The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area recently received a $7,000 grant for transportation funding from the National Park Foundation. The grant will allow about 700 students and family members to experience a ranger-led program in the Santa Monica Mountains.
“Our park is unique in that we’re in the backyard of millions of Southern Californians, but of course not all local residents have the resources or ability to come and visit us,” Lorenza Fong, acting superintendent for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said. “This grant provides bus transportation for residents in park-poor communities to experience the beauty and recreational value of the Santa Monica Mountains.”
With support from Disney, the National Park Foundation’s Ticket to Ride program funds transportation, in-park educational programming and meals that make national park field trips possible for schools across the country. As part of the new program, SMMNRA hosted community groups from Compton and East Los Angeles earlier this month. The group of approximately 25 first-time visitors took part in a birding hike, an obstacle course and a ranger-led tour of the new visitor center.