Nat'l Park Service Offers Free Sandy Hook 4th Grade Field Trips

HIGHLANDS, NJ — If you're a fourth-grade teacher or the parent of a fourth grader, the National Park System wants you to know that all fourth graders are admitted free into all U.S. national parks and public lands.

And that especially applies right here in our own backyard at Sandy Hook, which is part of Gateway National Recreation Area. Gateway also includes the natural area around Jamaica Bay in Queens and Great Kills/Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island.

Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, Gateway will offer free field trip programs to all fourth-grade classes. So if you're a teacher, here are the following field trips Gateway is offering for the 2019-2020 school year: (Spots are filling up quickly, so book as soon as you can.)

Marsh and Ocean Environments OR
Lenape American Indians and the Jersey Shore
Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Presented by New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium
Use a seine net to observe and learn about local marine species and human impact on our shorelines. Or, learn how native Lenape used the natural resources still present on Sandy Hook to survive and thrive. E-mail dburich@njseagrant.org to book today.

Urban Soils Keepers
Jamaica Bay: Floyd Bennett Field
Presented by Urban Soils Institute
Urban soils are everywhere! Become a soil scientist and find out the secrets of the soil; how they form, how they are alive, and how they support everything from the natural world to our built environment. E-mail george@usi.nyc to book today.

Project Birdwing
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Presented by Gateway National Recreation Area
Learn about aerodynamics and the relationship between wing adaptations and habitat. Build models, observe birds in their natural environment, and share your knowledge by creating a field guide! E-mail GATE_Education@nps.gov to book today.

Coastal Habitat Heroes

Throughout Jamaica Bay and Rockaway
Presented by Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy
Jamaica Bay's native coastal habitats, and the plants and animals they support, become your classroom as students learn about threats posed by marine debris, single-use plastics, and micro plastics in waterways. E-mail shanna@jbrpc.org to book today.

This is all part of the Every Kid Outdoors program offered by the federal park service, and is valid for the next seven years. All fourth graders are admitted free to any national park through 2026.