Every Kid Outdoors Extended
The National Parks are America’s best idea, and the best idea to come from the National Parks Service in recent years is the Every Kids Outdoors program. But this past year, millions of fourth graders lost their ability to take part in this program because of Covid-19. Those of us who were directly impacted and many in the outdoor industry have been begging the Department of the Interior to give these kids another chance—perhaps just consider it a stimulus package for our youth.
Obviously, the National Park-to-Park Tour was significantly affected by the global pandemic. And while we will recreated the trip in Summer 2021, we were severely disappointed to lose the EKO privilege. The great thing about the program is that the child him or herself provides the passport for the entire family into our country’s most beautiful and sacred sites. Our fourth-grader felt like she was losing a major role in this series of trips that she helped to plan.
It may seem inconsequential. Certainly, American’s have lost much, much more to this pandemic. Millions will be infected and hundreds of thousands will die before the virus is done with Americans. The economy is already facing the harshest circumstances most of us have seen in our lifetimes, with no end in sit. Many of these problems are intractable, or at the least incredibly costly to remedy.
That’s precisely why it’s an ideal opportunity to focus on what we can control by extending EKO program access for current fifth graders. It’s a relatively simple and inexpensive fix to just one of the many detriments Covid has placed at our feet.
The Outdoor Alliance for Kids (OAK)—a collaborative effort with more than 100 organizational members—formally petitioned Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt for an extension of the programming in August before it expired. No action was taken.
In September, Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) demonstrated the deep bipartisan support of this program by requesting the Secretary expand access for fifth graders. Again, to no avail.
Finally today—nearly two months after the program expired for current fifth graders—the announcement was made that the program would be extended. Hooray!
We can’t wait to see the pride on our now-fifth grader’s face when she holds that EKO pass in her hands—and for good reason. A ten-year old is just barely old enough to understand the dangers of the pandemic, but not quite mature enough to process the loss of a special trip that centered on her access to Parks. As EKO intends, Parks access serves as a coming of age for many fourth graders. It’s such a benefit to have another chance.
We would like to thank the Sierra Club, REI, National Parks Trust, the National Parks Conservation Association, Blue Star Families, and the 100+ members of OAK for never giving up on this effort. Along with the U.S. Senators previously mentioned, Rep. Elise Stefanik (D-NY) worked hard to put pressure on the Secretary of the Interior. Thank you all for extending Every Kid Outdoors and give us all another chance to visit our nation’s best ideas.
We all know that these kids need something to be proud of after all they’ve had to endure in 2020.