For the school year of 2015 through 2016, parents of US 4th graders can apply for a free parks pass for the entire year through the ‘Every Kid in a Park’ program.

The program aims to ensure that children who are in the highly-moldable developmental age, between ages 9 and 11, begin to understand how the world around them works “from sea to shining sea”.

According to Every Kid in a Park, kids at this stage, they are receptive to new ideas and most likely to hold positive attitudes towards nature and the environment.

As part of President Obama’s commitment to protect America’s unique outdoor spaces, the Every Kid in a Park program ensures that all Americans have the opportunity to enjoy them.

The program works for all national parks and federal lands, but does not work with individual state properties.

Area parks that people with Every Kid in a Park pass can gain access to include Mount Rainier, the Olympic National Park and Forest, the North Cascades National Park and Mount St. Helens National Monument. The pass also works at federal parks across the nation.

For more information or to complete the application, please visit www.everykidinapark.gov.