This inaugural youth summit convened youth from underserved communities and enabled them to get  involved, giving them a voice in discussions that will help shape the way Parks reach out to youth and tackle sensitive issues that can create barriers to getting youth outside and in parks.  The summit built partnerships among organizations and local businesses and created a precedent for future summits to address pressing issues concerning young people and the outdoors.  In fact, the National Park Service Director, Jon Jarvis, and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area General Superintendent, Frank Dean, have been approached with this idea and are taking it into consideration. 

How did they do it?  This year’s Inspiring Young Emerging Leader’s team consisted of 22 high school students, representing 13 different high schools and 13 different neighborhoods in San Francisco. They reflected a range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds: 36% were Asian American, 27% Latino, 23% African American, and 14% identified as multi-ethnic. These committed individuals experienced an amazing journey, challenging each other and learning important lessons as they created an inspirational project that allowed their peers to experience parks and the outdoors in a way they never could have imagined. They had fun exploring parks and various outdoor activities and provided thoughtful insight into key questions that are currently being addressed as part of the America’s Great Outdoors initiative. 

Prior to their involvement with the I-YEL program, very few of these youth leaders had interest in getting involved in the outdoors. They felt it was too difficult, they didn’t know what to expect, and they didn’t feel welcome. To overcome these barriers, their internship began with an assignment to learn about their own neighborhood parks. They made digital stories and performed detailed “needs assessments” to track resources, demographic usage, and transportation/access issues that required improvement. Through this activity, they developed a critical eye and started to see all the different ways one can evaluate the health of a park, as well as a park’s role in the health of a community and its people. Once the teens made this connection on a personal, local level, they were able to see that Crissy Field and the National Parks were relevant to them.

This exercise was followed by field trips to Alcatraz and Yosemite where they got to experience these sites first hand, learn more about the National Park system, its mission and challenges, and to get a better sense of the current level of youth engagement in the parks. Once this introduction was complete, the I-YEL interns began to brainstorm ideas for their annual project. They decided that they wanted to reach out to youth like themselves—young people of color, many of whom are low-income and have had little access to national parks.  Thus, Backyard Bound was born and they created an inaugural youth summit that inspired young people to take advantage of the park resources in their own communities and reconnected them to the outdoors through a series of educational workshops, discussion groups and hands-on experiences. Additionally, they saw the summit as an opportunity to address three key agenda items identified in the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative Youth Report, which was released as a follow-up to the listening sessions President Obama conducted in 2010.

1. Relevance: making the outdoors inviting, exciting, and relevant to today’s young people;
2. Education: using formal and informal approaches to build upon a base of environmental and outdoor education;
3. Access: ensuring that all young people have access to outdoor places that are safe, clean, and close to home

So for five months, the I-YEL team dedicated a total 1,500 hours to plan, develop and promote the summit. They formulated goals, came up with a name “Backyard Bound”, designed activities and crafted workshops that dealt with thought provoking topics such as Environmental Justice and Stereotypes. Each intern participated in three different committees to help organize the Outdoor Experience, Logistics, and Discussion Group components. Along the way, they challenged each other’s ideas and improved upon them to ensure quality. Additionally, they met with park rangers to learn how to develop their own personal public speaking and interpretive skills, along with group facilitation, project development, which they were able to apply during the discussion portions of the summit.

The actual summit ran from March 19 to March 20, 2011 at the Rob Hill Campground in the Presidio, which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and it convened more than 100 high school students, ranging from 15 to 18 years of age, from the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of the teens had little outdoor experience prior to this event; for more than half, this was their first time camping and spending the night away from home.  The summit began at 8:00 am Saturday morning with an energetic rally as I-YEL welcomed everyone and explained the goals of the event. Not even the heavy rain, which continued throughout the weekend, could dampen these young people’s spirits. The youth got right to work learning how to pitch their own tents and adopt the “Leave No Trace” principles. A total of six educational workshops were offered, introducing them to the National Park system and educating them on local urban wildlife and ecology they might find in their neighborhoods. The workshops also included sessions exploring cultural identity and environmental justice. The goal of these workshops was to establish relevance and a personal connection between summit participants and the park. Based on responses from post-event evaluations, 82% of the teens left the summit with an understanding that the parks belonged to them and felt being outdoors benefited their lives.

After lunch, a series of experiential workshops designed to support the second goal of education occurred. Teens chose from six outdoor activities that were low to no-cost that would encourage them to come back with the desire to introduce these recreational activities to their friends and family. Close to 80% of the participants surveyed expressed interest in wanting to visit more parks and return with their friends and families. Furthermore, 96% said they felt more confident and knowledgeable in the outdoors as a result of these experiences. Some favorite activities were: the adventure ropes course, wilderness survival training, catch and release crabbing, a nature hike/poetry session, and an “Amazing Race-like” scavenger hunt. The day concluded with a BBQ dinner and traditional campfire, complete with s’mores and stories led by a National Park Service Ranger.

On Sunday, after breakfast and breaking down the campsite, the participants split into three smaller discussion groups to tackle the third goal of access and ways to connect people—especially urban audiences—to parks. They explored ways technology could help make parks relevant to young people and methods on how to develop outreach campaigns that attract young people and their families to visit the parks. Later, they reflected upon stereotypes about the outdoors, people who go outdoors and how these stereotypes affect them. They also discussed barriers to teen participation and brainstormed how to direct mass marketing away from shopping malls and movies towards healthy outdoor excursions. Lastly, before the summit ended at 2pm, the youth discussed how public transportation needed to be improved in order to make it easier to get to parks without a car, as well as ways that their own neighborhood parks could be revitalized and made safer. According to the evaluations, 70% of the teens felt that they were able to contribute to the discussion, and that their ideas and opinions would get more youth outdoors. This project was highly successful and can be a model for other programs nation-wide.

Following are some direct quotes that express their motivation for creating the summit:

“I can serve the community in different ways such as making an effort to keep it clean, encouraging others to become educated about their community, and inspire them to visit their parks more. From the youth summit I hope to gain better leadership skills, and also the feeling that I contributed to getting more youth to go outside.” –Crystal Robinson, Senior at Galileo HS, 2nd year I-YEL intern.

“I think the outdoors is all of ours— it’s one of those rare things that all humans naturally share. Yet so little people realize this, and spending time outside seems to be more of a privilege or a chore these days. I hope our team inspires people to fight for their right to enjoy and rediscover nature.” – Jenna Fiorello, Sophomore at Lowell HS, 2nd year I-YEL intern.

“Parks can help my community because it would provide a sense of peace and safety for the families. I can make my community more positive by getting the youth to attend their parks more often instead of other alternatives.”  -  Anny Ho, Sophomore at Academy, 1st year I-YEL intern.

“I-YEL is a wonderful program and has helped me think outside the box when it comes to parks. Now I can share how fun our local parks can be with my friends.” – Sebastian Jefferson, Sophomore at Wallenberg HS, 1st year I-YEL intern.

This type of adventure provides an opportunity to understand what is just beyond the city limits and why it is important to protect and care for these lands. For many youth, a camping trip to explore the lands around them is not something that they would consider especially if they have been raised in an urban environment. Where would you go? How far away is it? What do you need? Why would you want to go? Isn’t it dangerous?
Sometimes, it is the camping experience that can turn skeptics into life-long campers who look forward to the chance to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.  The night skies blazing with stars, the quiet whistle of the wind through the trees, the snap of the campfire, and the smell of the great outdoors bring a new realization of the world around them.

In Nevada, an amazing partnership formed to allow high school students to learn about camping and to work closely with professionals and volunteers who value camping and careers that have an outdoor component.  Camping 101 is a collaborative effort involving staff from the federal government’s Southern Nevada Agency Partnership, Clark County Schools, REI, the University of Nevada Public Lands Institute, the Great Basin Institute, as well as local businesses on a mission to share their love of the great outdoors with local youth.  Camping 101 aims to introduce youth to local federal lands and basic camping skills, encouraging them to explore outdoor possibilities and develop their own appreciation for outdoor recreation and natural wonders. It gives them the confidence and ability to plan and be responsible for all the needs of a successful and safe camping trip.  In partnership with the Clark County School District, Camping 101 was taught in Physical Education classes to give both teachers and students a great opportunity to develop some technical skills and learn about local resources. This program succeeded in familiarizing youth with basic camping gear and helped build an awareness of recreational opportunities on federal lands. This program also provided a chance for students to interact with adults and federal employees in a positive environment and exposed them to a number of different professions of the volunteers and participants.  

Camping 101 provides a 90-minute event which spices up Physical Education class by providing an opportunity for high school freshmen and sophomores to have some hands on camping training. Yet, what good are camping skills if no one knows how to get to the outdoors? Camping 101 also has that covered! They provide a dual program with a session focused on developing map reading and trip planning skills. Each event involves approximately 100 students, divided into two groups.  Camping 101 not only provides staff and programming but, in collaboration with REI, also provides demonstration camping equipment for the students to practice setting up and tearing down.  Equipment like tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, portable stoves and camping chairs are provided to create a more realistic camp site set up.

Camping 101 involves a large number of staff and volunteers to ensure that students receive personalized guidance while learning about different aspects of camping. Staff and volunteers are encouraged to serve as positive role models, sharing their personal outdoor experiences with the students to build positive connections. One group of students is stationed on the soccer field where they get hands on experience setting up tents, doing compass activities, and practicing orienteering in small groups. Staff also provides a session on weather and safety concerns to make sure that students are aware of risks and safety practices. Familiarizing students with basic camping skills and addressing their concerns are essential to breaking through the barriers many students may have with experiencing the outdoors. After completing the outdoor session the groups switch locations.

The second group of students, who meet in the gym, are divided into groups of 5 and focus on planning a camping trip for their families or friends. They are assigned a local federal land, and given state maps and an informational brochure specific to that area. Students must use the tools given to them to answer a list of relevant questions that they would have to address while planning a typical camping trip. They are encouraged to think about the needs of their group and find out what amenities are on site, the distance between locations, necessary park fees, the closest small town, and investigate the array of fun activities that they can do on site. Each group develops a report and gives an oral presentation to the class, teaching each other about recreational resources on different federal lands.

This successful program has been well received and can be used as a foundation to support further efforts to expose students to the outdoors and future careers. Depending on time, additional activities such as career days or service learning days could add to Camping 101. This would further understanding of career paths and promote working outdoors, a concept some of the students have never thought of. If possible, with adequate staff and funds, these events would be a good segue into bringing the students outdoors to practice their skills and experience the outdoors. In Clark County, Camping 101 inspired a local PE teacher to apply and receive the Michael Jordan Grant that provides 2 years of funding to bring students into the outdoors.  It allows students the opportunity to make outdoor adventures a reality. Camping 101 continues to strive to fulfill its mission to build a connection between people and the public lands by using recreational opportunities to teach responsible recreation and Leave No Trace ethics.

The program is about learning and exploring, using recreational opportunities to teach responsible recreation in an informal atmosphere with positive role models. Camping 101 is about building a connection between the people and the land. If you are interested in obtaining a lesson plan please contact Sky McClain or call 702-293-8917 for more information.

Website: partnership website: www.snap.gov

TFK has partnered with Saguaro NP and regional schools, youth organizations and the Tucson Police Department Gang Outreach Unit, to offer a four ride series model intending to get Tucson youth into the desert to have fun, learn about the National Park Service and the Sonoran Desert, and participate in a service project to improve the environment for other trail users. “We want the youth we serve to develop an understanding of the importance of natural settings as well as experience how much fun it is to ride a mountain bike,” said Heather Moore, founder and Director of TFK. “This series of rides was designed to teach the fundamentals of riding safety and the mechanics of the bike, and learn about NPS and the trail for the first two rides. On the third ride, Saguaro Park trail crew instruct them how to maintain a trail and use the tools necessary to keep the trial in good shape for visitors and to protect the natural resources. So they learn the story of why this place is special enough to be a national park. On the fourth ride, we revisit the service project site and they can admire what they have accomplished. They love it and seem proud of what they have done,” she said.

This activity model helps the youth participants build their self-esteem, learn new skills, compete with each other, and learn about potential career paths in the field of conservation, land and resource management, and with the National Park Service. “They really like the technical challenge offered by the bikes and the service project,” said Cate Bradley with the NPS Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA). “And they are starting to think about what kind of job they want to do later, so it’s great exposure for them and for the park,” said Bradley. 

TFK offers after school rides and weekend rides during the months before it gets too hot. This year they want to extend the ride season to include some night rides.