Photos of a large tree tattooed on the chest of Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis on the Tattoos by Randy Myspace page are making a big stir today.
Thanks to urban forester Kemba of Urban Releaf for the initial sharing! The tat has now inspired her to recruit Monta to help plant trees in the local community!
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Just got word that Outdoor Afro was nominated for Best Green/Nature/ Outdoor Blog for the Black Weblog Awards!
Please take a moment to vote for us — this is such a wonderful honor! The category we appear in is on page 5 of the ballot:
Click Here to VOTE!

The Black Weblog Awards was founded in 2005 to give recognition to Black bloggers.` What started out as a barely-known event has now grown into an international showcase. With participants from over 90 countries, the Black Weblog Awards stands out as one of the …

Join National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin and Rue Mapp of the social network Outdoor Afro as they discuss the state of African American participation in our national and regional parks.
I am honored to share the stage with Ms. Betty Soskin, who will share personal memories of East Bay life and working conditions during World War II and show a short film about Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park.

Following Ms. Soskin’s presentation, I will highlight the variety of city and regional parks in the …

This week, I had the honor of presenting at the American Camp Association (ACA) the topic: Recognizing and Cultivating Diversity in Family Camp in beautiful San Diego, California at their annual conference.
ACA is a community of camp professionals who, for nearly 100 years, have joined together to share knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. ACA and Outdoor Afro have recently formed an educational partnership to help camps connect to the diverse Outdoor Afro community; and also help Outdoor Afro community members become more aware of …

What are the consequences of a childhood removed from nature?
One generation from now most people in the U.S. will have spent more time in the virtual world than in nature.
I had the good fortune of screening the eye opening PLAY AGAIN locally with my own kids, and meet the passionate filmmaker Meg Merrill. Her film makes a case, against a backdrop of contemporary teen life, about how more time in front of screens than in natural spaces bodes troubling outcomes individually and for our society. Here is more:
Kristin and Paige …

The First African-American Woman on Record to Reach North and South Poles!

Outdoor Afro fans learned about Barbara Hillary back in 2009, she not only survived lung cancer, but also took on a trek hardly imaginable to most to the North Pole on skis at age 75!
Here is our Talk Tuesday Blog Talk Radio interview with Hillary from July, 2009 where she humorously shared how it is possible and necessary to live up to ones potential:

Listen to internet radio with outdoorafro on Blog Talk Radio
Not willing to remain still, this month the venerable Hillary …

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 …

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 …

The Natural Leaders Network has joined forces with Sierra Club’s Serve Outdoors initiative to remember and honor September 11th through outdoor service. For the generation that came of age after 9/11, 2001, service has become an important part of life. For many, service means standing up for our neighborhoods, our communities, our country and our natural world. Through service, diverse young Americans are taking the lead in building a foundation for a healthy and equitable future.
For so many of us, the outdoors is a place of solace and refuge. …

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 …