Outdoors Empowered Network Partners with Every Kid in a Park

The Outdoors Empowered Network is proud to make our pledge to support the “Every Kid in a Park Campaign” announced today by the White House, an initiative to inspire the next generation of cultural and environmental stewards and make it easy for parents, teachers, and organizations to plan trips to more than 2000 parks and Federal land and water sites.  The new campaign supports President Obama’s Every Kid in a Park initiative, which provides the Nation’s fourth graders, their teachers, and their families with free admission to national parks and other federal lands and waters.

Every Kid in a Park was launched by the White House as part of National Parks Week 2016 and celebrates the centennial of our national parks system.  EveryKidinaPark.org, a new web portal supporting the campaign, will make it easy for parents and teachers to find resources to plan a visit to any national park and learn about the free Every Kid in a Park pass for free admission to the parks and other federal lands and waters to 4th graders. 

 Camping at the Presidio (CAP) Program in Golden Gate National Recreation Area

We are proud to support Every Kid in a Park and its goal of expanding access to our national parks to young students across the country.  The Outdoors Empowered Network is committed to lowering barriers to immersive experiences in nature through free access to gear libraries and wilderness leadership training for teachers and youth workers. It's critical to introduce youth to parks in culturally relevant ways that help them grow their relationship to this living planet we all share.  We are making this pledge to ensure that young people and generations to come will value and protect our national parks and the natural resources and heritage they preserve.

Get Involved!

Pledge: Make your own pledge to get #EverKidinaPark
Share: Spread the word about the the campaign and how Outdoors Empowered Network is supporting the effort. 
Youth Adventures: The very best way to celebrate is to share public lands with the youth you know. See it through their eyes. Inspire them to learn and explore more.

Networks and Including Diverse Communities at C&NN 2016 International Conference

In May, we'll be heading to the Children and Nature Network 2016 International Conference in St. Paul, MN. The conference brings together people and organizations from around the world who are committed to connecting youth to nature, which allows us to share ideas, learn from unique and innovative strategies, and at the end of the day, collectively address nature deficit disorder.

This year, we have two members of the Outdoors Empowered Network family speaking at the event along side leaders such as Jon Jarvis and Julie Pierce Williams:

Growing Successful Grassroots Networks - Understanding the kernel and planting the seeds

Founder and Executive Director of OEN will join José Gonzalez, Founder of Latino Outdoors, to share their experiences with applying the Four Network Principles for Collaborative Success as outlined by Jane Wei-Skillern, to grow their own successful networks and discuss simple steps you can take to grow your network. They will discuss the kernel of network weaving and how it fosters effective network leadership as well as the fundamentals of this work and how are the seeds planted? 

Reaching Families with Diverse Backgrounds

Heather Kuhlken, Founder/Director of OEN Member Program, Families in Nature, will join others in this “Pecha Kucha” style panel presentation to share a vast array of first-hand experience working with families from diverse, often underserved populations, will share their stories, successes and challenges, and invite the audience to do the same.
 

When Resources are in the Hands of Educators

The Washington Trails Association Outdoor Leadership Training Program launched their first snowshoe training in January with educators and youth workers from the Seattle area. One participant was Don Miller, an ELL Facilitator at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, WA. After the training, with the skills and gear he needed, Don took his students to Longmire and Narada Falls in Mount Rainier National Park for a winter adventure. 

"My main goal was for my students to have an enjoyable first experience in a National Park and in the snow. Additionally, I wanted them to have access to make a connection with this land since all of them were born in other countries. The minute we pulled into the park I knew these goals had been met. 

It was so great to see students playing and having fun with one another regardless if they spoke the same language or not. The fact that they were all exchanging numbers at the end of the trip so they could share photos really showed me how these students may spend the majority of the day together, but rarely do they get a chance to connect.

Without the help of the WTA Gear Library and Mini-Grant, this trip would have never happened."

- Don Miller

Thank you to Don and all those educators our there taking the time to get their youth outside! 

Photos by Amanda Sandate
 

WTA Kicks Off 2016 with Launch of Snowshoe Training

WTA's Chandrika Francis (kneeling) and participants from the first OLT Snowshoeing Workshop in January. Photo by Andrew Pringle

Originally published by Washington Trails Association

By pairing experiential workshops with access to a free gear library and mini-grants, WTA's Outdoor Leadership Training program supported more than 1,000 outdoor youth experiences on 45 trips in 2015.

The program's approach aims to fills in resource gaps for teachers and youth group leaders who want to lead incredible youth experiences in nature. This year, WTA has expanded the mix to support snowshoeing and backpacking.

When planning to lead youth outside, a test run is key

Last week, the first snowshoeing workshop kicked off on a wintry day at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park. Educators, ambassadors and program coordinators from Mount Rainier High School, YMCA, OneWorld Now!, Latino Outdoors, and Bastyr University joined WTA staff for the fun-filled day of learning and exchange. As snowflakes fell, participants learned what they'd need to know to plan their own independent snowshoeing trips for youth groups and families.

When asked what they found most useful about the brand new workshop, one participant reflected:

"It was experiential -- being out in the elements and actually doing a test run of the kinds of situations we could come across with our groups."

Huge thanks to Columbia, MSR, LEKI and KEEN for making it possible through generous gear sponsorship!

The new workshops will be in addition to the hiking and camping workshops already offered. Below are two new upcoming workshop dates to mark on your calendar. Be sure to register before they're full!

Backpacking Workshop
When: Friday-Sunday, July 8-10
What: A 3-day entry-level course that covers leading a backpacking experience with a youth group. ($60, scholarships available)
Where: North Cascades National Park
Register to join

Visit the Outdoor Leadership Training FAQ to learn more about what the OLT program does and how you can participate.