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DECEMBER 2007 EDITION
Season's greetings and welcome to the holiday edition
of eGoParks! We hope that this edition finds
you in good spirits and ready to get out and celebrate
the season with family and friends in America's national
parks.
In this season of giving, we want to thank you for your
support. We are inspired by your generosity and encourage
you to continue to help the National
Park Foundation preserve and protect our country's
great treasures in the coming year.
Donate Today.
Thank you, and best wishes from NPF.
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The
National Christmas Tree sheds holiday light
on the White House |
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HOLIDAY
IN THE NATIONAL PARKS
If you were tuned in to almost any news station
on November 30, then you heard the news. Our Honorary
Chair, Mrs. Laura Bush, unveiled a plan to honor
our national parks by making them the chosen theme
for the White House holiday decorations!
Each park was sent a blank bulb and asked to decorate
it to represent their park. The official White
House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room is adorned
with hundreds of these handmade ornaments depicting
national parks - each designed by an artist selected
by the park. To view all the ornaments online
Click Here. |
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Before you ask, this collection isn't for sale.
After the holidays, it will be sent to the National
Archives for safe keeping.
In other holiday news, December 2007 marks the 84th year
that the President of the U.S. has kicked off the
holidays by celebrating the lighting of the National
Christmas Tree on the Ellipse next to the White
House.
The National Park Foundation is proud to sponsor
the annual lighting of the National Christmas Tree,
an unbroken tradition begun in 1923 when President
Calvin Coolidge lit the first tree in President's
Park on behalf of all Americans.
"This
is the first year in history that all the holiday
decorations in the White House have been decorated
to celebrate our national parks from sea to shining
sea," said Vin Cipolla, president and CEO of
the National Park Foundation. "Across America,
every day, our national parks celebrate our nation
– bringing families together,
teaching and inspiring our children, and reminding
us of the incredible history and remarkable blessings
this country enjoys."
The tree-lighting ceremony was the highlight of
the night that featured music from a selection
of onstage performers. You can watch the festivities
online throughout the season at www.nationalparks.org.
Best of all, this year's National Christmas Tree
was greener than ever. For the first time the Washington
National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse was illuminated
with LED energy-saving lights manufactured by GE
Consumer & Industrial.
If you can't visit Washington D.C. this holiday
season, take time in your travels to be refreshed
and inspired by one of our nation's 391 national
parks. |
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COMMEMORATING COURAGE
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On December 4, children from
47 U.S. states, Australia, Canada and Switzerland
participated in a simultaneous visit to Little
Rock Central High School National Historic Site
– without leaving their own schools. The
adventure, "Commemorating Courage: The Nine Who
Made a Difference" is the newest virtual expedition
in the popular Electronic Field Trip program.
Available to millions of children throughout the
U.S. and abroad, the Ball State University Electronic
Field Trip program works with the national parks
through a unique partnership with the National
Park Foundation, receiving additional support
from the Best Buy Children's Foundation.
The trip to Little Rock was a live interactive
60-minute broadcast that took students—
virtually—to Central High
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The
Little Rock Nine with Daisy Bates, former
president of the NAACP (standing, second
from right) |
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School, a national park, and into the lives of the
"Little Rock Nine." They learned about
the struggles those brave students endured while
the country fought over desegregation. Kids also
had the opportunity to call in or e-mail questions
to the show's host and special guests, making it
a truly interactive experience.
Spirit Trickey, Park Ranger and daughter of one
of the Little Rock Nine, hosted the event while
Ernest Green, a Trustee of the African American
Experience Fund of the National Park Foundation,
and Minnijean Brown Trickey, members of the Little
Rock Nine, made special guest appearances.
To learn more about the Electronic Field Trip Program
and view past EFTs,
Click Here.
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LAST CHANCE TO ENTER THE 2007 SHARE THE EXPERIENCE
PHOTO CONTEST!
If you were among the thousands gathered in President's
Park for the National Christmas Tree Lighting or
if you captured a moment from any other park this
year, send us your photos! The 2007 Share the Experience
Photo Contest will be coming to an end on December
31st but there's still time to enter and win fantastic
prizes like a Ford Escape Hybrid, a vacation to
a national park of your choice and a Federal Recreation
Lands Pass!
To enter your favorite photos, view other entries
and review official contest rules, Click
Here. |
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And the winners are...
1st Prize – Ramona Leanna
Watson (11) of Flint, MI
2nd Prize – Liz Austin
(10) of San Diego, CA
3rd Prize – Jonathan Petrosino
(11) of Albany, NY |
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CONGRATULATIONS, JUNIOR RANGER ESSAY CONTEST
WINNERS! |
"Why are national parks important, and what
can we do together and as individuals to preserve
them?" This was the topic on December 11th when
the National Park Foundation president and CEO,
Vin Cipolla, announced the winners of the 2007 Junior
Ranger Day nationwide essay contest.
The Junior
Ranger Essay Contest, launched during Junior Ranger Day
(April 28, 2007), received more than 100 entries from
across the nation and served as an exciting opportunity
for the National Park Foundation and park lovers from
across the nation to receive advice from young park stewards. |
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"We are thrilled with the enormous
interest in this essay contest, and particularly with
the great ideas offered in the winners' essays,"
said Cipolla. "The National Park Foundation is
continually working on finding new ways to connect with
kids and to teach them to love, appreciate and enjoy
the parks, so that they will help protect these special
places in the future."
To view the winning essays,
Click Here.
Stay tuned to eGoParks for information on next
year's contest! |
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PARKS GIFTS
Outdoor enthusiasts can now own a piece of
America with America's National Parks Edition of MONOPOLY™!
From Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California
to Acadia on the coast of Maine, players will experience
the wonder of national parks this holiday season. Order Here.
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Make a contribution of $50 or more to the National Park
Foundation by January 1, 2008 and receive the next issue
of Parks magazine!
Donate
Today.
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AND FINALLY, A QUICK QUIZ!
But first, the results from last month. When asked what
rugged and remote national park, spanning two states,
is home to the distant cousins of those the park is named
for, Freda Scatchard from Norristown, PA. correctly answered
– Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah.
For bonus points, Freda told us that the dinosaurs' distant
cousins, the lizards, still live in the park today.
Way to go, Freda!
And now, this month's challenge...
Name the national park that has an abundant underground
collection of "Christmas trees."
Send your answers to goparks@nationalparks.org |
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