WHO: National Park Trust (NPT), the National Park Service (NPS) and E.L. Haynes Public Charter School

WHAT: NPS Director Jon Jarvis to be interviewed by E.L. Haynes third grade students about NPT's Buddy Bison and National Parks.

WHERE: E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
3600 Georgia Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20010

WHEN: Friday, December 11, 2009
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

WHY: NPT has created a new program, Where's Buddy Bison Been?, to connect children, families and educators to our nation’s parks. The program utilizes Buddy Bison, NPT's mascot, and his toolkit as a vehicle for exploring our natural resources and public lands. NPT launched the pilot program in 20 schools in D.C. and across the country, including E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. As part of the program, NPT is organizing Buddy Bison interviews, where students in the pilot schools interview the nation's leading environmentalists about their work and learn what they can to do to protect our nation's natural resources.

NPS Director Jon Jarvis will read a new children’s book Buddy Bison Goes to a Park, written by Potomac, Md., resident Rob Cohen and illustrated by E.L. Haynes third graders. The students will then interview the director about his work and the National Park Service.

The interview is the second in a series organized by NPT, which will teach young people about the different opportunities for environmentalists and the many benefits including health and education that can be gained through the enjoyment of our parks. They will also learn the importance of protecting and preserving our environment and public lands.

The first Buddy Bison student interview, featuring Secretary Ken Salazar, was conducted by Alexander Taylor, a fifth grade student from National Presbyterian School in Washington, D.C. The interviews will be featured in NPT's new student e-newsletter, Buddy Bison's Buzz, which includes stories, photos and other creative work submitted by students across the country, and on the NPT website.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK TRUST
National Park Trust is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of our nation's critical parklands and reconnecting our youth to nature, especially those that are underserved. NPT's mission is to provide important recreational and educational parkland opportunities for current and future generations. As people spend more time indoors and as successive generations grow up with less of a connection to nature, NPT wants to build greater awareness and appreciation for the importance of our country's public lands and parks. To achieve this, NPT seeks to champion the acquisition and preservation of critical national, state and local parklands and to build a greater awareness through education - focusing on our youth, especially those that are underserved.

National Park Trust

National Park Trust

The National Park Trust is a nonprofit 501c3 organization. NPT is the nation’s only organization dedicated to the completion, and the full appreciation, of the American system of National and State Parks through the identification of key land acquisition needs and opportunities, the convening of potential funders to acquire these lands, as well increasing efforts to ensure that future generations appreciate and experience this national heritage.

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