If you have ever visited a national park or wanted the chance to go to one and see it for everything it has to offer, then now is the time to take action.
Over the last few months, our parks have noticed big changes. First, our president, Donald Trump plans to remove America from the Paris Agreement for the second time. This act is significant as there are currently only 3 countries in the world that have not ratified the agreement. This act agrees that we will keep the global temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius before we start seeing major, irreversible changes. According to the Official White House website, the reason for this is to “put America first,” but being the second largest contributor of greenhouse gases affects both America and other nations.
But this February, we saw the immediate effect on our National Parks. As part of the federal workforce cuts, around 2,000 United States Forest Service employees and another 1,000 National Park workers were fired or laid off. With minimal workers on the sites, they are no longer able to properly maintain the park. According to NBC News, they were informed by workers that this causes trash build-up in the parks, long wait times for reservations, and unsafe trails and campground conditions.
I spoke with 8th year Cortland Professor Jeremy Jimenez, on this topic as he has done prior research on environmental issues and climate change. Jimenez received his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University with a double major in History/Psychology, a Master’s of Education in Social Studies Education, and an International and Comparative Education Ph.D. and Sociology M.A. from Stanford University. Jiminez has traveled and worked throughout over 150 countries and visited 44 U.S. states.
Jimenez says that although we know humans as being the cause of the destruction of our environment, this does not always need to be the case. Many people dedicate their time solely to helping our environment thrive. We need people, such as these employees, to make sure our earth can thrive to its full potential. Workers are here to clean up trash, maintain the land, and give visitors an enjoyable experience. Without their help, we notice significant changes quickly.
National Parks are public land that everyone has access to and the privilege to visit. Jimenez has visited dozens throughout the 44 states he has visited, and describes them as a “treasure for all species.” They are dream destinations for many, filled with wildlife and breathtaking visits that can easily leave you speechless. But to help our parks in this time of need we can remember to not overlook the beauty and importance of local parks as well. With limited workers maintaining the land currently, parks are overcrowded and it is a good time to appreciate the land around you.
SUNY Cortland student William Keane, had the opportunity to visit the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. He hiked, swam and even met multiple bears on one of their walks.
“There are very few things in the world that carry such an immense beauty,” said Will. “Experiences like these are something that I want to continue to chase.”
If we want to continue to enjoy everything that our parks have to offer, then we need to do everything we can to take care of them and if you are wondering why this is important, as said by Will, “there is no better way to gain an understanding of the environment and its beauty than to just experience it.”
Even if we can’t directly help our parks right now, Jimenez gives us suggestions as ways that we can help the environment that we live in:
Jimenez tells us to not focus on trying to reverse the past but rather work proactively and do what we can do now to help our future.
“Things such as composting and using your compost to grow your own food (even if just a small tomato plant by the window),” said Jimenez. “ And abandoning this aristocratic ideal of the perfectly manicured green grass lawn (which is an ecological disaster zone), plant native wildflowers instead and/or learn to identify and remove particularly harmful invasives and let your garden diversify itself.”
Whether it’s a national or local park or just your backyard, everything is affected by the actions we choose to make and in turn affects us. As said by Jimenez, “The more time we spend in these places, you might also find that getting that new iPhone starts to gradually seem to be something that is much less important to you.”