National Park Trust Announces 2024 Kids to Parks Day School Grant Recipients
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2024
150 Grants To Benefit 110 Title I Schools Across the United States
Washington, D.C. (March 5, 2024) – National Park Trust is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Kids to Park Day School Grants Program. The annual grants are awarded to under-served schools to help students discover and explore parks, public lands, and waters in celebration of National Kids to Parks Day. This year’s program saw a 23% increase in grant applications compared to last year.
110 Title I schools were selected as grantees, with each recipient receiving up to $1,000 to fund their park trip and nearly $150,000 being awarded by the Park Trust. This year’s program will benefit more than 7,300 students in grades pre-K through 12, representing 30 states and American Samoa. In some cases, more than one grade or classroom in a school applied for and received a grant.
This grants program is designed to be student-driven, and student-teacher collaboration is required. Students and teachers addressed the three pillars of the Park Trust’s Youth and Family Programs in their applications: education: how to use their local park as an outdoor classroom; health and wellness: how to take advantage of outdoor recreation activities; and stewardship: what project they will undertake to benefit the park and/or the environment directly.
“We are pleased to empower students across the country to celebrate Kids to Parks Day by providing them greater access to our public lands and waters. This year, a record number of teachers requested park trip funding to support their students’ mental well-being and to address the challenges of rising costs for school bus transportation.”
Grace Lee, National Park Trust executive director
Organized by the Park Trust, Kids to Parks Day is an annual nationwide day of outdoor play celebrated every third Saturday in May at public lands and waters across the United States.
Highlights of this year’s proposals:
- 106 public land sites will be visited, including national, state, and local parks and historic sites.
- 90 elementary school classrooms, 38 middle school classrooms, and 22 high school classrooms were awarded grants.
- Trips range from Navajo National Monument (AZ) to Grand Teton National Park (WY) to Thomas Point Beach (ME).
For the complete list of 2024 Kids to Parks Day School Grants recipients, visit https://staging.parktrust.org/2024-kids-to-parks-day-school-grants-program-grantees/.
ABOUT NATIONAL PARK TRUST
National Park Trust’s mission is to preserve parks today and create park stewards for tomorrow. Since 1983, the Park Trust has acquired many of the missing pieces of our national parks, benefiting 55 national park sites across the country. Our national youth education and family initiatives, including our Buddy Bison, College Ambassador and Military Family Programs, and National Kids to Parks Day, serve tens of thousands of children annually and cultivate future park stewards. We believe our public parks, lands, and waters should be cared for, enjoyed, and preserved by all for current and future generations. Find out more at parktrust.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Ivan Levin at 540.818.5818 or ivan@parktrust.org.
