“I always fantasized about being in a quiet place, alone,” 15-year-old DeVaughn explains. At home in New York City, he is subject to a sensory onslaught — loud music, food cooking, cars honking, people arguing nearby.

Thanks to the nonprofit Camping to Connect, DeVaughn has found his quiet place: a tent in the woods along the Appalachian Trail. Camping to Connect is a BIPOC-led experiential mentorship program that uses outdoor recreation and nature immersion to address the complex issues faced by young men of color in America’s cities. With programs in New York City, New York and Denver, Colorado, Camping to Connect offers themed hikes, camping trips and ongoing mentorship through recreational activities and meetups — all at no cost to participants.

DeVaughn and other campers explore the woods along the Appalachian Trail in the short documentary film, “Wood Hood.” Photo courtesy of Camping to Connect.

“There’s a certain level of closing-in that we inherently do when we’re in closed-in spaces all the time,” explains one of the program’s facilitators, Carlos Davila. He notes that regular time outdoors is essential for children’s healthy development, especially for those in urban areas. By connecting youth of color to nature through camping trips, he and the rest of the Camping to Connect team seek to provide equitable access to the natural world.

DeVaughn’s story is a fantastic example of the ways that urban youth can feel closed in and drowned out by the concrete chaos of city living, and how nature programming can provide solitude and space for reflection and healing. A new short documentary film, “Wood Hood,” depicts how DeVaughn and others reconnect with the natural world during a weekend camping trip hosted by Camping to Connect.

The short documentary film, “Wood Hood,” captures a quiet moment as DeVaughn finds peace and solitude in nature. Photo courtesy of Camping to Connect.

Made possible by a grant from Patagonia and slated for online release soon, “Wood Hood” is a moving, visually stunning portrait of a BIPOC-led wilderness journey for young men of color from New York City. This is the work of Camping to Connect’s volunteer-run program: adult Black and Brown men take participants on wilderness camping experiences, often for their first time, and support them in their personal growth.

As co-founder Manny Almonte describes, “Our nonprofit [Camping to Connect] is doing the work of reducing nature-deficit disorder for young men of color in New York City.”

In the short film, you see the campers begin the weekend with both trepidation and excitement. You’ll see a camper confront a friendly spider (and gain the trail name “Daddy Long Legs” as a result), and see the whole group emerge from the experience feeling proud of the new skills they’ve gained. Throughout the trip, the adult mentors offer guidance and support, inviting campers to name their feelings and journal about them.

Camping to Connect participants enjoy s’mores around the campfire. Photo courtesy of Camping to Connect.

“These are the [outdoor] experiences that we want you to start to see as normal,” says Davila. “Because this is what we’re often told we can’t do.”

The film “Wood Hood” premiered in May at the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado. The full film will be released online in the coming months. Watch the trailer below or visit https://youtu.be/y_ZKamQG-ac. To learn more about Camping to Connect’s work, visit www.campingtoconnect.com

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Amelia Rhodeland

Amelia Rhodeland has worked to connect people with nature for over a decade, always seeking to improve the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants, while centering equity and joy. In pursuit of this mission, she has coordinated events for environmental justice in New Orleans, built trails in the Rockies, created public programs for the National Park Service in Arizona, designed engagement strategy for Portland’s regional parks as a Hatfield Fellow, and conducted academic research to examine the diversity of the U.S. Forest Service workforce. Amelia holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in Anthropology from UCLA. Today, Amelia draws on her diverse experiences to produce communications and engagement strategies for the Children & Nature Network. She lives in Los Angeles, California, on Tongva Land, where she enjoys spending time outside in the sun with her husband, daughter, and cat.

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