Let’s create a video together!

Help us create a crowdsourced video as a collective “Love Letter to Parks” to demonstrate that public lands and beaches are vital spaces for all Californians to safely socialize, recreate, and also participate in activities that would otherwise be held indoors amidst COVID-19 restrictions. 

We want to showcase the many unique and creative ways you and your communities are spending time outside in public lands and beaches during the pandemic. Whether you’re hosting church services outside, teaching yoga classes in the park, or simply gathering outdoors for a meal with friends, you have a story to share about what parks mean to you and we want to hear it! 

Here are instructions you can send out to your community members:

• Take a short video of yourself, preferably outside, reading a letter expressing gratitude to public lands and sharing stories about what parks mean to you.

• Start the letter with a greeting, (e.g., “Dear parks”,  “Dear redwood groves”, “To the lake I run by every morning”, “Hey there, California coast”) and end it with a closing, (e.g., “Yours Truly, Sarah”, “Sincerely, your greatest fan”, “Much love, a grateful mom of three kids”).

• Get creative! Make it a love letter and use poetic, flowery words. Bring us to your socially distanced outdoor classroom in the park and ask your students to say certain parts of the letter in unison (e.g., “Signed, a bunch of second graders”). 

• Consider prompts like: 

  • Thank you for…

  • I’ll never forget the time when…

  • You were there for me when...

  • May you continue to...

• Alternatively or additionally: send along photos, poems, art, music, videos of yourself enjoying public lands with loved ones, etc., conveying your appreciation and love for parks. We’ll incorporate what we can into the video and also create a multimedia digital story map with your story submissions and art.

The nitty gritty:

• You don’t need a fancy camera-- using your phone or computer to record the video is great! If possible, please record in “landscape” or “horizontal” mode.

• Prefer to use a language other than English? That’s great too! We’ll do our best to translate your words and pop in subtitles to help people follow along. 

• Send media to sarah@resource-media.org or upload them to this Google Folder.

We’re looking for submissions until June 25th, so please spread the word to your communities! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. We can’t wait to hear your thoughtful stories and beautiful words.