Senator Serrano Applauds Governor Cuomo & New York State Parks For Connecting Our Kids To The Great Outdoors

Yesterday, Senator Jose M. Serrano joined New York State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey at beautiful Fort Montgomery Historic Site and Bear Mountain State Park to announce the "Connect Kids to Parks" initiative. This program, in collaboration with the National Parks Service's Every-Kid-In-A-Park initiative, will provide free park access to 4th grade visitors and their families. In addition, the Connect Kids to Parks program will provide grants to allow school groups to cover transportation costs to encourage day trips to our wonderful state parks. 

"Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining my friend Commissioner Harvey and seventy-five fourth grade students at Bear Mountain State Park to announce the New York State Connect Kids to Parks initiative. This innovative initiative will encourage kids to visit their beautiful state parks, historic sites and public lands, and hopefully begin to embark on a life-long love for nature and the great outdoors.  

As the Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks & Recreation, I am a firm believer of the transformative effect that nature can have in the early development of future generations. Our state parks provide tremendous recreational and educational opportunities for communities across New York State. Providing access to these vital resources is especially important to communities that are faced with major health disparities, specifically the neighborhoods I represent in the 29th Senate District. Giving children access to green space and fresh air will help combat these serious health risks. More and more compelling research points to the strong positive connection between nature and our physical and mental health. The benefits of this program will be felt for generations, as more families pass down traditions that include camping, hiking and swimming trips to our state parks. 

My sincere thanks to Governor Andrew Cuomo and State Parks Commissioner Harvey for their steadfast commitment to providing children with increased access to our amazing parks system."

To learn more about participating in these wonderful programs, click here.

To see Governor Andrew Cuomo's Press Release, click here.