Coming to a School Near You

$24,000 Needed

Zion National Park has built strong partnerships with schools and teachers within the local community, with rangers regularly visiting classrooms to educate and connect students to the resources available at the park. By instructing local students, rangers are planting the seeds of reverence for the natural world as well as inspiring today’s students to become park stewards.

Washington, Kane, and Iron counties in the southwest corner of Utah all contain a part of Zion National Park and have more than 35 Title I elementary schools among them. For many years, education rangers have visited these schools’ 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms and taught their students about the park’s animals, plants, and rocks in an engaging, interactive way. With your generosity, Zion hopes to continue this program to deepen its relationship with nearby communities. This year, Zion aims to expand outreach to connect with schools rangers have not previously visited. 

During these classroom visits, rangers introduce students and their parents to the ‘Every Kid Outdoors’ parks pass, which allows students and their families to enjoy visiting national parks free of charge for an entire year. These efforts invite a new population of visitors to enjoy the park and, equipped with their ranger lessons, make deeper connections with the land.

Funding for this program will pique students’ interest in topics such as geology, ecology, and wilderness ethics, and educate the younger generation on the value of protecting and managing these breathtaking landscapes, not only in Zion, but across the country.