Every 4th Grader in America to Get a One-Year Pass to Every National Park for them & their Family! [View all]

[NYC_SKP]

OMG!!! This is SO COOL!

Let’s Get Every Kid in a Park

Arne Duncan, Sally Jewell, Tom Vilsack, Jo-Ellen Darcy, Kathryn Sullivan
February 19, 2015



From sea to shining sea, our country is home to gorgeous landscapes, vibrant waterways, and historic treasures that all Americans can enjoy. But right now, young people are spending more time in front of screens than outside, and that means they are missing out on valuable opportunities to explore, learn, and play in the spectacular outdoor places that belong to all of them.

President Obama is committed to giving every kid the chance to explore America’s great outdoors and unique history. That’s why today he launched the Every Kid in a Park initiative, which calls on each of our agencies to help get all children to visit and enjoy the outdoors and inspire a new generation of Americans to experience their country’s unrivaled public lands and waters. Starting in September, every fourth-grader in the nation will receive an “Every Kid in a Park” pass that’s good for free admission to all of America’s federal lands and waters -- for them and their families -- for a full year.



Because we know that a big reason many kids don’t visit these places is that they can’t get there easily, we will also help schools and families arrange field trips and visits by providing key trip-planning tools and helping to cover transportation costs for schools with the greatest financial need. For example, the National Park Foundation -- the congressionally chartered foundation of the National Park Service -- is expanding its program to award transportation grants for kids to visit parks, lands, and waters. The President has also requested new funding in his FY 2016 Budget to support youth education programs and to support transportation for school outings to parks for students from low-income areas.

And because the great outdoors is one of our greatest classrooms, we are making sure that more kids can benefit from the wide range of educational programs and tools that already exist. For example, a number of our agencies participate in Hands on the Land, a national network connecting students, teachers, families, and volunteers with public lands and waterways. And the National Park Service is launching a revised education portal featuring more than 1,000 materials developed for K-12 teachers, including science labs, lesson plans, and field trip guides. With this kind of support, we can help our children become lifelong learners -- both inside and outside the classroom.



http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/02/19/let-s-get-every-kid-park