Cane River Creole NHP addresses the role of slavery in plantation life head on.

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site Speaking Inside the Walls: Linking Past and Present through Art: Eastern State Penitentiary uses a range of innovative programs to present the still controversial issue of punishment and reform.

Gettysburg National Military Park The interpretive challenges faced by the NPS and its partners center on providing a deeper understanding of historic events at Gettysburg NMP.

Gulag Museum at Perm-36, Russia The NPS is working with this labor camp site as they develop an ambitious interpretive program on the history of political repression in the former Soviet Union.

Independence National Historical Park and the National Constitution Center We the People: The Decision to Excavate the James Dexter Site - The NPS reversed an earlier position, using civic engagement to reconnect a prominent black church with its historic roots.

Manzanar National Historic Site Conversations with the Japanese American community at Manzanar National Historic Site resulted in a decision by the NPS to reconstruct key elements of the camp.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP - Education Forest For Every Classroom: Learning to Make Choices for the Future An Educational Initiative Emphasizing Resource Stewardship, Citizenship and Civic Engagement

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP - Walking Tour Home Front Walking Tour of Civil War Woodstock: A Dialogue on the Cause and Consequences of the Civil War From One Community's Perspective

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Collaborating for the Future: Partners in the Park - The "Partners in the Park" initiative illustrates the power of cultivating a collective relationship with the park’s many stakeholders and communities of interest.

Sotterley Plantation, Hollywood, Maryland Making Visible the Peculiar Institution: Sotterley Plantation has successfully used the principles of civic engagement to restructure its interpretive framework.

Valley Forge National Historic Park Community conversations focus on developing a plan that can interpret the significance of the landscape and accommodate recreational users.

Valley Forge National Historical Park- Planning From Isolation to Integration: The General Management Planning Process - Valley Forge NHP used civic engagement and the general management planning process in a trans formative reimagining of the park.

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site Native American stakeholders and the NPS have found effective ways to collaborate on the interpretation of historic events and educating the public at Washita.

Wyckoff House, Brooklyn NY Inviting the Neighbors In - The Rebirth of the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum is an example of an historic site reaching out to its neighbors and forging new connections between the site, its historical significance, and the community.