A new year often brings a new set of goals for many, and the Shenandoah National Park Trust is no exception.
Executive Director Susan Sherman's "wish list" for the coming 12 months only has six items on it, but when you look at the six, you realize they're plenty to fill the coming months with.
Through the Trust's Native Plants Now! program the organization will work to help bolster Shenandoah National Park's ability to propagate and plant native plants in areas of the park that have been cleared of invasive, exotic species so that the non-native plants don’t get the chance to re-establish themselves.
The Kids in Parks program aims to get kids "unplugged, outside, and seeking adventures" in the park. Borrowing from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Trust and park officials will erect a colorful kiosk with brochures and activities that will identify the park’s new TRACK Trail a bit later this year. Stay tuned to find out which trail earns this designation.
Through the non-profit's Ticket to Ride program, funds will help provide transportation to under-served schools for field trips to Shenandoah.
The Trust also will commit efforts to see completion of the Pinnacles Restoration, the rehabilitation of one of the last remaining Civilian Conservation Corps camp facilities in the park that is used heavily by researchers and volunteers.
Trust funding also will help provide Shenandoah Summer Camp for youth who normally wouldn't be able to experience camping out in a national park. And the organization will continue to grow its Teacher-Ranger-Teacher program that brings teachers into the park to work side-by-side with park rangers, and then return to their classrooms with the knowledge they've acquired about Shenandoah's natural resources.
It's a great list of goals for 2014. You can help the Trust afford these programs through a donation to the organization.
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