New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
On July 15, 2011 from 5 – 10 p.m., New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park will host a free family event at Buttonwood Park celebrating the great outdoors. Great Outdoors Day will feature tent set-up demonstrations, a climbing wall, campfire storytelling, camping basics, and an outdoor movie showing of the film, “The Great Outdoors.” The park is collaborating with the City of New Bedford, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, New Bedford Parks, Recreation and Beaches, Third Eye Unlimited, and the Marion Institute to put on the event. Great Outdoors Day will take place in the field to the north of the warming house at Buttonwood Park, near the pond. Free parking is available at the warming house.
The idea for Great Outdoors Day came from participants in the park’s Youth Ambassador Program, an after-school and summer program for New Bedford teens who communicate local and national history through music, video, live performances, events, and social media outreach. They came up with the concept for the event as a way to introduce the outdoors to populations that may not typically visit natural resource areas or participate in outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, or climbing. By familiarizing people with some of the fundamentals to safely enjoying the millions of acres of public land available in the U.S. and beyond, the Youth Ambassadors hope that nature will seem less foreign to the many city residents that do not explore beyond the SouthCoast.
The Youth Ambassador Program represents the youth voice of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and participants have created songs and videos that introduce topics such as whaling and Underground Railroad history, as well as a song encouraging young people to “Get Outside and Move” which landed them a front page feature on Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move website www.letsmove.gov.
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1996 to help preserve and interpret America’s nineteenth century whaling industry. The park, which encompasses a 13-block National Historic Landmark District, is the only National Park Service area addressing the history of the whaling industry and its influence on the economic, social, and environmental history of the United States. The National Park visitor center is located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. It is open seven days a week, from 9 AM-5 PM, and offers information, exhibits, and a free orientation movie on the hour from 10 AM-3 PM. The building is accessible. Admission is free. For more information, go the website at www.nps.gov/nebe, or call 508-996-4095.
