tor of a trail organization, you can help make the connections between health care providers and schools to public lands in your communities. You can align or coordinate with existing NPS centennial events or create your own. For example, American Hiking Society is promoting this year’s National Trails Day theme as “Find Your Trail.” The Adventure Cycling Association is promoting a new national “Bike to Your Park Day.” Others are promoting people-powered park or open street day events to celebrate pedestrian and bike access to our parks and communi- ties. There are so many opportunities to celebrate the legacy and future of parks and trails— and the centennial is a unique opportunity on which to build local and community support and awareness of trails, parks, and public lands of all kinds. We invite you to do so! Trails organizations, partners,


researchers, and coalitions are playing an important role in giving voice to  and parks provide. Especially in how trails help meet health, conservation, recreation, transportation, educa- tion, and economic needs. Trails and parks advocates and managers should be proactive in reaching out to and informing teachers, parents, citizens, leaders, and decision makers about  as a key part of solutions for meeting today’s problems. The NPS centen- nial is an opportunity to make that case and reinforce postive messages and build broad constituency through events, media promotion, volunteer and public service opportunities, and educational activities and programs. The National Park Service—


through all its 410 parks, the National Scenic, Historic, and Recreational Trails systems, and its many commu- nity assistance, youth, and heritage programs— invites you to join us in the centennial celebrations of 2016. Most importantly, we want and need your help in reaching out to tomor- row’s park stewards to reintroduce the National Park Service to all Americans  their own way— and that will likely be on a trail!


Above: Rock Creek Trail in Washington, DC (photo by Stuart Macdonald) Below: Kayaking through the Black Canyon Wilderness Area, Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NPS photo by Christie Vanover)


Celebrate the centennial


Visit the following websites for information on how you may connect with and help celebrate the centennial:


Every Kid in a Park: www.everykidinapark.gov


Next Century for Parks: www.nextcenturyforparks.org


Find Your Park: www.findyourpark.com


Play, Learn, Serve, Work: www.doi.gov/youth/about


National park service conservation and outdoor recreation efforts:


www.nps.gov/rtca www.nps.gov/nts www.nps.gov/wsr www.nps.gov/watertrails www.nps.gov/urban www.nps.gov/youthprograms


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