National parks are considered "America's Best Idea." Coastal north Florida and south Georgia are home to six national parks that await your exploration!

The National Parks of the First Coast and Golden Isles are Fort Matanzas National Monument and the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida; the Timucuan Preserve (Kingsley Plantation) and Fort Caroline National Memorial in Jacksonville, Florida; Cumberland Island National Seashore in St. Marys, Georgia; and Fort Frederica National Monument, located near Brunswick, Georgia on St. Simons Island.

The Cultures of the Coast Junior Ranger Program was made possible by a grant from the National Park Foundation, the national charitable partner of America’s National Parks, through the generous support of the Evelyn and Walter Hass Jr. Fund.

The grant also funds a local documentary about the Cultures of the Coast park sites, entitled National Parks of the First Coast and Golden Isles, to be developed by the First Coast’s local PBS affiliate, WJCT. The 90 minute documentary airs September 21 at 9 pm on WJCT 7.4 WJCT More! & September 27 at 3 pm on WJCT-TV. The program will complement the airing of Ken Burns’ documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.

Free curriculum materials are available at each park website and can be used with the National Parks of the First Coast and Golden Isles documentary in the classroom.

The Cultures of the Coast Junior Ranger Program is available at each of these sites. A new component of the junior ranger program is a digital storytelling activity, where families explore the park and then design and record their favorite park story.

Visit your Cultures of the Coast national parks and keep an eye out for them on a television near you in the fall of 2009!