Wilderness for All Guide for Educators

Wilderness for All is a resource guide for careers, education, participation, and diverse outdoor experiences. The guide is meant to help teachers, students and anyone interested in environmental stewardship understand that environmental careers and outdoor recreation are attainable and meant for all of us.

It is not an exhaustive list, but a starting point. As with any materials used in your classroom, please preview those resources before using them with students to make sure they are age-appropriate for your teaching situation. Some of the resources are more appropriate for adult learners.

The guide includes career opportunities for students in outdoor recreation, environmental stewardship, and scientific research. It also includes lists of relevant organizations and success stories.

About the Author

Headshot of Eaton wearing a blue suit in front of a nature background. Eric Eaton is an 8th-grade social studies teacher at Polk County Middle School and a 2023-2024 Kenan Fellow. Eaton enjoys time outdoors and engaging students in hands-on experiences and connections among history, science, and the arts. He holds a BS in History/Secondary Education from Appalachian State University (‘93- NC Teaching Fellows) and is a National Board Certified Teacher in EA/Social Studies-History.

About the Fellowship

Eaton’s industry immersion was with the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (S.A.W.S.), “stewards of wild public lands in the Southern Appalachians”. It was supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. He collaborated with his SAW mentor, Leandra Taylor to develop a teacher guide and materials to encourage educators and their students to become more aware of wilderness areas in North Carolina. To help them understand the meaning of the Wilderness Act of 1964 develop land stewardship awareness, and engage students in outdoor experiences and learning, especially among underrepresented groups.

Career Exploration
Profiles in Diverse Outdoor Experiences
Contemporary Diverse Voices
Organizations
Inspiring Stories
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Career Exploration

Career opportunities for students interested in the areas of outdoor recreation, environmental stewardship, law enforcement, and scientific research, are as diverse as our wilderness areas.

As part of college and career development in your school, consider inviting community members from a few of the following areas to share career and education paths in the following areas:

Trail rangers
Game wardens and park police
Biologists
Conservationists
Climatologists
Botanists
Environmental engineer
Nature photographer
Fish hatchery technician
Wildland firefighter

This list is not exhaustive.

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Profiles in Diverse Outdoor Experiences

The outdoors is for all people. Experiences with wilderness and the outdoors historically have been common for all people across the globe. However, more modern experiences have been limited for certain groups of people due to many factors including economic disparities and racial and gender discrimination and stereotypes.

This guide will hopefully encourage educators to integrate diverse voices, historic and contemporary, with outdoor experiences for their students. Resources on contemporary figures in outdoor recreation, land stewardship, conservation, and public service are found below.

Resources to Explore and Inspire

Designated Wilderness Areas

Wilderness Area Maps from the USDA/ Forest Service https://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/other_fs/wilderness/index.php

North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission gooutside.nc.gov Wonderful resources and grants

Native American Land Acknowledgement

Native Land (Indigenous Land Map interactive) https://native-land.ca/

Western North Carolina, Appalachia, and US History

Mountaineers and Rangers:

A History of Federal Forest Management in the Southern Appalachians, 1900-81

http://npshistory.com/publications/usfs/region/8/history/chap1.htm

African Americans in Western North Carolina

https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/historyculture/african-americans-and-the-western-north-carolina-railroad.htm

African American Experience in Appalachia

https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2018/03/15/these-photos-will-change-the-way-you-think-about-race-in-coal-country

African American History Asheville/Buncombe County

https://mountainx.com/news/asheville-reflects-on-the-legacy-of-slavery/

Six Black Scientists and Conservationists You Should Know About (Nature Conservancy article)

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/black-leaders-science-conservation/

Women in Wilderness

“11 Women Who Made Wilderness History”

https://www.wilderness.org/articles/article/11-women-who-made-wilderness-history

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Contemporary Diverse Voices

Wilderness Works (Homeless, At-risk, Vulnerable Children)

https://wildernessworks.org/history/ “Serving homeless, at-risk, and very vulnerable children, Wilderness Works continues providing year-round enrichment, experiential education, and character development since 1997.”

Contemporary BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Outdoor Leaders

- Rue Mapp, Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro
  - Author of Nature Swagger:Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors

Teresa Baker

- Jose Gonzalez, Founder of Latino Outdoors

Phil Henderson

- - Led a team of All-Black Americans on an expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro
  - Led a team of All-Black Americans (including a teacher from CO) on an expedition to Mt. Everest, Full Circle Everest
- Will “Akuna” Robinson – the first Black man to complete the coveted Triple Crown of hiking. The Triple Crown refers to the Appalachian, Continental Divide, and Pacific Crest trails.
- James Edward Mills, founder of The Joy Trip Project, journalist and storyteller
  - Author of The Adventure Gap
- Dr. Carolyn Finney, author, facilitator, environmentalist
  - Author of Black Faces, White Spaces
  - Carolyn Finney – Author, Facilitator, Environmentalist
- Dr. Dorceta Taylor, American Environmental Sociologist
  - Author of Duke University Press – The Rise of the American Conservation Movement (dukeupress.edu)
- Park Ranger Betty Reid Soskin:
  - Recently retired, was the oldest living park ranger
  - Sign My Name to Freedom: A Memoir of a Pioneering Life: Reid-Soskin, Betty: 9781401954215: Amazon.com: Books
- Park Ranger Shelton Johnson:
  - Black Park Ranger in Yosemite National Park
  - Author of Gloryland
- Daniel White “The Blackalachian”:
  - Thru-hiker raised in Asheville, NC – thru-hiked the ATC
  - Daniel White, The Blackalachian – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
- Angelou Ezeilo – Founder of Greening Youth Foundation
  - Author of Engage, Connect, Protect:
    - Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders: Ezeilo, Angelou, Chiles, Nick: 9780865719187: Amazon.com: Books

Erick Cideno

- Black Soldiers Cycled 1,900 Miles Across the U.S. So He Did, Too. – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

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Organizations

Outdoor Afro “Outdoor Afro celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. The network also connects Black people with our lands, water, and wildlife through outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. Some examples of Outdoor Afro’s year-round activities range from fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking, gardening, skiing and more!”

Latino Outdoors “We inspire, connect, and engage Latino communities in the outdoors and embrace cultura y familia as part of the outdoor narrative, ensuring our history, heritage, and leadership are valued and represented.”

Pathways to Parks “The vision of Pathways to Parks is to motivate Americans of color to get outdoors and enjoy the benefits of nature in our national, state and local parks and to help make it easy and accessible for them to do so.”

Black People Who Hike “Our mission is to empower, educate and re-engage black people to the outdoors through wellness campaigns, health advocacy and community based activities including hiking, camping, kayaking, rock climbing and yoga.”

https://blackpeoplewhohike.com/

Women’s Wilderness “We’re a nonprofit organization committed to creating space for girls, women, and non-binary people of all ages and backgrounds to find their place, their voice, and their power in the outdoors.”

https://womenswilderness.org/

Additional BIPOC Outdoor Organizations

65 BIPOC Collectives

https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/black-indigenous-poc-outdoor-collectives-nonprofits-instagram

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