National Park Trust is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Kids to Parks Day School Grants Program. The annual grants are awarded to under-resourced schools to help students discover and explore parks, public lands, and waters in celebration of National Kids to Parks Day. Organized by National Park Trust, Kids to Parks Day is an annual nationwide day of outdoor play celebrated every third Saturday in May at public lands and waters across the United States.
This year’s school grants program saw a 28% increase in grant applications over last year.
The 170 grant recipients representing 126 schools received up to $1,000 to fund their park trip, with the Park Trust awarding a total of $177,000. This year’s program will benefit more than 8,600 students in grades pre-K through 12, representing 38 states, Washington, DC, and American Samoa. In some cases, more than one grade or classroom in a school applied for and received a grant.
This grants program is designed to be student-driven, and student-teacher collaboration is required. Students and teachers addressed the three pillars of the Park Trust’s Youth and Family Programs in their applications: education: how they will use their local park as an outdoor classroom; health and wellness: how they will take advantage of outdoor recreation activities; and stewardship: what project they will undertake to benefit the park and/or the environment directly.
Highlights of this year’s grant proposals:
- •125 public land sites will be visited, including national, state, and local parks and historic sites.
- •102 elementary school classrooms, 35 middle school classrooms, and 33 high school classrooms were awarded grants.
- •Trips will range from Red Rock State Park (AZ) to Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (HI) to Acadia National Park (ME).
For the complete list of 2025 Kids to Parks Day School Grants recipients, visit https://parktrust.org/2025-kids-to-parks-day-school-grants-program-grantees/.