The Daily - June 10,2022 - 67

Striving Toward an
Outdoors for All
This education session on Day 1 was a
conversation about the new State-Based
Equity Funds with people who are on the
ground doing this work every day.
By James Edward Mills
WHEN THE STATE OF COLORADO
created its Outdoor Equity Fund,
countless opportunities emerged
to help introduce youth from
marginalized communities to the
wonders of nature. Organizations
that are dedicated to making a
clear pathway for young people
into the outdoors gathered at
Outdoor Retailer to discuss the
importance of this and other
initiatives that help define recreational
spaces where everyone is
welcome. Called " Striving Toward
An Outdoors For All: State-Based
Equity Funds, " this mid-morning
forum on Day 1 detailed the value
of economic investment in the
future by providing basic resources
necessary for underprivileged
kids to experience the joy and
benefits of a life outside.
Moderated by Teresa Martinez,
executive director of the Continental
Divide Trail Coalition, the
panelists shared not only their
passion for youth engagement,
but also illustrated how dedicated
funding can make a real difference
in exposing youth to the
great outdoors, thereby building
confidence, keeping them in
school, and nurturing leadership.
These resources help break down
the cultural barriers that have too
often kept children of low-income
OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2022 /
67
families from enjoying even the
natural spaces near their homes.
" Real barriers exist-everything
from appropriate footwear and
putting gas in the van, or being
able to afford the park entrance
fee, " says Angel Peña, executive
director of the Nuestra Tierra
Conservation Project in New Mexico.
" An Outdoor Equity Fund is a
Striving Toward An
Outdoors For All
state program that simply actively
and effectively breaks down those
barriers by providing resources
and capacity to help our deliberately,
historically overlooked
communities get outdoors. "
The benefits of outdoor recreation
yield great dividends to the
long-term health and wellbeing
of the youth these programs
engage. " One of the most positive
things that happens when
we get kids involved, whether
it's outdoors or just involved in
general, is mental health, " says
panelist Shirley Romero Otero,
founder and executive director
of Move Mountains Youth Project
Inc. " I have seen that it is
taking care of mental illness. It
is taking care of anxiety, depression,
what it has done for not
just their self-esteem, but their
character. The confidence that it
instills is amazing. "
These community-based programs
draw on the lived experiences
of their participants and reflect
the values of their natural heritage.
Though funding partners in the
outdoor industry provide matching
grants and gear donations,
the young people are enabled to
understand that their experiences
in the outdoors are a natural part
of their identity. " We're still trying
to match a community and culture
that doesn't always resonate. And
that's OK, " Martinez said. " This
isn't about creating the next new
snowboard professional. It's about
getting kids connected to where
they live and being able to access
and understand the lands they
come from that are in their names
are theirs to enjoy. "
LAUREN DANILEK
The Daily - June 10,2022

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