Outdoor Afro was fortunate to make contact with the American Camp Association (ACA) at the Grassroots Gathering hosted by the Children and Nature Network last summer, and after several enthusiastic conversations about connecting diverse communities to the outdoors, Outdoor Afro and ACA decided to form a new educational alliance. Outdoor Afro believes the camp experience, particularly family camp, can be an important gateway to connect children with nature, create lasting environmental stewardship, and inspire a healthy future.
The American Camp Association is a community of camp professionals who, for nearly …

It sure has been a great week to love the outdoors and be African American! Last Friday and today, as I tuned in to Oprah and Gayle to see their adventure in Yosemite National Park, I was completely enamored. Beyond the expected funny quips and comical equipment mishaps, I experienced (as if for the first time) a magical moment: moving images of people who looked like me enjoying a National Park.
The show theme was prompted by Outdoor Afro friend Shelton Johnson by a letter he wrote a couple of years …

Recently Outdoor Afro partnered with Bay Area groups, Red, Bike, and Green, and Take Back the Mic Bay Area to form Roots and Grooves, an outdoor experience to inspire new audiences to connect with local outdoor spaces and each other. Our group of about twenty people (including some amazing kids!) camped overnight at Del Valle Regional Park, which is a part of the East Bay Regional Parks System.
Here is one camper’s impression of the trip:

It was a real treat to get away from the city and connect with nature. Kids dug …

A memo from National Parks Director Jonathan B. Jarvis shares:

“On October 29 and November 1, Oprah Winfrey will devote two entire shows to her overnight camping trip in Yosemite National Park earlier this month. Ms. Winfrey’s visit originated with a letter of invitation from Park Ranger Shelton Johnson. While in the park, Shelton shared his Buffalo Soldierpersona – Elizy Bowman – at an evening campfire chat with Ms. Winfrey and others staying at the Lower Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley.
While the shows highlight Ms. Winfrey’s visit to the Mariposa …

Contributed by Blogger, Author, and Speaker Denene Millner of  My Brown Baby a weekly blog that provides thought-provoking, insightful, wickedly funny commentary on motherhood, for moms who love their brown babies, by moms who do the same. Through their posts, our MyBrownBaby bloggers lift the voices of African-American moms looking for the 411/advice/a high-five on everything from pregnancy and childrearing to sex, work, and relationships—all filtered through the lens of the African American experience.

So my baby Mari survived her first sleepaway camp. More specifically, I survived Mari’s first sleepaway camp. She …

Nestled in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Swindler Cove Park represents the crown jewel among New York Restoration Project’s (NYRP) public park projects, encompassing five beautiful acres along the Harlem River.

“Check out the Swindler Cove camp graduates! Behind them is a children’s garden, which was planted and cared for by 4th graders during the school year, but tended and harvested through the summer by these summer campers. Food from the garden was used in all of the camp meals prepared over six weeks!”
–Akiima Price, Chief of Education Programs, New …

Here is the interview link many of you have been asking about that aired yesterday about Nature Deficit Disorder. It was rewarding to talk about how more people can get connected to the outdoors, and share some of the ways my own family engages in outdoor activities. I actually appear twice: once in the beginning and another time after the first break, so don’t touch that dial!
What are your thoughts about Nature Deficit Disorder? Watch the show and please leave a comment here with your impressions!

For more information about the Children …

We returned from our camping vacation a week ago, and in spite of a week of work and resuming the usual routine, it was not until today that I felt like I was finally back from the wilderness. I find that camping for extended periods lingers in the imagination like that. Even my friend Jessica, whose family joins mine each year at camp, called me the day after we returned home to confess that she, too, was missing camp.
I knew we were missing more than the guilt-free afternoon naps and …

The Outdoor Afro Family is on vacation this week, practicing what we preach: camping in the mountains!
In the meantime, we hope you are creating some fun summer memories of your own in the outdoors.
Can’t wait to share with you all the details and photos!
Have a great week,
Rue

What a great way to begin the day. I woke up to some buzz in my inbox this morning about the new REI commercial featuring an unmistakably brown family — WOW!
Check it out:

Does this commercial inspire you to get outdoors? Tell me what you think!
Great job REI!