Inspiring Connections, Building Leaders

Introducing people to parks is one of the most fundamental roles NPCA plays. If an audience is unaware of parks or has never had the opportunity to visit a national park, we cannot hope to engage them as advocates. This understanding drives our work and explains why we have taken great strides over the years to not only bring more people into the fold, but also to make all our parks more accessible and more relevant to those who live near them.

[STORYBOOK] Eric Photo

NPCA and its partners took 60 youth paddling on the Mississippi River; they stopped along the way to conduct a service project for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

© Eric Miller

Nowhere is this work more evident than in our 11 regions around the country. Through our field staff’s on-the-ground outreach, partnerships and genuine community connections, we share how the evolution of the park story is an American story worth celebrating. We often organize park- based projects so people can experience and understand the value of national parks. Building awareness like this at the local level opens the door for cultivating a deeper understanding of park issues, which in turn paves the way for the development of engaged advocates.

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