New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park

Corporal James H Gooding

Dr. Marie Equi

Henry Martyn Robert

Leonard Grimes

Seven rangers were awarded with a national or regional 2010 Freeman Tilden Award for excellence in interpretation. Learn more about their exciting and innovative projects.

Congratulations to the national and regional recipients of the 2013 Freeman Tilden Award for Excellence in Interpretation and Education.

On behalf of the Interpretation, Education, and Volunteers Directorate, we are pleased to congratulate the national recipients of the 2021 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Through their extraordinary work and dedication, these volunteers have made an exceptional contribution to their parks and communities.

As we reflect on 2024, we offer you a list of 24 interesting and exciting science and nature events from parks of the national park system. From awe-inspiring celestial events to celebrating anniversaries and conservation wins, 2024 was filled with amazing moments.

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first regiment of African Americans from the North to serve during the Civil War, bravely assaulted Battery Wagner in Charleston Harbor. Their bravery increased Northern efforts to enlist African Americans. By war's end, over 180,000 African Americans fought in the US Army, roughly 10% of the fighting men.

Amy Araujo, the first Artist-in-Residence at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in 2017, explored themes of identity through large-scale figurative drawings. Her residency honored the bicentennial of Frederick Douglass, featuring free figure drawing classes with fully clothed models and a public art workshop. Araujo’s work connected art and history, inspiring visitors to reflect on freedom, struggle, and resilience.

The Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum chronicles 147 years of economic and social life in the historic whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. In 2012, the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation collaborated with the Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, and the Garden Club of Buzzards Bay to develop a cultural landscape report to direct rehabilitation the museum’s grounds, enhancing its historic character.

During their residency in New Bedford, Beatrice and Elaine Alder, a married couple, explored the city’s queer and working-class histories through their project, Law of Salvage, Queer Stories of the South Coast. During their residency they created art and prose inspired by archival research. The Alders used ceramics, textiles, and prints to reclaim stories of overlooked queer laborers and disrupt traditional binaries.