This month, we are celebrating our National Parks and Recreation departments. These departments maintain our parks and preserving our natural environments. The outbreak of COVID-19 has changed how we can appreciate our national parks. That said, we can still admire their beauty.

The National Park Service has set up webcams in parks across the nation. Now, people can experience nature from the comfort and safety of their homes. National parks that are bringing the natural beauty to your devices include:

Channel Islands National Park – California

Virgin Islands National Park – U.S. Virgin Islands

Yellowstone National Park – Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming

Yosemite National Parks – California

Your group can learn about the parks through the webcams or visit the local park as a group. Either way, there are several conversations to be had with your group. Questions to ask your group members after viewing the webcams include:

This is a great way to come up with activities to do as a group. Examples can include picking up trash or adding recycling bins at your meetings.

To encourage your youth the appreciate our parks, complete our nature scavenger hunt!

This activity can be done as a group or individually. To complete this activity separately, text the scavenger hunt to your group members. Then, have them send you selfies as they complete the hunt. If your members can not go to a park, suggest that they search their neighborhoods instead.

Visit your local Department of Parks and Recreation website to learn more.

For more national park activities and games, go to the National Park Service website.