For the second year in a row, the Mount Vernon Parks Foundation has organized an educational outreach program that sent 450 Mount Vernon area 5th Graders to Little Mountain Park for a day of physical activity and appreciation of our prized local natural resource that is Little Mountain Park.
The kids were chaperoned on a hike to the top that began at the south side parking lot, heading out up Down South to Upper Surfer's Way, across to Huff & Puff, then up Sidewinder, and finally the viewpoints at the summit. That’s approximately a 3-mile one way jaunt! Along the way there were opportunities for learning and discussion of the natural surroundings. Each child was supplied with an educational booklet fashioned by educators serving on MVPF's board in order to make specific curriculum connections to the Little Mountain Park. Included are facts and activities for the kids to explore including measurement activities, heart rate monitoring, listening activities, drawing, science, history and poetry.
A special thanks to Skagit Regional Health for their financial support of this program. With their help, MVPF was able to reimburse schools the cost of busing and for a substitute PE teacher, so that the regular PE teacher could join the group for the day.
It is well documented that physical activity and being outdoors has positive health benefits for people. We at MVPF feel great about promoting this kind of activity and exposing youngsters to the joys and benefits of being active and enjoying nature. Little Mountain Park is such a beautiful resource for our community! We look forward to bringing the next round of 5th graders up there next year!!