Outdoor Recreation

Black In National Parks Week, Diversity, Greening Youth Foundation, National Parks, Nelson Institute, Outdoor Recreation, ReThinkOutside, Sierra Club, Uncategorized / 28.08.2020

On August 25th, 2020 The Joy Trip Project had the great honor and privilege to host a distinguished panel of experts. To mark the 104th Anniversary of the National Park Service those who gathered brought their thoughts and lived experiences to explore the long history and future of Black people as stewards of our public land. Our panelists included: independent scholar Dr. Carolyn Finney, Dr. Nina Roberts Professor of recreation, parks and tourism at San Francisco State University, Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, former National Park Director Robert...

Diversity, Environmental Journalism, National Geographic, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, ReThinkOutside / 19.08.2020

WHEN I BEGAN exploring the outdoors, I had no idea that Black people had played a vital role in the creation of Yosemite, one of my favorite national parks. I had never heard the story of the park’s connection with Charles Young and the Buffalo Soldiers, and when I finally did, at age 42, it came to me as a complete surprise. In the 10 years since, I’ve learned the stories of Stephen Bishop and Mammoth Caves, Lancelot Jones and Biscayne Bay, and many other people of color who have influenced national...

#BlackLivesMatter, Adventure Activism, Diversity, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Outdoors For All, Photography, Public Land, ReThinkOutside, Social Media / 10.08.2020

On August 25, 2020 the National Park Service will celebrate its 104th anniversary. To mark the occasion Nicole Jackson, co-organizer of #BlackBirdersWeek and Next Generation Advisory Council member of the National Parks Conservation Association, has inspired a commemoration to acknowledge the often-overlooked narratives of those who have contributed to more than a century of conscientious public land management. The Joy Trip Project is pleased to announce Black In National Parks Week! [caption id="attachment_2067219" align="alignright" width="250"] Nicole Jackson[/caption] Starting on August 24th post images to social media with #BlackInNationalParks or #BlackInNationalParksWeek...

Environmental Journalism, Nelson Institute, Outdoor Recreation, Outdoors For All / 27.06.2018

In the summer of 2018 my course called Outdoors For All met three days a week for three hours each day for four weeks. At first I thought I’d have difficulty filling the time, but with subject matter spanning more than 150 years of racial oppression I had compiled enough historical references and case studies to fill the pages of my next book. Each day of class constituted a chapter on a specific element of the long narrative of discrimination from the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 through the...

Adventure Activism, Diversity, Environmental Protection, Essays, Latino Outdoors, National Monuments, National Parks, Natives Outdoors, Outdoor Recreation, Public Land, Special Events / 06.11.2017

On the last night of the SHIFT Festival in Jackson, Wyoming the organizers hosted an after-party at the Organic Lotus Restaurant. By 1:AM a steady beat of house music still roused a group of at least 30 Millennials to dance away the night well into the morning. Damp with sweat I sidled over to the bar for a drink of water. Even after a double hip replacement it doesn’t take much to get this aging Gen-Xer out on the dance floor. Inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of...