Conservation + Recreation: May 2010
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Engaging Youth |
Even when the goal is to get people out to enjoy the real world of nature, it makes sense to start online*. Reaching out through social media can engage young people in a conversation about their needs, interests, and motivation for getting outside and getting involved. So, it's no surprise that youth-focused outdoor organizations emphasize their online presences through Twitter, Facebook fan pages, interactive websites, and blogs where youth provide the content. Young people are excited about using these tools to share their thoughts and shape the dialogue about getting youth outdoors. Now, the Department of the
Interior is joining that dialogue. Secretary Ken Salazar created the Office of Youth in the Great Outdoors to help coordinate the Department's efforts to employ,
educate, and engage young people from all backgrounds in exploring,
connecting with, and preserving America's natural and cultural heritage. "This is an exciting opportunity," said Julie
Rodriguez, Director of the new office. "Young people have such an Julie Rodriguez, DOI Youth Office Director | amazing energy and insight into many of
the challenges and problems we face as a nation and in individual communities. It's something that is too often overlooked
or not utilized effectively." This
office brings the youth outreach efforts of each Interior bureau
and agency under one umbrella. And soon, social media tools like Facebook and
Twitter and a dedicated website will enable the agencies and the public to get
information and engage in conversation about youth programs and events. Noting that such a conversation is a two-way street, Rodriguez says "We need to
give young people a seat at the table and engage them in meaningful
ways... not
just as a target audience." *According to the Kaiser Family Foundation study of media use in the lives of 8-18 year olds, the most
popular computer activity for this age group is visiting social media sites
like Facebook. Four out of ten young people are spending almost an hour on one or more of these
sites every day.
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Creating an Outdoor Nation Many of America's youth may have been absent from the national conversation about nature, conservation, and getting
engaged in the outdoors. But no longer. Through the efforts of the Outdoor Foundation and coalition members such as the National Park Service, the
Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, REI, and North Face, Outdoor Nation is inviting young people to join the conversation.
The idea behind Outdoor
Nation is to empower young people (14-30) to make the world what they want it
to be in terms of outdoors and conservation and give them opportunities to
engage in the outdoors. Using Outdoor Nation's website, Facebook page, and Twitter account, the coalition is harnessing the power of social
networks to find out why being outside matters to these youth. Because the agencies and organizations
involved are part of these conversations, as well, young people who share their
thoughts have the power to drive change and directly reach policy makers in a
way they never could before. In addition to the online
presence, Outdoor Nation will kick-off "live" in Central Park, New York City, on June 19 and 20. The
Outdoor Nation Festival (Saturday) will enable youth to celebrate an active and healthy outdoor lifestyle, along with a career fair to
raise awareness of jobs and career paths in outdoor organizations and agencies. The Outdoor Youth Summit
(Sunday) will be a meeting of 500 young leaders from all 50 states who will
champion the outdoors, help develop a national youth outdoor agenda, share
ideas, and make new connections. The goal is to motivate and mobilize youth to
reclaim the outdoors for their generation; and to create ambassadors who will
share the message with their peers and take the message back to their
communities and start raising awareness there, too. "My hope is that the
summit sparks a youth-led movement that gets young people outdoors and
active," says Christine Fanning, Executive Director of The Outdoor
Foundation. "In terms of evolution of Outdoor Nation, I hope that young
people across the country reconnect with outdoors and that results in a
healthier population and planet." The partnerships that
started this effort came together at the right moment. Two paths converged: the
Mobilize GenWise Summit brought together young people in their 20s and 30s to
brainstorm about engaging and mobilizing this generation; and the Outdoor
Foundation was recognizing that youth were missing from the conservation and
nature movement. "We've realized for a
while that we need something like this," says Jamie Fields, Outdoor
Recreation Planner with RTCA. "It's great that it's finally happening.
We're finding new ways to connect to the earth and each other and keep healthy
and fit. The bottom line: Go play outside, and bring a friend."
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A Tip of the Hat to...
...the "Trail Apprentices." A group of the next generation's leaders came together at last summer's conference on National Scenic and Historic Trails in Missoula. The participating federal agencies and trail organizations found the financial resources to bring the apprentices into the trails community, but we tip our hat to the Apprentices for going on to invest their energy and keep the rest of us apprised of their continuing adventures. The Partnership for the National Trails System runs updates and profiles in its Pathways magazine. Trail Apprentices, we salute you!
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