Congress urged to protect outdoor program for 4th-graders
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(New Mexico News Connection) A national program to connect children and families with the outdoors is at risk of ending without help from Congress.
The Every Kid Outdoors program provides fourth graders and their families the opportunity to appreciate nature and wildlife without breaking the bank.
Julia Hurwit, Outdoors Alliance for Kids campaign manager for the Sierra Club, said the program encourages children to seek out an active and healthy outdoor lifestyle, leading to a sustained relationship with the natural world by offering a free, one-year pass.
© Pixabay - Teresa Johnson
"This includes things like national parks, national historical sites, national marine sanctuaries," Hurwit outlined. "This pass begins on September first every year for the current class of fourth graders and gives them access to those places."
This month and continuing through October 5, the Outdoor Alliance for Kids is organizing a range of events and actions to spread awareness and advocate for Congress to pass the Every Kid Outdoors Reauthorization Act. It would secure $25 million in permanent funding and extend the program to fifth graders.
The Sierra Club believes the wellness of current and future generations, the economy and the health of communities and the planet depend on people having a personal, direct and lifelong relationship with nature.
Hurwit added it helps if kids are introduced to the great outdoors early in life.
"Every year, it's about 200,000 fourth graders who are able to access this pass," Hurwit pointed out. "You can get a voucher for free online, and then you turn it into a physical parks pass in certain locations across the country, including most national parks and federal lands."
She noted much of the Sierra Club's belief in the importance of the Outdoor Alliance program is based on studies.
"When a kid goes to a national park or goes to public lands for the first time with their own family and with multi generations, it really encourages them to continue going because they're seeing someone they really look up to," Hurwit explained.
