With support from the Sahm Family Foundation, Outdoor Outreach's Outdoor Voices Initiative empowers the next generation of leaders in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors.
The Outdoor Voices program provides civic engagement training for youth participants and program graduates. It gives them a platform to speak for themselves about park equity issues affecting their communities.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY OUTDOOR OUTREACH
OUTDOOR VOICES CLUB TAKE A ROAD TRIP TO STATE CAPITOL & BAY AREA
In May 2022, Outdoor Outreach had the unique opportunity to bring eight members of our Outdoor Voices Club to Northern California for a four-day road trip experience that ended in Sacramento as part of Park Advocacy Day, hosted by the California State Parks Foundation.
The trip’s focus was to reconnect with nature, expose the barriers people still face accessing the park system, and explore policy solutions. Youth advocates shared their direct experiences to help advance key policies like Assembly Bill 2975, which would create “community access agreements” between the state and nonpro ts, allowing nonpro ts to operate ongoing programs at state parks and beaches without having to go through a costly permitting process. And we had a BLAST along the way—here are some highlights!
Read the full article here.