National Park Foundation Grant Supports Visit to the Channel Islands for Oxnard Middle School Students

Date: November 4, 2014
Contact: Yvonne Menard, 805-658-5725

Nearly 200 students from Frank, Fremont, and Haydock Middle Schools in Oxnard are visiting Channel Islands National Park this week due to funding from a National Park Foundation grant.

Channel Islands National Park 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.

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."

The students will also experience classroom activities before and after the island trips, including live, interactive broadcasts from Anacapa Island. The field day takes place on Santa Cruz Island where the students will participate in Island Packers' Floating Classroom Program.

The 2014 Ticket to Ride grants were made possible, in large part, through the support of Bayer USA Foundation, Disney, and Subaru of America.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards.

For more information on the National Park Foundation and how to support and protect America's national parks, please visit www.nationalparks.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at: www.nps.gov.