During this last October, a group of the CESAP (Conservation and Environmental Stewardship Apprentices) had the opportunity to bring a new public engagement event to Cabrillo! Write Out, a collaborative project between the National Writing Project and National Park Service, invites folks to get outside and create pieces of writing inspired by the outdoors and national parks. The theme for 2023’s Write Out was “Poetry, Prose, and Parks,” and Cabrillo received a number of incredible works of poetry from visitors and the apprentices! Check out some of the poetry and the experiences of the CESAP Apprentices during this event!

NPS Photo/ H. Marquez – CESAP Apprentices, their mentor Brooke Wilder, and CVA Hannah Marquez at the Write Out public engagement booth 

L.H. (Age 15):

Although the wind was persistent, Write Out was an amazing success for the CESAP apprentices. We got the opportunity to not only write our own pieces about the park but also to share our love of writing and our creativity with park visitors. It was fulfilling to see park visitors immersed in writing haikus, riddles, or acrostic poems about a species that they had seen at the park. My favorite part was seeing all of the younger children’s faces light up when they showed us their poem or their art piece.

The few struggles we did face were largely outweighed by the benefits. The wind was the strongest some of us had ever seen at Cabrillo and that meant that having papers out was difficult. But thanks to the immense amount of tape we used, we were able to minimize the number of flying papers. Looking back, it was a great opportunity for innovative teamwork.

Not only were the outreach booths a success but so was our own individual writing. The Arts Team had a blast writing our own pieces of poetry to publish as field notes. Look out for those! It was an amazing opportunity to just sit at Cabrillo and have a moment of reflection on all of the species and the characteristics of our gorgeous park.

Not only was it a joy to produce work and lead workshops but it was also interesting to be a participant in various Write Out events. During Write Out I attended a zoom meeting with author Nikki Grimes who spoke about her new children’s book, A Walk in the Woods. During the Zoom I learned quite a bit about how authors have different writing processes. She talked about how in her process she did not have a clear idea of what the story would be about but, through processing her own grief, wrote a children’s book about grief. This gave me an opportunity to reflect on my own writing process.

In the future, I hope to see Write Out expand much more. It would be amazing if there were a board in the Visitor’s Center displaying visitors’ writing during Write Out. Not only that, but more workshops and in different places around the park would all help spread the word about this amazing project.

C.H. (Age 16):

Aside from the wind-induced difficulties on the Point, Write-Out at Cabrillo was a success. I got to help park visitors of all ages find inspiration in their surroundings, as well as spend time with my own creativity in nature. Being able to read and see so many unique perspectives on San Diego’s native wildlife, like one middle schooler’s riddle about Anna’s Hummingbirds, was uplifting. The riddle took note of some of the bird’s behaviors that I wouldn’t have paid much attention to myself. I loved listening to the different visitors’ stories: where they came from, why they were visiting the Monument, what their interests were, and so on. Holding a booth at Write Out exposed me to the diversity in people’s thoughts and experiences. It also showed me that even a small thing like writing an acrostic poem in nature can bring people together.

Along with other people’s writing, I also worked on some of my own poetry. Crafting poems from what I observed in nature was an exciting challenge, since I usually write about people in prose form. The apprentices who managed this event with me provided lots of creative fuel and shared ideas throughout our time on this project.

The most excited participant at Write Out was definitely the wind! It always showed up right on time, and was eager to partake in the activities. Taking plenty of papers and materials, and flipping through the field guides, the wind thoroughly enjoyed our table. In fact, the wind enjoyed it so much that it tried to take the table itself!

In the future, I think Write Out has the potential to be even more incredible. We could hold it at a different spot each week, or gather a bunch of volunteers to manage multiple tables at once. We could have someone do a talk on writing, maybe having them read poems or selections of prose aloud. We could provide opportunities for park visitors to have their writing displayed in the park. Write Out at Cabrillo this year was awesome, and I can see it growing into a truly extraordinary event in the years to come.

Overall, Write Out was a wonderful experience. Spending time with amazing people, sharing ideas, and talking about life at Cabrillo made me feel overjoyed and inspired to create more environment-focused art. I am so lucky that I got to be a part of this event.

I.S. (Age 13):

My favorite part about participating in Write Out was inspiring others to write poems with us about the park. Enlightening others made me content since visitors are learning how they can help parks as they write poetry. My role during Write Out was to lead my group in encouraging people to help us write poetry or draw for the event. I also wanted to help others learn about Cabrillo and how it is important to maintain the protection of wildlife.

There were many challenges we faced during our time at Write Out. For example, battling the wind, having a small group to help lead the event, and visitors who were shy and less inclined to write poetry for the park. The wind was strong up at the lighthouse, high above sea level, that so many things flew around. Papers and tablecloths were soaring! To overcome this, we persevered through the persistent wind and used paperweights to counteract it. Next, having a small group to help lead the event was difficult, as for two of the weeks, setting up the tables and equipment was hard with only 2-3 CESAP members. I am so grateful for Hannah and intern Abel, as they helped us carry that equipment with pride. Lastly, it was also a challenge for those who were shy to get enough poetry in one day. To overcome this, I had to encourage and motivate visitors to write for the park. The outcome of this was I was able to help others to be open to learning new things about Cabrillo and conserving the environment.

Write Out was valuable to the park because it brought together locals and visitors, fostering a sense of community and a shared love for nature. Additionally, events like Write Out can also raise awareness about the importance of national parks and the need for their preservation. They also allow people to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of national parks in a fun and interactive way, where writing poems is a fun way to foster learning. Through Write Out, we CESAP apprentices have experienced and have given people an opportunity to learn about the park. From battling the wind to teaching others about Cabrillo, volunteering for Write Out has been very rewarding and memorable, as I have a lingering passion for writing, and teaching others

C.P. (Age 13):

Something I enjoyed when doing Write Out was seeing many people show up at our booth and create artwork or a poem. It was fun to see what people came up with, and I was glad so many were enthusiastic about it and participated. Another enjoyable thing was getting to make a poem of my own! It was amazing that we didn’t just have to encourage people to do Write Out, but we could contribute by making our poems as well.

The actual event went smoothly, however, one of the most stressful parts was setting up equipment. Putting up the canopy was especially hard, and it required multiple people. The wind was also super strong and constantly was blowing things off the table. In my opinion, the wind was the hardest thing we had to deal with, however, we somewhat fixed the issue by placing heavy items such as rocks on things that were prone to go flying. This didn’t stop the wind from coming, but we managed to keep everything in one place. Miss Hannah, the Community Volunteer Ambassador of the park, helped us as well by assisting in setting up equipment like the canopy and helped us with other things in general.

Doing Write Out at Cabrillo is valuable. People get to learn more about the wildlife at the park by writing poems about them, and they could be inspired to hold an event like this one in the future as well. It would also be nice to see people connect their knowledge of writing and wildlife to things they experience, for example, to make poems about all the life they see around them. I think lots of people learned new skills from Write Out, and I learned a lot too.

J.P. (Age 13):

During my time at Write Out, I had the chance to witness many young visitors develop an interest in the program. It was particularly impressive to see how active the younger ones were, as they created shape poems and riddles with much enthusiasm. Reading their work and gaining insight into their perspective of Cabrillo was a rewarding experience. I also noticed that many young visitors used the guidebooks to draw pictures of the native species found in the park, like Allen’s Hummingbirds, Shaw’s Agave & California Quails! It was both educational and fun.

However, one of the challenges we faced during our time at the park was the unpredictable wind. It could be calm one minute, then suddenly come buffeting in, making it difficult to maintain the booth. We had to conduct several rock searches to weigh down papers and other lightweight objects. Additionally, setting up the canopy was quite a hassle, typically requiring five people, and the wind only made the task more challenging. Collaboration played a significant role in resolving the issue. Many thanks to Ms. Hannah and intern Abel for their assistance! Gathering more people to brainstorm on how to fix the problem led to a diversity of opinions that helped us form a few strategies to keep the canopy up and the booths stable.

Despite these difficulties, I strongly believe that Write Out was an invaluable learning experience for all involved. Hosting it in the park was an excellent way to engage people with nature-based poetry and the park itself. It was also a fantastic opportunity for me to practice public speaking and develop my communication skills. In the future, I’d like to see some public talks from Write Out about their program! Above all, it was incredibly rewarding to witness people’s creativity blossom during their time at Write Out.