Black Rock Forest Receives Forty-One "Every Kid Outdoors" Grants

National Park Trust & USDA Forest Service

Select Black Rock For "Every Kid Outdoors" Small Grants

Program Will Get More Than 31,000 Kids Outside

CORNWALL, NY, (March 7) – National Park Trust is pleased to announce the 2024 grantees of the 'Every Kid Outdoors' Small Grants Program. In partnership with the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Trust developed the Every Kid Outdoors Small Grants Program to support schools and organizations focused on connecting elementary school-aged youth to public parks, lands, and waters.

Since 2009, 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. Taking advantage of the great outdoors as an excellent classroom, the Park Trust and the USDA Forest Service provide experiences that will help kids establish lifelong connections with nature and become the next generation of park stewards.

Black Rock Forest received a $1,314 award to support our work to engage elementary school students in Project FeederWatch. Through Cornell Lab of Ornithology's program, we are connecting students with wildlife observation and participating in data collection for an expected 335 elementary school students who will visit during the FeederWatch season, through the end of April. Already we have had 8 classes of 190 elementary school students participate this winter!

Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: “The field trip was a great experience for me. It was super cool and really fun! I liked looking at birds and learning their names,” one Cornwall third grader said. Teachers are excited about the trips as well: “I love Project FeederWatch. I've taken part for several years now,” said Caryn Mante, teacher at Willow Avenue Elementary School. “I hope that by taking part in FeederWatch at Black Rock Forest, I will get to see new birds that I have not been able to observe before.”

“We are so excited to be launching this program with the help of the support of the EKO Small Grants Program. With weakening winters, we have not been able to provide the same programs on ice safety and identifying animal tracks in snow. With Project FeederWatch, students are able to help contribute to scientific research, while learning about their local backyard birds,” said Jessica Schnell, Director of Education at Black Rock Forest.

“The USDA Forest Service believes every kid should have access to nature – whether it be a community park or a National Forest. We are so proud to partner with the National Park Trust to provide families and school groups across the country with access to outdoor adventures,” said Melissa Taggart, Environmental Education Specialist at the USDA Forest Service.

This program was open to 501(c)3 non–profit organizations and schools in the United States seeking resources to connect their community’s elementary school-aged kids with local parks, public lands, and waters. For 2024, the Park Trust and USDA Forest Service awarded 41 grants to qualified applicants – totaling almost $155,000.

 ABOUT NATIONAL PARK TRUST

Celebrating its 41st anniversary in 2024, 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.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Ivan Levin at 540.818.5818 or ivan@parktrust.org.

ABOUT BLACK ROCK FOREST

Black Rock Forest is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization with a mission of advancing scientific understanding of the natural world through research, education, and conservation programs. The organization maintains a 3,920-acre forest and a scientific field station in the Hudson Highlands, 60 miles north of New York City. We collaborate with our Consortium members – universities, schools, scientific and cultural institutions – to pursue and foster scientific inquiry, and to create educational programs for K-16 students, teachers, and the general public. Black Rock Forest works with many partners to pursue conservation goals in the Hudson Highlands and the greater mid-Hudson Valley region. For more information, visit blackrockforest.org.

MEDIA CONTACT

Jessica Schnell at 845-534-4517 or jschnell@blackrockforest.org.

Brienne A. Cliadakis

Director of Development

Black Rock Forest

65 Reservoir Road

Cornwall, NY 12518

bcliadakis@blackrockforest.org - 845.534.4517x126