Beyond Legacy Camp: What C&NN’s Natural Leaders Do When They Get Home
When I came into my current position as the Delaware Children in Nature Coalition Intern, I was overwhelmed from the start. The work was something I was extremely passionate about – engaging kids with the outdoors in a meaningful way.
My parents had done this for me. I couldn’t imagine growing up without camping trips, kayaking and hiking. But how was I going to share my passion with others? Most of my work to date had been in education and interpretation, working directly with the public trying to get this very same message across. Now, I would be doing more behind-the-scenes work, work that I was unfamiliar with, while others took the hands-on approach to programming. A few months after I started, the program coordinator left, and his responsibilities shifted to me. These new duties made me even more discouraged.
I had lost the mentor who was supposed to be showing me how to do the job assigned to me. That all changed when I attended C&NN’s Natural Leaders Legacy Camp in July.
Many people I had the pleasure of meeting at Camp had similar roles in their communities, and had great success stories they were able to share. I was immensely inspired – I finally felt like I could do the tasks I was being given, and perform them well. Armed with ideas I learned from my peers, I set out to tackle my two biggest projects: Venture Outdoors Fest and Children in Nature Month.
Venture Outdoors Fest (VOF) was created to engage more millennials and young adults with our parks. Surveys showed us that many members of those demographics only came to the park for a quick run on a trail or to play a game of volleyball. We wanted more interaction. A co-worker of mine, and the creator of VOF, held the first event in May 2014.
It was a huge hit with different activities in different parks in the northern part of our small state. As a direct result of that success, we decided to continue the program with an event in the fall of 2014, the one I was to coordinate.
My event included families instead of only young adults. This was an important aspect to me, given my experiences with parks growing up.
I imagined this as a wonderful event to engage those families who hadn’t experienced the parks before, and were starting to explore outdoor recreation as a hobby.
For this reason, most of the activities were ones that were already offered at Trap Pond State Park: kayaking, canoeing, disc golf, paddle boating, hiking, biking, birding, fishing, and more. We also added others, such as stand-up paddleboarding.
We included all meals, thanks to many local sponsors, and had live music during dinner and around a campfire with s’mores. Despite a forecast for rain, the event was extremely successful, with more than 100 people attending. Seeing so many people trying new outdoor activities and engaging with the local community inspired me to keep planning these festivals.
My next objective is something I’ve been working on for the last few months. Delaware’s Governor Jack Markell launched the Children in Nature Initiative nearly two years ago, and signed a proclamation on September 26, 2014 declaring October as Children in Nature Month. We have a full calendar of events that are family-friendly and have an outdoor component. I work with the partners to promote these events and explain the Children in Nature Coalition‘s goals.
Through publicity and strong interest from the public, I know this will be a huge success. We have wonderful partners throughout Delaware who share a strong vision and passion about the initiative. I hope Delaware can be an example, and that Children in Nature Month will spread throughout the country.
Now, instead of being overwhelmed, I feel as if I have made a huge difference in my community, and in return, I feel empowered. I hope to continue to do even more by creating more programs to get families and children outside now, inspiring them for generations to come–just as my family inspired me.
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