Jackie Ostfeld, Co-Founder and Chair, Outdoors Alliance for Kids; and Sierra Club Nearby Nature Director
Nothing fills my heart with more joy than watching
a child discover nature for the first time. In my early
20s, I spent my days teaching kids in and about the
great outdoors. I touched the lives of thousands of
children--or, if I’m being honest--they touched me. It
was during my years as an environmental educator
that I first realized how few children had opportunities to enjoy the natural world. While there, in the
foothills of the southern Sierras, I decided I wanted
to address this widespread disconnect from nature at
the national level.
When I came to the Sierra Club in Washington,
D.C., I ran across many like-minded colleagues
who were all working in their own ways to connect
children with nature. After several years of working
independently, we realized our voices would be
stronger if we came together around a shared agenda
to get kids outdoors. In early 2010, several national
organizations--including the Children & Nature
Network, Izaak Walton League of America, National
Recreation and Park Association, National Wildlife
Federation, REI, Sierra Club, and the YMCA of the
USA--began collaborating on this important issue.
Our first action as a group was to call on First Lady
Michelle Obama to establish an outdoors component to her recently unveiled Let’s Move! initiative
to end childhood obesity. With the announcement
of Let’s Move! Outside and some early success
under our belt, we decided to officially launch the
Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK), open our doors
to new members, and grow our advocacy on issues
to connect children, youth, and families with the
outdoors.
OAK is a national strategic partnership of organizations from diverse sectors with a common interest
in connecting children, youth, and families with the
outdoors. Our members are brought together by the
belief that the wellness of current and future generations, the health of our planet and communities, and
the economy of the future depend on people having
a personal, direct, and lifelong relationship with
nature and the outdoors.
Although families have the leading role in connecting children with the outdoors, OAK believes
that other decision-makers also need to ensure that
children, youth, and families have the access, opportunities, skills, and encouragement to connect with
the great outdoors. OAK seeks to raise awareness
and activate leaders and decision-makers at the
grassroots, local, state, regional, and federal levels
to support change that expands and strengthens
education, community health and wellness, and
environmental stewardship opportunities for children
and youth across America. OAK is an active voice
for the movement, focused on strategic and overall
change, and committed to engaging,
educating, and
influencing leaders
in various sectors--including
conservation,
recreation, health,
education, defense
and military readiness, business,
built environment,
and transportation.
Since our initial
launch, we have
brought on new
and diverse steering committee member organizations such as the American Heart Association, the
North Face, and the Wilderness Society. OAK’s membership continues to grow and recently surpassed 80
members, including AORE, the Boys & Girls Clubs of
America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Outdoor Afro, and
the National Military Family Association. For more
about OAK, including a complete list of members
and a membership application, please visit our website: www.outdoorsallianceforkids.org.
aore.org | [email protected]
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