Of all the improvements and projects targeted for funding by the Glacier National Park Fund’s Centennial Campaign, few have more potentially far-reaching influence than educational programs. Today’s children are tomorrow’s stewards of the park and other public lands: their decisions, not ours, will determine the fate of these valuable lands in the coming decades.

But disturbing trends show that children are becoming increasingly disconnected with the natural world. With his landmark book, “Last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv coined the term “Nature Deficit Disorder” to describe that phenomenon. His book launched the “No Child Left Inside” grassroots movement that is mobilizing private and government agencies, including the National Park Service, into action.

Mike Snyder, retired NPS Intermountain Regional Director, addressed the sobering issue of disenfranchised children in recent remarks about national parks and children in nature:

“Evidence is mounting that kids aren’t going outdoors. Some studies show that nature recreation has fallen between 18 and 25 percent in the past 20 years. Others point out that kids today get about 30 minutes of unstructured outdoor time each week. Needless to say, that’s bad news for National Parks, public lands and, most especially, kids. We all need to be thinking about ways we can get children more interested and involved in nature.

It’s a bit frightening to look at the list of issues researchers are associating with children not developing a connection with nature. The obvious one for us is that, absent a connection with nature when they are young, people are significantly less likely to be interested in, or support, issues connected with the protection and preservation of public lands.”

This scenario not only threatens the protected status of our treasured lands, but the healthy development of children as well. As Snyder continues, “Evidence suggests that a lack of contact with nature can affect a child’s emotional and intellectual development, resulting in behavioral and emotional problems. Regular contact with nature, some researchers claim, can help mitigate attention disorder, obesity and depression. In addition, environmental-based education has been tied to improved performance in school and better problem solving and critical thinking skills.”

The Glacier National Park Fund took a significant step toward addressing the need for engaging children in the park by funding the position of a Glacier Education Specialist from 2005-2008. In 2009 the Park Service, recognizing the need for such a position, worked to incorporate this position into their workforce but unfortunately was only able to secure funding for one-half of the annual expenses.

With the help of the Glacier Education Specialist and the generosity of our donors, the Discover Glacier education program has been extremely successful. The number of students from local communities served has doubled from an average of 4,000 to 8,000 per year, program offerings have increased, teacher workshops are now conducted annually to ensure quality programs and opportunities for families to connect with park resources and rangers during the summer have increased.

Although promising strides have been made toward making the park relevant and interesting to children, the work to date represents only the tip of the iceberg. Because of the uncertainty of federal or grant monies, continuation of many of the quality programs hangs in the balance from one year to the next. Too much is at stake not to continue the progress that has been made.

To ensure the continued funding of educational programs in the park, GNPF is committed to providing $50,000 annually to the program in addition to establishing a $1,000,000 endowment. Funding will target three priority areas:

• Continuation and expansion of curriculum-based programs include:
a. Providing the field trips - at no cost to schools - with ranger-led walks for regional school children (K-12).
b. Extending this program to the east side of the park (mostly reservation schools), continuing to earn the trust and foster good relationships with teachers at all these schools.
c. Providing busing or “travel grants” for participating schools that can’t afford transportation costs.
d. Hiring seasonal education interns to run the K-12 winter snowshoe programs and the spring/fall programs.
e. Expanding our reach to junior high and high school students by creating partnerships with teachers for year-long programs, special internships and hands-on learning. Kids at this age are in a challenging time of their life and these meaningful outdoor learning experiences can help them connect to the natural world while releasing their tension in a healthy way.

• Development of youth programs in general:
a. Staffing is needed for the Discovery Cabin and 1913 Ranger Station - providing an excellent opportunity for intern programs with regional schools as well as those engaged in substitute teaching. Both of these sites offer youth-friendly locations where rangers help young visitors with naturalist-based activities from putting on puppet shows, exploring the “mystery touch box” to engaging in research conducive to their educational curriculum.
b. More programs that will appeal to families are needed; as are printing and updating Junior Ranger booklets, badges and patches; providing staffing and materials for making “family packs,” - backpacks brimming with items from binoculars to hand lenses that families can check out (free) for exploring the park.
c. Providing stipends and materials for the Teacher-to-Ranger-to-Teacher program which enlists several teachers from across the country in the ranks of rangers for the summer, so they can return to their schools with their new knowledge to share with their students.
d. Perhaps the most essential need is to match Glacier National Park’s support of the Education Specialist position with funding for year-round programming, especially to ensure that the curriculum, lesson planning and post activity materials on the website are current. Currently the park can only afford funding for a half-time position which is simply not enough to take this program to the next level.

• Development of global awareness of Glacier National Park via the Web and other multimedia venues:
This important outreach involves interactive learning opportunities such as down-loadable curriculum, e-Hikes, virtual tours, pod-casts and CDs. These materials will be designed to be easily accessed by teachers or families planning trips to the park. In addition, the curriculum developed by the park’s education specialist has been used in places like Florida, Texas and California and have resulted in field trips by these students not only to their local parks but to Glacier. We have become a resource for urban areas with creative programs such as Reconnecting Children with the Outdoors and hope to expand our national reach to encourage more families to reconnect with our national parks.


The Glacier National Park Fund, on behalf of its donors, and the National Park Service want kids to fall in love with the incredible natural wonders of the park and experience the immeasurable peace of its surroundings. We also want them to understand the concept of stewardship and how everyone can take care of the park through their behavior and their gifts. These educational initiatives, along with others developed in the future, will be possible with the monies generated by the endowment.