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Creating space for gratitude is essential, especially in years like this one, which has been particularly challenging. I am grateful this week to see my hard-working, smart, dedicated National Park Service friends and colleagues back in the park, attending to their many duties caring for and sharing the gift of this precious public land. I’m grateful to work with a big-hearted crew of staff and volunteers who show up fully to study and support the plants and animals who make their home at the Seashore, and welcome all communities to enjoy its wonders. I’m grateful for our many partners who help us achieve our education and conservation goals. This is collective work and I am grateful for you and where you fit into this ecosystem of care. Thank you.
What binds all of us together is a common love of this place that offers gift after gift, season after season. Earlier this year, we worked with artist Lela Shields to capture some of these gifts—places, plants, fungi, and animals—as identified by community members in an original painting entitled Resilience in Community. My contribution was swimming with moon jellies! Below, you’ll find the painting reflected back as words by poet Rebecca Riyana Sang. Please enjoy it and feel yourself transported to breathe in the sights, sounds, and feelings of the Seashore.
Wishing you the chance to celebrate and delight in the gifts of Point Reyes National Seashore at some point during the winter holidays.
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