Celebrate what you want to see more of. - Tom Peters
I see no conflict between celebrating this progress and continuing to fight for more. - Hans Rosling
Welcome to Week 6 of the Inclusive Community Outdoor Challenge! View the full challenge here where you can view past weeks and navigate via the table of contents. You'll also be able to find transcripts for all the weeks' audio on this page.
-Challenge
Uncover what is already being done in your community to build a more inclusive outdoors and who’s doing it.
-Questions/Reflections
- Take a moment and look around you. Where do you see positive signs, even small ones, that the outdoors in your community is becoming more accessible, equitable, and inclusive?
- Who are the people who are engaged in and committed to this work?
- As you consider the work they are doing, is there a way you can get to know them a little better, recognize and thank them for their work, and maybe even help or support them in some way?
In our comments, feel free to lift up the progress you see and give a shout out for anyone you'd like to recognize. (You'll need to sign in to comment)
-My Experience
Here's my shout out for this week's challenge:
- I'm grateful for the commitment to making our S.C. State Parks more accessible and inclusive and the work being done by Director, Paul McCormack and his team. I also want to thank Paul for his generous response to my query and joining us for a podcast episode.
- I'm happy that so many of my city's parks are accessible via public transit and want to thank Tara Eaker, Director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for the City of Greenville, SC and also the city's Parks Operations Coordinator, Terrie McCracken for their thoughtful response to my queries.
Hear a little more about what I learned in this week's challenge by listening to my Week 6 Experience.
Hear more about inclusion and equity at SC State Parks by listening to my podcast interview with Paul McCormack.
-Additional Thoughts
Watch this short video about the partnership between the SC Parks and Black Folks Camp Too.
Learn more about SC State Park partnership for use of all-terrain track chairs. If you look closely at Waymaker's photos, you'll spot Chris Sparrow, from our last week's challenge. Of course, Chris would be out adventuring in an offroad wheelchair!
Learn more about Mobi-mat portable, roll-out mats for beach access.
Good news from Minnesota State Parks about their expansion of all-terrain track chairs.
Thanks for reading. If you're interested in building a more inclusive community and world, I'm sure you know others who are too. Please share this newsletter with a colleague or friend.
This newsletter is a publication from State of Inclusion.