Upcoming Opportunities

Accessibility Assessment of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (REER)

Gary E. Everhardt Park Break Program
Accessibility Assessment of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (REER)
Beaufort, South Carolina | Dates: May 14-21, 2023
DEADLINE: March 31, 2023.

The opportunity: The Institute for Parks at Clemson University, the George Wright Society, and the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) announce an exciting opportunity for graduate students. Applications are being accepted for participation in a fully supported (travel, food, and lodging) Gary E. Everhardt Park Break Program focused on assessing physical and programmatic accessibility at Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (REER) in South Carolina. The objective of this program is for students to identify facility improvements necessary to meet the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) which requires that buildings and facilities that are designed, constructed, or altered with Federal funds, or leased by a Federal agency, comply with Federal standards for physical accessibility. Students will also review park programs and interpretive media to ensure they are fully accessible.  The results of this effort will assist REER in improving their facilities and programs to ensure they are accessible for all. 

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park: The Reconstruction era began during the Civil War and lasted until the dawn of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 1890s. It remains one of the most complicated and poorly understood periods in American History. During Reconstruction, four million African Americans, newly freed from bondage, sought to integrate themselves into free society, into the educational, economic, and political life of the country. This began in November 1861 in Beaufort County, S.C., after Union forces won the Battle at Port Royal Sound and brought the ‘Lowcountry’ along the South Carolina coast under Union control. More than 10,000 slaves remained there when their owners fled the lucrative cotton and rice plantations. The then-Lincoln Administration decided to initiate the ‘Port Royal Experiment’ in Beaufort County to help the former slaves become self-sufficient.

The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park’s facilities include: Old Beaufort Firehouse in Beaufort, South Carolina, Learning Center in Beaufort, SC, Pinckney Porter's Chapel and Camp Saxton in Port Royal, South Carolina, Darrah Hall, Capers Creek Trail and Brick Baptist church at Penn Center National Historic Landmark District on St. Helena Island, SC.

What is included? Park Break is an all-expenses-paid, park-based service-learning program for graduate students who are thinking about a career in park management or park-related research and education. Park Break participants immerse themselves for five to seven days of field activities in close collaboration with scientists and scholars, managers and administrators, and partner organizations to produce a meaningful product for the host-park/protected area.

Who is eligible? Because complex issues require an interdisciplinary approach, we are seeking a diverse group of graduate students (Ph.D. or Master’s level) with diverse perspectives and skills including those studying in fields related to park management, recreation management, planning, civil engineering, architecture, public health, recreation therapy, and environmental and natural resource management.