Educators Outdoors (formerly the Youth Opportunities Program) is an outdoor education, professional development, and social justice program of the Appalachian Mountain Club. With the goal of equitable access to the outdoors, we partner with organizations and schools in communities that face historic and current barriers to outdoor recreation opportunities. Inspired by the principles of the Civil Rights movement, this program was founded in 1968 in the City of Boston to offer Outdoor Leadership Training to youth-serving agencies in Roxbury. Those trained took their new skills and additional resources from AMC to lead youth on outdoor adventures in New Hampshire. Today, our “train and support” model has successfully grown to sustain over 400 educators per year, who in turn engage tens of thousands of young people with outdoor experiences across New England and the Greater New York City region.

Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) envisions a generation of social and environmental leaders, inspired by positive and meaningful experiences in nature, who reflect the diversity of our local community. We believe California’s bountiful wilderness areas are vast, yet untapped, resources for local youth-serving organizations. We increase access to the outdoors for Bay Area youth by supporting teachers and youth workers through training, gear loans, funding, and community support. BAWT trainings include wilderness leadership, front country leadership, hiking, snowshoeing leadership, wilderness first aid, and more. BAWT offers convenient access to gear through our three gear libraries throughout the Bay Area.

Fresno Building Healthy Communities is working to build a long term foundation for a healthier community with a legacy to be carried on for years to come through the leadership of community members. We create social capital - bonding similar people and bridging diverse communities and organizations - via an informed, engaged, and active citizenry and by empowering grassroots leaders.

The Detroit Outdoors collaborative formed in 2017 and brings together Detroit Parks and Recreation, YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, and Sierra Club to reactivate Detroit's only campground: Scout Hollow. The Detroit Outdoors program provides training, gear rental and programming for youth groups, scout troops, and school classes to have an overnight camping experience right in their own city. Through these programs, we connect the neighboring communities with the local natural environment and inspire youth to spend more time outdoors.

Families in Nature is an outdoor education non-profit based in Austin, Texas. Primarily working with families, FIN strives to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Their Guide Development Program trains and supports parents, teachers, and leaders in getting families out into nature in their own communities. FIN has an outdoor gear library in Austin, which supports local schools, organizations and Nature Communities with camping gear and science teaching materials that can be borrowed at no cost for under-resourced schools and communities. They have developed the Ecologist School Program, which is the backbone of what they teach and is available for anybody and is currently being published by Texas A&M University Press.

Based in Chicago and neighboring suburbs, the Forest Preserves of Cook County was established by a vote of Cook County residents in 1914. Today, the Forest Preserves of Cook County is one of the largest forest preserve districts in the United States, with 70,000 acres of land and an estimated 40 million visitors per year. The Forest Preserves of Cook County has 5 campsites throughout the district and the Camping Leadership Immersion Course (CLIC) training is aimed at connecting community groups and other mission based organizations to the outdoors through camping. This site-based program has a growing gear library and campsites available for groups of 32.

Based in the Colorado Rockies, Get Outdoors Leadville!’s (GOL!) envisions a Leadville-Lake County as a community where people of all ages, abilities, and cultures imagine and create a better world through connections to the outdoors and to each other. GOL!’s programs include workshops and courses to build outdoor leadership skills, partnering with teachers for school-based programs, summer camp and after school clubs, and family activities and group adventures. The Get Outdoors Leadville! community Gear Library is a resource for the whole community. By creating a system for sharing gear and outdoor recreation knowledge at low-to-no cost, we aim to reduce barriers to getting outdoors and recreating in Lake County, and help create a more active nature-connected community for all people, regardless of experience, background, or financial means. The Gear Library can accommodate personal gear needs as well as outfit larger group outings.

People participate in the places and spaces where they see themselves reflected. Today, that often starts with representation in digital media. When HBCUs Outside started, we broke stereotypes and inspired underrepresented collegiate youth to get outside for general wellness and to care for our public lands simply by existing in those spaces and sharing our stories.

While inspiring and reflecting diversity in the outdoors is a good first step, we knew those bold new adventurers would need support on their journey. If we were going to increase our impact, we had to do more. By providing resources on how to get outside and access to equipment, by building community around social media narratives, and by involving outdoor brands and partners at the corporate level, we are creating a pathway for sustainable change.

Indigenous Cultural Concepts supports Cultural Educational and Learning for Diné (Navajo Indian) youth in northeastern Arizona. ICC supports the younger generation to reconnect with cultural and environmental awareness and provides hands-on educational events and hands-on training for reconnecting with the natural environment. We provide outdoor education in many forms, including outdoor camping and cultural training around the natural environment. Our Cliff Gear Library will help provide youth and educators access to camping equipment during these trainings or during a camp-out. We work with local schools and other community groups.

Click here lo learn more about ICC and to donate. Thank you for your support!

Based in Edgecomb, Maine, Midcoast Conservancy was born when four local land trusts and conservation organizations merged together to become one of the largest regional conservation organizations in Maine, with over 13,000 acres of land conserved. In 2018, they became an AmeriCorps grantee and began hosting an AmeriCorps Outdoor Adventure Program. They have created community area programs that use and improve existing trails and get more families outdoors having fun. By investing in people, places and gear, they help remove the barriers that keep our communities from connecting to the natural world and engaging in outdoor activities.

The Mountaineers is a nonprofit outdoor community of 14,000 active members in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1906, we've been getting people of all ages outside safely and responsibly for over 100 years. We host hundreds of monthly courses and activities - all led by our coalition of volunteers - to offer ways to get outside and connect with others and the natural world. We think it's important to introduce people to the outdoors early and often, and we work to protect the outdoor experience for future generations. The Mountaineers partners with youth-serving programs through our Mountain Workshops and we have run a community gear library since 2017.

Thrive Outside Grand Rapids was launched in 2019 as one of four communities in the Outdoor Foundation's Thrive Outside Initiative. Grand Rapids' vision is that “All Grand Rapids youth have equitable access to natural places and spaces for happy and healthy lives.” To work towards this vision, Grand Rapids is creating a gear library and leadership training program that will help empower young people to play and recreate outside in all seasons. This project is a collaborative effort between Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation, Our Community's Children, and several other local organizations and businesses.

Washington Trails Association (WTA) is the voice for hikers in Washington state, protecting hiking trails and wildlands, taking volunteers out to maintain our trails, and promoting hiking as a fun and healthy way for people to explore the outdoors. Since 1966, WTA has grown to offer a wide variety of programs and services to educate, inspire, and engage hikers to protect and enjoy the local trails and wild places. We believe everyone should have access to Washington’s trails and feel represented and included in the hiking community. The Outdoor Leadership Training gets youth outside by empowering teachers and youth groups with the skills and resources they need to lead safe and fun outdoor experiences. The program offers access to their gear lending libraries, funding assistance, and additional community support.