June 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 56

NRPA Update
Green Parks - Green Kids
Bringing nature and environmental education to kids

ou will find little disagreement among experts that children today in
all age groups are spending too much time behind screens and too little
time outdoors. Busy working families, a lack of green space in neighborhoods, more exciting indoor activities and neighborhood safety concerns
are just a few of the contributing factors. The concern is that a generation with
no connection to nature will result in people who are primarily sedentary and
have little concern about the environment and the world around them.
Thanks to the generosity of the
National Recreation Foundation,
NRPA's Green Parks - Green Kids
program promotes and enhances environmental education for children
by park and recreation agencies. The
program provides grants to five park
and recreation agency programs in
2013 to increase the number of children participating in regular, outdoor
environmental education. Agencies
use a variety of nature interpretation

and environmental education curriculums. The best practices from each
program will be identified and shared
with park and recreation programs in
fall 2013.
The 2013 participating agencies are:
* City of Los Angeles Department of
Recreation and Parks, California
* City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and
Recreation Department, Florida
* Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Massachusetts

The Fort Lauderdale Kids Ecology Corps program offered a lesson on butterflies
and moths.

Parks & Recreation

| J U N E 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

* Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission, Michigan
* Morris County Park Commission,
New Jersey
Los Angeles
Administered at Griffith Park, one
of the nation's largest urban parks,
the Urban Wildlife Program (UWP)
is an environmental education program designed to raise the level of
urban youths' environmental interest
and awareness through actively experiencing the wonders of the natural
outdoor world, learning about the
urban forest ecosystems, and understanding how they ultimately affect
our life and environment. The UWP
combines local history, hiking, crafts
and team building to carry out the
program's objectives. National Association for Interpretation-certified
park rangers lead participants in a
four-hour outdoor nature experience.
Persons with disabilities are able to
participate in the program, as reasonable accommodations are made with
prior arrangements.
Participants are transported by
school bus from their community
recreation center to and from the
Griffith Park Visitors Center. The
program begins with a 15-minute orientation to welcome participants and
outline the program's curriculum and
policies. Participants are then led on a
30-minute interpretive nature hike in
Griffith Park to learn about the history of the park, the indigenous Tongva tribe, plant and wildlife identification, " leave no trace " principles, and
fire ecology. Following the hike, par-

June 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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