Back2Youth
$50,000

Our mission is to create new pathways to health and wellness by actively engaging youth between the ages of 11 and 18-years-old in the natural environment. Our target population is BIPOC, at-risk, and marginalized youth in Lane County, Oregon. Our year-round outdoor adventure camps provide a wide range of recreational activities (i.e., archery, camping, fishing, and hiking) and support experiences (i.e., leadership development, mindfulness practice, and outdoor education). Our goal is to create opportunity, stability and ultimately success for these diverse and too often under-resourced youth populations. A growing body of research shows that increasing youth’s nature interactions can have positive benefits for their health-related quality of life. There is good evidence that vulnerable populations have relatively worse access to high quality natural environments (e.g., tree-lined streets, publicly accessible green spaces, forests, and riverbanks), something public health researchers believe to be a contributing factor to health inequities. Further, lower socio-economic individuals reap greater benefit from access than more privileged groups. We strongly believe that connecting to nature improves environmental awareness through the understanding of the role we each play in respecting our Earth as an extension of ourselves. Our proposed OCRF project – Back2Earth – will engage youth in outdoor recreation with a focus on conservation and personal stewardship. Activities will involve both education and action. Youth will learn about human impact on fish, wildlife, and habitats; and determine appropriate actions/solutions.