Falling in Love with State Parks: Our Kids in Parks Program

“This was transformative. Students that were afraid of getting dirty had muddy knees and big smiles as they reclaimed their seats on the bus to head back to school. “

That’s what we want to hear after a group of kids takes a trip to one of Tennessee’s state parks. This past school year we approved school trips for 5,000 students from across the state. More than half of those kids have never been to a state park. We fund transportation grants for Title 1 schools, and the park rangers do the rest. When rangers work with these kids, they are providing natural experiences in creeks and along trails while also building on the lessons they are learning in class by giving them hands-on-experiences.

Learning Comes to Life on the Trail

“As an educator, it was an amazing experience to watch students gain deeper understanding through hands on application of the standards they had learned in the classroom,” shared by a teacher who took her class to Frozen Head State Park in the spring. 

Spaces That Inspire Discovery

Outdoor classrooms can also make a difference in how students learn and experience the outdoors. With support from the Arconic foundation, we recently completed an Accessible Bluebird Classroom at Seven Islands State Birding Park. Through funding from National Environmental Education Foundation and Toyota Tennessee, we installed an outdoor classroom on Bullrush Lake in Middle Fork Bottoms State Park..

Opening the Outdoors to More Students

We have partnered with Outdoor Chattanooga on a two-year project to provide elementary students with multiple state park experiences that enhance their comfort level with outdoors. Lyndhurst Foundation is supporting this work. 

Adventure Camp Builds Confidence and Skills

For the third year, we sponsored Adventure Camp focused on high school students ages 14-18. Adventure Camp was held at Fall Creek Falls and Hiawassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Parks. Park rangers from around the state participate in the camp sharing the following skills with them: making fires, archery, caving, rappelling and river rafting.