Vote for Your Favorite Student Film by November 26

Eleven short films created by island students for the park’s Digital Mountain Film Festival are ready for viewing and voting on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalMountain2012?feature=watch. Each film is approximately three minutes in length.

Eleven films were entered. Click for more details.

The last day to vote is Mon., Nov. 26. Send votes to Park Ranger Kūpono McDaniel by email at kupono_mcdaniel@nps.gov.

The public is also invited to attend the fourth annual Digital Mountain Film Festival, held at the park’s Kīlauea Visitor Center on Sat., Dec. 1. A potluck celebration starts at 5:30 p.m. (please bring a dish), and the film festival gets underway at 6 p.m. Winners, who have a chance to win Mac laptop computers and digital cameras, will be announced at the festival.

“It’s very inspirational and enlightening to see how our island youth perceive Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. They understand the park isn’t just for tourists but is their park, too. I hope everyone has a chance to vote for their favorite film and come and celebrate our talented youth at the film festival,” McDaniel said.

This project was made possible in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation through the generous support of L.L. Bean, Disney, the Anschutz Foundation, and the Ahmanson Foundation.

Additional help, funding, and support comes from the Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association, and the Big Island Film Office.

For more information, contact Ranger Kūpono McDaniel at 985-6015 or by email at kupono_mcdaniel@nps.gov, and visit the festival’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/DigitalMountainFilmFestival.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Awarded Active Trails Grant

Thirteen national parks receive grants from the National Park Foundation to support interactive and engaging projects that will strengthen Americans’connection with their national parks

Media Release:

The National Park Foundation announced that it is proud to award Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park a grant to support the launch of Digital Mountain: It’s My Park Film Festival, an innovative project for students in grades 7 – 12 to make a film about the trails in their National Park. The grant is part of the National ParkFoundation’s Active Trails program that uses national parks as a venue for community engagement and promotes healthy lifestyles through various forms of recreation and volunteer service on land and water trails.

“It is an honor to receive the Active Trails grant,” said Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando. “This exciting opportunity gives us another way to engage local youth in being active with their families on the trails in Hawai‘i Volcanoes, and the grant allows us to offer great prizes, including computers and cameras, to the young filmmakers,” she said.

Digital Mountain: It’s My Trail Film Festival is a dynamic endeavor for seventh through twelfth graders. Students will participate in trail maintenance projects with their families and make a film illustrating why the park and the trails are important to them.

Students and teachers interested in learning more about the Active Trails project can contact Laura Williams at (808) 985-6304 or laura_williams@nps.gov. The project begins Aug. 1, 2011 and culminates with a gala event showcasing the films at Kīlauea Visitor Center Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. The films will also be available for viewing on YouTube.

“With these grants, we’re actively encouraging Americans to personally connect with their national parks through fun and engaging activities that not only promote a healthy lifestyle, but also help protect and preserve some of the most treasured places on earth for generations to come,” said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation.

The National Park Foundation, in partnership with the Coca-Cola Foundation, awarded Active Trails grants to 13 national parks across the country.

A full list of grantees and project descriptions will be available on the National Park Foundation website.

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