Montezuma Castle National Monument Receives 2014 Park Stewards Grant

Date: November 4, 2014
Contact: Deb DeCovis, 928-821-0745

Montezuma Castle National
Monument Receives 2014 Park Stewards Grant

THANKS TO UNIVERSITY OF
PHOENIX AND SUBARU OF AMERICA, NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION PROGRAM WILL ENGAGE TEACHERS
AND YOUTH IN SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECTS IN AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS

Camp Verde Arizona (November 4, 2014) – Montezuma Castle/Tuzigoot National Monument is one of 28 national parks selected to receive a 2014 Park Stewards grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks. Our Natural Resource project educates youth on native plant identification, propagation, and restoration of our native areas, by working directly with two local high schools.

Now in its seventh year, this program gives local high school teachers and students the opportunity to explore the relevance of National Parks to their lives, and enables them to become civically engaged stewards of their National Parks through year-long service-learning projects.

"With our Park Stewards program, teachers and students are able to explore science, nature, sustainability, and more through America's largest living classrooms – our National Parks," said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation. The funds will go directly to Camp Verde and Mingus Union High teachers to enhance their programs as well as providing transportation monies allowing youth to attend field trips to the local monuments. While on the day- long field trips, the students will work closely with the Natural Resource and Education staff, engaging in hands on restoration practices. This includes native plant propagation, seed collecting, and identifying invasive plants and their removal. During the second half of the day, youth will learn how to test the health of the water and soil in our monuments.They will also learn about, species monitoring and reinforce this knowledge with real hands on experience.

We are grateful to the organizations that support the youth programs in small communities and will strive to expand the knowledge of the next generation. Montezuma Castle/Tuzigoot National Monument's youth outreach program mission is to engage, educate and inspire all the youth in the Verde Valley. Each year we receive the grant, will be one more year connecting local youth to their local monuments.

University of Phoenix is now serving in its third year as the program's official educational sponsor. The University is committed to opening opportunities for
education and workplace readiness, and supporting sustainable solutions for environmental health. Its support of the Park Stewards program helps both
teachers and students build a deeper connection to and sense of stewardship for America's national parks, while offering students the chance to explore new career horizons.

"University of Phoenix is proud to once again support the National Park Foundation in helping build future generations of national park enthusiasts and supporters," said Pat Gottfried, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for Apollo Education Group, parent company of University of Phoenix. "The University has long supported environmental stewardship in our operations, offered sustainability-related degree programs and engaged in environmental philanthropy across the nation. We welcome the opportunity to continue to reinforce this commitment through our support of the National Park Foundation and the teachers and students it impacts."

Since 2009, the Park Stewards program has made it possible for 110 high school teachers to work in parks over their summer break, creating engaging curriculum to teach to their students in the coming school year. During their time in the parks, the teachers and park staff also develop service-learning projects for students to take part in during the school year. The projects tie to state academic standards and make meaningful impacts in the national parks.Examples of projects include monitoring water quality, creating digital history apps, hosting a Bio Blitz, and designing art sculptures.In addition, two students from each grantee school team will be selected for summer internships that will help support and grow their interest in national parks and the ational Park Service.

The National Park Foundation also wishes to thank Subaru of America for their generous support of the Park Stewards program.A listing of the 2014 Park Stewards grantees and their project descriptions can be found 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.

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.

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. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.

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