National Park Trust Honors Former First Lady Laura Bush with 2025 American Park Experience (APEX) Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 31, 2025

Former First Lady Laura Bush Accepts APEX Award for Her Leadership in Conservation and Advocacy for America’s National Parks

Washington, D.C. (March 31, 2025) – National Park Trust announced that former First Lady Laura Bush has received the 2025 American Park Experience (APEX) Award. Since 2009, this national award has honored an individual or group that has made extraordinary efforts to enhance the awareness and appreciation of our country’s public parks, lands, and waters.

The APEX award recognizes Mrs. Bush’s lifelong dedication to conservation, environmental education, and our national parks – as well as parks in her home state of Texas. A passionate advocate for America’s natural and cultural heritage, she has also championed programs that inspire future generations to explore and protect our treasured public lands.

As First Lady, Mrs. Bush launched the Preserve America initiative, a national effort aimed at promoting historic preservation, increasing public awareness of cultural and natural heritage, and encouraging community engagement in conservation efforts. Under her leadership, the initiative supported hundreds of projects across the country, providing grants to help protect historic sites and landscapes. She also played a key role in the National Parks Centennial Initiative, working alongside the National Park Service to secure critical investments in infrastructure, visitor services, and conservation programs. Her efforts helped ensure that America’s national parks would not only be preserved but also made more accessible and enjoyable for future generations.

Beyond her time in the White House, Mrs. Bush has remained a dedicated advocate for environmental stewardship. As Honorary Co-Chair of the National Park Foundation’s Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, she has championed efforts to expand park access and inspire future generations of park stewards. In her home state of Texas, she founded Texan by Nature, an organization that brings together conservation and business leaders to advance innovative solutions for preserving the state’s natural resources. Through this initiative, she has helped foster partnerships that promote sustainability, protect wildlife habitats, and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities across Texas. She also played a key role in establishing the Native Texas Park at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, transforming it into a restored prairie landscape that serves as an outdoor classroom for students and visitors to explore native ecosystems.

Mrs. Bush has also inspired young people to connect with the outdoors through storytelling. In Our Great Big Backyard, a children’s book co-authored with her daughter Jenna Bush Hager, she highlights the wonder of America’s national parks and encourages kids to explore the beauty of nature.

“Former First Lady Laura Bush embodies the spirit of the American Park Experience Award. Her extraordinary leadership over decades has greatly benefited our national parks and parks in Texas – and has inspired countless people, especially children, to discover, enjoy, and protect our treasured parks and public lands for current and future generations.”
Grace Lee, Executive Director, National Park Trust

“Teaching children about our land – how to protect it, respect it, plant it, and care for it – is essential for the future of our state, and our country. Thank you to the National Park Trust for honoring me with this year’s American Park Experience award. You are helping the next generation find the joy in discovering and exploring our nation’s parks, and I am grateful.”
Mrs. Laura Bush

Past recipients of the American Park Experience Award include journalist Al Roker; Filmmaker Jimmy Chin; Park Ranger Shelton Johnson; Hydro Flask for their Parks for All program; former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell; former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar; and filmmaker Ken Burns and screenwriter Dayton Duncan.

Mrs. Bush was presented the 2025 APEX award on March 28, 2025, by National Park Trust’s Executive Director Grace Lee. To learn more about the American Park Experience Award, visit: parktrust.org/american-park-experience-award.

National Park Trust staff members (left to right) Natalie Lambert, Grace Lee, Ivan Levin, and Park Trust Board Member Aparna Dave present Laura Bush (center) with the 2025 American Park Experience Award at Laura W. Bush Native Texas Park in Dallas, TX.

ABOUT NATIONAL PARK TRUST
Our mission is to preserve parks today and create park stewards for tomorrow. Since 1983, we have partnered with the National Park Service to acquire many of the “missing pieces” of our national parks, benefiting 55 national park sites across the country. Our national youth education and family initiatives, including our Buddy Bison, College Ambassador and Military Family Programs, and National Kids to Parks Day, support tens of thousands of children annually and cultivate future park stewards. We believe that our public parks, lands, and waters should be cared for, enjoyed by, and preserved by all for current and future generations. Find out more at parktrust.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ivan Levin at 540.818.5818 or ivan@parktrust.org.