TRIANGLE, Va. – As part of National Park Week, on Thursday, April 25, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will join National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis at Prince William Forest Park, the largest green space in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, to meet with students and to hold a stakeholder meeting on ways to better connect youth and families to the outdoors.
During the visit, Secretary Jewell will join students from Stonewall Middle School in Prince William County, Va., in a program offered in partnership between Prince William Forest Park and NatureBridge. In the residential field science program, students live and learn in the park, extending classroom learning with hands-on water-testing experiments of their own design and learning about the Great Depression-era history of their close-to-home national park.
“Reconnecting youth – especially urban youth – to the great outdoors has been a top priority of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors program as we foster the next generation of conservation and community leaders,” said Jewell. “I look forward to talking with our key public-private partners to explore how we can better engage, educate and employ America's youth while creating jobs, increasing outdoor recreation, and promoting economic opportunities across the country.”
Following the visit with the NatureBridge students, Secretary Jewell will hold a meeting with key stakeholders – such as City Parks Alliance, The Corps Network and the National Park Trust – on connecting youth and families to the great outdoors.
WHO
Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior
Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service
Steve Whitesell, Regional Director, North Capital Region, National Park Service
Steve Lockhart, Chairman of the Board, NatureBridge
Susan Smartt, President & CEO, NatureBridge
Dale Penny, President & CEO, Student Conservation Association
Grace Lee, Executive Director, National Park Trust
Diane Wood, President, National Environmental Education Foundation
Catherine Nagel, Executive Director, City Parks Alliance
Christine Fanning, Executive Director, Outdoor Foundation
Mary Ellen Ardouny, President & CEO, The Corps Network
Lori Arguelles, Executive Director, Alice Ferguson Foundation
Kevin Coyle, Vice President of Education and Training, National Wildlife Federation
Akiima Price, Founder & CEO, Akiima Price Consulting
Todd Ketch, Chair, Friends of Prince William Forest Park
Anne Mader, Owner, The Bike Lane
Sharon Henry, Executive Director, Supporting Partnerships and Resources for Kids (SPARK)
Stephanie Hussey, Director of State Initiatives, Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation
Sheri Robey-Lapan, Senior Director of Programs, Blue Star Families
Michelle Vukovich, Director of Semper Fit, Marine Corps Base Quantico
Tom Boyle, Strategic Marketing, W.L. Gore & Associates (GORE-TEX® Brand)
Steven Walts, Superintendent, Prince Williams County Schools Other stakeholders
WHAT
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell's first public appearance, where she will meet with students in a residential environmental education program and conduct a stakeholder meeting on ways to connect youth and families to the great outdoors
WHEN/WHERE
Thursday, April 25, 2013
8:45 a.m. – Flag raising ceremony with students
9:00 a.m. – Field site visit with students
9:45 a.m. – Media availability
10:00 a.m. – Stakeholder meeting
Prince William Forest Park, Camp One
From I-95, take exit 152-B and proceed northwest on Route 234 for 2.5 miles.
Turn left (south) onto Pleasant Road (after Prince William Forest RV Campground).
MEDIA
Members of the media are encouraged to RSVP to Jessica Kershaw (jessica_kershaw@ios.doi.gov) no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24.
Source: Department of Interior
