As the National Park Service (NPS) approaches its 100th anniversary in 2016, they are realizing that for America's national parks to remain viable, they need to grab the interest of young people, urban residents and other populations, according to NBC Today.
To address this problem, the National Park Foundation (NPF) has announced $465,000 in grants as part of the America's Best Idea program, which was created four years ago and designed to "connect diverse, underserved and under-engaged populations with America's national parks," according to their web site.
"Our national parks are beloved but the reality is that the consumers of national parks today have been [aging] baby boomers," Neil Mulholland, the president and CEO of the NPF, the official charity of America's national parks, told NBC News. "The millennial generation behind them was the first group to grow up in the digital world and they didn't do the proverbial trip to the national parks when they were kids.
"Those are missed opportunities," Mulholland continued.
The different parks will have programs to target the intended demographic and drum up interest in nature and national parks.
Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah will bring 25 disadvantaged Southern Paiute kids who will go on a four-night field camp combining camping with educational activities that aim to highlight traditional customs, land management practices and career building skills.
Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado will bring minority families out for two-day camping trips. The program is aimed at helping families establish a tradition of going to national parks. They will learn basic outdoor skills, such as setting up tents and building campfires. The program hopes to demonstrate camping is affordable as a family vacation.
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Georgia will bring six homeless high-school students, who will receive paid, month-long internships where they will learn job skills and community involvement, as well as being exposed to the NPS and the Youth Conservation Corps.
"What we're doing is reaching out to the people in our community who might not have the means to visit the park, or even know we're here," Rudy Evenson, a public information officer, said. "It's a good opportunity for the Park Service to give these kids some ideas of what they can do with their own futures and how they can connect with their national parks."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
