The National Park Service (NPS) announced that the centerpiece of its 2016 centennial will be a broad public engagement campaign to reintroduce the national parks and the work of the NPS to a new generation of Americans, inviting them to visit and get involved. The two-year effort will begin in 2015 and run throughout the NPS’ 100th anniversary year in 2016. Plans for the campaign, entitled “Find Your Park,” are underway in collaboration with the National Park Foundation (NPF), the official nonprofit partner of the NPS.
The NPS and the NPF will team up with partners to produce programs, events and activities that will drive broad awareness, deepen engagement and increase support for America’s national parks, the work of the NPS, and its partners. In addition to making all 401 national parks go-to destinations, the campaign will highlight the historic preservation and outdoor recreation work the NPS does with communities across the country and the value it brings to Americans every day.
“We are excited to use the centennial to invite every American to get to know their national parks and to understand how our one hundred years of conservation experience translates into on-the-ground revitalization projects in their neighborhoods,” said NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Our campaign will encourage Americans to ‘Find Your Park’ – to discover a personal connection to a place or a story that provides inspiration or enjoyment, and to then join us in our second century of stewardship of America’s most treasured places.”
“We are proud to support the National Park Service in this historic milestone,” said Neil Mulholland, NPF president and CEO. “Together, and in concert with many partners around the country, we will set the course for the next hundred years with an engaged citizenry who love their national parks and proudly show their support through visitation, volunteerism and philanthropy.”
Marking the first phase of the campaign, the NPS and NPF unveiled two new additions to the NPS brand family. Building off its iconic arrowhead, the new graphic identities highlight the partnership between the NPS and its Congressionally chartered nonprofit partner, the NPF. The arrowhead will continue to serve as the official seal of the NPS.
In addition, the NPS and NPF both launched centennial web pages, the start of a robust communications effort that will kick into high-gear in early 2015 across all digital platforms to invite engagement in centennial activities.
The NPF has retained Grey New York to develop the multi-channel public engagement campaign, which includes the creation of strategic partnerships with media, corporations and talent.
To help guide centennial efforts, Jarvis asked the National Park System Advisory Board to create a Centennial Advisory Committee made up of 31 members representing the broad spectrum of NPS partners and stakeholders. The committee is chaired by Gretchen Long.
For more information about the NPS Centennial, visit www.nps.gov/centennial or www.nationalparks.org/centennial.