News Release

Cumberland Island National Seashore receives new hybrid learning grant from National Park Foundation

Date: April 22, 2021
Contact: Jill Hamilton-Anderson, 912 882 4336 x254
Contact: Alanna Sobel, 202 796 2538

Cumberland Island National Seashore (CUIS) is one of 32 parks and park partners to receive an Open OutDoors for Kids Hybrid Learning grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF), which works in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) and the park partner community to ensure that national parks reach their fullest potential and connect with as many people as possible. This grant will enable CUIS to continue successful in-person field trips when safe and appropriate as well as create new, interactive virtual programs to reach students across the country. The full list of grantees can be found on NPF’s website. 

“This grant will allow us to continue our important partnership with local teachers while expanding the reach our of educational programs across the nation. We are excited to partner with the NPF, other parks, and teachers to develop these cutting-edge educational programs to meet the needs of a changing world,” said Education Technician Robin Barker.

With more than 400 parks across all fifty states and the U.S. territories, the NPS traditionally hosts more than 60,000 in-park and distance learning education programs annually, serving over 1.8 million students. 

Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted how and where students are learning, NPF collaborated with the NPS to facilitate a program design workshop in September 2020 with leading experts in evaluation, digital programming, community engagement, and national park leadership. The goal being to advise on how NPF and NPS can meet the needs of students, teachers, schools, and communities during these uncertain times and how lessons learned can be applied in the long-term. The workshop led to the Open OutDoors for Kids Hybrid Learning program, an extension of NPF’s Open OutDoors for Kids Field Trip program. 

“National parks are America’s largest classrooms, and the National Park Foundation is committed to helping students, teachers, and families navigate learning during the pandemic and beyond,” said National Park Foundation President and CEO Will Shafroth. “From green time to screen time to family time, the National Park Foundation is helping the National Park Service and parks community engage students with educational opportunities across the country.” 

For Cumberland Island National Seashore, this grant will enable the park to begin the process of developing a distance learning program to meet the needs of teachers in Georgia and beyond. These new programs have potential to reach kids across the nation and use the park’s resources to deepen their understanding of science, history and the natural spaces near them. In addition to virtual programs, we will also be continuing the in-person field trips that have been sponsored with prior NPF grant awards. This 4^th grade field trip has been a success in introducing local students to their backyard national park. We are excited for the opportunity to expand our educational programming.

Since 2011, NPF has engaged more than one million students in educational programs connecting them with national parks across the country. Earlier this year, NPF announced its goal to connect another one million students to parks over the next four years. 

Thanks to private philanthropy, including support for Open OutDoors for Kids from Union Pacific Railroad, a premier partner of NPF’s Youth Education and Engagement initiative; Winnebago Industries Foundation; Niantic; Sierra; Columbia Sportswear; Parks Project; The Batchelor Foundation, Inc.; Humana; and many individual donors, NPF is investing nearly $1 million in the Open OutDoors for Kids Hybrid Learning program supporting communities across the country during the 2020-2021 school year. 

Learn more about NPF’s efforts to engage students with national parks as classrooms.

Cumberland Island is the largest barrier island off the coast of Georgia, encompassing more than 36,000 acres of maritime forests, salt marsh and beaches. The island is also home to over 9,800 acres of congressionally designated wilderness. The island’s natural and cultural resources provide a rich and diverse habitat for wildlife and offer a glimpse into the long history of coastal Georgia. The seashore is accessible by pedestrian-only passenger ferry from the historic community of St. Marys.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION The National Park Foundation works to protect wildlife and park lands, preserve history and culture, educate and engage youth, and connect people everywhere to the wonder of parks. We do it in collaboration with the National Park Service, the park partner community, and with the generous support of donors, without whom our work would not be possible. Learn more at www.nationalparks.org.

ww.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 421 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, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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