C.A.M.P. on YouTube and Yahoo Video

I’ve just posted a 4-minute video from our summer outreach program on YouTube and Yahoo Video. The video is culled from hours of footage captured by outreach participants themselves, using “Flip” video cameras purchased by our education program. I’m pleased with the results, and look forward to sharing this video with the generous donors who sponsored the program through the National Park Foundation, Washington’s National Park Fund, and REI.

This is a program we hope to continue and expand next summer. We are seeking grants now, so if anyone knows of any funding sources that would apply, please let us know! This is a program that has tremendous potential to connect families with Mount Rainier National Park who would otherwise never have the opportunity to do so.

Enjoy the video. Here’s the official promo text:

In the summer of 2009, 21 families from Seattle pioneered a new program at Mount Rainier National Park called C.A.M.P.: Camping Adventure with My Parents. The program was designed for families who had no experience with the National Parks, or who had never been camping before. Over the course of three days, they learned how to set up tents, how to build a campfire, and how to cook dinner in the woods. They went on hikes, attended ranger programs, learned about volcanoes and glaciers, played in the river, and helped with volunteer projects. They made new friends, and had many new experiences. When they arrived at the park, each family was given a camera with which to record their experiences. This is their story, through their own eyes, and in their own words.

Update: For anyone who's interested, here's a link where you can download the full 4-minute video at its original full resolution (640x480):

www.nps.gov/mora/supportyourpark/upload/CAMP%20promo%20medium%20quality.wmv

For our CAMP participants, I've also uploaded the full 28-minute "highlights reel" I showed at our CAMP reunion event in Seattle on September 20. Downloading this one's more complicated, for a variety of reasons related to the limitations of our government website. I'll spare you the details, but here's what you need to do:

1. Download all three of the following files. You can do so most easily (on Windows-based computers) by right-clicking on the link and choosing "save as."
   
   File 1: www.nps.gov/mora/supportyourpark/upload/CAMPsplit.zip
   File 2: www.nps.gov/mora/supportyourpark/upload/CAMPsplit.z01.zip
   File 3: www.nps.gov/mora/supportyourpark/upload/CAMPsplit.z02.zip
   
2. Rename the second and third file by removing the ".zip" extension. To do this (at least on a windows-based computer), right-click on the file and select "rename," then position the cursor at the end of the file name and hit the backspace key four times. Leave the .zip extension on the first file. You should end up with three files, named:
   
   CAMPsplit.zip
   CAMPsplit.z01
   CAMPsplit.z02
   
3. Double-click on the file named "CAMPsplit.zip" and follow the instructions to "unzip" it to a location of your choosing (e.g. your computer desktop).
   
4. If your computer does not have Winzip or a comparable file compacting program, you can download a free version online at http://www.winzip.com/.

Good luck, and if you run into any problems, let me know.
Another update: Both videos are now available on Joe's Shutterfly site, rainiercamp.shutterfly.com! You can watch both the 4-minute and 28-minute videos there, but you won't be able to download them from this site.