The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has a program called Get REAL! (Recreational Environmental Adventures in Learning) that marries inner city youth programs and the Florida State Park system together, providing opportunities for kids to experience camping and the great outdoors – very cool!

“She kept saying you should come – it’s going to be fun,” Johnson said. “I was, like, no because of the mosquitoes and sleeping in the tent. But now that I’m here, I really like it.”

This is not only great because of the outdoor experience that it is providing to the kids, but it’s also a great use of state parks resources. More states should look at what Florida is doing, here.

Mobile app developer Chimani announced that their iPhone national park apps will be free during National Park Week, which runs from April 16-24. These apps normally sell for between $4.99-$9.99 each and cover Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Grand Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park.

Next Friday, March 4th, the federal government will shutdown if Congress and the President do not come together on a new budget. One of the fallouts of a government shutdown is that national parks, along with BLM and US Forest Sevice campgrounds, will close. It is still early in the camping season, but if the budget battle drags on, it could impact spring camping plans for a lot of families.

Ryan Dionne (@Explore_It on Twitter) posted a preview of next year’s winter outdoor clothing lines, from companies like Columbia, Outdoor Research, Sierra Designs and others. All of my stuff is two year’s old and Lisa’s TNF jacket is a year old, so it’s kind of neat to see what’s coming, next year.

The National Park Service has published the dates for free entrance into many of the national parks, for 2011:
January 15-17
April 16-24
June 21
September 24
November 11-13