WASHINGTON —  Next school year, every fourth grader is getting a free family park pass into federal lands and waters for an entire year.

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell helped promote the “Every Kid in a Park” initiative on June 4 by going rock climbing with some area third graders who soon will be able to take advantage of the opportunity.

Children from  Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Brookland, Northeast D.C. have been participating in the National Park Trust – Buddy Bison Environmental Education Program since 2009.

“What we do is we take kids outside, so they can use parks as outdoor classrooms,” says National Park Trust Executive Director Grace Lee.

“We want to cultivate that next generation of outdoor enthusiasts, park stewards and people who are going to be out here to enjoy these places for their health and wellness as well as for their education,” Lee says.

Also in attendance: Professional rock climber Tommy Caldwell who recently made history by free-climbing the 3,000-foot Dawn Wall of El Capitan at Yosemite National Park.

“I feel like today’s world is disconnecting with nature,” Caldwell says. That’s why he’s helping promote “Every Kid in a Park.”

“It can be this incredibly life-invigorating, life-energizing force being out in nature and doing things like rock climbing and canoeing and hiking,” Caldwell says.