Welcome to the DEI Outdoors Practitioner Course - Week 1!

[Rachel Hailey]

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Week 1 of the DEI Outdoors Practitioner Course! We're thrilled to have you join us on this journey to explore equity and justice in outdoor spaces.

By now, you should all have access to the course platform. Be sure to check the syllabus for important dates and information.

This Week's Focus:

This week, we'll be doing some introductions and exploring foundational topics in DEI. We will be discussing the fundamental concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and their significance in outdoor spaces. Go to the Week 1 page.

Action Steps for This Week:

• Attend our first live session on January 24th, 7:30pm ET to 9pm ET

• Complete the readings & videos for Week 1

• Submit your reflection project by Sunday, January 28th.

I understand that this work is seasonal, and I am willing to accept submissions after the deadline. However, as a courtesy, I kindly request that you notify me via email if you anticipate a delay in the project.

Bonus Discussion (Optional):

Share your first memory of being in the outdoors in the Google Group by replying to this email! I'd love to hear your stories. Remember in the Google Groups, you can reply to the group email, or directly to the sender. Review the instructions here. 

See you all in the live session!

Cheers, 

Rachel

[Dave Edson]

Some of my first memories of being outdoors- besides riding my Big Wheel joyously around the walkways in front of my family's house in Washington, DC- were summer vacations at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I loved being by the ocean. Still do. One ritual I had was that as soon as I got to the beach, I would run as fast as I could in as tight a circle as possible in the sand. Once I got going, it was like I was running sideways, defying gravity, because my feet would dig into the sand and sink in a little.

Cheers,

Dave

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[Abbey Hickey]

Hey All!

It has been lovely to read all of your intros! On my end, my name is Abbey Hickey and I am newly a Programs Manager for Get Outdoors Leadville! (GOL!) in Leadville, Colorado. GOL! is essentially an organization within Lake County that works to improve access to equitable outdoor programming within our diverse community. I previously studied social work and outdoor adventure leadership, and am excited to combine those interests in this position. Prior to all of this, I grew up in Illinois, and started working at a summer camp in Colorado in 2015. I have since bounced around a variety of public service and outdoor industry positions. I am excited to learn alongside and from all of you :)

As for my first memory outdoors, I think it was in Northern Illinois on the sidelines of my older brother's soccer game. I remember loving the green grass, fresh air, and watching my brother play. 

See you all soon!

Stay well,

Abbey

[Kendal Scott]

Happy Monday all. I think one of my earliest memories outdoors was riding the ferry to Whidbey Island for my mom’s birthday, where we saw a doble rainbow over the Puget Sound. Then, playing at Double Bluff Beach on Whidbey, building forts, searching for pretty shells and rocks, and running up and down the sand dunes with my sisters.

 

Kendal Scott

Outdoor Education Lead, Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation 

 

    

Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

901 S. Stewart Street, Ste. 1002

Carson City, NV 89701

e: k.s...@ndor.nv.gov

o: 775.684.2731

she/her/hers

 

From: Rachel Hailey <rac...@deioutdoors.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2024 6:00 AM
To: DEIO Certificate Winter 2024 <winte...@deioutdoors.com>
Subject: Welcome to the DEI Outdoors Practitioner Course - Week 1!

 

WARNING - This email originated from outside the State of Nevada. Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.

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[Micah Mortali]

I love these early memories of “the more than human world”!

My name is Micah Mortali. I am the founder and director of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership. I also wrote a book called “Rewilding”.

 

My earliest memory of the outdoors is winter of ’78. I was two. I just remember so much snow on the lake outside our house and a stuffed huskie my grandparents gave me. I still love winter so much.

 

Glad to be here with all of you.

 

Micah

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[Katherine Abbott]

It's good to hear everyone's stories — Micah, I'll second you!

Early memories of being outdoors ... one of them may be climbing the hemlock tree by the frog pond, when I could only get up to the second branch and then got stuck, and my dad had to find me and help me back down. I climbed that tree for years (and would still if it were still there to climb), and I remember the place where I would sit, as high as I could reach, where the branches became slighter and almost nested. The bark grew in coppery crescents, and the needles were small and fine and dark, and up there it felt quiet ...

But those aren't my earliest memory of being outdoors, because I had to be tall enough to reach the lowest branches and able to climb. I have not so much one as a kaleidoscope. I grew up on the Connecticut coast, on a street with a wooded ridge behind our house, and raspberry fields and a pond across the way, and our old road ends quietly in a trailhead to paths through some old state woods. My parents still walk there every morning, and they have taken me me there since before I could walk. My mom first carried me in a backpack, as she and my dad both did for my sister and then my brother, and she tells me one of my first words I learned to say came from the circles painted on the trees to mark the trails. 

So I remember walking the trail to the ridge when it took my sister and me half a day to walk half a mile, and I remember the kinds of encounters we had over and over until they became familiar. Climbing a glacial rocks, looking for caves, wading in the stream. Tasting black birch and checkerberry with my mom, and planting seedlings in the garden with my dad, and watching green frogs in the pool ... rubbing the foreheads of the milking cows on my grandparents' farm and walking in the hay fields ... and (near home) visiting friends who lived by the sea, looking for periwinkles and jingle shells and playing tag in mazes drawn on the sand.  

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"Even sight heightened to become all-seeing will do you no good without a sense of taking part." — Wislawa Szymborska

Writer and freelance journalist on Muhheaconneok/Mohican homelands

Local stories and explorations at By the Way Berkshires 

Pronouns she / her, 203-494-6384

@btw_berkshires on Instagram 

BTWBerkshires on Facebook

[Mark Zmudy]

Dear DEI Outdoors Team,

When I was in pre-school we lived in Cheney, Washington, just outside of Spokane, Washington.

My mom and dad would take us to a special forest trail that we knew as "A Walk in the Wild."

I will never forget the feeling of joy my mom and dad exuded upon my sister and me when walking through the forest.

From my point of view, around every turn was a new adventure, and we were surrounded by tall pines and leafy trees.

A couple of times they took us there for easter egg hunting. One year in particular we were blown away by the number of eggs! Of course, my dad was just reaching back into the basket and hiding the same eggs we had found over and over...HA HA!

Then when I was 4 years old we lived in Cincinnati, OH for one summer. Once while at a picnic I walked down a path away from the softball game my mom and dad were playing in and I got lost in the woods. I remember trying over and over to get back but kept ending up in the same place.

Eventually, a search party came and found me. My mom asked, why didn't I come back? And I told her "Because the path only went one way."

We moved to Denver, CO when I was in 2nd grade and that's where I grew up. We lived right in the middle of Capital Hill in the city. We spent our childhood doing 4 main things: Climbing giant trees, following railroad tracks all day, following streams that led into underground runoff and sewer systems, or working to get lost on our bikes to try and find our way home.

Cheers!

Zmudy

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Mark H. Zmudy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

UEA Member

He/Him/His

University of Minnesota, Duluth
Department of Applied Human Sciences
SpHC 110
1216 Ordean Court
Duluth, MN 55812
Ph: 218-726-6861
Fax: 218-726-6243

[Preperato, Amanda]

Hi all,

 

My earliest memories of being in the outdoors are playing outside with my four brothers on the farm that we grew up on. We made a fort down by the creek called “The Potato Chip”, climbed trees, and we’d play a game called “spy,” running and hiding across the farm.

 

-Amanda

 

From: 'Mark Zmudy' via DEIO Certificate Winter 2024 <winte...@deioutdoors.com>
Date: Monday, January 22, 2024 at 4:15 PM
To: Micah Mortali <Mic...@kripalu.org>
Cc: Kendal Scott <k.s...@ndor.nv.gov>, Rachel Hailey <rac...@deioutdoors.com>, DEIO Certificate Winter 2024 <winte...@deioutdoors.com>
Subject: Re: Welcome to the DEI Outdoors Practitioner Course - Week 1!

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[Victoria Ramos-Glew]

Hello everyone,

I have lived in beautiful NH for about 20 years now, but I grew up in the flatlands of IL farm country, surrounded by cornfields.  I think my earliest, memory of enjoying the outdoors happened when I was probably 3 years old. I remember riding in a seat on the back of my mom's bike, going down a dusty, gravel road. It was near the trailer park where we lived. We didn't have much money, as my mom was a public school teacher in central IL, but she loved nature, and she passed that down to me. Fortunately, I grew up 5 miles from a forest preserve where I attended nature camps and spent much time enjoying the outdoors. It made such an impression on me that I had my wedding reception there. As an aside, my mom married my stepdad, and we moved out of the trailer park, but my parents still live 5 miles from that forest preserve, and I visit it every time I go home.

Thank you and I look forward to meeting you all soon!
Vicki

[Erica Jameson]

What a diverse group of memories that everyone has.  My first memories of being outside are hard to recall, but I am generally a lizard, loving the sun and its warmth, so I was outside as soon as possible every day..  Growing up on a ranch means that you're almost always outside.  We milked 4 cows daily, fed calves and chickens, and took a team of horses down to the back 40 to feed the cows in winter.  I remember sleeping outside with the other kids my age when I was about 7, our camp doesn't have cabins or tents.  Horseback riding with my father was a very early memory, and you could always find me with my pony, Capone, once I was allowed to ride by myself.  My mom was quite the hippie, and she would take us on nature walks and play games as we went.  One of my favorites was smelling a tree with your eyes shut, then being moved away.  Once you were away from it, you had to go find it by smell.  It was rather challenging.  

My siblings and I would make forts in the Manzanita bushes around the ranch and hide there for hours.  When we went on a weekend away it was usually to Morro Bay, where we could go on hikes to the tide pools, play in the ocean, and generally create fun for ourselves.    

Ciao,

Erica

[Lindsay McGinnis]

Hi All!

I currently spend a ton of time outdoors… for pleasure, with my kids, with my students. I even take my yoga mat outside. My first experience… Old Orchard Beach, campground with my family. This where I spent approximately the first 10 summers of my life. Now and for my whole life, I literally l live at the base of Mt Greylock, tallest mountain in Massachusetts and on the path of the Appalachian Trail. I mainly hike because it’s doable with my family but rock climbing and cycling were my passion for quite a bit of time. Sooo. That’s why I have started teaching Outdoor Leadership as an elective course when I’m not teaching a traditional science class.

Sorry if my story is a bit long… but that’s me in a nutshell!

Cheers!

Lindsay

Lindsay (St. Pierre) McGinnis

Hoosac Valley High School

lmcg...@hoosacvalley.org

(413)743-5200 ext 4416

HS Science Teacher

Instructional Leadership Team (ILT)

Garden Advisor

"STRIVE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE BY EMPHASIZING STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY IN A CLIMATE OF MUTUAL RESPECT."

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[Jeanette Patterson]

Hello,

I'm Jeanette Patterson, the Executive Director of Lincoln Hills Cares. Our organization is dedicated to fostering community, advancing outdoor equity, and championing the environment through outdoor education and recreation initiatives, connections to environmental and cultural history, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education. With 29 years of experience in public education and a former Director of Equity background, I am thrilled to engage in this training and eager to gain insights into promoting equity in outdoor settings.

Looking forward to the work - Jeanette 

Enlarging others makes you larger - John Maxwell

Jeanette R Patterson, Ed.D.

Executive Director 

Lincoln Hills Cares 

2530 North Washington Street, Suite 100

Denver Colorado 80205

jean...@lhcares.org

303-514-4150 (c)

 ​

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From: Lindsay McGinnis <lmcg...@hoosacvalley.org>
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2024 6:39 PM
To: Victoria Ramos-Glew <vramo...@gmail.com>
Cc: DEIO Certificate Winter 2024 <winte...@deioutdoors.com>; rac...@deioutdoors.com <rac...@deioutdoors.com>

Subject: Re: Welcome to the DEI Outdoors Practitioner Course - Week 1!

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[Liz Guerrero]

Hello All,

Some of my early memories of being outdoors go back to when I was about 3-4 years old. My mom would take my late brother, Miguel, and I to the local park for fresh air. I remember making Miguel slide down the "big" slide because I was afraid of heights but wanted the thrill anyways. Until this day, I have a fear of heights but can't seem to stay off our local peaks and mountains. National Parks were not even a thing for my family and I growing up. We didn't have access or knowledge of them. However, our local parks and beach were our playground. Thank God for local parks! 

 

Happy Trails, Liz

[Brittiny Moore [she, her]]

I'm very thankful to my family for immersing me in the outdoors as a kid. It was a hard task, considering I grew up in Kansas. Although it's not my very first memory, the most memorable outdoor experience was my first trip to Eagle War Caverns in Rogers, Arkansas. My grandparents took me on a group vacation every summer to Beaver Lake in Arkansas, and one year they decided to get abnormally adventurous and take me cave diving. It's the most memorable outdoor experience I have had because, not only was I in absolute awe experiencing my first underground world, but it was also the experience that made me truly fall in love with the Earth and all of her ecosystems. I even grew up studying karst landscapes as an undergraduate in college, where I became a semi-professional caver, a cartographer, and a hydrogeologist. I can really say that I am the environmental educator I am today because I was blessed with this outdoor experience.  

In solidarity

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In solidarity

Brittiny Moore (she/her)

[Lauren Piotrowski]

Hi!  My name is Lauren Piotrowski. I'm the Farm Manager at Roots Rising, a Pittsfield MA non-profit that empowers youth through food and farming. Connecting young people to themselves and the land is a central part of our mission. I began farming full time about a decade ago because I wanted to partner with nature to do something useful for my community- and it has been a wild and incredibly rewarding ride! 

One of my earliest memories of the outdoors is of wandering into the overgrown part of our yard that bordered the woods. I must have been 3 or 4. The grass was tall and dry and scratchy- and behind the rock wall the trees looked so big. I remember feeling a little afraid- but also really curious. 

I look forward to learning with all of you!  

Lauren (she/her)

[Jordan Marino]

I love reading all of your stories! Whenever people ask me why I am in the "outdoors" field, I do not have a strong memory of something that led me to the place I am today. I don't have the best memory when it comes to recalling things from my childhood/previous years, but instead I have more of a photo/video montage that plays in my brain of environments I have been in. One of the stronger earlier memories I have is being able to breathe underwater for the first time when I was 10 - it is my favorite place to be! I much prefer the sounds & feelings of the ocean to the crunchy leaves in the woods.  Though, I absolutely despise sand, so I have a lot of early memories of me hating sand.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/deioutdoors.com/d/msgid/winter2024/CACPJy5dppjC%3Dn1S%3De-EWEQOsf4QVcqAbPnreu1KBO%3DjR4FNtAw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Shane Wright]

Hi All, I’m Shane. My journey in the outdoors began wearing my mom’s apron as a cape climbing and jumping off the tree in the backyard pretending to be a superhero.

 

See you later today.

 

SCW

 

Shane Christopher Wright

Owner/Operator at Wright Adventures LLC

Lincoln Hills Cares Fundraising and Program Development Director

sh...@wrightadventures.org

sh...@lhcares.org

303-815-7613 cell

 

From: Jordan Marino <jor...@deioutdoors.com>
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 3:54 PM
To: DEIO Certificate Winter 2024 <winte...@deioutdoors.com>
Subject: Re: Welcome to the DEI Outdoors Practitioner Course - Week 1!

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/deioutdoors.com/d/msgid/winter2024/CAM%3DU2AEwUL19yOSOMOCKUbFDPaK3SqJG8%2BLR%2BdPqQVTUsGbrdA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Lindsay Cartmell]

Hi everyone,

I have early memories of playing as a kid in the back yard. When we moved at age 4, our “backyard” grew by a lot, and we were lucky to even have trails in the back woods (which were especially appreciated during the pandemic!). My family attended the family camp that my parents met at in the 70’s/80’s, and I work there now as the summer manager.

See you all later!

Cheers,
Lindsay

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From: Shane Wright <sh...@lhcares.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 11:14:37 AM
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Subject: Re: Welcome to the DEI Outdoors Practitioner Course - Week 1!

 

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