How can we cultivate a more inclusive outdoor recreation community in the Mount Washington Valley?
On Wednesday, March 3 from 6:30-8PM live via Zoom, the public is invited to participate in “Supporting Diversity & Inclusion in the Outdoors,” a Sense of Place community forum. Join us to consider what practical steps user groups, local businesses, and local community members can take to support more diverse participation in the outdoors. Panelists from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, REI, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Venture Out Project will share their perspectives, followed by a facilitated discussion. Emily Greene from the Saco Watershed Collaborative and Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve will moderate. This event is free. Please register for the event at bit.ly/2NcStjR.
“Supporting Diversity & Inclusion in the Outdoors” is one of a series of community forums on outdoor recreation and public lands in the Mount Washington Valley, organized through a collaboration of groups that are working to protect ecosystems and to invite humans to be in healthy relationship with the natural world and each other in shared public spaces: Access Fund, Appalachian Mountain Club, Backyard Concept, Chocorua Lake Conservancy, Granite Backcountry Alliance, Granite Outdoor Alliance, Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, REI Co-op, Saco Watershed Collaborative, The Nature Conservancy, Tin Mountain Conservation Center, Upper Saco Valley Land Trust, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, the White Mountain National Forest, and the White Mountain Trail Collective. Sense of Place forums take place on the first Wednesday of the month through May, live via Zoom. Join us next month on Wednesday, April 7, 6:30PM, for “Recreation in the Time of Covid.”
About the Panelists:
Kent Jackson, Director of Education at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Boston, MA, is a seasoned environmental educator who has successfully created, developed, directed, and evaluated environmental youth leadership programs. He is a certified American Canoe Association Instructor, a Wilderness First Responder and a Leave No Trace Master Educator.
James Saunders is Logistics and Marketing Coordinator for The Venture Out Project.
Becky Smith is Director of Retail for REI’s Washington, DC flagship store.
Janet Zeller served as the National Accessibility Program Manager for the U.S. Forest Service for 17 years, and wrote their ADA guidelines. She is now retired, but continues her work as an Accessibility Specialist in outdoor recreation.
Banner image: Families from the greater Boston area participate in a fishing derby on the Green Mountain National Forest during a weekend-long program promoting recreation on public lands as part of a healthy lifestyle. Partners include Harvard St. Medical Center, First Church of Roxbury, Healthy Boston, and US Forest Service. Photo: Donna Fernandez