(intense music) Silence (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Good evening, and welcome to another fantastic episode of Generation Grit, where we explore today's hot topics from the perspectives of generation Z. I'm your host, Parker McMullen Bushman.

Outdoor education is essential in more ways than one.

It can create a sense of community, has healing effects on the mind and body, and provide new routes of careers and interests for those involved.

Needless to say, having access to the great outdoors is a necessity for everyone.

Unfortunately, many communities have been excluded from these opportunities.

Today we'll dig in to the barriers that have been created that have caused this rift.

How to repair them, and why it's absolutely essential to ensure outdoor experiences are inclusive.

Our esteemed panelists today will be Elk alumni, and assistant urban ranger coordinator, Samantha.

(pause) And, ELK student and urban ranger, Sit Lalli.

Before we dive into things, let's learn a little bit more about Elk and their mission.

- Many programs started Montbello believes after few years, which makes it hard for us to trust these resources.

- Environmental learning for kids has been around for 24 years and half of our full-time staff have been in the organization for over five years.

- I'm from Mumbrella where a lot of kids don't graduate from high school.

And that's something that I worry about My kids.

One of my dreams is to see all the kids graduate from high school.

- And at ELK, we have a hundred percent graduation rate for our high school students.

- Upper gear equipment for anybody to enjoy the outdoors, specially overnights pretty expensive.

- ELK, provides proper gear and equipment for a comfortable experience, free of charge.

- People of color and women are significantly underrepresented in stem fields.

- At ELK, All of our programs is revolves around hands-on stem education.

It's also around career exploration and outdoor recreation.

98% of our students identify as students of color and 52% of them identify as female.

(Speaking Spanish) (Speaking Spanish) (laughing) (upbeat music) (Cheering) (upbeat music) (cheering) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (kids talking in background) (upbeat music) (cheering) (upbeat music) (group of kids, all speaking at once) (pause) - What a fantastic organization.

I can't wait to learn more.

Joining us virtually is the state coordinator of green Latinos, Ian Thomas Tafoya.

Ian is here to give us an expert standpoint on these issues.

Welcome Ian.

- (Ian speaking) Hi Parker.

It's great to be here with you.

- (Parker speaking )Let's have you get us rolling Ian.

Can you give us your perspective on why enjoying the outdoors seems to be regarded as more of a privilege than a right?

- (Ian speaking) Well, I think that marketing has gone a long way to reinforcing these stereotypes, that the outdoor industry isn't for us.

Whether it be skiing or horseback riding, these are expensive.

And as you saw there in the ELK video that they require special tools to access, but you can also enjoy the outdoors by walking, bicycling in your local community.

Or sometimes I see privilege there is that some people live in communities it's degradated water, degradated air.

And so even enjoying the outdoors in your own community, isn't exactly the best thing for your health.

And so it seems like those with the resources have the privilege to leave the city and to go into the mountains or into the grasslands to experience this.

But I will say that advocates like yourself and me and people from ELK have been fighting and pass a law this year without or equity fund that shows that this is really a right, that everyone has a right to enjoy the outdoors that our economy is built on it.

And the more people that we get to experience the better it is for science or a lodging and tax revenue, but also just general fund and appreciation for the outdoors.

- (Parker speaking )I think that that is so important and you're right.

Not everyone has that access.

And I'm so glad that we're having this conversation today about it.

For our panelists.

What messaging have you received about the outdoors?

- I think Ian brings up a great point that a lot of the advertising and images that we see on social media revolve around mainly white men in the outdoors.

And if you don't see yourself represented in images or pictures of the outdoors or advertising in the outdoors, it's really hard to actually get out there and go do it.

(pause) - (Parker speaking) And what are your thoughts on that?

Sit lolly.

- (Sit speaking) Yeah, I coming from where Sam is a lot, since I've been with ELK there, there hasn't really been a lot of times where we meet with like women of color or even just people of color at these, like the parks that we go to to see like jobs.

And sometimes they can be a little bit discouraging, but you know, I think being a part of ELK and knowing that I can also be a woman of color and I can also, you know, be a park ranger, if I wanted to like that, that's that's available to me as well.

And it doesn't just have to be a white man being a park ranger.

Like it could be me, it could be Sam, it could be the woman in our video.

It could be anybody.

- (Parker speaking) I think that's so important that representation is really important.

I've had a 24 year career in environmental education and natural resources, but growing up, I never saw anyone that looked like me.

I doing those jobs.

I didn't even know that that career path existed for me.

And so it, wasn't a straight path for me to get into this career because the representation wasn't there for me.

Thank you so much for that.

I'm wondering, what are other barriers that you think are keeping communities of color from exploring the outdoors?

(pause) - (panelist speaking) I think just knowing that they're able to go outside with my time with ELK and like when we've done a lot of programs, kids have been like, oh, I didn't know that, you know, we had the mountains and we can go on hikes and just walk and enjoy that.

And I think it's very important to, to let them know that, yeah, you you're, you're a person of color.

You're, you're allowed to go outside.

Like you, you can do that.

It's not just, oh, my white friends are gonna go to the mountains and like, no, like every, I feel like everybody should be able to know that the outside the outdoors belongs to them and not just the specific group of people.

- Excellent.

And Sam, What would you say about that?

- (Sam) Yeah.

I would agree that the outdoor industry culture, unfortunately, is not the most welcoming and a lot of places.

And so if you aren't feeling welcome in a place because of the culture that surrounds it, you're not going to want to go out and go hiking or go camping because you don't feel safe or comfortable in those spaces.

And so making sure that we're empowering families and students to feel safe and feel like they are truly belonging in the outdoors.

- (Parker) That's excellent.

You know, and I think that we also can't ignore the role of history, right.

In this conversation, because I remember growing up, I would have family members that actually warned me against going into the woods.

Right.

They would say that, that was a dangerous place where bad things happen.

And they were remembering things like lynching or bad things that happen in the woods historically.

And so we have not only current barriers, but a legacy of historical barriers and access that have kind of led to how people perceive them getting into the outdoors.

So thank you both.

Ian, I'd love to hear from you how you have witnessed access to the outdoors, changing lives and changing communities.

(pause) - (Ian speaking) Thanks Parker.

I just also wanted to tag onto that last one, or I think public transportation access.

We're starting to see that grow with busting, but you know, you need to be able to get to the outdoor recreation if it's not your local river or a trail in your own community.

And I would also just say wages, you know, if you're not making wages that are sustainable for your own house, you're not going to have that extra time to be able to take your kids there, to take yourself out into the outdoors.

But that comes back to my own personal story, where my mother was in a union.

She was a telecommunications union worker and she was an operator.

And eventually there in the nineties, her job was automated and our entire lives changed and she had to work two jobs.

Started working in social work.

And I was really lucky that my local recreation center had this kind of youth programming in the outdoors.

I went, skiing, went in winter park, even went on a horseback riding trip and my own personal story.

You know, we did this a week long horseback riding trip, and we rode up to a camp and I was told that you could drink water from the ground, that there was pure spring water from the ground.

And I was like, what do you mean you could drink it from the ground?

And I tasted it and it tasted so amazing.

And I bottled it and I brought it home to my house.

And after two or three weeks, I was in good doing my chores.

My mom said, go clean up the closet.

And I found all these living things inside the water.

And it was the first time.

It really dawned on me just like how transformational that is.

And if you look now, I've been involved in environmental activism for a long time.

Only in the last few years if I had a chance to be paid for it.

But I told this story at the testimony for the outdoor equity fund.

I tasted water for that first time.

And I won a national water award this year.

I have seen firsthand as an educator before I was in politics, on how we take kids to the outdoors and how it changes them.

It deals with depression.

It makes you happier.

It makes you fitter and it encourages you to see yourself in a bigger world view.

(pause) - (Parker) Thank you so much Ian for that.

And for that story.

I'd love to hear a little bit more from the panel.

Could you talk to us about your personal relationship with the outdoors?

(waiting for panelist to speak) - You know, I think my personal relationship with the outdoors really revolves around trying to push myself to try new things and to get out there and do something I haven't tried before.

So I'm deathly afraid of heights.

And so something that I always try and do is try something new.

So to go right, rock climbing or to go bouldering.

And I think that that outdoors is a great place where if you feel comfortable, it's a great place to push your boundaries and to really try something new.

- (Parker) I love that.

- (Panelist) Yeah.

I'm a little bit different.

I, I resonate with the outdoors in the way that when I like go on a walk or like when I go on a hike, it's like, I am trying to get away.

And that's my, that's my safe space.

And I use it too, more for like mental health support, I feel like.

And I feel like that isn't really represented as much with the outdoors.

I feel like you can, you can go on a hike and it doesn't just have to be like, oh, I'm going on a hike because I want to be fit.

I go on a hike because I am having a bad day and I just need to smell fresh air and listen to the birds and find wild animals because that's, that gives me serotonin.

And that, that just, it makes me feel the way that, you know, we all want to feel.

And that's just happy.

(pause) - (Parker) I absolutely love that.

And I resonate with so much of that.

Right.

When I go into the outdoors, it definitely is about centering myself.

It's about my mental health.

I love that I can show up just as I am, you know, as I feel more, most comfortable and nature doesn't judge you.

Right.

People might, but nature, doesn't judge you.

And I love that.

So I'd also love to hear from both of you.

How has your perspective change after your involvement with ELK?

- (Panelist) Well, before I I've been with ELK for eight years, so when I started, I was a little baby, in fifth grade, so I didn't really know much about the outdoors.

And I just thought it was, you know, something that people did.

And like, I don't know, I didn't, I didn't really know that there was much to do like rock climbing or bouldering or things like that.

But once I joined ELK, I knew that there was like, my mind opened up a little bit more to like opportunities and like archery and like snowboarding and like skiing and things like that.

And those are things that I didn't know even existed before living in Colorado, like how you're not going to know that there's like snowboarding and things like that, you know?

And I don't know, and ELK just was able to give me the opportunities to know that those things exist.

(panelist done speaking) - (Parker) I love that.

- (Panelist) For me, Elk has really introduced me to a lot of careers in the outdoors.

I think, so often, we think of careers and outdoors and it's like a park ranger and that's it.

But what ELK has really taught me is that there is so many different careers in the outdoors and you can really do anything or build your own career and work in the outdoors and you don't just have to be a park ranger.

Yeah.

- (Parker) And I think that's so important, right.

That understanding that there are different careers in the outdoors, there are different ways to enjoy the outdoors, right.

It doesn't have to all be climbing fourteeners or, or rock climbing.

And it doesn't have to be just a park ranger or not just a park ranger, but, you know, there's so many different careers.

And I, I love that about environmental learning for kids that it provides those opportunities.

I also love that it helps kids connect to nature in a way that is authentic to them because different communities, right.

Use nature differently, maybe connect in different ways.

And so having that opportunity to see that the way that you connect to nature is valid.

Right.

And that the only thing it takes for something to be an outdoor activity is for it to be happening outside.

Right.

And all of those ways of enjoyment are as valid.

So I really appreciate that about this program.

Oh, all right.

So now I'd like to take some time to envision the future that we would like to see.

You know, Ian, I would like to start with you.

And if you could wave a magic wand, what would an inclusive future look like in the realm of environmentalism?

- (Ian) Well, Parker, if I had a magic wand and I were able to wave it today or what the future would look like for environmental and conservation advocacy, I would say, I hope that we have achieved the mission of green Latinos, which is environmental liberation, that people have healthy homes, that we're repairing our waterways, that people are breathing clean air.

I hope that we're full on into a restoration because that's really what it's going to take to undo all these harms that have been caused by the fossil fuel industry and other toxic industries that are spewing chemicals into our community.

And I hope that we've embraced the precautionary principle when it comes to new environmental concerns and that we are pushing for more equitable access so that everybody has access.

You know, it'd be great if it was a conversation about building more parks, more access, more transit, so that everybody can truly enjoy the outdoors.

(Pause) - (Parker) Thank you, Ian, sit lolly.

I'd love to hear from you on, on this question.

If you had a magic wand and could make that inclusive outdoor future, what would that look like to you?

- I think one of the main things that I feel like is just seeing more people respect the outdoors.

I feel like there's not enough of like telling people what is respectful and what is not when it comes to like nature, like pulling plants or like, like killing bees or like just like being afraid of it.

And I feel like it should, it's not a thing of like, oh, I'm just going to be scared of going outside because there's like deer and like in the mountains and like, they're going to attack me.

But I feel like if you, if we let people know that, or if you just respect the space and you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, you know, and you stay on trail and you don't like go wandering off, then like, you'll be fine.

And it's really just about respecting the environment that you're in.

Whether you're like hiking or you're fishing or whatever it may be.

- (Parker) I love that.

Thank you so much.

And Sam, I'd love to hear from you on the same question.

- (Sam) Yeah.

I think for me it would be that we have safe and clean outdoor spaces near our homes.

And I think that's such a hard and difficult issue right now is that a lot of the communities that we live in are horribly polluted and they're right next to highways with sound and noise and light pollution all over.

And so making sure that we have beautiful and safe outdoor spaces right in our own communities.

- (Parker) That is wonderful.

I love all of these responses.

And, you know, I would have to say if I, if I were to share my answer, my own question, you know, when I first started in my career, I was an environmental educator on the coast.

And I remember teaching a beach ecology course to a group of inner city children who were kids of color.

And as we walked on the beach, kids were picking up shells and I had a kid come up to me and say, ah, excuse me, miss, excuse me, How much do I have to pay for these shells?

And I remember, you know, just like this feeling that came over me when I was able to turn to that kid and say, you know what?

You don't have to pay anything because it's free because nature is free.

And if I were to think about my own vision for the future, it would be that everyone had an understanding that nature is out there for their enjoyment, that enjoying it is, is free and all of the benefits that it can give to them.

So I love that.

And thank you so much for your answers.

So, I guess our last question for wrapping up is if you have any final thoughts that you would like to share, to help inspire people to get outdoors or any resources that you would like to recommend.

- (panelist) I would recommend to people that if you want to get outside, just go do it.

You have to take the first step and step out of your front door.

And, you know, I know that there are a lot of educational or financial barriers, but there is always close city parks or close community parks that, you know, you don't have to go up to the national parks to get outdoors.

You can go outdoors right in your own community.

- (Parker) I love that.

Lolly, would you have anything to add to that?

- (Lolly) I think she, she, she kinda answered it for me, but even just going to like to your backyard, if you have that, or like, to your, to your, like, to your lawn, like you're, you're going outside, it's your first step.

Okay, the grass, cool.

Let me go see a big tree.

Let me go climbing fourtenners.

You might be inspired to go on a hike.

Maybe when you go into your backyard and you see a tree and you start climbing your tree and you're like, oh, maybe I'm going to be interested in rock climbing.

Maybe, maybe I want to go bouldering.

And then you're like, and then you get introduced to that, but you were in your backyard and it's comfortable and safe for you.

And then you can take the next step, which would be, you know, to go and find another mountain.

Yeah.

- (Parker) I really love that.

And I think that those first steps are so important and I think it's also important for us to value and appreciate that nearby nature, right?

That nearby nature is just as important as that far away mountain.

And so we need to invest in nearby nature in our communities and to help our community members see and understand the value of that as well.

So thank you so much for that.

So before we go, I just want to thank you all for this enlightening conversation and all that you all do to help the community.

That's all the time we have for tonight.

Thank you all for listening at home.

sleep well, and don't forget to get outside tomorrow and then join us next Friday at 7:00 PM for the next episode of generation grit.

Good night, from all of us here at PBS 12.

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