Chicago Area Network Member Kicks off Programs with a Bang!

“This is my first time camping… (applause from her fellow course participants) but in the last couple of years I have developed an appreciation for nature and see the benefits for kids as it pertains to their health.  So I’m pretty excited to learn more and then get more youth outdoors.”  This is how Judy introduced herself and explained her level of experience in the outdoors.  

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Judy gets a hand at the right time to get us all through the mud.  This group was ready! 

In late June Judy and 12 other participants from six organizations in the Chicago metro area became “CLIC certified” youth workers, completing the first ever Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s weekend-long Camping Leadership Immersion Course training, with the support of two Outdoors Empowered Network staff instructors.  Participating organizations included Mujeres Latinas En Accion (a women and youth rights advocacy organization), Chicago Park District, The Field Museum, the Chicago Police Department and more.

The course was a whopping success highlighted by a thunderstorm that rolled in on Saturday night, giving us a show as Forest Preserve Program Specialist Brian Arnoldt taught about campfire building. 

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Notice the lightening strike in the upper right hand corner of the photo. 

These pictures are taken from a video shot during the storm.  As you can imagine, we were happy for the picnic pavilion!  We were also happy the storm passed and left a calm soft rain that lulled us to sleep in our new tents.  We all slept well! 

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Students learned by doing. Our hike through the mud puddles and out to the bike trail got everyone acquainted with the trails and forested lands around the campground.  After making it to a creek we stopped at a bridge and handed off bandanas, symbolically representing the leadership that one half of the group passed to the next.

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Guess who passed on the bandana! 

Brian Arnoldt from the Forest Preserve introduced the training by saying, “This is the first half where you learn how to camp with your groups. The second half is where you bring your groups back out here.” 

We at Outdoors Empowered Network are proud to set forth into action the process of training  these mentors, scout leaders and gang intervention specialists. These amazing and passionate adults who know their communities and youth best, are now ready take kids out and away from the concrete, the screens, the sirens, and into the fireflies and crickets of Camp Sullivan. 

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The rain didn't dampen Gerald's spirits! 

A huge thanks to our corporate sponsors, Eureka!, Columbia, GSI, Thermarest and Camp Chef, who gave gear that will be used this summer and for years to come in the Camp Sullivan gear library. 

For more pictures, check out our Facebook Page.

To learn more about the Forest Preserve District of Cook County's CLIC Program, check out their website, which includes information on the training and gear library program, and resources about all FIVE new campgrounds that are opening this summer!  

May Newsletter

Los Angeles Kids Making the Outdoors Home! 

As summer ramps up some urban kids from Los Angeles have already had a taste of the outdoors thanks to support from Los Angeles Wilderness Training. These girls, along with about 15 friends from A Place Called Home, were out at Chilao Campground enjoying some springtime outdoors! 

The National Park Service wants Everybody Outdoors!

Through their newly launched Find Your Park campaign and as part of the roll-out of their centennial celebrations in 2016, The National Park Service is aiming to get 4 million fourth graders outdoors. But we're also thrilled that they're reminding us -- through the #findyourpark videos -- that parks aren't just far away iconic spots like Yosemite and Yellowstone but rather places near and far where you find "pride and gratitude and fun!" While still a journey in process, we think this is a terrific step forward to making the parks more welcoming to all.  

The National Park Service says #FindYourPark!!  And they don't just mean National Park, they mean ANY park! 

More outdoor leadership trainings and a big thanks to our newest sponsors! 

Both Tara and Jill, Outdoors Empowered Network staffers, instructed a recent wilderness course in Tahoe National Forest. Check out more pics from this wild-weather-Wilderness Leadership Training on BAWT's facebook Page
 

We're thrilled to announce that we've received incredibly generous support from two terrific corporate sponsors this spring. Keen Footwear and Eureka! Both donated a LOT of gear that we've passed on to our member organizations around the country so they can camp and hike and have fun outdoors this summer!  Thanks Keen and Eureka! We couldn't do it without you! 

Toni tells us: Why we Camp in Chicagoland!

Written by Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Board of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. 

Mrs. Preckwinckle, we couldn't agree with you more!  Thank you for your leadership!  The campsites are now OPEN!

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This summer, as we head into the final stretch of our centennial celebration, we’re extremely proud to reintroduce camping to Cook County residents and visitors for the first time in more than half a century.

The first site to open, Camp Shabbona Woods in South Holland, will welcome campers beginning Memorial Day Weekend, Friday May 22, 2015. Additional sites in Willow Springs, Northbrook, Oak Forest and Palatine will open throughout the summer, offering tent campsites, RV campsites, small and large cabins for families, groups and couples of all ages and interests.

This achievement has been a long time in the making. Conversations early in my first term led to the development and release of an extensive Camping Master Plan in January 2013. Since then, we’ve completely reimagined these campground locations, adding cabins, tent pads, shelters and fire rings, while updating bunkhouses and dining halls. We’ve brought on experts in site management and reservations. And we’ve developed programs to help our guests learn camping skills and engage with the surrounding landscape. The Forest Preserves has invested approximately $30 million in the campgrounds to date.

Why such an investment? Simply put, camping has a unique ability to connect us to nature and one another.  When we camp, we step outside everyday routines. We come together while preparing and sharing meals. And, of course, we share the wonders of the natural world, from watching a wood duck take off across the water to learning the constellations of the night sky.

And while camping can certainly require expensive gear and hard-won skills, it needn’t be that way. Camping can be for everyone. With a range of lodging, training and gear options, we aim to make camping easy, affordable and enriching for both seasoned outdoors enthusiasts and first-time campers.

I hope you’ll learn about all our new offerings in this month’s Forest Way and visit fpdcc.com/camping to learn more about Forest Preserves of Cook County Camping. Camping is the kind of experience that can change a life. I believe it has the power to create generations of Cook County residents more strongly connected to their forest preserves than ever before.

Taken from a previously posted BLOG by the Forest Preserve of Cook County.  Toni Preckwinkle is the President of the Board of the Forest Preserve, one of Outdoors Empowered Network's most important partners in the midwest.  We are supporting them with consulting assistance as they incorporate a gear library and training program (called the Camping Leadership Immersion Course or CLIC program) in one of their FIVE new campgrounds.

March Newsletter

Political Momentum for Getting Kids Outdoors!

Ironically, I was camping with my own kids when the much anticipated Every Kid in a Park initiative was announced last month. President Obama's pledge to provide all fourth grade students and their families' free admission for a year to national parks and other federal lands and waters signaled a major policy shift in support of our efforts to get kids outdoors. I was late to the breaking news...I guess I should go camping more often!

Here in California, the political momentum was furthered by Assembly Bill 988, introduced just a week later by Assembly Member Mark Stone (D - Monterey Bay) and Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins (D - San Diego). The proposed legislation would provide education about the environment and outdoor recreation for California children, prioritizing opportunities for underserved and at-risk students. In introducing the concept, Stone said, "In many underserved communities, participation in outdoor environmental education and recreation programs are the only exposure kids have to nature and the environment."

And lastly, Secretary Jewell continues to champion the cause by attracting corporate partners to support her Play, Learn, Serve, and Work initiative. Most recently American Express signed on to the tune of $5M to support work in 50 cities!

We're encouraged and working hard to position Outdoors Empowered Network and our member affiliates to leverage and support these exciting initiatives!

Help us get more kids outdoors. Donate now!

Save-the-Date!
Our 2015 National Summit is coming. November 4-8, San Francisco. Read more >>

Looking for an outdoors skills training near you?
Check out what our member affiliates are doing in the SF Bay Area, Boise, Chicago, Seattle, and Southern California. Read more >> 

In the News!
Our member affiliate, Washington Trails Association, is featured in the April issue of Sunset Magazine, on newstands now (shown on the left).

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