A Jewell of a Morning

 This post originally appeared in Sierra Club's Lay of the Land Blog

It was a beautiful sunny spring morning yesterday at the 15,000 acre Prince William Forest Park. Debbie Sease and I, along with a diverse array of over 50 outdoors and conservation leaders, joined Secretary of the Interior  Sally Jewell and National Parks Superintendent Jon Jarvis to discuss how to connect American families with nature and our special places.

Secretary Jewell clearly and passionately understands that connecting kids and families outdoors is absolutely critical for the future of our communities, public lands and wildlife.  She spoke eloquently of the power of private and public sector partnerships, and her great optimism that working smartly together we can collectively make a big difference.

Debbie and I highlighted the Sierra Club's growing outdoors programs  that get over 250,000 kids and adults outdoors--from inner city kids to military families-- as well as our own Jackie Ostfeld's leadership in the Outdoors Alliance for Kids  where she pushes for policies and funding to get kids outdoors.  We got some great kudos from Sheri, with Blue Star Families, about a recent Sierra Club grant to help them get their military families to an outing in the Park.

Secretary Jewell ended her comments by highlighting the need to consolidate all the mapping data out there to better identify lands of high value for wildlife and recreation, cultural and historical values, as well as those of high energy development value.  She urged all of us to be active and smart as we work together to create a healthy future for our children and our public lands.  We're looking forward to what is in store.

--Dan Chu, Sr. Campaign Director, Our Wild America

Secretary Sally Jewell Wants to Connect More Children to Nature

In case you missed it, yesterday Interior Secretary Sally Jewell hosted her first live web chat. We already knew she was a champion for connecting kids with the great outdoors when she was the CEO of REI, but we were wondering how she would tackle the growing divide between children and nature in her new role.

During the chat, we posed the following question: "How will you as Secretary of the Interior ensure that more kids have access and opportunities to explore and enjoy America’s Great Outdoors?"

And here’s how she responded.

“The next generation of leaders, in this country, are the children that are being born today, and playing in our playgrounds today. There is a growing disconnect between children and nature across our country for a variety of reasons. We think about screen time and how much time kids spend in front of a screen, but also homework, organized youth sports, things that create time for adults to be telling children what to do. I think that it is critically important that children have time to explore on their own terms, to exercise their curiosity. It is very important in an urbanizing world, and particularly in our country, that kids in urban areas have an opportunity to connect with a park or an open space and explore that to satisfy their own curiosity, to make up their own rules and not just have an adult telling them what to do all the time. I think America’s Great Outdoors provides a great place to do that, whether it is the great outdoors close to home in an urban area or whether it’s the vast lands of the BLM or our National Parks. I look forward to finding opportunities to work across agencies and states and local areas to connect more children to nature overall.”

Watch the recording of the full Earth Day web chat and let us know some of your ideas for connecting kids with nature.

 

Celebrating Our Military Families in North Carolina

For our second weekend of Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors events, Sierra Club volunteers and partner organizations hosted a fun day of activities at Sturgeon City Park in Jacksonville, NC, near Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

Kids learned about animals and played games with our partners at Barney’s Almanac, they learned about water safety with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, enjoyed some snacks from the USO, saw and touched flounders with Sturgeon City, blew bubbles and played cornhole with Blue Star Families, and made pinwheels and hiked around the wetlands with the Sierra Club. The hit of the day was kayaking with Camp Lejeune Outdoor Adventures and the Sierra Club.

It was many of the families’ first time kayaking and everyone enjoyed being on the water. It was fun to watch as the kids conquered their nerves and became confident in their boats. A couple of boys who had been hesitant to go out on the water without their father were soon proud of their new paddling skills and wanted their mom to send pictures to their dad overseas.

Although, this was my last weekend with the Sierra Club, COMCO events will be happening all across the country through June. I can’t think of a better way to say thank you to our nation’s youngest heroes and military families. I’ve been honored to do this work and have been inspired by the passion and support our partners have shown for our Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors initiative. Letting us know that our work has been a success, one of the girls toward the end of the day exclaimed “this is the best day ever!” Find an event near you and take someone outside with you this weekend!

All photos courtesy of Nancy Card

Kicking Off the Month of the Military Child

Last Saturday, April 6th, was our Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors kickoff at Prince William Forest Park near Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia. Sierra Club Mission Outdoors worked with dozens of local and national partners to offer a free and fun day in the outdoors to honor our nation’s military kids and families. The day went spectacularly well; we had perfect weather, an excellent turnout, and a ton of fun with military families in the great outdoors!

Aspiring climbers negotiate the rope ladder

Families enjoyed a range of activities including kayak demonstrations, organized hikes, nature lessons and games, bird watching and more! They also collected benthic macroinvertebrates from a local creek, learned climbing skills, and saw birds of prey from the local raptor conservancy. Some of the most popular activities (tree climbing and leaf throwing) were provided by the park itself.

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis joined us as our keynote speaker, shared stories of his life with the National Park Service, and described the connected history of the military and our national parks.

Rangers were on hand to give out the annual America the Beautiful Pass, which is free for all U.S. military personnel and dependents. Sierra Club Board President Allison Chin also joined us to kick off the day, thanking military children for their unique service to our country and announcing the launch of our Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors initiative with over 20 events, hikes, and outings scheduled across the country to connect military children with the outdoors.

Timeless fun - tree climbing

This event would not have been possible without Laura Cohen and the Amazing team from Prince William Forest Park. A huge thank you to all of our partners and volunteers for making the day great: Blue Star Families, National Military Family Association, OAK-the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, National Park Service, Children & Nature Network, U.S. Forest Service, Virginia and Maryland Sierra Club  local and ICO outings groups, Raptor Conservancy of Virginia, Team River Runner, Sportrock Climbing Center, Dog Tag Bakery, National Wildlife Federation, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, NatureBridge, Alice Ferguson Foundation, and the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program.

A special thanks to Marianne Weaver with Blue Star Families, as well as Josh Brandon and Sara Carmichael with the Sierra Club for doing a fantastic job coordinating logistics and handling much of the work for the day.

Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors events are happening all across the country throughout April, the Month of the Military Child, and into June. Find a full listing of events at sierraclub.org/GETOUT. If you don’t see an event in your area, you can find resources at sierraclub.org/missionoutdoors to organize your own and show your support for our nation’s youngest heroes!

COMING HOME: How Nature Programs Offer Peace, Healing to Veterans and Families

Originally published on the Children and Nature Network Blog

Getting outside makes coming home from war easier for our military service members, veterans, and their families. Even if returning service members do not have a physical or mental health injury, most, families or veterans, will still struggle with coming back into their families or society to a routine which is very different from war.

The level of struggle will vary between families and individuals, but outdoor activities can be universally applied for all individual veterans, military families and especially children, for ensuring success in integration, employment, and education. Outdoor activities may take on additional importance for those returning with physical or mental health injuries that require adaptations due to a loss or limited use of a limb or traumatic brain injury.

We know from repeated testimony that increased confidence, family and social connections, learning how to live with a new physical adaptation, improved mental health, and even recovery from addiction, are attributed to time spent in the outdoors by veterans and military families.

Unfortunately, children, spouses, and caregivers are often forgotten. While one parent is deployed, children, spouses, and caregivers all take on different roles than when the military parent was at home. These roles can be difficult to relinquish or redefine when a parent comes home.

The outdoors provides an opportunity for kids to be just kids and for families to reconnect. Children can see in the outdoors that just because Mom or Dad may be missing a hand, Mom or Dad can still be an active participant in their childhood.

The National Military Family Association’s Operation Purple Camps and Retreats, Outward Bound for Veterans, the Wounded Warrior Project’s Project Odyssey, and the collaborative effort between 4H offices and National Guard and Reserve families that created Operation Military Kids, alongside the YMCA and several adaptive sports programs located at different winter and summer resorts, set the standard early on for outdoor recreation programs. Families and veterans can find opportunities through 125+ organizations, and that number is increasing, that cover the spectrum from afternoon picnics to multi-day expeditions.Programs like the collaborative agency and organization effort, Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors helps, on a community level, to connect local outdoor organizations with the local military and veteran community family. It is an outgrowth of a years long partnership between The National Military Family Association and Sierra Club to shift to a low cost, high impact partnership with more than 20 other organizations, the National Park Service, and United States Forest Service.

Some programs, like Higher Ground and Project Sanctuary include a deliberate therapeutic component. Others, like Project Healing Waters and Veterans Expeditions, argue that time in the outdoors, fly fishing or climbing respectively, inherently provide the therapy. Most programs fall somewhere in between. Increasingly, programs are finding ways to collaborate to save on resources and maximize impact.

Project Rebirth’s Resiliency in the Outdoors program, being led by US Army MAJ Aaron Leonard in his free time, aims to prove to military commanders that outdoor activities shouldn’t just happen after deployments, but when done before service members head overseas can improve mental health resiliency and expand on traditional leadership skills.

MAJ Leonard’s work is helping to shift the context of the outdoors for the military and veteran community from something nice to do if you have the time and the resources, to an integral, fundamental part of being a healthy soldier or veteran. If a day hike, or family picnic can provide the mental health relief and confidence building needed to find a job or get through a rough day at work or school, even if that work is combat, it should, and is, being prioritized. The positive implications this will have on outdoor recreation in general should not be discounted.

The Department of Interior has stepped up to make accessing public lands easier by offering free America the Beautiful passes While the Sierra Club’s Mission Outdoors ensures long term, repeat engagement outside for families, kids, and adults before or after they experience multi-day opportunities.

Across the spectrum however, we need to better tell our story and enlist the support of media outlets and not just those focused on outdoor recreation. Specialty magazines are great, but the outdoors and outdoor activity needs to become part of our total cultural landscape not just the reprieve of flannel and plaid wearing adventures normally profiled in outdoor magazines. Hand in hand with improved story telling, we need to significantly expand the body of research that shows with data, what we know through testimony to be true about the value of the outdoors.

The great news about military families, veterans and the outdoors is that it is an easy way for everyone to help and get involved. Next time you go on a hike, invite a veteran or military family!

Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors

by Dr. Jill Biden

Originally published on the White House Joining Forces Blog

As we mark the second anniversary of Joining Forces and celebrate the Month of the Military Child, April gives us the opportunity to celebrate our nation's youngest heroes—the children whose parents serve in our Armed Forces.

Military children face many unique challenges – on average, they attend six to nine different school systems by the time they graduate from high school. Through each transition, they have to leave their friends, try out for new sports teams, and adjust to a new school. 

As a teacher, I have been so pleased to see the progress we are making to raise awareness and understanding about how to help military children in the classroom. Through Joining Forces, more than 100 colleges of teacher education have signed on to Operation Educate the Educators, an effort to help better prepare future teachers to help military children in the classroom.

But as a military mother and grandmother, it is important to me that we are supporting our military children outside the classroom as well.

That’s why I'm delighted to see that, for the third consecutive year, the Sierra Club, Blue Star Families, theNational Military Family Association, the Children & Nature Network, the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and other partners will join forces for the Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors.

Getting children outdoors is a wonderful way to help them reduce stress and anxiety and improve physical fitness. It can also help bring families back together following a deployment.

Most of all, Celebration of the Military Child Outdoors is about creating opportunities for military children to explore and enjoy the beautiful land that they and their families have sacrificed to protect.  

This year’s celebration kicked off with a family-friendly event on Saturday, April 6^th just outside Washington, D.C., in Virginia's Prince William Forest Park. There was hiking, fishing, tent races, and plenty of opportunities for hundreds of military kids to have fun outdoors, enjoy the natural world with their families and simply know that they are loved. There will be additional events and hikes happening across the country all spring long. Visit sierraclub.org/GETOUT for the full listing.

The Month of the Military Child is a time to remind ourselves that it is not just the service members who serve. It is also their families. We cannot make all the challenges of being a military child disappear, but we can make sure they know we’re standing beside them. And a great step forward is a program like this one, helping military kids and their families have fun and reconnect in the fresh air of nature. 

Adaptive Skiing: We All Do It!

 

Sierra Club Mission Outdoors backcountry ski team

I love to ski, and the thing about skiing, as with snowboarding and even ice climbing, is that by its very nature it is an adaptive sport. You can't just "go skiing" without first strapping or clicking on a couple of extra appendages to your body, and from there, the learning curve begins. We, however, make a distinction in our sport between regular skiers and adaptive skiers. Those skiers who have more or different things that they have to strap on, say a lower leg and a prosthetic foot or a mono ski, are the "adaptive ones." In some cases, these skiers may actually have less to strap on, in the case of certain amputees who use one ski and outriggers, or those who are missing an arm, or blind skiers who use the same set up as fully-sighted skiers but need a guide in front or behind them as they head down the mountain.

 

Certainly, the challenges are different and the sport often harder to access the more adaptation

Big mountain skiing in Colorado's backcountry

required, but the joy and the beauty are no less when someone simply skis. We can, and we should, work together to get over and around those obstacles. And yet it seems we shy away from telling the stories of these skiers in the backcountry or anywhere, who are finding ways up and down the mountain. Perhaps we are too concerned that the story of further adaptation will fall into a formulaic TV movie of the week plot line that can invite pity, rather than respect for the challenges Johnny overcame to finally ski again, or to ski for the first time.

 

Instead, if we recognize that especially with skiing, all of us are adaptive athletes to some degree, and all of us, especially while learning, require a good deal of help to not only get good, but just up the mountain, perhaps we can begin to see those who are missing, or perhaps adding on more to their bodies than we have to, as athletes just like the rest of us: skiers seeking out bigger and steeper lines, fresher powder and an escape from the crowd -- we can begin to see only skiers. And with that, we can begin to see skiers, regardless of adaptation, in all the movies, catalogs, and festivals.

 

Powder-hungry skier executes deep turn!

Maybe everyone already sees it this way and is more enlightened than I am. If you are already there, rather than climbing up to get there, then I hope you can enjoy the following photos of an amazing backcountry ski trip sponsored by Sierra Club Mission Outdoors and run by the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program with plenty of help from San Juan Outdoor School, Jagged Edge, and theAlta Lakes Observatory. We had an amazing group of athletes, veterans and non-veterans, who just like the rest of us are absolute powder hounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special thanks to Craig Stein for his donation of the wonderful images.

Team of skiers gains the ridge in the mountains of Colorado

Backcountry skiers traverse through the high alpine

Summer Road Trip with Mission Outdoors: Celebrating 5 New National Monuments

The arrival of spring brings with it the inevitable question of what to do for the summer. This year, let Mission Outdoors be your guide and take advantage of the 5 new National Monuments that have been created for your enjoyment. With a diverse range of offerings, from coast to coast, we have you covered.

1. San Juan Islands National Monument

 Now that the San Juan Islands have been designated as a National Monument, enjoy an active get away and witness some of America’s most spectacular scenery. The 450 islands that make up this archipelago offer endless opportunities to explore, and a kayak is just the way to do it. Paddle amongst orca whales and harbor seals while bald eagles soar overhead. Unsure where to start? Contact the outings folks at the Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club for some local knowledge.

 2. El Rio Grande del Norte National Monument

As we move east from Washington State we come to another natural treasure in northern New Mexico, the El Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Whether it is hiking amongst extinct volcanoes, or running the river gorge’s whitewater by kayak or raft, outdoor recreationalists will not run out of options here.  While there are endless opportunities to enjoy the beautiful desert landscape of this river gorge, take some time to investigate the cultural and historical richness of this land as well. By understanding the diverse cultures that have called this region home, you will better appreciate the need to protect the land for future generations. The designation of this monument was made possible by a shared struggle comprising many constituencies, including the tribal nations, that have lived there for centuries. No matter your focus, Mission Outdoors is making it easier to experience the region. Contact The Rio Grande Chapter in New Mexico to find out more.

3. Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument 

From the deserts of the southwest we head northeast to another site of historical and social significance in Ohio. The Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument honors the life of Colonel Charles Young, who served as the Army superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant National Parks before the creation of the National Park Service. Combine a visit to the Colonel’s old house with an outing led by the Miami Group of the Sierra Club for an active and educational day!

4. First State National Monument

As the first state, Delaware has been long overdue for its first National Monument. This designation makes up for that by providing visitors with access to over 1,000 acres of land, much of it with established hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails, as well as riverfront access with paddling opportunities for the aquatically-inclined. Tired of all the physical activity? Visit the New Castle Court House where Abolitionists Thomas Garret and John Hunn were tried for violating the Fugitive Slave Act. The Sierra Club’s Delaware Chapter is a great place to start when planning any visit to the area.   

 5. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument

Our trip has taken us from sea to shining sea, down river gorges and up extinct volcanoes, and still has one stop left. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument along Maryland’s eastern shoreline commemorates Tubman’s commitment to freeing slaves.  Comprised of public lands included in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, the area provides outdoor enthusiasts with opportunities to view a diverse array of species. For information about enjoying the area and potential outings in the new monument contact the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club and check out their outings calendar.

 

These National Monuments were created through the exhaustive efforts of local people whose common goal of preserving America’s natural and cultural history benefits us all. This summer, let Mission Outdoors help you enjoy your national heritage so that you continue to be inspired to protect it.

 

 

 

 

Green Jobs in the Great Outdoors

Originally published on GoodJobsGreenJobs.org

Think fast — which industry provides more jobs for America: the outdoor recreation economy or the oil and gas sector? Answer: the outdoor recreation economy, and by a huge margin.

An oft-overlooked economic driver, protecting and connecting people with the great outdoors supports 6.1 million jobs right here in America,according to the Outdoor Industry Association. In fact, in 2011 our National Parks alone generated $30.1 billion in economic activity, contributing 252,000 jobs to the American workforce. Outdoor recreation bankrolls more jobs than a host of economic behemoths like oil and gas (2.1 million jobs), information (2.5 million jobs), transportation and warehousing (4.3 million jobs) and construction (5.5 million jobs). Supporting these outdoor recreation jobs (not to mention the additional $80 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue that they generate) is consumer spending to the tune of $646 billion each year.

Unfortunately, we may not be adequately preparing the next generation of job seekers to participate in the outdoor economy, which has seen steady five percent growth since 2005. Today’s children are spending less time exploring and enjoying the great outdoors than their parents did just a generation ago. Young people are using most of their free time on increasingly sedentary and indoor activities. For instance, youth spend more than seven hours a day on electronic media. And it’s not their fault, they have nowhere to go. One in five kids cannot even access close-to-home outdoor spaces because they do not have safe parks or playgrounds nearby.

We need to do more to ensure that we are teaching relevant skills to today’s young people so that they may contribute to the conservation and recreation economy, where they can earn a living in protecting and connecting people with America’s great outdoors. Our work starts by making sure all people, beginning with little kids, have every opportunity to explore and enjoy the natural world where they can develop an appreciation for the great outdoors. Then we need to make sure that young people have the appropriate skill sets to protect and restore our public lands — the places on which a robust outdoor recreation economy depends.

The “Green Jobs in the Great Outdoors” workshop at the Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference will bring together experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities for ensuring we have a workforce well-equipped to take on green careers in recreation and conservation. For example, you’ll hear about Sierra Club’s Outdoors program which is both connecting people (young and old) with the great outdoors and training the next generation of outdoor leaders. You’ll hear about conservation and restoration skills training programs provided by the Student Conservation Association and the various programs and initiatives housed with our federal land management agencies to prepare current and future generations for careers protecting and connecting America with the natural world.

This year’s conference theme is Let’s Get to Work: Climate Change, Infrastructure and Innovation. Protecting our public lands for the public benefit allows us to grow an economy that greens our planet and our pockets. Outdoor recreation supports three times more American jobs than does the oil and gas industry, so let’s grow our economy by keeping the oil and gas in the ground and protecting the lands on which the outdoor recreation economy and 6.1 million Americans’ jobs depend.

 

Inner City Outings: A New Generation of Experiences

Originally published on The Planet: Sierra Club Stories from the Front Lines

Inner City Outings doesn't just provide incredible outdoor experiences for kids. It also allows adults to pass on their own childhood experiences to a new generation.

That's one reason why Raleigh, North Carolina, ICO leaders Sarah Johnston and Sara Felsen got involved. Johnston, who grew up in the West Virginia Appalachians, remembers bird-spotting with her family:  "I hated it then because I wanted to be at the mall," she recalls. "But after a while, I grew to love it and now I spend all my vacations in tents."

Felsen, who's originally from western New York State, remembers camping with the Girl Scouts: "This is a way to pass it along to the next generation, especially to kids who might not otherwise have these experiences," she says. "But we volunteers learn as much as the kids, both on educational outings and just by learning what's going on in these kids' lives. We watch them grow and broaden their perspective on life with each outing."

Raleigh ICO is one of 50 volunteer-run groups across the U.S. that collectively lead more than 800 outings for about 14,000 kids each year. In many cases, ICO kids grow up in areas that struggle with drugs and gangs. ICO exposes kids to new worlds and experiences. The Raleigh group leads about 10 outings a year and provides adventures that range from camping in state parks to visiting science and nature festivals to canoeing.

"Canoeing is a favorite trip, and we go on day hikes and take kids ice skating in the winter," Johnston says. "There's also a local wetlands center, where there’s a waterfowl bird sanctuary. Last week, we took a group to some local farms and they've gone to see new goats being born, pick strawberries."

These outings instill a sense of courage and comfort with nature.

"If we’re at an amphibian or snake exhibit, some kids might stay in the back of the group, especially if they’re new participants. But after a few experiences they’ll be right up there in front," Felsen said. "When kids first start with us, they're afraid of everything. Putting them into a canoe for the first time—the young ones might even be crying. But when they come back a second time, they start running for the canoes.

"Kids that develop courage in the outdoors are great to have because that helps foster other kids," she added. "They'll see something like an eastern water snake and they’re so fascinated, whereas before the kids would be a mess."