Department of Energy and Environmental Protection No Child Left Inside®

NCLI® Families in the Parks Program 2025

Happy 20th Anniversary to the No Child Left Inside® (NCLI) Program in 2025! This year families who participate will experience some new activities, events, programs and pop-up events (as well as enjoying some of the ole’ favorites) and meet some new partners and friends. NCLI’s Families in the Parks program continues to expand on the Great Park Pursuit Family Adventure Program by reaching more families and youth, while also extending the season, the locations, and number of activities, events and programs. This year's program will focus on 4 seasonal events/programs in February, May, August and October. Additionally, all families involved will enjoy a wide variety of FREE, fun and educational outdoor recreational opportunities between March and December of 2025. We encourage all participating to visit State Park and Forest locations for our themed recreational days including, but not limited to: boating, fishing, hiking, a StoryWalk®, Nature Center and Museum Days and much more. You will find the NCLI staff, along with the NCLI Mascots- Nuts, Nuts 2, Nuts Jr. and his friends, at library programs, pop-up event, partner programs as well as at other family-friendly sites across the State of Connecticut. Enjoy time together-reconnecting with the outdoors, nature and each other. The full list of NCLI Families in the Parks Program activities, events and programs will be released at the end of February. Stay tuned!

CT State Parks Centers and Historic Buildings Day Pass

As part of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) No Child Left Inside® initiative, DEEP has provided the main branch public library in each city/town across CT with a CT State Parks Centers and Historic Buildings Day Pass. These passes are used to waive the admission fees at those State Parks where DEEP charges an admission fee to enter a building or museum: Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam and Fort Trumbull State Park and Visitor Center in New London. This pass waives entrance fees for the building, center or museum for two adults and four children (12 years and under). This CT State Parks Centers and Historic Buildings Day Pass cannot be used for camping or special events. Please note that the utility of the library pass changed in 2018 as a result of the Passport to the Parks Program. The pass is no longer needed to cover parking fees at state parks and forests for CT residents, as all CT registered vehicles will be allowed in without a fee. CT residents can visit their local main branch library and borrow the library pass. It is the hope of the NCLI Program that the library pass will allow more CT residents and their families the opportunity to visit the CT State Park Centers and Historic Buildings.

NCLI® Winter Festival Event

The first event of the 2025 NCLI Families in the Parks Program was the Winter Festival Event which took place on Saturday February 1, 2025 from 10 am to 3 pm at Burr Pond State Park in Torrington, CT. This event celebrated all that the Winter Season has to offer. This event was sponsored by CT DEEP State Parks-NCLI Program, CT DEEP's Fish with CARE Program and the City of Torrington. The event was well attended with over 1,700 people visiting. While the weather was cold and it was windy, those attending enjoyed their time taking part in activities and programs being offered by CT DEEP staff and partners. Information and photographs from the event can be seen on the State Parks Facebook page at the following: https://www.facebook.com/CTStateParks/