The Great State Park Pursuit Is Returning For Third Year

HARTFORD — Governor M. Jodi Rell has announced The 2008 Great Park Pursuit: Connecticut’s State Park Family Adventure is returning for a third season along with other new programs being added to the state’s growing No Child Left Inside initiative.

“The Great Park Pursuit provides children with an opportunity to go outside and have fun,” Governor Rell said. “More than 1,000 families over the last two years have come to experience the excitement of the Park Pursuit, and we hope that this year’s contest will be bigger and better than ever. I encourage all families to start gearing up for this unique family outdoor adventure.

“Building on the success of the Great Park Pursuit, we will be adding new programs to reach even more families,” the governor continued. “We will have programs specifically tailored for families headed by grandparents and by older caregivers and we will have programs that introduce families to Connecticut’s farms. These new efforts will strengthen Connecticut’s reputation as a leader in the campaign to reconnect families with the outdoors.”

The Great Park Pursuit: The Connecticut State Parks Family Adventure is a central element of Connecticut’s No Child Left Inside initiative. The game will take Connecticut families to seven different state parks and forests this spring. Families can already register for the game NoChildLeftInside.org, even though the event doesn’t kick off until Saturday, May 10, at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison. The competition will conclude on June 21 with a day of activities followed by a family campout.

Some of the events in the contest will take place on specific Saturdays and will be guided by DEP staff. Other activities are “self-guided” and families in the contest can visit these locations anytime during the seven week contest period.

Clues to activities and locations of the contest will be available at the end of each week’s activity and on the No Child Left Inside website. At each location, teams will be asked to complete at least one activity that highlights the vast opportunities in Connecticut’s state parks and forests such as hiking, letterboxing, fishing, and more.

Participants will be eligible for prizes of outdoor equipment donated by local retailers. The contest is open to families – which must include one person 18 or over and one person under the age of 18. In the past Connecticut families consisted of grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews, and even Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops.

No Child Left Inside and The Great Park Pursuit have been well received, not only by Connecticut families, but throughout New England and the nation.

Massachusetts and New Hampshire are now offering their own Great Park Pursuits, Vermont is offering outdoor adventures under the No Child Left Inside umbrella, and Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Connecticut will be working together on a Fall Foliage Adventure.

“The No Child Left Inside initiative and The Great Park Pursuit contest are fun and exciting programs for our agency,” said DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy. “There is, however, a serious side to it all. Today’s youngsters do not have enough opportunities to get outside. We need to help make that happen.

“We also need to encourage youngsters to love the outdoors and our natural resources. If we fail in this mission, there will be few adults in the future willing to speak up and fight for our environment.”

“It has been inspiring the past two springs to see families enjoying the outdoors together during The Great Park Pursuit,” the commissioner added. “The success of the contest demonstrates that we can get people back outdoors and that we can interest people in our environment. Other states have watched what we are accomplishing. With the governor’s help, we are leading a national movement for families to reclaim the outdoors.”