Landscape Architecture Student Fulfills National Historical Park Fellowship

Many Utah State University students visit national parks during spring break. Graduate student Chris Binder got to spend his spring break getting a first-hand look at some of the challenges and rewards of managing a national park of historic significance, thanks to a fellowship from the George Wright Society.

Binder, a student in USU’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, was one of just eight students from across the country selected to participate in this year’s Cultural Resources Park Break at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Penn.

Typically, the title “national park” brings to mind spectacular natural wonders, but that doesn’t cover all facets of the treasures the National Park Service must protect and manage.

“Independence National Historical Park is a small, urban park in the old quarter of one of America’s most vibrant cities,” Binder said. “I was interested in learning about the different approaches the National Park Service takes when managing parks in such disparate environments, and what kind of career options are available in smaller, urban parks.”

The Independence National Historic Park includes buildings and green spaces on more than 51 acres spanning 20 city blocks. It’s most famous landmarks are Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center and Congress Hall. But the park includes more than 35 other historic buildings and structures and welcomes more than 3.5 million visitors each year. The Park Break project focused on New Hall and participants focused on the property’s documentary evidence and creating a small exhibit explaining New Hall’s use during the federal era.

“Being an integral part of the urban landscape and the identity of Philadelphia means that Independence National Historical Park faces some unique challenges,” Binder said. “For example, there is no entrance gate or comprehensive signage to announce that one has entered the park. In fact, some city residents don’t even know that a national park exists in their city. Creating an identity that is separate yet a part of the city is a delicate balance.”

Binder added that while many national parks primarily face issues relating to natural resources, such as mitigating resource degradation or preserving habitat for endangered species, Independence overwhelmingly deals with cultural resources. Historical building preservation, archaeological sites, and artifact interpretation are key elements to the park experience and present diverse challenges to the staff.

Landscape architects play important roles in designing amenities in national parks, creating management plans and preserving landscapes that are culturally significant, and have been since the earliest national parks were designated, Binder said. The discipline’s founder, Frederick Law Olmsted — perhaps best known outside the field as the man behind the creation of New York City’s Central Park and several other important landmarks — was instrumental in preserving some of our nation’s most beautiful and significant natural landscapes, including Yosemite and Niagara Falls.

Binder will rely on what he learned during the fellowship week and his graduate program at USU in the job he starts just weeks from now with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Ashville, N.C. He will help manage more than 500 miles of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail from its terminus at Springer Mountain, Ga., though southern Virginia.

USU College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

Contact: Chris Binder, chrismbinder@gmail.com

Writer: Lynnette Harris, 435-797-2189, Lynnette.Harris@usu.edu