Parks program to get more kids outside is on the upswing

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We are always thrilled to get contributions — stories, photos, tips, suggestions — that help WSB become a place where together we all tell and share even more of the ongoing story of West Seattle and its people. Tonight, Camp Long‘s Sheila Brown wanted to share an article and photos (including the one above) about a new grant that will help Camp Long and other Seattle city park/recreation facilities provide more outdoor opportunities for young people (such as climbing) — read on:

By Sheila Brown
Camp Long

â€œNo Child Left Insideâ€ was adopted as a grant program administered by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Camp Long partnered with the local chapter of Outdoor Opportunities to provide climbing activities to teens in the Seattle Parks and Recreation system.

The Outdoor Opportunities (O2) program is an outdoor program sponsored by Seattle Parks and Recreation and is designed to expose diverse, at-risk, inner-city teens to outdoor recreation, environmental education, conservation and stewardship, while creating an environment for community leadership and empowerment. The O2 program currently operates programs at our Camp Long and Discovery Park locations. With grant support they will also open and operate a third location at the newly opened Seward Park Environmental & Audubon Center.

The O2 program contributes to healthy lifestyles through outdoor recreation and sound nutrition in a variety of ways. Youth learn about healthy lifestyle choices through weekly after-school educational workshops and weekend outdoor recreation and conservation programming. This exposure to outdoor recreation, education and community service provides participants with consistent programming that is positive, active and intellectually stimulating during critical after-school and weekend hours.

By teaching outdoor living skills during outdoor recreation events along with organizational and instructional skills necessary to orchestrate conservation projects, O2 participants learn skills required to safely plan their own outdoor trips and implement community service projects.

In this way, the O2 program empowers young people, the majority of whom have never been exposed to this type of programming, to take action and engage in outdoor recreation and community service in their respective lives. To this end, the O2 program inspires a generation of young people to become positive, safe and informed outdoor enthusiasts and local community leaders.

An example is Harrison Martin. Harrison came up through the O2 program and is now helping with the program as an AmeriCorps Volunteer. He will be helping with the climbing programs at Camp Long this summer. Harrison grew up in West Seattle and graduated from high school last year.