National Park Trust Announces Recipients of Kids to Parks Day School Grants Program

March 16, 2021

56 Grants Awarded to 2,211 Students Across the United States

Washington, D.C. (March 16, 2021)–The National Park Trust is pleased to announce the grantees of this year’s Kids to Park Day School Grants Program, which annually awards grants to under-served schools to help students discover and explore parks, public lands and waters. This year because of the impact of COVID-19, the grants program was amended to fund virtual park experiences and hands-on activities.

26 Title I schools were selected as grantees, impacting more than 2,200 students in grades pre-K through 12, and representing 14 states and Washington, D.C. Support for this program is provided by the Wyss Foundation with matched resources provided by the National Park Centennial Challenge Fund. Grants up to $500 were awarded to 56 classrooms.

The contest is a part of the 11th Kids to Parks Day on May 15th, a nationwide day of outdoor play celebrated every third Saturday in May at public lands and waters across the United States. Entries submitted by students and teachers addressed the three pillars of the Park Trust’s youth programs focusing on how they would: 1) use parks as experiential classrooms, 2) embrace health and wellness through outdoor recreation, and 3) engage in stewardship through projects and educational campaigns.

“Despite the safety restrictions due to the pandemic, it’s been inspirational to see how teachers and their students got creative to celebrate the 11th Kids to Parks Day. We hope that this experience will encourage them to continue to explore their local public lands and waters with their families. During this historically challenging time in our country, the importance and appreciation of our parks and the outdoors has never been greater,” stated Grace Lee, National Park Trust Executive Director

ABOUT NATIONAL PARK TRUST

National Park Trust is a non-profit dedicated to preserving parks today and creating park stewards for tomorrow. The Park Trust is the only land trust with a comprehensive mission of preserving national parks through land protection and creating a pipeline of future park stewards by connecting kids to parks. Since 1983, National Park Trust has benefitted 48 national park sites across 28 states, one U.S. Territory, and Washington, D.C. Annually, the Park Trust provides an estimated 20,000 under-served kids with park trips through their nationally recognized Buddy Bison Programs and Kids to Parks Day National School Contest, both of which support Title I schools. Find out more at www.parktrust.org

 Media Contact:  Ivan Levin at 540.818.5818 or ivan@parktrust.org.

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