One doesn’t have to travel far to experience breathtaking scenery full of luscious greenery and mountaintops — North Carolina is home to ten national parks, all of which are worth a visit. From the Appalachian Trail to the Great Smoky Mountains, there are national parks galore here in The Old North State.

Here on campus, the National Parks club is dedicated to spreading awareness of all national parks have to offer, in addition to raising money to support the parks. Additionally, the organization hopes to increase conservation awareness, which will in turn help the parks thrive. Most importantly, the group is made up of strong, passionate advocates for an endangered and often overlooked resource for students — national parks.

Kayla Clark, a third-year studying political science and psychology and the treasurer of the National Parks club, talked about how the club first got started.

“My roommate and club president Julianne Reas traveled to 14 national parks over the summer on a road trip, [and] when she came back to school she realized that there were not any groups or clubs with a focus on national parks,” Clark said. “She wanted to bring awareness to campus and to our current political administration to get young people more involved with national parks since they are being taken away.”

The club took a field trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art this past Saturday, in effort to further get involved with the community, spreading their mission through advocacy and social networking events. In terms of goals, the club is focused primarily on raising funds to further support the bounty of national parks that are underserved.  

“One of our short-term goals is a fundraiser that we are having soon,” said Elizabeth Moore, a second-year studying communication and the club’s current secretary. “We will be selling Dunkin’ Donuts in Talley sometime in March. We are also planning to go on a club camping trip in late April.”

In order to remain student-friendly, the club works to remain flexible with busy schedules full of classes, jobs and other responsibilities. After all, Moore and Clark reinforced, the club is meant to be an enjoyable experience for students, not another obligation added to an already packed schedule. Although attendance isn’t mandatory, students are always welcome to attend meetings, which are held once or twice a month.  

For students that don’t have the funds or the time to commit, some alternative ways to contribute to the green-life in the Raleigh area is to recycle, an obvious but often forgotten option, in addition to spreading the word about conservation and national parks fundraising to friends, family and anyone else hoping to make a difference in the bountiful world of nature that surrounds us all.

The national parks-oriented organization is pairing up with NC State’s College of Natural Resources, specifically with the Engaging Leaders program. At the end of March, National Parks club can be found volunteering at LEAF Day, a day full of environmental education, in effort to further educate middle school students on how they can help their environment. LEAF Day will be held at the much-loved North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences here in Raleigh, an appropriate location for the educational venture.

As a whole, the vital message the organization is trying to spread is that our national parks are in danger, as our national lands that have already been taken away are facing demolition. National parks are being exhausted of all resources in a commercial effort to raise money to prevent further destruction. Becoming involved with one’s community is vital to the college experience, and what better way to do it than by supporting Mother Nature?

Investing one’s time giving back to the plant that helps sustain happy, healthy human life is one of the most rewarding benefits during a student’s time at NC State. Whether an avid national parks supporter or as someone wanting to learn more about the beauty of nature, give it a go — the wilderness is calling.

The next National Parks Club meetings are March 1 and March 14 at 8 p.m. For more information about the organization, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/758198634390203/.