The Center for Civic Lands and Democratic Stewardship convenes and participates in conversations about public lands, stewardship, civic engagement, volunteerism, democratic practice, and the relationships between people and the places they share.<\/p>\n
Our events include Civic Lands Dialogues, symposia, workshops, conferences, public programs, and student experiences<\/strong>. Center faculty and affiliates also share their research and practice at scholarly and professional gatherings in the United States and internationally.<\/p>\n September 17, 2026<\/strong> The Center for Civic Lands and Democratic Stewardship will formally launch with a special mini-symposium held as part of the joint Southeast Conference for Public Administration and Northeast Conference on Public Administration.<\/p>\n The symposium will bring together scholars and practitioners to explore an emerging question:<\/p>\n How can public lands and shared landscapes serve as spaces for democratic practice, civic learning, stewardship, and collective care?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rather than launching the Center with a predetermined agenda, participants will engage in facilitated roundtable conversations designed to identify important questions, opportunities for collaboration, and priorities for the Center’s future work.<\/p>\n Learn more on the Symposium Page<\/a>.<\/p>\n September 30, 2026<\/strong> The workshop introduces approaches to incorporating units of the National Park System (NPS) in person or virtually within MPA and related disciplinary courses. It Incorporates a visit to Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Seattle Unit) and conversation with Park leaders and rangers, following a 30-minute introduction at the conference venue.\u00a0A largely untapped resource for public affairs education, NPS provides multiple deep case study opportunities for the study of leadership, budgeting, politics-administration dichotomy, volunteer management, public service motivation, human resource management, democracy, and more. The workshop is grounded in data collected during a 15-month embedded research project with the National Park Service, which is the subject of a new book, Volunteers in the Parks: Tensions, Challenges, and Opportunities in the National Park Service (https:\/\/npsvolunteerdiaries.us\/<\/a>). Participants will take the following away from the session: (1) Planning guide for incorporating NPS in teaching within public affairs, (2) Interpretation and deliberation toolkit to facilitate discussion of contested histories and issues as a demonstration of democratic capacity building, and (3) Brainstorm of lessons from NPS that can be applied in higher education in response to speech restrictions in academia. The workshop is part of the NASPAA Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n October 20, 2026<\/strong> This interactive workshop addresses the workshop theme of Integrating Natural and Cultural Heritage Conservation. It explores how volunteers in the National Park Service experience, interpret, and connect motivations and impacts across both natural and cultural heritage. Drawing on research with more than 200 NPS volunteers and rangers, participants will map volunteer motivations (e.g., stewardship, identity, community) alongside multi-level impacts (self, place, and democracy). Through facilitated small-group activities, attendees will co-create integrated \u201cmotivation\u2013impact maps\u201d that dissolve traditional silos between February 24, 2026 | Daytona Beach, Florida<\/strong><\/p>\n Building a Volunteer Culture: Supporting Impact for National Park Volunteers, Visitors, and Democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n This presentation explored how volunteer programs can create value not only for public-land organizations, but also for volunteers, visitors, communities, and democratic life.<\/p>\n
\nUpcoming Events<\/h2>\n
Launch Symposium: Center for Civic Lands and Democratic Stewardship<\/h3>\n
Norfolk, Virginia<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nWorkshop: Civic Lands: Teaching through National Park System Excursions and Resources<\/h3>\n
Seattle, Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nWorkshop: Mapping the Motivations and Impact of NPS Heritage and Nature Volunteers<\/h3>\n
Knoxville, Tennessee<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nnature and culture. The session centers inclusive dialogue to identify practices that unite conservation and heritage work. The session is part of the George Wright Society Park Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\nPast Presentations & Conferences<\/h2>\n
Public Lands Alliance Convention & Trade Show<\/h3>\n