Les Franklin, a member of the Junior Outdoor Afro Youth Leadership Team (JOALT) and student at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, was the official recorder for a team conducting a survey of colonial nesting waterbirds, today. Hundreds of herons, egrets, and ibis tending to nests, eggs, and chicks…the island was buzzing with wildlife activity!
The JOALT is a pilot of the Outdoor Afro Leadership Team for youth, in partnership with the Maryland Coastal Bays program designed to connect leadership, environmental stewardship, outdoor recreation, and career pathways for high school students.

Outdoor Afros in Los Angeles explored local African American history and nature over the weekend – read on!
 
Alisha Pye here, I’m the Outdoor Afro Leader for Los Angeles. This week we decided to celebrate Spring by hiking at Solstice Canyon in Malibu which is located in the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s a beautiful hike with flowers in full bloom, waterfalls to enjoy, valleys and canyons to climb and picnic areas. We started on the stairs and continued on a steady incline until we came to an area of ruins that …

Our hearts melted when a member of the Outdoor Afro community on Facebook shared a link of photos, like the ones below that show images of black children enjoying and learning in nature in their 4-H camp in North Carolina in the 1940′s.
“What is old is new again.” one member commented. We could not agree more. Enjoy these timeless images that showcase examples of African American connections to nature over time.
Wake County – July 14-17, 1941, Camp Whispering Pines. Boys and girls enjoy a swim at the Wildlife Camp – at extreme …

So glad to spend time once again with my former co-worker and dear friend Manav Thapar to help re-connect my 9 year old son Billy Hunter to the art and fun of surfing!
Read about the last time
I knew Billy Hunter (the deepest sleeper of my brood) was excited when he bounced out of bed early with, “Come one mommy, get up! Today I am surfing remember?”
We could not believe it had been over a year since our last visit to the town of Pacifica, which is only about 30 miles south west …

Congratulations to our video contest winner, Outdoor Afro Miles Maxey who showed off the fun of the Jim Dandy Ski Club, an African American adventure club, on the Huron River in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Miles is the winner of a pair of KEEN shoes for sharing such a wonderful and fun connection to nature!
Watch!
This blog and contest was sponsored by the Georgia River Network

Survey Confirms a Positive Relationship with Rivers and Waterways in the Outdoor Afro community
Nearly seventy Outdoor Afros from around the country were sampled in a short survey distributed via social networks that provided a snapshot of how and why people connect to our waterways.
Much of what was observed from the results confirmed what Outdoor Afro already knew – that in the Outdoor Afro community overall, there is a positive relationship and perception of our rivers and waterways. Of the sample surveyed, the vast majority were African American, female, and between …

Morgan Powell is  a landscape designer who edits Bronx River Sankofa on You Tube and Facebook.  He is passionate about New York’s Bronx River and its African American heritage. Here is Morgan’s second submission in a three-part series to highlight the generous yet delicate resource of the Bronx River:
I’ve just  taken my fellow Whole Communities alumni Audrey and Frank Peterman’s  challenge to enjoy my local natural treasures.  The Petermans wrote the Outdoor Afro classic Legacy on the Land.  I saw a vast natural place outside of my normal travel patterns both arresting …

This has been a phenominal week for media coverage, and the Outdoor Afro community is thrilled about ABC-7 coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area that not only accurately highlighted who we are and our key messages, but also shared great images of folks enjoying nature! Special thanks to ABC reporter Ken Miguel who spent so much time with us on the American River and interpreted the experience perfectly!
Take a look!

Who’s ready to bridge Earth Day with African American History Month all year round? Keep it locked on Bronx River Sankofa at Facebook where we also do that and love Outdoor Afro!
Let’s keep it real. From Zora Neale Hurston’s Eatonville Florida to Harlem NY’ s Marcus Garvey Park and vanished Senaca Village within Central Park, who writes the history of places helps shape their development and their accessibility to citizens and audiences. Let all with the capacity and access take the glorious burden of writing about the lands they trod.  …

Did you have a blast on a waterway this summer and have a cool video to share about it? Want a chance to win a pair of KEEN shoes? If you answered yes to both questions then this contest is for YOU!
The Georgia River Network and Outdoor Afro have teamed up to help share how people are enjoying their waterways all over the country – like these Outdoor Afros on California’s American River below!

All you have to do is submit your original, short (no more than 3 minute) video that shares what …