How about learning something wonderful while you’re waiting in line at the DMV? You might try downloading Save the Park, a new endless runner game for iOS. The game was created through a partnership that includes the National Park Service, Games for Change, and Schell Games. It was funded with a $250,000 grant from American Express.

According to Games for Change, “Save the Park is a collaborative endless runner game that aims to inspire players to volunteer and make a difference at the National Park Service’s 400 national parks, monuments, and historic sites in all 50 U.S. states.” The game is part of a larger effort ($5 million in grants!) by American Express to get 1 million people to volunteer in national parks by 2017.

In Save the Park you play as a park volunteer. You accomplish volunteer tasks and get to see the effects on park conservation and stewardship. The game encourages you to take the game into the real world and volunteer in a national park.

“Volunteering is one of the best ways to get up, get out and find your park,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “With more than 400 parks across the country that protect and preserve America’s landscapes, culture and history, we can’t do it alone, and volunteers serve important roles in many of our national parks. We thank American Express and Games for Change for supporting our efforts to inspire a new generation to serve our parks.”

Save the Park is available on iTunes.

 


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Linda learned to play video games as a way to connect with her teenaged kids, and then she learned to love video games for their own sake. At Pixelkin she wrangles the business & management side of things, writes posts as often as she can, reaches out on the social media, and does the occasional panel or talk. She lives in Seattle, where she writes, studies, plays video games, spends time with her family, consumes vast quantities of science fiction, and looks after her small cockapoo. She loves to hear from people out there. You can read more about her at her website, Linda Breneman.com or her family foundation's website, ludusproject.org.