Kids Meeting "Climate Challenge" In National Parks

The non-profit National Park Foundation is hosting about 100 students from D.C. and around the country, teaching them about climate change by getting them out into the national park system.

Senior Vice President Mark Kornmann herds the young crowd. Nineteen of them are high schoolers, fresh from "Climate Challenge," a training program in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. "These kids spent four weeks at North Cascades, learning about climate change, learning about how to camp and recreate in the National Parks, learning about what they can do back in their communities to help with climate change."

The older students are sharing what they learned about the environment with the younger children. Jordan Bell is a junior at one of D.C.'s public charter schools. He says he's excited to teach 6th graders about how to take care of natural resources. "I want to do a comparison of the Skagit River, that we just saw in Washington State, and the Anacostia River. So then I plan to take them out on the river, and we're gonna do a clean-up thing."

The students will be in D.C. for three days, meeting tomorrow with representatives from the Departments of Energy and the Interior and the Smithsonian Institution for a lecture and mentoring program.

Stephanie Kaye reports...