Natural Families: Engaging Community-Based Organizations to Improve Park Access and Use

The National Park Service, National Capital Regionâ¿¿s Rivers, Trails, Conservation Assistance Program (NPS) and the Recipient will create a new and innovative Natural Families plan for engaging community partners and minority families in national parks. The Recipient currently supports more than 250 Family Nature Clubs across the U.S., reaching as many as 50,000 families. Family Nature Clubs are typically structured so that a community leader coordinates family outings in nearby parks and natural areas, exposing families to experiences they might not have had, and places they might not otherwise visit. This significantly adds capacity to the National Park System in its ability to provide innovative approaches to community engagement in parks that leverages relationships with partner organizations. The Family Nature Club model, when propelled in partnership with community-based organizations, maximizes the ability of the National Park System to reach into nontraditional park-goer communities, to build and sustain new relationships with residents in a community, and to bridge generational gaps and empower families to become change agents in their own communities by increasing participation in the national parks in the region.