Youth

Beyond Outreach Handbook: A Guide to Designing Effective Programs to Engage Diverse Communities, 2011
Engaging the full spectrum of Americans in the stewardship of our parks and special places is now recognized as crucial to the future of our national park system. This handbook represents an important tool to assist National Park Service (NPS) managers and practitioners and their partners in developing programs that successfully connect diverse communities with their local national parks. It guides practitioners through an assessment that identifies gaps in readiness and informs the development of an effective engagement strategy. The handbook is based on a research project that probed what constitutes good practices for engaging diverse communities and enhancing the relevancy of the national park system.

Engaging Young Adults in a Sustainable Future: Strategies for National Parks and Other Special Places, 2009
The purpose of this project was to inform the National Park Foundation’s (NPF) program development strategy for engaging young adults age 18 to 25 in environmental sustainability through collaboration with national parks and their partners and communities. This project positions the NPF to capitalize on research- and experienced-based knowledge about engaging young adults in the design of new initiatives. Program development for this key age group is an essential part of the NPF’s overall strategy of engaging the full spectrum of youth audiences.

A Park for Every Classroom: 8 Case Studies (pdf 4.84 MB)

Lessons Learned form the Massachusetts Area Parks Student Career Intake Program (SCIP), Year 1 (pdf only 2.19MB)

Engaging Young Adults in a Sustainable Future: Strategies for National Parks and Other Special Places A Report to the National Park Foundation

Quantifying a Relationship Between Place-based Learning and Environmental Quality Research Brief

Learning Together: Proceedings, Evaluation, and Applying Lessons Learned, 2007 (pdf 12.9MB)