Breaking Down Barriers to Getting Outside
The history and current reality of racism have created barriers for many people getting outside to enjoy the benefits of nature. When you consider the uneven distribution of funding, information, green spaces and other resources, it is clear that many Washingtonians aren't able to benefit from or deepen connections to nature.
Trails for Everyone is building off of work WTA has been doing for years to make experiences on trail accessible and rewarding for everyone. We’ve been supporting the hiking community since our founding, but in the past decade we have been more intentionally focused on lowering barriers to accessing the outdoors and making our community more welcoming to all. We're doing that in a few ways.
Reducing Barriers to Getting Outside
We want to make it easy for hikers to find the information they need to get outside. We do that in a lot of ways — through our Hiking Guide and by sharing basic hiking skills in our Trail Smarts series, for instance. Our website is full of good information — and thanks to the support of our members, it has always been free.
We’re also doing hands-on work to help people gain new skills and get outside. One way is through our Outdoor Leadership Training program, which in the 10 years since it was founded, has trained more than 400 leaders. Those leaders have taken more than 19,000 people on outdoor excursions.
Creating Safe Spaces
WTA began offering shared-identity trail work parties more than 10 years ago to provide a safe space for volunteers from similar backgrounds and communities, including women and the LGBTQ+ community. This approach expands our volunteer base and helps more people gain skills in trail stewardship and access opportunities in the outdoor industry. Volunteers who have joined us on these trips have said that, while they had considered volunteering in the past, it was this community opportunity that encouraged them to finally sign up.
We've also built successful weeklong Latinx trail crew experiences in partnership with Latino Outdoors, in addition to work parties with other community-based organizations. And we created a New to Trail Work series to lower barriers for folks to try trail stewardship for the first time.
Our leaders are trained how to foster a welcoming environment, how to recognize bias and how to step in as needed to ensure everyone feels safe and supported while volunteering their time for trails.
We're also helping diverse individuals, including Black, Indigenous, and people of color, gain skills and experience while exploring career paths in the natural resources and outdoor recreation sectors.
building Partnerships — the Cornerstone of Trails for Everyone
None of the work we are doing to create trails for everyone is done alone. Partner organizations are key to making this vision a reality. We are constantly learning from one another and finding new ways to collaborate and grow. Together, we can all get more done.
Read about our work in action
A public school science outdoors program to inspire
Lincoln High School in Tacoma is proving the hypothesis that an outdoors science program can deliver on STEM, help students dream big and break down geographic, economic and social barriers to the outdoors. | by MJ Sampang
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Outdoor educators who inspire: Whatcom Intergenerational High School
Jun 24, 2024
Science teacher Cameron Kolk on how place-based education that integrates Western and Indigenous ways of knowing can foster a stronger sense of student identity, community and lasting, trusting relationships.
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Outdoor educators who inspire: Tacoma Online
Jun 19, 2024
Assistant Principal Ruth Schlattmann on why it's vital for all kids to have the opportunity to experience community, set goals and stretch their comfort zones with outdoor experiences, even when they go to school in a largely online environment.
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Outdoor educators who inspire: Swiftwater Learning Center
Jun 12, 2024
Educator Michele Montgomery on how she uses hands-on learning and the outdoor classroom to share a sense of place and comfort and the outdoors. For high school students growing up in a recreation and tourism town at the foot of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, those lessons can lead to lifelong passions and potential future careers.
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No Child Left Inside gets more kids outdoors than ever
May 28, 2024
WTA and our partners — Youth Experiential Training Institute, The Wilderness Society and others — succeeded in securing No Child Left Inside's highest level of funding to date from the state legislature. This investment of $7 million for grants from 2023-2025 is now funding 92 programs around the state, supporting tens of thousands of Washington’s youth in getting outdoors.
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WTA's Emerging Leaders Program ends on a high note
May 16, 2024
"It has been fulfilling to see where ELP alumni interests propel them on their endeavors after completing this program."
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