![]() ![]() We will continue to elevate diverse voices in the movement to increasing equity in the outdoors. Outdoor access and engagement will be recognized and elevated as a critical public health need. Long-term conservation efforts will depend on the diversity of voters and stakeholders that feel connected to public lands needing to be conserved.įive years down the line, it’s our hope that: Inclusion and representation in the outdoors increases individuals’ sense of belonging and expands the diversity of user groups in outdoor settings. Outdoor access and engagement is a critical public health need, and therefore inequities in outdoor access is a contributing factor to inequities in community health and wellbeing. Waves breaking, wind blowing, wildlife rustling and laughter all around If they made a movie about our workplace, it would be called:Ĭhallenge By Choice Inclusion in the outdoors matters because: Leadership on the Line, Awakening Your Ikigai, White Fragility, The Handbook of Sailing What we’re listening to: When we’re not working, we’re:Įnjoying the outdoors in every way possible. At OO, our core values include positivity, choice, respect, authenticity, possibility, excellence, and passion, and I can truly say that our team lives out these values in their daily work. The best thing about working at outdoor outreach is:īeing a part of the Outdoor Outreach family. Our goal is to increase to 60% of staff being past program participants by 2025, and 60% staff being BIPOC by 2025 to more closely represent the demographics of the City of San Diego (57% non-White, non-Hispanic/Latino U.S. ![]() We are now doing more to emphasize the importance of clear staff development opportunities that lead to more internal promotions. In the outdoor industry, these experiences are often limited to groups that have means and are encouraged to enter outdoor professions, predominantly White males. Furthermore, it’s often been more convenient to hire external candidates for Senior Instructor positions because they come with pre-requisite education, experience, certifications and licenses. However, in order to drive a commercial vehicle (an organizational requirement of promoting to Senior Instructor or beyond), you need to be 21. For example, Leadership Program graduates are often hired as Field Instructors at 18-19 years old. However, we’ve recognized systemic challenges that serve as barriers to promotion. We started in the development of this pipeline in 2010 by creating opportunities for Leadership Program graduates to be hired on as Field Instructors, and currently, more than half of current Outdoor Outreach instructors are graduates of our Leadership Program. With every opportunity to hike, bike, kayak, or climb, the youth in our programs gain two things that greatly increase their chances of success: First, opportunities to share new experiences, explore their world. This is an area of growth that we’ve recognized and are actively working to address by creating more clear pipelines for staff development and promotion. Since 1999, Outdoor Outreach has connected more than 17,000 young people with the transformative power of the outdoors. This is in contrast to our direct field/program staff, where 14 of 25 are people of color. Our leadership team, similarly, represents 25% people of color. (Surely the same can be said for adults.Of our full-time staff, 4 of 16 identify as people of color. Granted, there are sometimes socio-economic and geographic factors that play into a child’s ability to get into nature technology-based play fiercely competes for kids’ attention, too, luring them to come inside and game, text, or consume video content. With child obesity increasingly on the rise in the U.S., it’s a major cause for concern. Not only are adults recreating less, but so are children the report noted a severe drop in the number of children who got outdoor activity over the course of that year, and other sources note that the average child spends only seven minutes playing outside per day. population did not engage in outdoor recreation the year before last. This issue was underscored by a recent report issued by the Outdoor Foundation, which identified an “alarming trend”: nearly half the U.S. And in the era of mobile phones, it’s more important than ever to unplug and connect with the wild. Engaging with the natural world brings us peace and relieves stress, and it fosters a desire to preserve the health of the planet. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |