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Community Corner

Giving the Gift of Nature To Hundreds of Area Children

The Dominion Foundation has awarded $10,000 to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Foundation in support of the Foundation’s Field Trip Grant Program at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park. This successful program awarded grants to 11 regional elementary and middle schools (a total of approximately 750 participants), which funded a field trip to Hemlock Overlook Regional Park in Clifton during the 2012-2013 school year. The Dominion Foundation’s generous $10,000 grant will support the 2014 Field Trip Grant Program.

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, in cooperation with Adventure Links, the operator of Hemlock Overlook, offers a variety of programs for school-aged children focused on team development and environmental education. The field trip grants are part of the Nature Nuts Program, an effort that seeks to provide a meaningful outdoor experience to half a million children over the next five years throughout Northern Virginia.

“Over the last two years, Dominion Foundation has generously given $30,000 to help get children more connected with nature through the Nature Nuts Program,” said Brian Knapp, NVRPA Chairman. “We are grateful for their support, and feel our community is stronger because of it.” The Dominion Foundation has been a funder of these efforts since 2009.

Over 800,000 children a year participate in a meaningful outdoor experience in a Northern Virginia Regional Park. Children are provided these experiences through family and youth group activities including camping, hiking, boating, as well as nature focused summer camps at Potomac Overlook and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. The Hemlock Field Trip Grant Program aids schools with a high percentage enrollment in the National School Lunch Program, schools that may not have the means to afford a nature-based educational experience. The program at Hemlock features lessons on team building and environmental education, as well as the highlight of the program, the zip line experience. Children gain confidence, communication skills and a greater appreciation for the natural world around them.

“This grant from Dominion will help hundreds of children have a positive experience that they will always remember. This kind of reconnection with nature can help children learn more and feel better about themselves. I can’t think of a more meaningful gift to give,” said Paul Gilbert, NVRPA Executive Director.

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Foundation is currently accepting applications for the 2014 Field Trip Grant Program through January 17th, 2014. For more information visit, www.novaparks.com

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