EcoHorizons Awarded $5,000 Grant from the National Park Trust

We are beyond honored to announce that EcoHorizons has recently been awarded $5,000 from the Every Kid Outdoors Small Grants Program through the National Park Trust. The mission of the National Park Trust is to “preserve parks today and develop park stewards for tomorrow” by advancing “public parks, lands, and waters as spaces that are welcoming and accessible to every person in every community.” Like our mission, the NPT places a huge emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and we cannot wait to begin working with them this year.

The Every Kid Outdoors program connects elementary-aged youth to public lands and waters, with the goal of ensuring every child in the United States has the opportunity to engage with the National Park System by 11 years of age. However, one of the greatest barriers to connecting youth with the outdoors is a lack of transportation. Creating these experiences is extremely important, as it fosters within our younger generation a lifelong dedication to our natural environment.

EcoHorizons will use the grant to bring 300 DC-area fourth graders to Rock Creek Park, a 1,700-acre NPS land that allows visitors to escape the bustle of Washington DC and find a peaceful refuge of majestic forests, wildlife, recreation, and thousands of years of human history. These fourth graders hail from three elementary schools situated in predominantly new immigrant Hispanic communities. The program consists of a half-day field trip on dates during April and May 2024. During the trip, students will hike a portion of the Milkhouse Ford trail, explore the park’s Civil War and Native American heritage, visit the Nature Center, and gain an immersive experience at the Planetarium. Before and after the field trip, we have implemented a classroom curriculum that introduces students to the National Park System and allows them to reflect on their learnings.

Overall, we are beyond excited about the Every Kid Outdoors program and the scope of its impact in expanding access to high-quality environmental education. If you have any questions and want to get involved, whether as a volunteer or recipient of our program, please reach us at contact@eco-horizons.org.

For reference, please read our spotlight in the press release from the National Park Trust: https://parktrust.org/news/national-park-trust-and-usda-forest-service-announce-the-2024-every-kid-outdoors-small-grants-program-awardees/