Climate Change Resilience: Healthy, native habitats are our park’s best buffer against climate change impacts. Help us control invasive, nonnative plants and insects that threaten to weaken our forests. Be part of a multi-partner, 3 million acre initiative with your park at its center. Bear Boxes: Bears eat a wide variety of foods… including your peanut butter sandwich. That’s dangerous for you and the bear. Help us install bear-proof food storage boxes at our campsites so that our bear population remains healthy. Ginseng Poaching: This rare native plant is heavily poached within Shenandoah and sold in overseas markets for its medicinal value. We need your help to develop a comprehensive program to prevent illegal ginseng poaching.
Trail Maintenance: Your park is a hiker’s paradise. Help us maintain the 500 miles of trails by supporting our trails crew, and a new Trail Maintenance Volunteer Coordinator who will leverage thousands of hours of untapped volunteer service to the park. Science Teacher Workshop: By connecting teachers to Shenandoah National Park, you’re also connecting their students. Your philanthropy supports earth science teacher workshops in the park and Teacher-Ranger-Teacher, which turns classroom educators into Park Rangers for the summer, and back into inspired teachers come fall.
Edge Fund: Activities along the park boundary can affect wildlife and viewsheds from within the park. Your gift to the Edge Fund allows us to make strategic investments outside the park—like assisting with conservation easements—that will better protect what’s inside the park.
Ticket to Ride: Let’s not let field trip costs create a barrier to bringing children to Shenandoah National Park! Your gift defrays transportation expenses, allowing thousands of students to visit the park every year.
Boulder Cabin: This cabin was part of the original Skyland resort and lies within the Skyline Drive Historic District. In order to understand how we might proceed with restoring it, we must fund architectural site work to reveal the extent of decline and the potential for restoration.
Artist in Residence: Artists have always been inspired by nature. And art is a wonderful way to connect people to their national parks. Help us maintain Shenandoah’s Artist in Residence program so that we can inspire people from around the world through Shenandoah’s sights, sounds and sensory experiences.
Play, Learn, Serve Shenandoah’s future lies with the next generation. Your philanthropy creates a spectrum of experiences for young people to play outside, learn about nature and history, serve the park through volunteering, and envision potential employment in the conservation field. Play, Learn, Serve includes: Step Up to the Great Outdoors, a partnership with Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters that introduces underserved children to Shenandoah in three steps: a day in their neighborhood with Park Rangers, a day trip to the park and an overnight camping trip.
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l Service Learning Camps bring high school students for week-long sessions that include hiking, camping, mentoring from Park Rangers, and a service project. l Shenandoah National Park Internships provide outstanding opportunities for college students and graduates to gain multi-disciplinary experiences working side-by-side with Park Rangers.
Research Grant: Shenandoah is a premier living laboratory. You can support our annual research grants that enhance our understanding of its 200,000 acres. Scientists and academics from across the country compete for a chance to study here and have produced excellent data on topics that range from pollinators to water quality to forest health. Robert Jacobsen Employee Development Fund: Named for a beloved former superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, this fund allows park employees to pursue training in career-enhancing areas like fire management, law enforcement and leadership. Our goal is to ensure that the men and women of Shenandoah National Park maintain excellence in their fields. Expert in Residence Fund: Shenandoah National Park has a deep bench of expertise within its workforce. Our park also benefits from the expertise of conservation professionals and historic preservation specialists from other institutions. Your philanthropy enables your park to call in the “outside experts” when necessary, to enhance the impact of our work. The Shenandoah National Park Trust is the official philanthropic partner of Shenandoah National Park and an official partner of the National Park Service. Photos used with NPS permission.