An exciting new initiative aims to incorporate environmental education, both in and out of the classroom, into the last few days of the school year. ED OUT is an optimal partnership opportunity for many federal agencies, and they are eager to join a program that provides an exciting learning experience in the final days of the school year, introduces students to careers within their agency while building an appreciation for how those careers are important to the nation, challenges the trend toward sedentary, indoor lifestyles, and offers students concrete and stimulating ways to keep learning during the summer months and gain knowledge directly tied to the subsequent academic year's curriculum.

Nationally led by the U.S. Forest Service and the American Recreation Coalition but with a broad and growing team of partners, the ED OUT’s 2010 pilot highlights Prince William County Schools, Virginia’s second largest school system with 80,000 students and the state’s fastest growing system. The school district is located in an area with abundant federal, state and local recreation sites and is a national leader in remote learning and application of technology to classrooms. Since ED OUT is by design affordable and scalable, and addresses key needs of both federal agencies and education systems, we expect that the ED OUT model will be showing up in several large school districts across the country in 2011.

To read the solicitation letters sent out to various federal agencies and partners, see the links below:

• Bureau of Land Management
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Minerals Management Service
• National Aeronautic and Space Administration
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• National Park Service
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation
• Smithsonian Institution
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Department of Education
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• U.S. Marine Corps
• U.S. Public Health Service

Washington, D.C. – Americans celebrating Great Outdoors Month in June 2010 will have another exciting event to enjoy – National Marina Day. The Association of Marina Industries has announced that it will move its annual event to the second Saturday in June and take advantage of the strategic partnership offered by becoming part of Great Outdoors Month, which is coordinated by the American Recreation Coalition. Last year, President Obama and 46 state governors joined in issuing proclamations for Great Outdoors Month and convening various related activities, and that number is expected to grow further in 2010. National Marina Day will now help mark the start of the peak boating season and showcase summer-long opportunities for water fun, even for non-boat owners.

The new date for National Marina Day also will coincide with the third annual National Get Outdoors Day event on June 12. Begun in 2001 and observed until 2010 in August, National Marina Day celebrates and promotes recreational boating and the marina industry by inviting elected officials, civic leaders and the public to marinas across the nation for a day of fun and learning. Marina visitors see firsthand the important role marinas play as family-friendly gateways to boating and water fun and learn about the commitment of marina personnel to being stewards of the environment. These efforts are perfect components for the growing National Get Outdoors Day, which invites all visitors to public lands – and especially first-timers – to take advantage of the fun and healthy activities that public lands have to offer.