Established in 2022, the James E. Cook Nature’s Classroom Grant is named in honor of Western National Parks Association’s Chief Executive Officer from 2011 to 2022. This grant is dedicated to enhancing access to national parks for underrepresented K-12 youth by providing essential funding for educators to bring the wonders of national parks into classrooms and offer transformative park experiences.
AWARD
Applicants may apply for one of the following funding awards:
- Up to $750 for a virtual classroom experience that connects the park ranger to the classroom via Zoom or another video conferencing tool.
- Up to $750 for an in-classroom experience that brings the park ranger to the school.
- Up to $2,000 for an in-park experience that takes the classroom to visit a park.
APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must:
- Create their experience with a WNPA-affiliated park.
- Have students who meet the WNPA definition of underrepresented youth: groups of individuals that have limited access to participation in outdoor recreation opportunities (e.g., hiking, biking, fishing, and skiing) or in-park interpretive/educational programs and may face barriers to participating in those activities (e.g., income, physical access, social economic factors).
Experiences must take place between March 10, 2025, and May 30, 2026. Funding expires May 31, 2026.
Awards are announced the week of Feb 10, 2025.
Applications must include:
- Park-themed learning outcome focused on the environment, history, or outdoor recreation/healthy lifestyles.
- Emphasis on park stewardship. Park stewards support ways to preserve and improve national parks for everyone. This can be a part of an activity or lesson at a park, in the classroom, or virtually.
While not a requirement for submission, priority will be given to applications from Title 1 schools.
ELIBILITY
- K-12 public, private, parochial, or home-school educators may apply.
- More than one application per school can be submitted. Only one application per class will be accepted.
QUALIFIED USE OF FUNDS
Funding can be used toward transportation costs, program fees, park entry fees, educational supplies, park-steward component supplies, materials for arts and crafts, scientific equipment for gathering nature-study data, and supplies for citizen-science projects; in addition, virtual classroom equipment rental fees and Zoom access, provided complimentary by WNPA if needed, supplies for pre-visit and/or post-visit activities, and other materials needed for a powerful learning experience will be considered.
Examples: Books, maps, science kits, materials for a letter-writing campaign or posters, bulletin board supplies, journals for each student to write about their park experience, fishing gear, camping gear, iPad, LCD projector/screen rental, trail camera (with advance permission from the park), microphones, and tripods.
Please read the 2025 Application Packet to learn more about recipient requirements and the application process.
SUBMISSION
All applications must be completed through the WNPA web portal.
TIMELINE
Submissions open on August 4, 2024.
Deadline for submission is December 31, 2024, end of day.
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR
Please address questions regarding this grant to Julie Tainter, business support manager, via email at julie.tainter@wnpa.org.
Visit https://wnpa.org/wnpa-grants/ to learn more!
- For questions regarding this resource, please contact Western National Parks Association.
- Contact Name: Julie Tainter
- Email Address: julie.tainter@wnpa.org