INDIANAPOLIS – Students at 44 Indiana K-12 schools. including those in Whiteland and Shelbyville, will experience the outdoors this academic year thanks in part to a grant program that supports field trips to Indiana State Park properties.
As part of the Discover the Outdoors Field Trip Grant Program, Whiteland Community High School and Shelbyville High School students received money for a trip to Brown County State Park.
The program is available for all K-12 schools. It is administered through the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation (INRF), the supporting nonprofit of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The grants, up to $250 per school, fund transportation costs, program fees, and classroom supplies related to preparation or follow-up for the field trips.
An estimated 3,432 students will benefit from the grant program in the 2023-2024 school year using the $10,520 the grant program expects to distribute this school year. On their field trips, students will participate in a guided hike or talk with an interpretive naturalist at a designated property to learn about Indiana’s fish, forests, wildlife, natural habitats, and conservation.
Since the program’s inception in 2013, it has awarded 220 grants worth more than $56,500 in overall funding, providing the opportunity for approximately 20,400 students to visit state park properties at less cost to the schools and students.
