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Turning outdoor experiences into action.
Turning outdoor experiences into action.
Equipping students with tools for civic engagement, policy advocacy, and change making to protect public lands and endangered cultural environments.
Equipping students with tools for civic engagement, policy advocacy, and change making to protect public lands and endangered cultural environments.
Beyond the experience, empowerment and action.
Beyond the experience, empowerment and action.
Helping the next generation of environmental leaders learn to organize, advocate, lobby, and protect America’s public lands and native communities.
Helping the next generation of environmental leaders learn to organize, advocate, lobby, and protect America’s public lands and native communities.
Background
Background
Millions of American students take part in outdoor education programs every year.
Millions of American students take part in outdoor education programs every year.
But how many of these students know who owns and manages the public or tribal lands they just hiked?
But how many of these students know who owns and manages the public or tribal lands they just hiked?
Do students learn about threats to the watershed they just paddled?
Do students learn about threats to the watershed they just paddled?
How many met and formed relationships with indigenous and other cultural communities that live in these areas?
How many met and formed relationships with indigenous and other cultural communities that live in these areas?
And how many students learn how to take policy-level action to ensure these lands and cultural environments are protected for generations to come?
And how many students learn how to take policy-level action to ensure these lands and cultural environments are protected for generations to come?
Outdoors to Action (O2A) was founded by a teacher and wilderness educator to move outdoor education beyond “one and done” experiences by equipping students with tools for civic engagement, policy advocacy, and change making to protect public lands and endangered cultural environments.
Outdoors to Action (O2A) was founded by a teacher and wilderness educator to move outdoor education beyond “one and done” experiences by equipping students with tools for civic engagement, policy advocacy, and change making to protect public lands and endangered cultural environments.
About Us
About Us
After decades working in public and independent school classrooms; outdoor programs including the National Outdoor Leadership School and Outward Bound; Native American schools on the Shoshone and Araphahoe Reservation; partner programs with the Makah, Gwich’in, and Inupiaq nations; and dozens of school-based outdoor education programs across the West, we have seen many programs make great strides to get students into the woods.
After decades working in public and independent school classrooms; outdoor programs including the National Outdoor Leadership School and Outward Bound; Native American schools on the Shoshone and Araphahoe Reservation; partner programs with the Makah, Gwich’in, and Inupiaq nations; and dozens of school-based outdoor education programs across the West, we have seen many programs make great strides to get students into the woods.
Indeed, outdoor education programs have boomed over the last thirty years. And while many programs use public and tribal lands as wonderful classrooms for academic learning, personal growth, teamwork, and wilderness skills; we have seen few programs teach deeply about local and federal agencies that manage these lands; or tribal history (and contemporary realities); or land use battles, issues of sovereignty, and threats to the lands and people in these areas.
Indeed, outdoor education programs have boomed over the last thirty years. And while many programs use public and tribal lands as wonderful classrooms for academic learning, personal growth, teamwork, and wilderness skills; we have seen few programs teach deeply about local and federal agencies that manage these lands; or tribal history (and contemporary realities); or land use battles, issues of sovereignty, and threats to the lands and people in these areas.
And while we have seen many programs try to help students “give back” to lands and communities with service projects like litter clean up, small scale construction projects, invasive plant removal, or minor restoration--and this is great!--very few programs teach students to take lasting and systemic action to advocate for and protect threatened cultural landscapes with policy level solutions.
And while we have seen many programs try to help students “give back” to lands and communities with service projects like litter clean up, small scale construction projects, invasive plant removal, or minor restoration--and this is great!--very few programs teach students to take lasting and systemic action to advocate for and protect threatened cultural landscapes with policy level solutions.
Outdoors to Action works with schools, trip leaders, native communities, and government entities to transform outdoor education, advocate for cultural landscapes, and help the next generation of environmental leaders learn to organize, advocate, lobby, and protect America’s public lands and native communities.
Outdoors to Action works with schools, trip leaders, native communities, and government entities to transform outdoor education, advocate for cultural landscapes, and help the next generation of environmental leaders learn to organize, advocate, lobby, and protect America’s public lands and native communities.
What We Do
What We Do
Redesigning Outdoor Curriculum to include:
Redesigning Outdoor Curriculum to include:
Native history and contemporary realities
Native history and contemporary realities
Land management agencies: local and regional
Land management agencies: local and regional
Local, national, and global threats to course areas
Local, national, and global threats to course areas
Policy history and alternatives
Policy history and alternatives
Key constituencies: multiple perspectives
Key constituencies: multiple perspectives
Brainstorming solutions: both individual and policy/systemic
Brainstorming solutions: both individual and policy/systemic
Designing personal action steps
Designing personal action steps
Designing policy/systemic action steps
Designing policy/systemic action steps
Consulting and Conference Presentations
Consulting and Conference Presentations
O2A approach
O2A approach
Case studies
Case studies
Broadening outdoor service learning to encompass both “hands dirty/personal action” projects and policy level, systematic solutions
Broadening outdoor service learning to encompass both “hands dirty/personal action” projects and policy level, systematic solutions
Tool kit for youth policy/systematic change advocacy and action
Tool kit for youth policy/systematic change advocacy and action
Help schools add curricular and follow up action modules to specific current and future programming
Help schools add curricular and follow up action modules to specific current and future programming
Program creation and leading
Program creation and leading
Consult/Create experiential programs that skillfully apply O2A’s curricular approach and follow up projects.
Consult/Create experiential programs that skillfully apply O2A’s curricular approach and follow up projects.
Advocacy Work
Advocacy Work
Helping students carry out their action plans: identifying resources and opportunities for youth voices and action on the policy and systematic level.
Helping students carry out their action plans: identifying resources and opportunities for youth voices and action on the policy and systematic level.
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