Category Archives: EKIP Youth

To All the Fourth Graders in Michigan, Nature Awaits

guest post by Elayne Elliot, Chapter Director of Sierra Club’s Michigan Chapter and Jackie Ostfeld, OAK Chair and Director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign Sierra Club and our partners have a long history of working to expand access to the outdoors for all Michiganders, starting with the pivotal role that we played inContinue reading “To All the Fourth Graders in Michigan, Nature Awaits”

Growing Stronger Together in 2022: Outdoors Alliance for Kids

by Jackie Ostfeld, OAK co-founder and chair As we head into winter, I am welcoming the short days and long nights as an invitation to slow down, rest, and reflect. Walking through my neighborhood park on a crisp cool day, I am filled with gratitude for my nearby parks and public lands, places I goContinue reading “Growing Stronger Together in 2022: Outdoors Alliance for Kids”

Our Kids Are Facing a Mental Health Crisis, Nature Can Help

by Jackie Ostfeld and Monica Lopez Magee As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, children and youth continue to face upheavals in their family, social, and educational lives. Their daily routines are disrupted by exposure alerts and quarantines, they may be unable to see friends and family, and the back-and-forth of virtual and in-person schoolingContinue reading “Our Kids Are Facing a Mental Health Crisis, Nature Can Help”

My one wish is that every child has the RIGHT to outdoor access and public lands

by Tigran Nahabedian, OAK Advisor Time in nature teaches important lessons and skills, and is vital to our children’s development. But right now, access to parks and public lands is not equal across our communities, and climate change is increasingly affecting the green spaces we do have. One hundred million people in the US –Continue reading “My one wish is that every child has the RIGHT to outdoor access and public lands”

[RE-BLOG] Our Youth Are in Crisis — They Need the Outdoors

February 3, 2022 By Jackie Ostfeld This blog was originally posted on SierraClub.org. Photo courtesy of Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management. For nearly two years, children and youth have seen their family, social, and educational lives disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has cut young people off from their support networks, and ratesContinue reading “[RE-BLOG] Our Youth Are in Crisis — They Need the Outdoors”

[Re-Blog] Congresswoman Katie Porter: “After a Year Indoors, We Must Support Every Kid Outdoors”

August 25, 2021 By Congresswoman Katie Porter and Jayni Rasmussen  This blog was originally posted on SierraClub.org. Featured photo: Big Bend at Zion National Park, courtesy Cadence C. Cook, National Park Service. Representative Katie Porter, one of the authors of this blog, knows firsthand the joy of the outdoors. Growing up, her family took vacations at national parksContinue reading “[Re-Blog] Congresswoman Katie Porter: “After a Year Indoors, We Must Support Every Kid Outdoors””

Watch Now: OAK’s Youth Advocates on REI’s Instagram Stories!

This afternoon, OAK Steering Committee member REI Co-op posted on their Instagram account our collaborative story series featuring a Q&A with two of OAK’s amazing youth advocates, Robbie Bond of Kids Speak for Parks and Junior Ranger Tigran Nahabedian! In the stories, Robbie and Tigran both make an incredible case for full funding for the Every Kid OutdoorsContinue reading “Watch Now: OAK’s Youth Advocates on REI’s Instagram Stories!”

Watch: Rep. Katie Porter and daughter Betsy talk Every Kid Outdoors!

We love this great video from Congresswoman Katie Porter, who shares with her rising fourth grader, Betsy, that they’re going on a vacation to a surprise destination: Zion National Park! Thanks to the Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) program, all fourth graders – including Betsy – and their families get FREE entry to any national parkContinue reading “Watch: Rep. Katie Porter and daughter Betsy talk Every Kid Outdoors!”

Act Now to Support Funding for Every Kid Outdoors!

Since, 2015, the Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) program has provided fourth graders with a pass so they and their families can gain free entry to federal public land and water sites. Now, this program needs funding to ensure it can reach kids that need outdoor access more than ever.  EKO gives children an opportunity toContinue reading “Act Now to Support Funding for Every Kid Outdoors!”