The New Mexico State Parks Division is accepting applications from public schools and teachers for grants up to $15,000 to help pay for buses or other forms of transportation to get students out to state parks. Scott Brocato spoke with State Parks Director Toby Velásquez about the Kids in Parks Grants and why he feels they’re important for kids.
Scott Brocato:
Talk about your duties as state parks director.
Toby Velásquez:
So as state parks director, I oversee the administration and operation of New Mexico State Park System across the state of New Mexico, which is comprised of 35 state parks found in 23 of 33 counties. Our New Mexico State Parks have been around since 1933. We're enjoying our 92nd year of being a state agency here in our great Land of Enchantment. And our focus is outdoor education, outdoor recreation, as well as just general improvement to quality of life by being in the outdoors.
Scott Brocato:
Which leads us to our main topic today: the Kids in Parks Grants. Talk about that.
Toby Velásquez:
The Kids in Parks Grant program has been around since 2007. It's something that we're very proud of. Since then, it's been a strong partnership with the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center, which is a center that operates as part of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. And we've had a beautiful relationship with them. They help us execute this grant. But the focus of the Kids in Parks grant is primarily to get kids in the outdoors in their state parks, connecting them with their state parks and natural and cultural resources.
Scott Brocato:
And why is that important?
Toby Velásquez:
We believe that it's a quality of life contribution. It improves all of our quality of life to get out to a state park. But more importantly, it brings kids out from behind their screens, gets them into the outdoors, helps them understand who they are, where they're from, It gives historical and cultural perspectives, as well as a connection to the natural environment that we have in our great Land of Enchantment. So we believe that it's a quality of life improvement.
It also gives them opportunities to have a science-based curriculum and instruction provided by their teachers and administrators out in a natural environment. We're happy to be the host of that program in state parks so that kids can learn in the outdoors. And hopefully after they have that experience, they're going to come back because they want to have more experiences in the outdoors and their state parks are waiting for them.
Scott Brocato:
And that just applies for New Mexico state parks, correct? The grants?
Toby Velásquez:
That's correct. This is a Kids in Parks program that specifically sponsored by and coordinated with the New Mexico State Parks. And so all the transportation grants that get paid for are to get kids and their educators out into the nearest state parks or state parks of interest to their local public school or public charter school.
Scott Brocato:
And who can apply and where can they apply?
Toby Velásquez:
It's open to public schools and public charter schools. We have two different ways to get there. You can go to the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center website. You can go to our State Parks website and engage that way. The current grant is available for application through the 14th of November, so there's still a lot of time. And if there's ever any questions, they can reach out. Our contact information is provided on our website, both websites, so we can follow up and make sure that they feel comfortable in what they may be committing to.
But we really want educators to feel comfortable with the process. Last year, over 350 students engaged in the program through this transportation grant. So it's something that we're very proud of. We want to amplify it to those school districts, both public school districts and public charter school districts that are interested in doing this.
You know, the interesting thing about this is that New Mexico state parks occur throughout the throughout the state. And so there's one near them. And there's one near us. And we want to make sure that people know that they're there and they're waiting for them. And there's just so much to learn, experience, explore, and enjoy at a New Mexico State Park.
Scott Brocato:
And final question: on a different note, how has the ongoing government shutdown affected New Mexico State Parks?
Toby Velásquez:
Right now, it has not impacted us. We have, as you can imagine, multiple federal partnerships. Many of the properties that we manage are federal properties. But at least to this point, we're operating as usual. We do have winter seasonal closures, especially up north that are normal. They're annual closures. But other than that, we are unimpacted by operations and administration of state parks.
However, if they prolong, there could be impacts on some of the federal grants and funds that we rely on to continue with our work, so we're hoping that that doesn't happen. But right now your New Mexico State Parks are open and operating as normal.
Scott Brocato:
Toby Velasquez, thank you for speaking with KRWG Public Media.
Toby Velásquez:
Thank you so much for having me and have a great day, and enjoy your New Mexico State Parks!
