Students eligible for outdoor program

Back-to-school season means a new class of fourth graders are now eligible to enroll in Every Kid Outdoors, a federal program that provides up to a year of free access to national forests, national parks, and other public lands for fourth-grade students and their families.

Beginning today, Sept. 1, fourth graders, parents, and educators can visit the Every Kid Outdoors website at www.everykidoutdoors.gov and learn more about how to obtain free entry to all federal lands, for fourth graders and their accompanying family members.

Students can obtain passes individually by completing a brief online activity. Educators who work with fourth graders can visit the site to download an educational activity guide, after which they'll be able to obtain vouchers for their students. Once printed, students and their families can also redeem the paper voucher for a durable, plastic pass at any Forest Service office where passes are sold. Passes and vouchers are valid for the entire school year, through Aug. 31, 2023.

The federal program is designed for fourth-grade students because research shows children ages 9 to 11 are beginning to learn about the world around them, open to new ideas, and likely to form lasting connections to nature and our history when introduced to public lands and historic sites.

Information: everykidoutdoors.gov