Former Director of the U.S. National Park Service Sets Sights on New Goals in Environmental Justice

As I wrote yesterday, I recently had the good fortune to meet Jonathan Jarvis (pictured at left), 18th Director of the U.S. National Park Service under Barack Obama.

I thought readers would be interested to know that he now teaches at the University of California at Berkeley, and while he remains heavily involved in improving people’s experiences with our nation’s parks.  He runs the UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity, which:

“Aims to bring an interdisciplinary approach to the research, management and protection of our national, state and local parks and public lands.  Recognizing that parks and public lands play an increasingly important role in climate adaptation, public health, education, jobs, and environmental justice, the Institute will serve as convener, research coordinator and bridge between field managers and the academic community.

The Institute is devoted to the investigation, dissemination, and application of science to the critical issues facing national, state, and local parks, and equivalent protected areas. The Institute fosters cross-disciplinary research, applied science, policy, and field management, and also strives to help prepare the next generation of conservation leaders in academia and in the field.”