What do banana slug races, California Condor sightings, and triboluminescence have in common? Parks in Focus!

The Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus program connects underserved youth to nature through photography. We do that by combining tried-and-true photography and environmental education lessons with outdoor adventures that foster in participants and leaders alike greater recognition and understanding of the role of the environment, public lands and natural resources. PIF lessons follow the North American Association for Environmental Education's (NAAEE) Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning. We put heavy emphasis on experiential, hands-on education and include everything from cacti dissections and lessons about water in the desert; to the history of the national park system, introductions to the people who live and work within it, and the role of photography in shaping that system; to activity-specific lessons while hiking, kayaking, or setting up camp for the first time. All the while, cameras are out, lenses are focusing, and participants are encouraged to use photography as a tool to explore the world around them, interpret what they're seeing, make connections to their home communities, and think about the story they want to take back to those communities through the images they capture.

"Classic" Parks in Focus takes groups of middle-schoolers on five-day, four-night excursions to National Parks and other public lands, gives them cameras, and implements an educational, active, hands-on, FUN curriculum. The kids are from Boys & Girls Clubs or other youth organizations, the trips are led by Udall Scholarship alumni who have been trained by the Foundation and have access to a toolkit of resources, and parks are active partners. In 2011, the Foundation plans to support "Classic" programs at Grand Canyon National Park (AZ), Yosemite National Park (CA), Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (MI), and Glacier National Park (MT). See the map above for information about these and past programs.

"Community" Parks in Focus involves building local partnerships and engaging local communities in bringing additional educational and outdoor opportunities to underserved youth, including: classroom style lessons given by guest educators, day trips to local natural sites, weekend camping trips, family gatherings that engage parents and siblings, and in some cases, a "Classic" five-day, four-night trip to a national park. In 2011, the Foundation is piloting a full-scale community development initiative in Tucson, AZ as well as smaller-scale efforts in East Palo Alto, CA; Big Rapids, MI; and Missoula, MT with the hopes of expansion to new communities in 2012.