FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, May 28, 2020 ContactIan Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org Washington, DC -- The Outdoors Alliance for Kids’ Chair & Vice Chair Jackie Ostfeld and Paul Sanford released the following statement on racism in the outdoors following the incident in Central Park’s Ramble. “No one should fear for their lives when stepping outside. Yet, far [...]
Author: OAK
My name is Jackie Ostfeld. I am the co-founder and Chair of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids and the Policy Manager for Sierra Club's Outdoors program. I am an advocate for connecting kids with nature. My views are my own.
Advocating in Challenging Times
This article first appeared in the May edition of Parks & Recreation Magazine We are living in strange and difficult times. At the Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK), we know this international pandemic is challenging for everyone. Physical distancing and sheltering in place are particularly difficult for people who know the value of spending time [...]
Our Parks Have a New Superhero
by Jackie Ostfeld | This post was originally published on February 19, 2020 on the Sierra Club blog here. Featured photo courtesy of Marvel/Disney. Photo courtesy of Disney / Marvel. I just got home from paradise, where I had the distinct honor of meeting Marvel’s newest superhero. Robbie Bond has a superpower—teleportation. With great power [...]
RELEASE: Outdoors Alliance for Kids and Scholastic Announce All Kids Outdoors Essay Contest Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:April Thomas206.321.3850, april.thomas@sierraclub.org Outdoors Alliance for Kids and Scholastic Announce All Kids Outdoors Essay Contest WinnersNearly 2,000 Kids Nationwide Submitted Entries Washington, D.C., (May 23, 2019) -- The Outdoors Alliance for Kids and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, are proud to announce the winners of the All Kids [...]
Youth Voices: The Outdoors And People
Sweepstakes WinnerEmmanuel O., 5th Grade, Falls Church, VA All Kids Outdoors Scholastic-OAK Youth Essay ContestYouth Voices Blog Series The Outdoors And People The great outdoor spaces, aren’t they beautiful? An outdoor space is any place outside a living space where people can interact, play, and relax. This includes the backyards of homes, playgrounds for kids, sidewalks, [...]
Youth Voices: The Importance of Outdoors
Honorable Mention by Indi M., 5th Grade, McLean, VA All Kids Outdoors Scholastic-OAK Youth Essay ContestYouth Voices Blog Series The Importance of Outdoors Children’s outdoor play is rapidly diminishing, we are focusing more on sedentary lifestyles. No one can deny our simple interest with electronics now in the modern era. The outdoors are the original foundation [...]
Youth Voices: The Great Outdoors
Honorable MentionKatie B., 6th Grade, Ellisville, MO All Kids Outdoors Scholastic-OAK Youth Essay ContestYouth Voices Blog Series The Great Outdoors Swinging, sliding, and climbing at parks are only for fun, right? Not true! Parks and outdoor spaces are not only for fun, but are actually necessary for the world. Parks and outdoor spaces improve our health, [...]
Youth Voices: How Nature Improves the Brain
Grand Prize Winning Essayby Violet M., 4th Grade, Kalispell, MTAll Kids Outdoors Scholastic-OAK Youth Essay ContestYouth Voices Blog Series How Nature Improves the Brain American marine biologist Rachel Carson remarked in Silent Spring, “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after [...]
RENEWING A LOVE FOR THE OUTDOORS THIS SPRING: Screen-Free Week 2019
guest blog by Rinny Yourman, JD, Screen-Free Week Outreach Coordinator, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, OAK Member When children have free time to themselves, how do we want them to spend it? We hope they’ll spend it looking down –not at screens– but digging in the dirt, gardening, collecting shells or stones, admiring flowers, watering [...]
When the Kids Speak Up
by Jackie Ostfeld, OAK Founder & Chair, Director of Sierra Club's Outdoors for All campaign Photo Credit: National Park Trust The Every Kid Outdoors Act is now the law of the land - no pun intended. An historic public lands package has swept through both chambers of Congress in atypical bipartisan fashion and landed on [...]
Outdoors Alliance for Kids 