What is Park Advocacy Day?
Park Advocacy Day provides park supporters and volunteers from all over California the opportunity to advocate for state parks by meeting with legislators and legislative staff. Participants urge elected officials to take action to protect and support California’s 278 state parks.

Who can participate?
Park Advocacy Day is open to everyone who wants to protect, enhance and support state parks.  That means you! The only requirement is that you register before February 23, and that you participate in at least one of our online/telephone training sessions prior to the event!

How much does it cost to participate?
There is no cost to participate in Park Advocacy Day events.

Is financial assistance available to offset travel expenses to and from Park Advocacy Day?
The California State Parks Foundation offers limited financial grants to help participants pay for travel to and from Park Advocacy Day 2012. For more information on applying for one of these grants, please contact Linsey Fredenburg-Humes at Linsey@calparks.org.

What happens during Park Advocacy Day?
Park Advocacy Day 2012 will begin with registration at 8:00 a.m. During registration participants will receive their team assignments (typically groups of 4-6 people) and meet their team leader.
The morning participant briefing will provide all participants with a final overview of talking points and logistics. Teams will also be given time to review their appointment schedule and determine who will speak on each issue during the meetings.
Each team will be scheduled for 4-6 meetings with policymakers. Meetings are typically 15-20 minutes long and prove enough time for your team to cover all of your talking points. 
In the late afternoon, park advocates attend an afternoon speakers panel (scheduled speakers will be announced in February, 2012) and participate in a team debriefing.  
At 5:30, participants are invited to attend our Park Advocacy Day Reception honoring this year’s award recipients (award recipients will be announced in late January 2012).

Who will I meet with?
As a participant, you and your teammates will have appointments with legislative offices where you will meet with members of the California State Assembly and Senate, as well as members of their staff.

Will I go on lobby visits by myself?
No, all participants attend lobby visits with teams of approximately 4-6 people. Each team also has a pre-assigned Team Leader, who has previously participated in Park Advocacy Day and has received additional training on talking points.

How do I learn about the issues before participating in Park Advocacy Day?
Once you have registered for Park Advocacy Day 2012, you will receive material by mail and by email to help you prepare for the event. You will also receive a password to our Park Advocacy Day area of our website where you will be able to download additional information.
To help make sure that participants are prepared for Park Advocacy Day, we require that each participant attends one of our Advocacy Webinars and/or Conference Calls. During our Advocacy Webinars and Conference calls we will review the many issues affecting state parks and provide you with an opportunity to ask questions about these issues prior to Park Advocacy Day.
There will be several webinars and conference calls held in advance of Park Advocacy Day. Participants will receive more information via email after registering for Park Advocacy Day 2012.

I have more questions about Park Advocacy Day. Who should I contact?
Please contact Linsey Fredenburg-Humes at 916-442-2119 or by email at Linsey@calparks.org.