National Park Trust works every day to ensure all people can experience the endless possibilities of our nation’s parks. We do this by acquiring the missing pieces of our national parks and by engaging kids from every community across the nation in outdoor learning experiences.

The National Park Trust is looking for two pairs of college ambassadors to lead initiatives on their college campuses that increase outdoor recreation participation and stewardship among the campus community while also increasing access and awareness of parks and outdoor places. If you love getting outside, discovering parks, and connecting others to the outdoors, then the National Park Trust wants you to join our team.

Applications are being accepted from currently enrolled U.S. based college/university students who consider themselves outdoor enthusiasts and have the ability to rally their peers in support of outdoor activity and our nation's parks.

Leveraging school assets and school/community connections, each ambassador pair will be challenged to develop and implement a series of outdoor activities (starting in November 2021 through May 2022) that engages their campus community in outdoor recreation through a local park outing, a stewardship event, a fishing-themed outing, and social media outreach. Towards the end of academic year, ambassadors will help with the selection of the next ambassador (or pair) on their campus.

Application Deadline: July 2, 2021

Successful ambassador pairs:

• Have a passion for the outdoors and public lands & waters and a desire to inspire others to get outside.

• Have a social network and influence with the proven ability to motivate and mobilize peers on-land and online.

• Have a relationship with a school program, club, or academic department and can leverage the assets and infrastructure (i.e. gear, transportation, marketing) to support outdoor experiences.

Special consideration will be given to proposals that focus on engaging people of color, LGBTQIA communities, persons with disabilities, or other traditionally marginalized populations in outdoor recreation.

1. Proposals must include details on the following activities:

• One visit to a local park that raises the profile of the park with the campus community.

• One stewardship-focused outing that gets members of the campus community outside and actively participating in park stewardship.

• One fishing-themed outing (bonus points for fishing at a national park site).

• One social media campaign that inspires outdoor activity within the campus community and engages a diverse range of new campus and community partners. Innovation and reach are important! Campaigns must include multiple social channels including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using a special hashtag, so the Park Trust is able to track impact.

2. Each ambassador pair must provide a link to a short video (4 min. max) with their application that describes why the pair wants to be Park Trust College Ambassadors and what they love about parks and the outdoors. Let your personalities shine!

3. Each ambassador pair must have the written support from a school program, club, or academic department – endorsing you as their representative and agreeing to work with you on organizing and implementing ambassador outdoor outings. Download the School Support Document here. You will be asked to upload this document with a signature in the application.

Resources include:

• A $1,000 stipend for each ambassador AND $2,500 for each college/university to support ambassador outings throughout the academic year.

• Each school will receive a fishing gear bank for 15 people (poles and tackleboxes) to be used for the ambassador fishing outing. The school will keep the fishing gear for future school related outdoor activities.

• Each ambassador will receive a National Park Trust Ambassador t-shirt, a backpack and water bottle from Hydro Flask, National Park Trust swag, and more.

• Each ambassador pair will receive swag and materials for tabling events and outreach.

• Each ambassador pair will receive an Ambassador Communications Toolkit that will help with outreach and creating and implementing social media campaigns.

The College Ambassador Program will also offer career exposure and employment opportunities within the park and outdoor industries.