Outdoor Convenings Fall 2015

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1 Outdoor Convenings Fall 2015 Program Description California Outdoor Engagement Coalition Through the generous support of the Outdoor Foundation and the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the California Outdoor Engagement Coalition partnered with student-run organizations across 10 campuses to host outdoor convenings in Fall The aim for these convenings was to inspire campus communities to connect with the outdoors through nature-based activities. The outdoor convenings ranged from kayaking days to overnight camping trips to work in community gardens. The convenings also served as a space for diverse undergraduate and graduate students along with faculty to begin a dialogue on barriers and solutions within the campus community that limit outdoor access and participation. About the Coalition The California Outdoor Engagement Coalition was created at UC Berkeley s College of Natural Resources to expand t ransformational experiences for youth in California. Through crosssector partnerships, the Coalition supports youth (birth-age 25) who reflect the overall demographics of the state, to play, learn, serve, and work in the outdoors. Outcomes Number of Participants: 379 Number of Events: 12 Number of colleges/universities: 10 Audience Reached: College students throughout Californiathe vast majority of whom visited these locations for the first time!

2 Programs Each campus led a range of programs and activities that helped students and community members get outdoors UC Berkeley: Cal NERDS (New Experiences for Research & Diversity in Science) hosted a daylong event at Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. This convening supported their vision of exposure participation transformation for getting students into parks, as well as fulfilling their goal of promoting student health and wellness through outdoor engagement. The convening included 30 diverse undergraduate and graduate students and included a raffle and a social media contest where participants posted pictures of their adventures on their social media accounts, using the hashtag #stateparknerds. Students then traveled to Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Golden Gate Park, where they explored the Conservatory of Flowers and the Japanese Tea Garden. UC Los Angeles: The Bruin Naturalists Club conducted a BioBlitz at the UC Stunt Ranch Reserve where student participants engaged in a day of learning about nature, wildlife and conservation. Students met at UCLA and carpooled to Stunt Ranch, where they conducted field surveys of local flora and fauna. Through the BioBlitz, they learned about data collection and compilation techniques, and also engaged in a discussion around barriers and solutions to outdoor access. UC Davis: The Wildlife Society led an overnight camping trip to Point Reyes National Seashore where student participants kayaked in Tomales Bay and hiked along the shoreline. After pitching tents at Olema Campground on Saturday morning, the group headed out on an afternoon hike along Tomales Point Trail, looking for Tule Elk. Later that evening, they cooked dinner and had a campfire at the campground, where they talked about barriers and solutions to participating in outdoor activities. After breakfast the next morning, the students spent a beautiful day on the water with Blue Waters Kayaking. UC Riverside: Outdoor Excursions held an afternoon of activities for students and community members followed by an interactive camping experience at a garden. A total of 55 people participated in their activities, which included lessons and games on proper campfire etiquette, cooking dishes such as lasagna and cobbler in Dutch Ovens, and tent setup. Although daytime activities were open to all, only students took part in overnight camping. There, students participated in traditional campfire activities and held a discussion around barriers and solutions to getting outdoors.

3 UC Santa Barbara: The Recreation Department hosted a beach day for the UCSB LGBTQ student community where 33 student participants received lessons in kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. They then kayaked to Goleta Beach, where they were met with a BBQ and games. During lunch, the students engaged in discussion about barriers and solutions to getting outdoors. The afternoon ended with a kayak trip back to the starting point, before returning to campus. UC Santa Cruz: The Younger Lagoon Reserve held a stewardship day at the reserve where students took part in native habitat restoration. A total of 21 students learned about natural history and ecology through storytelling and hands-on projects, in order to inspire a deeper sense of connection to the reserve. They received an overview of the reserve s history and assisted with planting native vegetation. They also held a facilitated discussion on barriers and solutions to getting outdoors. Modesto Junior College: MEChA hosted a nature walk open to students and the public at Caswell State Park. They provided free transportation to the park for anyone who wanted to participate. After arriving at the park, the group had a facilitated discussion on the barriers and solutions to getting outdoors over lunch. After their conversation, they spent the afternoon on the nature walk, learning about the wildlife and habitats of Caswell State Park. Several of the participants had never visited the park before.

4 De Anza Junior College: The Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies held a BioBlitz where 24 students were grouped and assigned a section and were asked to identify the flora and fauna of the specific area. Students not only had an opportunity to go out and learn about their local environment, but also had the chance to come together and have a discussion regarding accessibility to the outdoors. UC Merced: The Yosemite Leadership Program hosted an outdoor climbing wall during UC Merced's Ecofest. Student participants were required to complete a short questionnaire about barriers and solutions to accessing the outdoors prior to using the climbing wall. A total of 122 students participated in their event and survey about barriers and solutions to accessing the outdoors. UC San Diego: The student-run Roger's Community Garden hosted a lecture series at the garden, which focused on sustainable agriculture, permaculture, integrated agriculture and ways to grow your own food. Students met up at the garden where they received a tour and presentation about the garden and had some food. Participants were then broken up into four groups and were given workshops on subjects like aquaponics (access to water), community plotting (urban gardening), fruit orchid (access to fresh produce), and compost (food waste in society). After, students gathered and had a discussion around barriers and solutions to getting outdoors.

5 Barriers and Solutions to Getting Outdoors All 10 campuses led focused discussions to identify barriers within the campus community that limit outdoor participation Barriers and Suggested Solutions: Expenses: A consensus across campuses is that students may not go outdoors because they cannot afford it. Whether this is because of low income status or just a general lack of disposable funds, costs associated with the outdoors seems to be one of the major barriers to outdoor engagement. Solutions: Entrance fees to parks, outdoor gear such as camping equipment, or simple hiking shoes can be very costly and students who identify as low income may not be able to afford these expenses. One suggestion was having optional rental equipment at sites so students and others do not have to invest so much for equipment that may not be used often. Another suggestion was having more free days or weekends to visit recreational areas. Because there are some outdoor spaces that are more costly than others, it was also suggested that better promotion of already existing free and low cost parks and outdoor spaces be promoted to break the stigma that all outdoor activities are expensive. Lack of Time & Student Guilt : As students, going outdoors means dedicating large amounts of time to enjoy yourself in nature, and although this can be fun and transforming to physical and mental health, students may remain inactive because they feel guilty spending the day outdoors instead of studying. Solutions: One suggestion for this was to bring studying and learning outdoors to better incorporate the idea of a balance between indoor studying and outdoor recreation. Promoting a culture of the integration of school and the outdoors can reduce student guilt and create a more harmonious balance between academia and the outdoors. Social and Cultural Barriers: Students that had not been initially introduced to parks as children do not tend to venture out to parks later on in life. It was not a family tradition, one participant commented. Therefore a promotional slogan such as get outdoors means a lot less to certain communities, and subsequently has less of an impact. Solutions: Develop culturally relevant rhetoric surrounding the importance of outdoor engagement. Use these culturally relevant materials to outreach to communities that have lower participation in the outdoors.

6 Transportation: Many times, public transportation does not extend to parks or recreational areas, and students have a difficult time getting outdoors. Unfortunately many young people reported not having access to personal vehicles that would allows them to travel to some of these outdoor spaces. Solutions: Provide funding! A number of organizations hosting the convenings used the funds for transportation as the best way to ensure participation by all. Influencing local institutions (schools, government, hospitals, health care insurances, banks) to support these kinds of activities could secure more funding to help reduce the barrier of transportation and costs to young people who want to get outdoors. Another popular suggestion was the promotion of alternative nature based education facilities such as the Academy of Sciences, which tends to be a lot more accessible through public transportation. Unsafe Parks: Parks in neighborhoods where criminal activity is prominent do not serve for recreation, but instead are spaces where illicit activity occurs, causing folks who might have gone to these spaces to feel unsafe. Solutions: Based on responses, this is a barrier that is more complicated to fix. A viable suggestion was park renovations, such as more streetlights, to deter this kind of activity from happening in these spaces. Studies have shown, for example, that blue street lighting reduces crime. Making these kinds of infrastructural changes could potentially reduce these kinds of unwanted activities and allow for folks in the community to feel safer in these spaces. Undocumented Status: Fear of undocumented status keeps students and families who live far from parks from traveling and also poses the fear of having their papers checked when visiting the parks. Solution: This is yet another issue that respondents recognized as being very difficult to overcome. However, some suggestions included outreach to communities to promote parks in sanctuary cities, such as San Francisco, or to promote parks without park fees so that the possibility of encountering law enforcement is lessened. These are just a few of the most common responses to barriers for outdoor engagement. One of the major takeaways we found after compiling these responses is that the first step towards a solution in any of these circumstances is discussion and recognition of the problem. It s no secret that young people are becoming less and less exposed to the outdoors. Without discussions such as these solutions to mitigate these, barriers cannot be accomplished. What we do know is that there is no one fix-all-be-all answer for increasing outdoor participation. The first step to getting folks outdoors is creating spaces for discussions such as these where youth can feel comfortable in expressing their individual identities and experiences with the outdoors. Only when we talk about these issues can true change finally be accomplished!