Las Vegas students go from ‘Concrete to Canyon’ in Zion National Park

Concrete to Canyons program brings Las Vegas students to Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, circa September 2014 | Photo courtesy of Zion National Park, St. George News

SPRINGDALE – In the program “Concrete to Canyons” over a five-week period in September and October, 110 elementary students from Las Vegas are participating in a three-day, two-night experience at Zion National Park. The program is designed to introduce urban youth to the wilderness and recreation opportunities in public lands. For most participants, these trips will be their first time hiking and camping.

Concrete to Canyons program brings Las Vegas students to Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, circa September 2014 | Photo courtesy of Zion National Park, St. George News
Concrete to Canyons program brings Las Vegas students to Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, circa September 2014 | Photo courtesy of Zion National Park, St. George News

“We are so excited to be having these students here. It is great to see their faces experience the park for the first time,” Zion National Park Superintendent Jack Burns said. “The students might even have the opportunity to view the Milky Way, a sight not commonly seen from the well-lit streets of Las Vegas. It is a good place to think about the bigger, wider world.”

Prior to coming out to the park, rangers visited the students’ classes several times, met with their parents and taught them a diversity of things from the animals that call Zion home to how to set up a tent.

Eight teachers from Rainbow Dreams Academy and André Agassi College Preparatory Academy, located just blocks from each other on West Lake Mead Boulevard in Las Vegas, also participated in the first “Concrete to Canyons” Teacher Institute. The group of teachers learned more about the park’s natural and cultural resources while also participating in some of the same activities and camping situations that their students will experience.

After a drizzly but gorgeous hike, Antanus Pullum, a dean at Agassi Prep, said, “I feel like I’ve been robbed; this has been in my backyard my whole life and I didn’t even know it.”

Zion National Park is located approximately three hours from Las Vegas via charter bus. After the students set up their tents and camp, park rangers lead them in a series of activities, including canyon building, animal track investigation, ecosystem exploration and small group hikes in the park’s wilderness. They also participate in evening programs, including night hikes and astronomy.

The 2014 “Concrete to Canyons” program was made possible by funding from the National Park Foundation, a grant then matched by the Zion National Park Foundation and the André Agassi Foundation. Zion was one of 39 national parks selected to receive a 2014 “America’s Best Idea” grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks. The aim of the grant is to engage diverse audiences in meaningful and relevant ways with national parks and to inspire participants to become stewards of America’s national park system.

Additionally, this program would not have been possible without the help of staff from Lake Mead National Recreational Area and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.

After the overnight trip to Zion, the students will perform a day of stewardship activities closer to home at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and also make a presentation to their school and local communities about their experiences in the program. According to the statement released by Zion National Park, project partners hope that this will be the first of many experiences in national parks. To continue facilitating outdoor experiences, Zion will host family campouts for participants and their families in summer 2015.

Resources

Related posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

 

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

1 Comment

  • Mike October 2, 2014 at 2:52 pm

    “I feel like I’ve been robbed; this has been in my backyard my whole life and I didn’t even know it”

    It would worry me if a dean at my child’s prep school was so naive.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.