Our planet matters
National environmental partnership
We're proud to support the National Park Trust to fund educational programming and access to national parks for underserved youth. Dedicated to preserving the country’s national parks and to environmental education, National Park Trust is working to create a pipeline of future park stewards by connecting kids to parks.
National Park Trust’s Buddy Bison™ School Program helps more than 20,000 students in 40 states connect with parks around the country each year. More than 80% of participating students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch, the federal indicator of low income.*
"We are very grateful for our multi-year partnership with Symetra that connects more than 200 kids to their parks yearly. It's wonderful to see first-hand how our work with Symetra volunteers benefits the students in their local communities."
—Grace Lee, Executive Director, National Park Trust
National employee engagement
Symetra focuses its support on Title I schools* in Connecticut, Iowa and Washington state, where we have a major employee presence, giving our teams opportunities to engage with the program as Buddy Bison volunteers.
Connecticut
Eli Whitney Elementary’s 2023–2024 program year began with a visit from author Dr. Ilona Holland, who engaged third-grade students with a reading on national parks and a Q&A about writing. Students also learned about local Indigenous history through classroom sessions led by Nowashe Village staff. The year concluded with 140 students and Symetra volunteers exploring Dinosaur State Park, featuring a nature hike, fossil exhibits, and a guided discussion on North America’s largest dinosaur track.
Iowa
Students from Clive Learning Academy in Windsor Heights started off the school year with a virtual visit to Shenandoah National Park, during which educators lead a discussion on park ecosystems. Dr. Ilona Holland also joined for a virtual reading of a book and discussion with the students on how to become an author. The culmination event was a field trip with 75 third graders and Symetra volunteers to Jester Park in Granger for a full day of snowshoeing, owl pellet dissection and ecology lessons.
Washington
Symetra volunteers joined 32 fifth graders from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary of Seattle for a trip to Camp Casey on Whidbey Island. In addition to exploring the decommissioned defensive fortifications, students learned about the local ecosystem, how the most recent ice age shaped the topography of the Puget Sound and heard stories from a First Nations storyteller.
Putting our values into action
“We believe that all students deserve the opportunity to experience the beauty and wonder of nature. We are proud to partner with National Park Trust to support inclusive programming that creates connectivity and increases access to the outdoors for underserved youth. Our hope is that by exposing more students from diverse backgrounds to the outdoors, we will help them develop a love of nature and a passion for preserving the environment.”
—Sharmila Swenson, VP, Public Affairs & Social Impact
Help us make an impact
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Career opportunities
*Title I, Part A provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families. Its purpose is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps by allocating federal funds for education programs and services. — National Center for Education Statistics
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