Connecticut’s Great Park Pursuit Returns
Voices – March 29, 2008
The Great Park Pursuit, Connecticut's state park family adventure, is returning for a third season.
"The Great Park Pursuit provides children with an opportunity to go outside and have fun," said Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
The Great Park Pursuit is a central element of Connecticut's No Child Left Inside initiative. The game will take Connecticut families to seven different state parks and forests this spring.
Families can register for the game beginning Tuesday, April 1, at www.nochildleftinside.org.
The Great Park Pursuit kicks-off Saturday, May 10, at Hammonasset Beach State Park, Madison, and concludes June 21 with a day of activities followed by a family campout.
Some of the events in the contest will take place on specific Saturdays and will be guided by DEP staff. Other activities are self-guided and families can visit these locations anytime during the seven-week contest period.
Clues to contest activities will be available at the end of each week's activity and on the No Child Left Inside website.
At each location, teams will be asked to complete at least one activity such as hiking, letterboxing, fishing and more. Participants will be eligible for prizes of outdoor equipment donated by local retailers.
The contest is open to families which must include one person older than 18 and one person under the age of 18.
New this Year
With the Department of Social Services Grandparents as Parents Support, the state will create the Across the Generations program, with chances for grandparents and older caregivers to experience the outdoors with their "kids."
Special activities will take place at Mansfield Hollow State Park, Mansfield, and West Rock Ridge State Park, Hamden.
The Take Back the Night program will let families safely explore the world that exists in state parks and forests after dark by offering evening explorations of the night sky, moonlight walks, owl prowls, etc.
Connecticut Farm Tours will take place in the fall of 2008 during a Great Farm Adventure when families can visit Connecticut farms. Those interested may look for sign-up soon at www.nochildleftinside.org.
Participants can access every Connecticut state park and forest on-line, learn about activities at each location and obtain driving directions; maps are available by visiting www.no childleftinside.org.
The Youth Outdoor Recreation Squad (YOUR Squad) includes seven members, aged 8 to 17, who will provide DEP with activity ideas for the Great Park Pursuit and spread the word about the importance of getting outside in their schools and communities.
Friends of Sherwood Island State Park provided funding to build a Nature Center at the park. Ready for use this summer, the new facility is adjacent to the nature trail, with access to the salt marsh and the beachfront.
The center offers an area for presentations, group activities, lectures and programs, and provides a place to pick up park maps, birding guides, trail marker and tree guides, and other program information.
In cooperation with YMCAs and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, free swim lessons will once again be offered at several state parks.
An Urban Fishing program will be provided. To celebrate the opening day of fishing season on Saturday, April 19, a number of water bodies will be stocked with trout.
The places to be stocked are: Bunnells Pond, Bridgeport; Black Pond, Meriden; Keney Park Pond, Hartford; Lake Wintergreen, New Haven; Mohegan Park Pond, Norwich; Wharton Brook Pond, Wallingford; Valley Falls Pond, Vernon; and Fulton Park Pond, Waterbury.
Instructors from DEP's Connecticut Aquatic Resources Education will visit classrooms to discuss water, fish and fishing prior to opening day of fishing.
Bank of America is once again donating $10,000 to the Connecticut Association of Foster and Adoptive Parents to offer park passes to approximately 2,500 foster families.
Public libraries across the state will have a Connecticut State Park & Forest day pass available for patrons.
Library patrons may borrow the pass and use it for free parking at state parks where parking fees are charged. The pass is also good for limited admission to any museum located at a state park.
There are 25 state parks and forests that will have guided programs, including Black Rock State Park, Watertown; Kellogg Environmental Center & Osborne Homestead Museum, Osbornedale State Park, Derby; Kettletown State Park, Southbury; Lake Waramaug State Park, Kent; Putnam Memorial State Park, Redding; Southford Falls State Park, Oxford, and Topsmead State Forest, Litchfield.
The DEP operates 106 state parks and oversees 32 state forests.
The lands include 21 swimming areas and beaches; 11 historic sites of significance; more than 800 miles of hiking trails; 230 lakes and ponds; 2,000 miles of rivers and streams; 1,300 campsites at 14 state parks; and more than 100 public boat launch areas.
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C&NN has designated April "Children & Nature Awareness Month." As part of this effort, we invited network members (like you) to list their April programs and share their strategies for building public awareness. Find out what's happening in your community on the C&NN Movement Map.
As part of our ongoing efforts to build the movement, the Children & Nature Network has published two new resources for leaders, organizers, and participants at the local, national, and international levels:
An annotated bibliography of 20 premier studies focusing on the children and nature connection.
