What comes to mind when you hear the words "national park"?
If it was the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite or another natural landscape in the western United States, the National Park Service (NPS) would like to offer some alternatives.
NPS formally launched its "Find Your Park" campaign on Thursday in New York City's Madison Square Park, complete with a green carpet and celebrity guests.
Actress @bellathorne finding her park! #findyourpark @GoParks #NationalParks pic.twitter.com/ra65qKlmht— Scott Eichinger (@eatwithme75) April 2, 2015
The event marks the beginning of a campaign that has been in the works for three years. The White House announced the initiative on Monday, with First Lady Michelle Obama acting as lead spokesperson. Americans are being urged to find "their" park among the more than 400 places designated as national parks across the United States. That includes Yellowstone and Yosemite, but also landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail and Alcatraz Island.
"When you ask the average American to name five national parks, they would all be in the West," Jonathan Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, told Mashable. "The whole concept is to redefine the word 'park.'"
And its redefinition campaign is specifically targeting millennials.
Despite high attendance numbers at national parks across the country, visitors tend to skew older and whiter. NPS wants to change that, and instill in this younger generation as much of a sense of pride in America's heritage as the "See the USA in Your Chevrolet" campaign did for baby boomers.
"You're going to see that word, "park," put on to scenes of places that you don't necessarily think of as a park," Jarvis said.
He added that NPS has a responsibility to "tell the full story of America."
"The campaign is really about deepening the public's understanding, not only of the National Park Service, but of their own history," Jarvis said. "And there's no better way to do that than the places."
My favorite national parks - Mount Rainier NPS & @GlacierNPS #FindYourPark #REIemployee pic.twitter.com/j20l47oHjB— MamaJ UJ (@mamaJ) April 2, 2015
#FindYourPark is being funded philanthropically and through corporate sponsorships.