Girls Get Outside!
One of the programs that SAMO Fund was thrilled to support this year was “Girls Outside”. “Girls Outside is a new National Park Service program, with support from LAUSD, introducing high school girls to the outdoors and camping took place over the summer for the first time.
Report on Girls Outside for NBC Kids Edition Nightly News.
Press release from 08/26/2022:
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – A new National Park Service (NPS) pilot initiative will introduce almost 35 girls attending Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) high schools to the outdoors and camping for their first time.
The pilot program, called “Girls Outside,” is funded by the National Park Foundation with in-kind support from the LAUSD Beyond the Bell Expanded Learning and Enrichment Programs Branch. It consists of two 3-day camping trips at the Circle X Ranch group campground in the western Santa Monica Mountains, a site managed by Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA).
“The National Park Foundation’s ParkVentures program helps people create and strengthen life-long relationships with national parks,” said Lisa McClure, Senior Program Manager. “The Foundation is investing in leaders and organizations who are removing barriers and bringing people together for joy-filled and meaningful experiences outdoors.
The two trips hosted about 20 high school girls each participating in various outdoor activities in a remote area of the Santa Monica Mountains. LAUSD’s Beyond the Bell High School Unit and the Office of Outdoor & Environmental Education provided transportation from South Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.
“We hope the campouts will inspire these adventurous young women to become future stewards of their public lands,” said David Szymanski, superintendent of SMMNRA. “Participants will not only get a chance to camp outdoors, but they will also receive mentorship from local women leaders in conservation.”
Participation was free, and transportation and food was provided at no cost to the participants. Transportation for a day trip to visit the tide pools at Leo Carrillo State Beach was also be provided by LAUSD.
Site coordinators from LAUSD after school programs recruited “Take Action Campaign” (TAC) Program participants from John C. Fremont High School, Diego Rivera Learning Complex, Esteban Torres High School, John H. Francis Polytechnic High School, John F. Kennedy High School, James Monroe High School, and Ulysses S. Grant High School. The TAC program’s objective is to develop high school students’ leadership/goal setting capacity while cultivating their communication, community building and team building skills.
"More than ever, kids need these experiences to restore their personal balance in a manner that only the natural world can provide," said Gerardo Salazar, administrator for the Office of Outdoor and Environmental Education for LAUSD. "After all, they won't miss or rely on a world they have never experienced.”
The Santa Monica Mountains Fund (SMMF), the park’s official non-profit partner, supported the effort by hiring two trip leaders that will lead each camping trip. Trip leaders led and facilitated group activities to engage participants in dialogue, introspection, and group bonding.
There were also opportunities for leadership development through activity-based learning. In addition to learning basic camping, hiking, and outdoor principles from the trip leaders, the young women participated in a short, 3-mile hike. They were also educated about the natural and cultural resources of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Szymanski, the park superintendent, says the goal is to build on the pilot Girls Outside initiative and make it a permanent program at SMMNRA.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo
