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 give her a warm welcome! - Rue

Hello Outdoor Afro Community! I am so very glad to join you and introduce myself!

I am Sela Steiger, a Bay Area native and life-long (in all my 24 years!) nature lover. Spending my summers as a youth in Yosemite with my parents who were National Park Rangers, I have basically grown up in a tent; camping, backpacking, and generally exploring the Sierras. I have also spent winters in Tahoe learning to ski, days hiking or mountain biking around Oakland/Berkeley’s beautiful foothills and lakes, swimming in the Russian River, and checking out the amazing California coast!

From 2005-2009 I was transported to Oberlin College, a very different landscape. There I managed to get in touch with my rural roots, experiencing defined seasons for the first time as well as the treacherous “lake effect” (Oberlin is about 12 miles South of Lake Erie). On the warmer side of things, I recall many beautiful summer nights lying in the grass, chatting and laughing amidst the crickets. My studies also brought me to Morocco and Spain where I lived abroad for four months in 2008. During those months I sat for many train rides with my eyes glued to the window, and I still remember my awe and inspiration taking in the rich and exotic scenery of these marvelous countries.

I realize, as I write these words, that being myself in nature and enjoying the outdoors has always been an integral piece of my identity and self-discovery. As I recall these wonderful outdoor memories, I can’t help but think about the many that have yet to unfold!

I am so happy to meet and greet you all! I hope to contribute my knowledge of the outdoors to the Outdoor Afro community and share my passion for adventure. I can’t wait to connect with like-minded folks like you all!

How can you do your best by nature?

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 mother by taking charge of her two young nephews. Plus, there were two instructors with enigmatic pasts…

The  trip for 2011 was incredibly fun and engaging.  The conversations were often so compelling that I had to remind myself that we were on a backpacking trip.  We often discussed how things run back in the default world, and offered reinterpretations of how things could be.  I felt honored to be among these women of color in nature.

As usual, we all worked together to prepare the meals and perform other camp duties.  What was funny was that three of the participants were mothers, and the fourth was self-described as having OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).  So things got done! We joked that Balanced Rock should start a screening process, so that future trips would run as smoothly!

Our destination was Ostrander Lake in Yosemite National Park.  We spent one night in the Bridalveil Creek campground, which is near our trailhead.  It was a surprise that there was a lightning-started fire nearby, which was controlled, but allowed to burn.  That’s how they do things these days in Yosemite, after years of snuffing out all fires.  It was smoky on the road, and we constantly debated the wisdom of sticking to our itinerary in the days leading up to the trip.  We stuck to it, and it turned out alright.  We did end up wearing bandannas like rogue desperados, but that was just for one day.

We took two days to get to Ostrander Lake, and found a deluxe campsite along the way to set up shop for the night.  There was a lot of laughter and camaraderie along the way, and we found a fine balance between getting to our destination and enjoying the journey.

Once we got to the lake, it was refreshing to dip in, as well as a plentiful source of water to sustain us.  There is a busy campground at the lake, but we opted for a more primitive spot where we could be more secluded.  We were lucky enough to encounter the Ostrander Ski Hut occupied by NPS rangers on a break.  We introduced ourselves and got a tour of the facility.  It is such a great place to ski to during the winter months.

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. And I learned all new vocabulary, like:

char•cu•te•rie

Definition of CHARCUTERIE : a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes; also : the products sold in such a shop…

Which I discovered meant people and places that make bacon, sausage and other cured meats. YUM!

Click to check out all my photos!

I also learned how professionally trained butchers “break down” beef. It was fascinating watching my favorite cuts of meat being sliced away from a whole cow. You don’t get more real than that! I even walked away with a packet of grass-fed beef stew meat I won in the raffle! Agricola Grassfed Beef donated the cow and from the lunch we had- from pastrami sandwiches to beef tacos (my personal favorite) to the most delicious ribs I’ve ever tasted. How beef is raised and butchered makes a huge difference in taste!

Alexis Koefoed, Owner of Soul Food Farms

Seriously, beef, beer and butchers with chain link belts on… I was in Kelly-Heaven!

The owner of Soul Food Farm, Alexis, was so welcoming to all of her guests! She spoke to everyone about the importance of supporting both the slow food movement, school gardens, and returning veterans. She and her volunteers have our thanks for everything they do!

Thank you Rue of Outdoor Afro and Soul Food Farm for inviting Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project to this “first in a lifetime” opportunity!

Best,

Kelly D. Carlisle
Founder/ Executive Director
Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project
Ph: 510.972.3276

And Teresa Baker followed up with a shot of natural beauty in Big Sur, California!

Where were YOU spotted on Sunday in the outdoors?

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 the video twice to notice the beautiful view of the Mad River Valley in the distance (video by Matt Kolan):

How have you challenged yourself this summer in the outdoors?

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 the outdoors: Hiking and walking nature trails. The outdoors provides me with an opportunity to recharge and connect with nature. The North Georgia mountains have been one of my favorite places to visit since childhood.

Most important outdoor memory: I’ve had many wonderful opportunties to participate in educational and cultural travel around the globe, including Africa, Europe, South America, Caribbean and most of the U.S. Each summer, I make it a personal and professional goal to travel and connect with the outdoors.

Here is a photo from the summer of 2010, where I participated in an invitational think tank hosted by Expeditionary Learning and the Fund for Teachers at the UCROSS Foundation in Sheridan, Wyoming. The program was designed to engage 20 educators in a weeklong nature retreat, including hiking, walking and group activities to reflect on our instructional practices with respect to student impact from our travel experiences. It was one of the most remote and pristine places I have ever visited.

Why Cleopatra ‘Liked’ Outdoor Afro?: It is so refreshing to see a site dedicated to the broad cultural heritage of African Americans in the outdoors!

Outdoor Afro warmly welcomes Cleopatra!

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