LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The National Park Service needs to broaden its appeal to millennials as it celebrates its 100th birthday this year, the director of the agency said Tuesday as he touted civil rights sites that aren’t traditionally viewed as parks to a younger audience.
Park Service Director Jon Jarvis spoke during a visit to the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, marking the formerly all-white institution that was desegregated by nine black students in 1957.
Part of the plan to attract more 18- to 35-year-olds to national parks, Jarvis said, includes a “Find Your Park” website and social media campaign that the service and the National Park Foundation launched last year to promote the parks and encourage people to share their experiences.
“We set a goal for our centennial, which is to create and connect with the next generation of park visitors, supporters and advocates,” Jarvis said. He says he’s tasked every park to “think about what they do on a day-to-day basis, in their existing operations and what more they could do that will achieve that goal. What are they doing to connect with the next generation?”