California State Parks and its nonprofit partner, Parks California, announced more than $2.4 million in grant funding to support paid career training opportunities aimed at preparing the next generation of park and public lands professionals.
The funding, awarded through the Career Pathways grants program, will support 13 community and tribal organizations across California and is expected to help approximately 380 participants gain experience and training for careers connected to parks and public lands. The 2026 grant cycle includes seven returning grantees and six new partners.
The program is designed to provide hands-on experiences for early-career adults and individuals exploring new career directions, helping them see a future working in parks, conservation, and stewardship. Participants will train in areas such as wildfire resilience, trail building, habitat restoration, visitor services, and park operations while receiving mentorship and career guidance.
“Our joint efforts to expand access to the outdoors is doing more than just reducing barriers for visitors – it’s also creating pathways to grow a skilled and diverse workforce of the next generation of stewards,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “These grants help plant the seed that will blossom into deeply rooted careers caring for California’s parks and public lands.”
Funding for Career Pathways is supported in part by State Parks’ Waterway Connections Initiative, part of the California Natural Resources Agency’s Outdoors for All Initiative. The grants program is expected to provide approximately $5 million through 2029 to support workforce training programs statewide.
According to Parks California President and CEO Kindley Walsh Lawlor, the goal is to make careers in parks more visible and accessible to people who may not already have connections to outdoor professions.
“Career Pathways opens doors by creating real opportunities for people to gain experience and build necessary skills,” Lawlor said. “By investing in community and tribal partners, we’re helping ensure future park leaders reflect the diversity of California.”
California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said expanding access to outdoor spaces also means creating access to careers that help care for those lands.
“Programs like Career Pathways help connect Californians – especially those from underserved communities – to real opportunities to care for public lands, building a workforce that reflects our entire state and is prepared to meet California’s climate and conservation goals,” Crowfoot said.
Among the 2026 grantees are organizations working in regions that may resonate with Sierra communities and mountain regions.
The Lomakatsi Restoration Project in northeastern California received planning and development funding to work with the Ajumawi Band of the Pit River Tribe and State Parks on a tribal workforce training and restoration program at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park. The project will focus on reducing wildfire risk, ecological restoration, and cultural resource enhancement while creating opportunities for tribal young adults.
The Foundation for California Community Colleges received planning and development funding to work with community colleges and State Parks to expand internship and training opportunities in interpretation, education, maintenance, and facilities work.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Sierra Conservation Corps will provide a paid apprenticeship program that places corpsmembers alongside State Parks trail crews on large-scale projects, helping participants gain leadership skills and practical experience in park operations and conservation.
Grant recipients also help participants connect to professional networks while providing support such as equipment, wages, meals, travel reimbursement, and career guidance. Organizations partner directly with selected state parks to deliver multi-month training experiences focused on real-world work in public lands management.
The Career Pathways program has already shown measurable results. In 2024, the program invested more than $1.7 million in local partners, supported 15 grantees statewide, and reached approximately 250 participants, with 93 percent expressing interest in future careers in parks.
“I look at this program as a second chance for me and for other people who may not have the same opportunities as others,” said Julian Garcia, a 2024 participant with Greater Valley Conservation Corps. “This program is really going to help me get to where I need to be in life.”
