Nice News’ April 2024 Cause of the Month

Nice News firmly believes that everyone deserves access to green spaces, especially given the physical and mental health benefits of nature. So with Earth Day coming up later this month, we’re raising money for the Trust for Public Land, an organization working to ensure widespread access to the outdoors “for generations to come.”

The Trust for Public Land builds parks and protects public land in the communities where they’re needed most. Since 1972, the nonprofit has protected 4 million acres of land and created 5,420 outdoor spaces, connecting nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. Those spaces include expansions of national and local parks, new green schoolyards, trail systems, cultural sites, and more.

One of the projects currently underway is the 28×28 Green Schoolyard Initiative, which is aiming to green 28 schools in Los Angeles by the 2028 Olympics. More than 1.5 million people in LA do not live within a 10-minute walk to a park, a statistic the Trust for Public Land hopes to change over the next four years.

“We know that access to green space is a human right, yet most people, particularly people of color, don’t have that access,” the Trust’s California State Director Guillermo Rodriguez said in a press release when the first of the 28 green schoolyards opened in January. “What better way to close this gap than to start where students already are — their school campuses.”

One hundred percent of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to the Trust for Public Land and its mission to connect everyone to the great outdoors. You can click here to learn more about the organization's past and present projects.

More about Nice News: Nice News is an email series and website that curates positive news. We send uplifting stories to subscribers’ inboxes each morning featuring significant innovations, advancements in health and wellness, everyday heroes, and more.

Photo Credit: Trust for Public Land