As most of you know, Outdoor Afro has been run on solo steam these past couple of years since it began, and I now am quite grateful to have the help and support needed to sustain and grow this wonderful network.
So I am proud to welcome intern Séla Steiger (24) who brings a wonderful mix of outdoor experience and perspective that is certain to enrich our work here at Outdoor Afro. Séla will be primarily responsible for supporting social media communications and events. Please read her very first Outdoor Afro blog post below then …

A friend tonight shared with me this lovely, and inspiring video narrated by the late Wangari Maathai.
How can you do your best by nature?

Who says you have to give up your cuteness to be in nature? Check out Ola Ronke, a Brooklyn, NY yoga teacher and healthy food advocate, getting her garden on with much fashion!

Contributed by Outdoor Afro Chelsea Griffie:
Here is the follow-up from Balanced Rock Foundation’s  Women of Color Backpacking Trip we wrote about last summer – check out all the fun they had!

The 2011 Women of Color Backpacking Trip participants knocked my socks off, and they went straight into the washing machine!  We had a professional videographer and photographer who is also the mother of the two cutest twins I know; an esteemed aerialist; a nearly 50-year-old “Bike Diva” takin’ some just-shipped-her-daughter-off-to-college time; and a smart and practical sister who has become a …

 
Hello there Outdoor Afros! Kelly here from the Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project!

This past Saturday I was a guest of Outdoor Afro and Soul Food Farm at their annual benefit for Slow Food Solano, and the Farmer Veteran Coalition in Vacaville, CA. I have to tell you, I had a GREAT time! It was a day of firsts for me, the first time I’ve ridden my ’86 Honda Shadow for an hour straight, the first time I’ve ridden over a bridge, and the first time I’ve ever watched beef butchered. …

Glad to report my 8 year-old-son Billy had his first surfing experience today, courtesy of my awesome co-worker Manav Thapar. Billy had no fear, and much tenacity, as he learned and was successful standing up several times on the board! I was too busy cheering him on to catch him on the waves, but here are a few shots of his wetsuit experience:
More images:
Also stoked to hear about Zoe Polk who was SOS in the Marin Headlands! She says the Marin Headlands is one of her favorite spots to hike …

Teresa Baker shared on Facebook her time today at the Muir Woods National Monument.
Where were YOU spotted on Sunday in the outdoors?

But I did it… Here is a quick clip of me zip lining into a pond at Knoll Farm in Vermont last month, while attending the Center for Whole Communities, a land based leadership program.
I had just held a small afternoon discussion session on social media outdoors around the pond, but the water was too nice to resist in spite of my apprehension of that zip line. “I don’t know if I have enough stregnth to hold my body up,” I said. My cohort responded, “You do!”
And they were right.
Watch …

Colleague Camille Dudley of Outward Bound Adventures had some terrific images of natural beauty on her facebook page.  I just had to share!
Camille on a fence circa 1970s
Sister Denise Henderson modeling in the outdoors an outfit she made
 

I was thrilled to see the Outdoor Afro facebook fan base cross the 3K mark this morning, as part of its steady and organic growth over these last two years. To commemorate the milestone, I asked our lucky 3000th fan to share more about herself, and what she cares about in the outdoors. She will also receive a REI Gift Certificate, courtesy of the REI store in Berkeley, California.

Name: Cleopatra Warren
Region: Atlanta, Georgia
Profession: Secondary Educator/Social Studies
M.A. Education, New York University New York,NY
B.A. Political Science, Morris Brown College Atlanta,GA
What she loves about …