➤ Project Objective
A large part of this project focuses on my desire to educate both myself and others on the unique and diverse units of land managed by the National Park Service of the United States of America. These protected sites carry a plethora of not only the rich history of milestones people of all cultures have experienced here but proof of the dedication to the natural wonders and systems of the world. It’s easy to take beautiful things for granted, especially when deeper meanings or significance can be lost or dismissed in favor of popularity, media influence, or even simply ignorance. Even a brief understanding, or a little research, can make all the difference to tourists and aspiring rangers alike.
In the future, I’d like to pursue a career with the National Park Service, and this project allowed an opportunity for me to learn more about many of the options throughout the country. A large part of the National Park Service focuses on communication with the public, and through the education of both me and others, a clearer understanding and respect can continue to be built regarding the protected territories managed under the NPS.
➤ Challenges
The biggest challenge for me was time. It’s an intense project and admittedly was likely more than I could take on. However, ambition and dedication worked in my favor at the end of the day, and I was able to finish my project.
Much of the time was eaten up by the later process of research for each park. An appropriate picture, a proper location, and then the actual content of the synopsis ate up hours of work. As time went on, the commitment of it would shift to dread or dismay over working on the project, rather than my initial excitement. At some point, I realized that I had to make a change to my understanding of my project. Fortunately, I was able to re-adjust my attitude, and I found a new sense of understanding and routine when it came to work. Although still very time-consuming, it all worked out in the end.
➤ The Process
This project includes the park units within the fifty states, with the territory exceptions being the Virgin Islands, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Guam. Each park contains a picture, the location (or nearest city for recreation and tourist purposes), along with a synopsis regarding a brief history, seasons and hours of operation, and available activities to participate in. This was a hefty project to take on, but as the previous section had mentioned, time was the biggest mountain to climb. Varying other projects or work would force my schedule to shift and adjust, and the amount of time I had to pour into the project felt tedious some days. However, The creation of something I’m proud of far outweighs any sacrifices I might have had to make along the way.
The project started compiling a list of all of the National Park Service’s managed units. This includes seashores, trails, historic sites, monuments, parks, birthplaces, battlefields, and more. It didn’t take long fortunately, and in a relatively short amount of time, I had a list of alphabetized units (alphabetized by state, not territory), to work through one by one. The graphics of my project came next. I wanted to design something appealing, but consistent. The colors I selected came from the National Park Service logo, so I could carry over a theme with the service through the graphics. Consistency allowed for a cohesive document, but also an efficient design as I added each park to the list.
Once the graphics were complete, along with the listing of each of the parks and the states they resided in, then came the hardest and most tedious part of my project. The actual compilation of the synopsis, pictures, and more precise locations. The first section took longer than I initially thought, and I was soon falling behind on my goals and timeline. The last leg of my project got an extra burst during a period of time when I had a break from various other projects, and I was able to catch up on the work I’d fallen behind in. All of the information for the synopsis, along with the pictures and locations were taken from the NPS website, National Geographic, National Park Foundations, WNPA, and a few blogs regarding National Parks.
While I have had the opportunity to participate in such projects before, I’d never had one quite like this. The time management was new to me and took some adjustment, but fortunately, I was able to get back on my feet to complete what I would consider a successful project.
➤ The Takeaways
Over the course of this project, I was able to gain a few insights on things not only regarding communication and design but also about projects that extend beyond the communication careers. Time commitment and management are some of the best things you can work through prior to starting a project.
- What do I have time for?
- How much time will this project need?
- When is a good time to work on this project?
The above were all questions that I realized I should have asked myself before confirming the project. While I don’t at all regret what I selected, and I am quite proud of myself, my time could have been managed better when it came to the work I completed.
Another lesson I learned emphasized perseverance. I was tempted to give up on the project entirely once I noticed I had started to fall behind, and there was a significant enough gap between where I was and where I wanted to be that I felt tempted to stop trying. However, I kept going regardless and found that I was happy with what I did even if my project wasn’t completely perfect. More importantly, I’m happy that I never gave in or gave up when I wanted to the most.
➤ Finished Project