FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 12, 2010
Posted: 8/17/2010
Upcoming Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus Trip in Maine with Boston Youth
There will be a change of scenery for 12 Boston area youth as they go on a photographic journey to Acadia National Park in Maine this summer– a first
for many of them.
The students, who will be armed with digital cameras, are participating in the Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus program, which gives young environmental
leaders (Udall scholarship alumni) the opportunity to pass their knowledge to participants who might never have seen a national park or spent time exploring
a wilderness area.
Parks in Focus connects underserved youth to nature through the art of photography by introducing local Boys & Girls Club members to some of
the most beautiful natural landscapes in the country. The Udall Foundation not only provides digital cameras to the young participants to use and keep, but
also trains trip leaders to execute active, week-long, learning-intensive outings that explore national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands.
The trip will take 12 girls from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston on an active, nature-centered, adventure of Acadia National Park from August 16-20.
The group will also participate in a half day service project at the park.
The Udall Foundation trip leaders are Jessie Comba, Udall Scholar 2008, Tara Fortier, Udall Scholar 2007, and Molly Burke, Udall Scholar 2009. The participants
also will be accompanied by representatives from the Boys & Girls Clubs.
The Udall Foundation was created initially to honor the legacy of the late Morris Udall, who represented Southern Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives
for 30 years. The late Stewart Udall, who also represented Southern Arizona in Congress from 1955 to 1961, was Morris Udall’s older brother. The two brothers were
leaders in many policy areas, including natural resources and the environment and Native American issues. They worked together on many initiatives while Stewart Udall
was Secretary of the Interior and Morris Udall a member of Congress. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to honor Stewart Udall through the foundation, renaming
it the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.
The Udall Foundation carries on their legacies through a number of programs, among them, education programs designed to foster a passion and commitment for the
nation’s natural resources in the next generation. Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus is one such program; it speaks directly to the first objective of the
Foundation’s enabling legislation: “To increase the awareness of the importance of, and promote the benefit and enjoyment of, the nation’s natural resources.”
The program began in Arizona with the Tucson Boys & Girls Clubs but has since expanded to support trips with Boys & Girls Clubs in California, Georgia, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Washington. Since the program’s inception, approximately 300 youth have completed the Parks in Focus program.
For additional information about this release, contact Libby Washburn at 505.332.9079 or washburn@udall.gov. For specific information
about the Parks in Focus program, contact Melissa Millage at 520.901.8562 or millage@udall.gov.
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