NPF Increases its Commitment to Open OutDoors for Kids and Awards $5 Million in Grants

The National Park Foundation (NPF) is excited to announce that it has awarded more than $5 million in grants through its Open OutDoors for Kids (OOK) program to support 111 projects that will provide meaningful opportunities for kids to connect with the world in new ways, understand our country’s history more deeply, and learn about science and conservation with memorable, hands-on experiences in national parks.

Parks, park partners, schools, and other community organizers will lead field trips, classroom engagements, and educational activities in and centered around national parks that build on children’s innate sense of wonder and curiosity and encourage them to appreciate nature, history, and culture.

“America’s 430+ national parks represent iconic landscapes, important ecosystems, defining moments in history, and culturally significant places that everyone should have access to learn about and learn from. They’re our largest classroom,” said Lise Aangeenbrug, NPF’s Chief Program Officer. “Open OutDoors for Kids is a crucial part of the National Park Foundation’s commitment to provide opportunities for all youth to access and engage with these treasured places and, hopefully, inspire a lifelong love for parks.”

Since 2011, more than 2 million students have participated in Open OutDoors for Kids and thousands more are expected to participate this year at 124 national park sites – that’s more than a quarter of the country’s national parks, representing 42 states and four U.S. territories. The program’s ultimate goal is to provide opportunities for as many students as possible to inspire the next generation of park stewards.

Notably, 92 of this year’s grants were awarded to previous OOK grant recipients to continue and expand their efforts, like Rocky Mountain National Park. They’ll continue to work with the Rocky Mountain Conservancy and use this year’s grant to fund transportation and host field trips for students from diverse backgrounds, with a focus on supporting Title I schools and providing first-time outdoor experiences for students.

Here are a few other examples of the programs and projects that OOK will support this year:

• Channel Islands National Park will launch meaningful, curriculum-based programming for third, fourth, and fifth grade students. In-person field trips will center around science, social and emotional learning, and stewardship values, while complementary distance learning experiences will build on this and incorporate history and Native American culture. The ISLANDS program – which stands for, “Invite Students to Love, Appreciate, Nurture, and Discover the Sea” – hopes to encourage students to use their voices as stewards for our natural and cultural resources.

• Glacier National Park will continue their work with Montana Environmental Education Association (MEEA) and provide immersive, educational experiences at public and Tribal lands for elementary-aged students to learn about these places and how they are connected to their own lives. With renewed support from OOK, they will be able to provide transportation for 2,000 students from 50 schools and underserved communities this year – eliminating a critical barrier to accessing these sites and experiences.

• Live It Learn It, a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit, has partnered with the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site to create “Exploring Freedom,” a new program centered around the lives and ideologies of Frederick Douglass and Thomas Jefferson that will engage as many as 600 fourth grade students with classroom sessions that bookend field trips to the Frederick Douglass House and Thomas Jefferson Memorial. To add to the experience and lend their expertise, Park Rangers will lead the on-site tours and participate in the post-lesson reflection in the classroom.

• In Richmond, California, the Rosie the Riveter Trust will renew their collaborative efforts with the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park to host local, underserved fourth grade classrooms for an in-person daytrip to the park. Students will participate in a one-mile hike along the San Francisco Bay Trail to learn about its history and the impacts of climate change and engage in an educational session to reflect on the connections between WWII industrialization and the resulting environmental impacts – as well as what each person can do to protect nature.

• Going into their third year of programming with support from OOK, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park will continue their efforts to reach local fourth graders from Title I schools and other youth and inspire their interest in the urban park. Park Rangers will visit schools to speak with students in advance of their field trips, which will center around fun activities and lessons that help bring to life what the students have been learning in class.

• Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St. Croix & Namekagon, in partnership with the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, will grow their “Rivers Are Alive” environmental education program that offers fourth graders from surrounding communities a variety of outdoor field trips, on-river paddle boat excursions, and virtual youth conferences. As students from underrepresented and diverse communities experience the riverway’s life-changing and healing affect and learn about its importance, the program aims to deepen connections to national parks and cultivate future stewards committed to preserving our wild and scenic riverway.

Read the full list of NPF Open OutDoors for Kids grantee projects for the 2024-2025 school year here.

Open OutDoors for Kids is made possible thanks to funding from Youth Engagement & Education premier partner Union Pacific Railroad; partners Apple, Chick-fil-A Inc., Columbia Sportswear, General Motors, Nature Valley, and Sierra; and generous donors including Alicia and Peter Pond, The Batchelor Foundation, Inc., John S. Kiewit Memorial Foundation, Joyce Yamane and Stephen Waite, and many others.