First Bloom

“My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth.”

–Lady Bird Johnson

Overview

First Bloom began as a tribute to Lady Bird Johnson with the goal of giving children a sense of pride in our natural resources, and encouraging them to be good stewards of our beautiful country. It has quickly blossomed into a national initiative that serves children and families from urban neighborhoods who are generally unaware of the national parks and left completely out of the conservation movement. First Boom facilitates the most important kind of outreach by helping kids and their parents and mentors come together to care for our heritage and ensure a brighter future for our national parks.

First Bloom was launched in 2007 by the Foundation’s Honorary Chair Mrs. Laura Bush, at the historic National Park Foundation Leadership Summit on Partnership and Philanthropy in Austin, Texas. The program connects the legacy of two great Texan First Ladies – Lady Bird Johnson, whose conservation leadership helped establish the green movement in our country, and Mrs. Laura Bush, who shares Mrs. Johnson’s love of native plants and wildflowers. Since its inception, Mrs. Bush has helped introduce the First Bloom program to children and communities across the country.

Through First Bloom, the National Park Foundation brought together park rangers, Boys and Girls Club mentors and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center experts to create transformative experiences that help kids experience and connect with nature in the national parks and their own backyards. With an initial grant of $1 million secured by ARAMARK through the Yawkey Foundation, First Bloom was introduced to five major metropolitan areas in the spring of 2008:

First Bloom kids have had the opportunity to create new gardens at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, restore gardens near Independence Hall in Philadelphia, plant native flowers in New York City’s Battery Park, to “Shake a Shrub” and nurture seeds in ecotainer™ cups at the first designated First Bloom school in Dallas, re-introduce native plants to an area of Everglades National Park overrun by invasive plants, and plant hundreds of black-eyed susans at the annual White House Garden Tours.

In the fall of 2009, First Bloom will expand to three new communities:

  • Boston, MA
  • Paige, AZ
  • San Antonio, TX
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