DRBA Awarded Every Kid Outdoors Grant

February 17, 2023

In January, the National Park Trust announced the 2023 round of grantees for the Every Kid Outdoors Small Grants Program. In partnership with the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Trust developed the Every Kid Outdoors grant to support schools and organizations focused on connecting elementary school-aged youth to public parks, lands, and waters.

For over a decade, National Park Trust has been a leader in youth outdoor programming and has been actively addressing the lack of transportation to outdoor spaces – one of the most significant barriers to kids getting outside and experiencing nature. This grant supports the Every Kid Outdoors program, a federal youth initiative designed to provide every 4th grader in the United States the opportunity to visit public lands and waters for free with their families. The great outdoors is an excellent classroom, and the Park Trust and the USDA Forest Service are partnering to provide the experiences that will help kids establish lifelong connections with nature and become the next generation of park stewards.

The Dan River Basin Association received an award to support our work to engage fourth grade students at three schools in Rockingham County through the Fostering Outdoor Stewards through Streamside Trees in the Classroom project.  This is a pilot project in North Carolina; the Streamside Trees in the Classroom begun in Virginia in 2012 and serves hundreds of students annually.  Fourth grade students at Huntsville Elementary, Dillard Academy, and Stoneville Elementary will root native black willow cuttings in the classroom and later take a field trip to plant them along a stream in need of restoration at Stoneville Memorial Park.  While on their field trip, students will participate in hands-on activities provided by local natural resource partners.

“We are thrilled to provide this hands-on learning experience for students in Rockingham County.  This project gives teachers an opportunity to take what they are learning in the classroom outside and connect students to their community through a real world experience,” says Krista Hodges, Education Outreach Manager, Dan River Basin Association.

“We are delighted to expand our partnership with the USDA Forest Service by providing numerous nonprofits and schools across the country with Every Kid Outdoors Transportation Grants. These critical resources will allow thousands of children from under-served communities to discover our public lands and waters. For many of these students, it will be their first opportunity to explore the great outdoors,” said Grace Lee, executive director of National Park Trust.

This program was made available to 501c3 non–profit organizations and schools from all over the United States looking for resources and funding to connect their community’s elementary school-aged kids with local parks, public lands, and waters. For 2023, the Park Trust and USDA Forest Service awarded 33 grants to qualified applicants – totaling $135,000.

ABOUT NATIONAL PARK TRUST

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023, 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 51 national park sites. Our national youth education and family initiatives, including our Buddy Bison Programs and National Kids to Parks Day, serve 300 Title I schools annually and cultivate future park stewards. We believe that our public parks, lands, and waters should be cared for, enjoyed by, and preserved by all for current and future generations. Find out more at parktrust.org.

For more information or questions, please contact Krista Hodges, DRBA’s Education Outreach Manager, at khodges@danriver.org. 

DRBA‘s mission is to preserve and promote the natural and cultural resources of the Dan River watershed through recreation, education, and stewardship.