What happens when you bring together outdoor retail giants, a major conservation non-profit in the US, researchers from top universities, a prominent DC advocate, a National Park ranger, a group of 13 African Americans with fire in their hearts for nature, crowd funding, volunteers  – and me, a social entrepreneur from Oakland, California…

The Outdoor Afro Leadership Team training weekend!
Even though it has been well over a week, I am still feeling the high of gratitude and moments where I ask myself did that really happen? Did such a diverse group of …

Just recently, I had the privilege of being invited to my Levias family church, St. Paul Church of God in Christ, to speak on the topic of community health. I was raised in the sanctified COGIC tradition, where I learned how and was encouraged to become a public speaker. That girl sure can talk, I would hear the saints say, and felt then a sense of pride in a skill that serves me well in my work today.

While my traditional church participation has fallen off considerably as an adult for many reasons; …

Terry Johnson and Leonard Patton are California Conservation Corps members who are employed to do salmon habitat restoration, respond to emergencies, construct trails in state and national parks, and do various other ecological restoration projects.
They each share a few impressions about diversifying the conservation movement after reading an interview of Outdoor Afro founder Rue Mapp.
Thanks for the shout-out friends!
We appreciate all the work YOU are doing to restore and preserve nature for everyone to enjoy. We hope to hear more from you soon!
 

Queen’s Chronicles: Frum de Ga’dun ta de Table: De Gullah/Geechee Sho Able!
by Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation

The world has come to appreciate my statement which is also the slogan of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition-“Hunnuh mus tek cyare de root fa heal de tree.”   However, people do not necessarily realize how literal this statement can be for me.  So, it is a blessing when I am led to meet those that realize the energy that comes into the soul from touching the soil and from putting those things that …

Just got back from a terrific stay in Maryland, specifically in the DelMarVa region, presenting at the second annual, Get Out! Get Green! Get Paid! Conference to encourage local youth to consider careers related to the Great Outdoors!

I had the good fortune to work with the dedicated Carrie Samis, who directs the program, and my esteemed co-panelists, Dr. Bert Davis, President, Zoological Society of Milwaukee; Frederick Tutman, Patuxent Riverkeeper; Academy Award winning filmmaker Errol Webber; and Brittany Smith of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Outdoor Afro is proud to partner with the …

Queen Quet is a friend of mine, with whom I have had the privilege to work with since the beginning of Outdoor Afro. I am more than thrilled to finally host her first blog on the site that shares some of the rich history of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. Enter Queen Quet:
“De wata bring we an de wata gwine tek we bak.”

De wata may tro bak de chillun ef e ain kno how fa ack!
De chillun na de lun de lil one wha fa do
So, ef hunnuh wan um fa kno, den why don’t u?
Disya …

We sure hope not!
Earlier this year, I was so excited to present in Atlanta for Keeping it Wild to share how outdoor organizations might be more relevant through meaningful partnerships. I appreciated the candor and honesty of the audience, many of whom took the time to share their successes and challenges when working with organizations and communities to connect more people, especially black people, to the outdoors.
Take this short quiz to share what rivers and waterways mean to you: Click to Enter
Check out how one mother connects her family to the river:

One participant, …

A Funny EE Capacity Moment with Friends
During the week of May 14th, Outdoor Afro’s Rue Mapp is grateful to participate in the EECapacity Project that assembles 60 national environmental education leaders in Washington, DC for training in environmental leadership, cultural capacity, and community building.

These leaders include a diverse mix of federal, private, and public organizations working to empower communities through environmental education and related programs  that  foster improved health and well being.
Check out our photos from our last meeting!

As part of an effort to inform workshop participants about environmental success and challenges …

From making trips to Washington D.C. to provide input on initiatives ranging from Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign to providing ideas to the Department of Interior on ways to engage African American families in outdoor recreation, Rue Mapp, Outdoor Afro Founder and CEO, realized, “I can’t do all of this myself,” and sought out more leaders to work along side her to engage more African Americans with the outdoors.
Over the past four months, she recruited thirteen Outdoor Afro volunteers (“disciples” she likens them to), who share her passion for nature …

As I speak to more people these days about African Americans and the outdoors, a question that most often leads the conversation is, “Why don’t African Americans engage with nature?”, which admittedly prompts me to let out a little sigh…
Since founding Outdoor Afro, what has excited me most is the number of African Americans from around the country who share a variety of ways nature can be enjoyed. People post pictures, blogs, and videos that collectively shout, “Yes, we do love the outdoors!”

We sometimes forget that African Americans have always …