In celebration of National Park Week a grant from Disney will allow 60,000 kids to explore America's National Parks through its "Ticket to Ride" program...

In celebration of National Park Week, the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund presented a $500,000 grant last week to help connect kids to nature through America’s national parks.

Disney’s investment will go specifically to the National Park Foundation’s “Ticket to Ride” program, which helps students explore the outdoors by providing field trips to national parks around the country.

Now in its second year with continued support from the Disney fund, “Ticket to Ride” will provide more than 60,000 students the transportation, in-park educational programming, and meals that make up great field trips for school kids across the country.

Through these field trips -- often the student's first experience in a national park -- they'll discover their natural, cultural and historical heritage, participate in volunteer and service-learning activities, and most importantly, begin a lifelong relationship with their national parks.

“The more kids are exposed to the great outdoors, the more they appreciate and understand the beauty and value of our natural resources, from our national parks to our own backyards,” said Leslie Goodman, senior vice president of Disney Corporate Citizenship. “Disney is proud to work in collaboration with National Park Foundation to make a park experience possible for tens of thousands of young people. We hope that these outdoor adventures inspire lifelong conservation values.”