Park Receives “Ticket to Ride” Grant from National Park Foundation

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Date: August 26, 2014
Contact: Miriam Hornstein, National Park Service, (570) 426-2443
Contact: Alanna Sobel, National Park Foundation, (202) 354-6486

Superintendent John J. Donahue announced today that Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is one of 65 national parks selected to receive a 2014 Ticket to Ride grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks. The $8000 grant will support Over the River and Thru the Woods—a three part program that includes a pre-trip school visit, an outdoor field trip day, and a follow up school visit for more than 500 third and fourth grade students introducing them to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and their partners at the Pocono Environmental Education Center.

Now in its third year, the Ticket to Ride program provides the much-needed funds to make national park field trips possible for schools across the country.

"We know that one of the greatest barriers keeping America's youth from visiting their national parks is access to transportation," said Neil Mulholland, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. "Through our Ticket to Ride program, we eliminate that barrier and open up a world of experiential learning in our nation's largest classrooms –our national parks –and help inspire stewardship of these treasured places."

The outdoor field trip day includes a tour of PEEC's EcoZone! discovery room where students will investigate life size replicas of some of the 'things they might see in the park including a beaver lodge, bald eagle nest, black bear skeleton, skins and skulls of various mammals, fossils, plants and more. The day also includes a hike on either the Two Ponds Trail or Fossil Trail where the students will see 'live' what they investigated in the EcoZone!.

"We are so pleased to work with our partners at the National Park Foundation and at PEEC to bring this outstanding experience to so many kids who otherwise might not have an opportunity like this one," said Superintendent Donahue. "And we are especially grateful to the Foundation and their partners for providing the necessary funds to make it happen. We couldn't have done this without their support."

The 2014 Ticket to Ride grants were made possible, in large part, through the support of Bayer USA Foundation, Disney, and Subaru of America. For the full list of park grantees, and their projects, visit the Ticket to Ride page on the National Park Foundation website. For more information on the National Park Foundation and how to support and protect America's national parks, please visit www.nationalparks.org. For more information on the National Park Service, please visit www.nps.gov.



Last updated: April 14, 2015

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Mailing Address:

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
P.O. Box 2

Bushkill, PA 18324

Phone:

570 426-2452

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