2018 Presents for Plannerds: The Gifts of Parks

The annual Presents for Plannerds list written by L.A. County park planner Clement Lau almost ended with the 2017 installment. Discouraged by Black Friday violence and the waste and monopolization by online shopping, he considered not writing a list for 2018. However, rather than ending his beloved annual resource, he decided to take a different strategy. The strategy can be summed up as a gift of (and to) parks. There are numerous park related purchases that make wonderful and unique gifts, while at the same time help support parks. These include:

• America the Beautiful Pass – These passes gain free (once purchased) at all national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by several federal agencies. 
• The National Park Foundation gift shop – The NPF's online gift shop offers countless outdoor recreation gifts and literature.
• California State Parks Annual Pass – The California version of the America the Beautiful Passes.
• Parks Project online store – According to Lau, "Parks Project was founded to create and sell collections of park goods that directly fund backlogged projects in national parks." 
• Memberships to gardens – Most cities have arboretums and botanical gardens which offer a variety of memberships.
• Private/profit sector option – Outdoor recreation goods like clothing, travel equipment, camping gear, or other items offered by stores like REI, Big 5 Sporting Goods, DICK’s Sporting Goods, Patagonia, and The North Face. A few years ago, REI started the Opt Outside program, in which people were encouraged to spend time outdoors in nature rather than in Black Friday crowds. Again this year, REI closed its stores on Black Friday.

For more details and links to shopping, see Lau's source article.