Buffalo Soldiers Get Congressional Recognition
Every Moment is Now - Part 2
Here is Part Two of my interview with Audrey Peterman, author, Breaking the Color Barrier Conference Founder and inspirational speaker.
Rue: For some, physical mobility might decline after mid-life. What might you suggest to someone who feels they are not physically able to enjoy a National Park?
Audrey: Mobility declines after mid-life? It’s not a necessity. I was on blog radio this week with a 78 year-old black man who recently competed in two categories in the Senior Olympics. It really vexes me how our culture promotes the idea that you’re “over the hill” when you turn 40, and you can expect your physical attributes to decline.
I think in many cases it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. What if we were visualizing ourselves as the Christ within us, what an inspiring idea that would be. The parks are very accessible for differently-abled people. They are federal properties so of course they have to comply with federal rules. You know the amazing thing? Some of the parks are so huge – Yellowstone is ten times the size of New York City – so you can just drive around in your car all day if you choose, and just gape at the natural wonders if you didn’t have the luxury of getting out and hiking.
Rue: What do you think is the most pressing problem facing our National Parks today, and what partnerships are necessary to solve them?
Almost 50 percent of the American public does not know they exist, therefore, they can’t visit them. Fall in love with the Earth and fall in love with yourself! No matter how negatively you have been programmed, standing before the majesty of the Grand Canyon, you see and feel the truth of your being – that you are a minute, individualized portion of creation, ..”a child of the Universe…like the sun and the stars, you have a right to be here.”
Because people don’t get that experience, they don’t get to see how climate change is affecting the parks, from the rising sea levels eating away at Everglades National Park in Florida to the changing temperatures making it untenable for the 2000-year-old Giant Sequoias to survive in Sequoia National Park, in California. Because people don’t know, they don’t get the urgency to care passionately, and to try to do something about it. The love and care we feel as a result of experiencing them, the searing conviction in our souls, motivates Frank and me to keep on keeping on, keep on spreading the word.
Seeing the relics of the Anasazi Indians from over 10,000 years ago in Bandelier National Park New Mexico, we realize that one day our descendants are going to look back at our culture too. What are they going to think? That we used up everything and condemned them to an inhospitable planet? God knows I don’t want our great-grandchildren to suffer that fate. We know from the conference that there are multiple community based-groups reaching out to the public land managers, and these are the partnerships that need to be formed, strengthened, expanded: the public land managers using our tax dollars to support our organizations on the ground that has the ear and the trust of the community, that knows the needs, and literally, can do the work that is required that the agencies cannot do by themselves.
Rue: Thanks Audrey for sharing with the Outdoor Afro community!
Audrey: You're welcome!
To learn more about Frank and Audrey and their journey to discover the our National Parks, and help them to spread the word to others, show your support by buying their book:
Also, check out her recent interview on a local PBS affiliate
What is your favorite National Park?
Now is the time...
….to register for camp!
Whether it be a family camp, like Oakland’s Feather River Camp in Northern California, or Camp Atwater on the East Coast, there are many opportunities to connect with the outdoors that require you to act now as spaces are already filling up!
Also consider making reservations now for your favorite campsite for tent camping. For example, popular Samuel P. Taylor State Park’s reservation line is red-hot during the winter months that fill the camp solidly after Memorial Day weekend through early Fall.
So call your friends and family members now and organize your calendars to go camping this summer at your local state or national park!
Where will you go camping this year?
Not sure? Find a camp that's right for you!: American Camp Association
Citizen Scientists are for the Birds!
The Great Backyard Birdcount February 12-15, 2010
Believe it or not, before I started working at Golden Gate Audubon months back, I had never heard of the concept of everyday people counting birds in their own backyard as an important way to contribute to real scientific research.
So imagine my delight to hear about Cornell University and National Audubon's annual outfit: The Great Backyard Birdcount, where novices like me can learn about local birds, make a meaningful contribution to avian research, and learn cool bird facts to impress friends at cocktail parties!
They have made the event easy for all ages to participate, especially youth and seniors, and spread over a few days so you can participate in your leisure.
Give it a try!
Learn How: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.html
Find an event near you: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/local-events
We would love to learn about your experiences, so report back to Outdoor Afro your findings!
Before Blogs, There Were Diaries
People ask me all the time: “How did Outdoor Afro begin?”
Quite frankly, it began in the pages of a diary I wrote up when I was about 9, and continued sporadically into other diaries over the years, until I became a young adult, when I discovered newsgroups, email lists, then finally blogs.
Here is the start of an entry that painstakingly detailed a Girl Scout camping trip at Hidden Villa Ranch, captured in vivid, youthful detail after arriving home. Click for larger view:
I wrote, “It was so fun. It was the very first camping trip I ever had. When we first got there, we had a big argument over cabins and we finally got a cabin! I think our cabin was the livest [sic] one of all…”
The entry goes on to share about our various adventures on the trip, such as night time walks to gaze at stars, doing “capers”, the food, and the songs we sang. I remember it all vividly.
The six-page cursive-written entry ends with plain-text song lyrics from our trip and me lamenting , “wish I could go back for another night.” Click for larger view:
What a difference camping makes in the life of a child.
What a difference it made for me.
Did you keep a journal or a diary as a child? What sparked your passion for the outdoors?
Every Moment is Now
Last week, Outdoor Afro had a chance to chat with Audrey Peterman, author, motivational speaker, and founding organizer of the monumental Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great American Outdoors Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia last September.
Here is the first of two parts of our delightful interview:
Rue: In the past several years you have cultivated a life where your interaction with natural spaces is a part of who you are. How did this happen?
Audrey: In a sense, it’s about returning to my roots. I grew up in the country in Jamaica, sitting on the banks of a stream in the woods to do my homework, walking miles with other children and adults to collect wood for cooking fires. So I always had an appreciation the wonders of nature, and the interconnectedness of things.
When I moved to New York with my 7-year-old daughter, Lisa, I still sought that contact with the natural world, organizing picnics in the local parks. Bear Mountain in upstate New York was my favorite. The really big reconnection came after I moved to Florida, met and married Frank, and we took off on the great adventure to “discover America.” We found so much more than we could have anticipated, and the grandeur of the scenery really impressed itself upon my heart – made me feel as if I was literally seeing the face of God, his perfection, His purity, His incomprehensible size. Some of the natural formations in the parks, like the Grand Tetons, are so high the tips are often covered with clouds, and the bulk is like a solid wall extending for miles. Acres of wildflowers of every color and description explode in the valley at their feet. I tell you, you can't get tired from seeing so much beauty.
I take those experiences with me everywhere I go, and I see the face of God in the trees, in the skies, in the people. I am not thinking about the past, I am not thinking about the future. I am just in silent communion with God in the greatness of His creation – NOW.
Part 2: Exercising Outdoors in the Winter Months
By Dudley Edmondson
Continued from Part 1
Now you need something for the head and hands. I usually wear a synthetic stocking cap. The word synthetic pops up a lot because it is the fabric most commonly used in designing “performance clothing” that is clothing specifically desinged to be used in a number of outdoor activities from climbing to cycling, running etc.
After a Run in 25 Below Zero Winds!
I think I own more performance wear than I do any thing else. A good fleece hat and they come in many weights can really help you regulate body heat. A good hat will be soaking wet at the tip top on the outside, leaving your head bone dry, that is the beauty of performance wear. The head, as you probably know, is like a chimney. Massive amounts of heat can easily be lost if it is left uncovered, so get a good fleece hat. Now you need gloves or mittens. My preference is mittens. Fingers together in a dark warm place are much warmer than gloves with fingers separated by fabric with cold spaces in between.
Footwear depends on what you plan to do outside. Don’t wear snow boots and go for a run. You will be sore and sorry you ever left the house! Blisters will do you in even before you get started. If you are going running, wear running shoes and wool socks. If you are going to hike, wear a boot that will give you full range of motion, that is not too heavy and won’t sweat your feet out causing more blisters. With skiing, you simply have to wear ski boots.
Now move your body! The trick here is slow and steady, slow and steady. When the temps are in the single digits or below zero you want to move just enough to get a work out in and just enough to heat the pockets of air between your skin and the clothing you have on. You will be amazed at how much heat you can produce running down a trail covered with snow in 20 below zero wind chills. Here in Northern Minnesota I will get in 20 to 25 miles of running a week on snowmobile trails through the woods in the dead of winter. I also cross-country ski most winters and find it a blast even when it is zero degrees out. I also bike all winter over snow packed country roads if conditions are not too bad. The same principals apply in all cases, dress in layers.
So if you’ve never tried exercising outdoors in the winter, treat yourself to a whole new world of fun. If you follow these tips you just might enjoy winter again, just like when you were a little kid.
Dudley Edmondson is the author of Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places, and is available for speaking engagements.
Exercising Outdoors in the Winter Months
By Dudley Edmonsdon
Now let me start out by saying that what I do outdoors in the winter may seem extreme to many. I am not one to shy away from extreme cold or deep snow, I just do what I do and use it as a measuring stick for my next outdoor adventure. Having said that, I thought it would be helpful if I explain to folks the best way to be comfortable in cold, even sub-zero weather outdoors during the winter months.
First thing, no Cotton. I commonly refer to cotton as the “Death Fabric.” IF you want to freeze to death, then by all means wear it in winter to exercise. The search party cadaver dogs will find you contorted in a ball huddle up next to downed tree log with your lips frozen and blue as the blue man group.
Morbid kidding aside, cotton retains moisture close to the skin, and that is a very bad thing. Cotton can be the catalysts for hyperthermia. What happens is that your body, regardless of what you might think, will produce sweat even in sub- zero weather. Sweat is the body’s way of cooling itself down. A moving body burns calories, calories produce heat, heat produces sweat which as I said cools you down in warmer weather so you can continue exercising. In winter though the air around you will keep you plenty cool so instead you need to trap dry body heat so you can be outside as happy as a clam and comfortable for hours if you like.
Think layers, synthetic layers. Things like spandex, polypropylene, nylon. These types of fabric move moisture away from the skin and that is a good thing. Ideally what you need to do is move moisture to the outer most layer of your clothing while keeping in the dry heat. You can start with a base layer perhaps a synthetic top and bottom. Then over that you need a warm layer like fleece or wool. These fabric trap heat but allow moisture to keep on moving away from the skin. Over the warm layer use what we call a shell layer that is usually a coat or jacket that is made of some type of synthetic material that will usually repel water and block wind but hold in your heat. I always prefer these types of layers with what are called “pit zips” that means you have zippers in your underarms that you can open and close so the moist heat in your armpits can escape. The beauty of the pit zip is you can open them as wide or narrow as you want to suit your comfort level. Would not buy a jacket without em! Now that you are all layered up you are just about ready to go.
...to be continued in Part Two
Dudley Edmondson is the author of Black and Brown Faces in America's Wild Places, and is available for speaking engagements.
Featured Outdoor Afro: Robert Alexander
Robert Alexander became passionate about the outdoors during his youth in Oakland, California. Outdoor Afro recently spoke with Robert to discuss his evolving commitment to outdoor recreation.
What is your favorite outdoor recreation activity?
Do your friends and family join you in your outdoor pursuits?
If you had one recommendation for someone who wanted to start participating in outdoor recreation as an adult, what is the most important advice you have for them?
We know you recently received your SCUBA certification, what is the next outdoor milestone you hope to reach?
Sister Snowboarders!
Snowboarding is not just for the fellas. Outdoor Afro caught up with Tomar Brown (30) and Karen Anderson (36), of Washington D.C. who have found excitement and fun on the slopes.
When asked how they each got involved with snowboarding together they said it started with rugby, which they have played competitively for the past ten years, and is where the two met and became a couple. “Rugby seems to have started a lot of things for us,” said Brown with a laugh. In the off-season she explained that some members of their rugby team take their sporting camaraderie to the slopes, so they had a ready-made community of support to get started. Even though some years ago, Karen took her young son out on the slopes to snowboard for the first time for the both of them, she found she enjoyed the sport more than he did. So she was delighted to meet Tomar years later, who re-ignited her interest in the slopes -- something they enjoyed doing together.
When asked if the two ever felt uncomfortable or experienced stares while snowboarding, especially in settings where there are few people of color, the two shrugged it off and said that the slopes can actually feel anonymous as people are hidden behind layers of protective clothing and accessories. And the journey down the mountain feels quite personal and solitary, where Tomar admits she might bump hip-hop or Kirk Franklin to get her snow groove on!
For the beginning snowboarder, Karen says, “forget the big trips and go instead to small towns.” Her favorites include North Conway, New Hampshire or when with a group, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.” She says that March is a great month to find deals in small towns, and when snowboarding away from the crowds, the experience feels more personal, and lodge bartenders remember your name! Both agreed that the most important thing is simply to learn how to snowboard, and along the way expect the sport to “beat you up, and take you down.” But once you gain control, finding that personal zone of fun and exhilarating release makes it all worthwhile.
What are your experiences skiing and snowboarding? If you have never tried, what holds you back?