Empowering Youth with WildLink

Impact GrantConnect
Girl taking a break from NPF program activities
WildLink created long-lasting connections with underserved youth through backpacking trips in the wilds of Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks.

Students from five schools and youth organizations backpacked through the wilderness of Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. Thanks to an NPF Impact Grant, the students were able to participate in WildLink, a program designed to transform underserved youth through a series of free wilderness and community-based outdoor programs.

WildLink educates, inspires, and empowers youth to become constituents for national parks with long-lasting connections to the natural world.

impact grant In the Parks

Starry night in Acadia National Park
Impact Grant

Enjoying the Stars at Acadia National Park

Among the many aspects of natural beauty in Acadia National Park is the view of the starry night sky, which provides stunning views of the Milky Way...
Turret Arch and the Windows at Arches National Park
Impact Grant

Increasing Accessibility and Reducing Erosion

To increase accessibility opportunities within Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, the park reconfigured erosion control structures on a portion...
Boy studying lichens in Arches National Park
Impact Grant

Arches National Park "Field Trip in a Box"

Each spring, Arches National Park receives a multitude of requests from teachers for curriculum-based ranger programs that they are unable to fill...
Mountains at dusk on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Impact Grant

Honoring the Contributions of Those Who Built the Blue Ridge Parkway

A 2010 Impact Grant allowed Blue Ridge Parkway to conduct an oral histories project that captured an array of diverse experiences relayed by...
Big Bend National Park
Impact Grant

Connecting More People with Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park was awarded an Impact Grant allowing the park to purchase and install needed roadside signage for two areas of the park:...
An overcast day on the Great Egg Harbor River in New Jersey
Impact Grant

Propelling Ecological Field Trips in New Jersey

Using an NPF Impact Grant, local school groups conducted scientific fisheries sampling and data collection. Combined with service-based student...
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Man utilizing outdoor recycling station at Lassen Volcanic National Park

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Close up of gray wolf at Yellowstone National Park

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A park ranger gives a demonstration to a group of teachers and students

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A man holds a little while while pointing at lotus flowers

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A group of young service corps members walk on an elevated wooden path through a densely forested trail, all with yellow and orange hardhats on.

Communities & Workforce

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History & Culture

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grate along a trail

Parks of the Future

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Related Parks

Colorful sunset over cliff at Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

As one of America’s most popular national parks, Yosemite boasts some of the best views, hiking trails, and family vacation opportunities in the country.
snow covers giant sequoia trees

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Visit the world’s largest trees at Sequoia, America’s second national park. Kings Canyon is also filled with giants, from immense mountains to deep canyons.
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