1. What are some of the ways that you convince kids from the city to come in and explore your centers? Do you notice any common themes or things that draw kids in and get them excited about outdoor recreation?

Our school field trips in our Neighborhood Environmental Education Project (NEEP) are designed to teach schools that are within a 2 mile radius of our center so that we can encourage the students to comeback after school or on the weekends to visit the park, continue to explore what they were learning, or join in on programs like the Young Scientist Club. We also dedicate staff time during the summer to encourage students who are in the building throughout
the day during our open hours to join our programs, help out in the gardens, play games, or do experiments. Since we have our canoes on a rack outside the building, or have many canoeing programs during the summer, we have a lot of kids who see them and want to try it. Fishing is another park favorite, we have a dedicated DNR Fishing in the Neighborhood Intern who works specifically with kids and families once or twice a week to develop fishing skills and techniques. Sometimes kids are just curious and want to see what you are doing and feel really valued when you just incorporate them with what you are doing whether it be watering gardens or playing games. We also have 12 learning gardens that are planted by the Young Scientist Club and maintained by them throughout the summer but the best part is when we cook with the food we harvested on Fridays. Food Friday is a very popular program because kids love helping out in the kitchen and they enjoy eating the things that they have grown. I often have students coming back
the next week telling me that they told their mom about what we cooked and tried it at home too.

2.  What is a good way to convince people about the dangers of pollution and climate change through outdoor recreation?

-Part of being in Environmental Education is presenting the facts in an unbiased way so that people can make their own connections and inferences. Being knowledgeable about the topic, providing background information, and creating a program structured around that information while also helping participants draw connections to their role in it is a good way to start. For example, if we were to look at water quality and pollution, we might make some initial observations about what we might find, what animals and plants might be in and around the area, and if the water looks healthy or not. Then we would go out and test the water either with water testing kits, or by collecting macroinvertebrates and tallying up the pollutant tolerant vs intolerant species found and draw conclusions about the water that way. Depending on the age level and the quality of the water you can have a healthy discussion about what they think could be done, or why they think it is the way it is.

3. Is it harder to get inner-city kids involved in the outdoors? If so, do you think this has to do with the wealth gap and how expensive some outdoor activities are?

-No, actually I feel like all kids like being outdoors. During the nicer weather, Washington Park is full of children playing on the playground, playing soccer, fishing, and stopping by our center.  I don't know of many kids who don't like being outdoors and aren't curious about their natural surroundings. To answer your question about the wealth gap and how expensive outdoor activities are, my answer is two fold. I think that our center does a really good job of offering memberships to provide access to some of these activities that do cost a lot of money. I myself don't own cross country ski's but I do enjoy that I get to borrow them from work just like members can borrow them for the weekend. I think part of the reason we don't always see people who are in a low-income situation participating in outdoor activities might be because they are working to make ends meet or have worked a ridiculous amount of hours and just want to spend time at home with family. But I often see people hiking and walking around the park, fishing, biking, having family gatherings.

4. What are some ways to advertise outdoor recreation that could appeal to all walks of life?

We try and provide programming that anyone would feel welcome to come to and prepare to teach all different age levels. We offer introductions to canoeing and cross country skiing and make sure to mention that anyone from any skill level and age can come try it. I think the biggest thing is being strategic in the wording of the description and title for the program. For other programs that might involve varying skill levels we would have several options and staff assigned to work with those groups as well.  A good example of this is the upcoming green birding challenge. ***Our website has a list/calendar of our events with their descriptions for examples.