Being part of OEN gives members the opportunity to build networks, share best practices, fundraise for gear, and see the national impact of collective work. Our core program model brings together a wide variety of members, all working together to bring equity and access to the outdoors. OEN supports members wherever possible, including through gear acquisition, thought leadership, member support, and a robust professional community.

Gear Acquisition

Members reduce one of the biggest barriers to getting outside—cost of gear—by curating and providing access to outdoor equipment libraries that cater to schools, youth service organizations, and families. But start-up costs for a new library can be prohibitive.

Through its Gear Acquisition Program, OEN is able to provide member libraries with discounts and donations for the gear that is essential to their work. OEN allows the members to collectively build relationships with outdoor gear companies that they might otherwise be too small to access. This results in savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for network members.

Additionally, OEN supports members through the process of library design, providing insight regarding inclusive sizing and gear that makes the outdoor experience more comfortable and rewarding for a larger number of participants.

Member Support

From designing new programming to applying for grants, running an outdoor education organization can involve a lot of hard and lonely work. OEN staff works hard to create connections, problem-solve, and support new program design. Core Members have access to regular meetings and consulting.

These offerings include program development and implementation consulting, tech and operations support, and fundraising support. OEN staff regularly visit members, write grants, and dive into the weeds with discussions of inventory management.

Professional Community

From monthly calls to ad hoc virtual meetups to regular in-person training opportunities, OEN cultivates a professional community for outdoor educators and administrators. Our network model gives members a community to work with as they explore new ideas, develop programming and best practices, and face inevitable challenges.

Being part of OEN gives members the opportunity to build networks, share best practices, collectively fundraise for gear, and see the national impact of our work. Our core “train and support” program model brings together a wide variety of members, from small grassroots organizations to large government agencies, all of us working together to bring equity and access to the outdoors.

Thought Leadership

Most traditional outdoor recreation centers participants who are young, male, white, fit, and relatively financially secure. As a result, outdoor education and recreation trainings often support only a very narrow cultural framework. Emanating from our history of settler colonialism and a violent frontier narrative, this cultural framework excludes and harms participants that don't fit.

We encourage year-round member engagement on various topics including DEI in the outdoors, best practices, and risk management. We do this by providing members with opportunities for network members and guests to share areas of expertise with the rest of the network, through both storytelling and structured presentations. We also organize focused working groups to collaboratively explore challenges to access in outdoor spaces. We coordinate regular member-led training opportunities to provide experiential learning.

OEN is also addressing equity challenges in outdoor curriculum. We are building out training resources that are culturally informed and that provide comprehensive and intersectional risk management.