Chattanooga launching initiative to get minorities into the outdoors

Terri Chapin, program coordinator with Outdoor Chattanooga, prepares CSAS students for the start of National Bike to School Day riding from the Chattanooga Riverpark to Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences in this 2014 file photo.
Terri Chapin, program coordinator with Outdoor Chattanooga, prepares CSAS students for the start of National Bike to School Day riding from the Chattanooga Riverpark to Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences in this 2014 file photo.

Outdoor Chattanooga and Chattanooga's Office of Multicultural Affairs are rolling out a new initiative aimed at diversifying participation in the city's bustling outdoors scene.

The program, "Let's Create a Movement," will train 10 ambassadors from racially diverse backgrounds to serve as leaders and guides on Outdoor Chattanooga excursions in hopes that they can connect underrepresented communities to local outdoor opportunities.

photo Staff File Photo. Terri Chapin, program coordinator with Outdoor Chattanooga, leads CSAS students up a hill during National Bike to School Day last year. Chapin and Outdoor Chattanooga, along with the city's Office of Multicultural Affairs, is launching a program designed to bring more diversity to the city's outdoor scene.

"If there are more people who look like you, perhaps you will be more likely to get out and try something outdoors," said Terri Chapin, Outdoor Chattanooga recreation programs coordinator.

Incorporating more diversity into the outdoors is not a new effort locally or nationally, but project leaders are optimistic that "Let's Create a Movement" will help diversify a predominantly white outdoor culture that has emerged as a key part of the city's identity.

The program already has initiated discussion in the community about how to make the outdoors more accessible for all Chattanoogans.

Several dozen outdoor enthusiasts of varying ethnicities gathered at Outdoor Chattanooga's headquarters in Coolidge Park on Tuesday night to learn more about "Let's Create a Movement" and discuss the barriers to outdoor participation.

Small groups talked about common barriers to getting outdoors, citing a lack of logistical information about how and where to get outside. They mentioned potentially prohibitive costs, a general lack of awareness and addressed misconceptions.

"A lot of people might think that you have to have a $200 backpack and new hiking boots to go on a hike," said the participant of one small group discussion, reporting what his group discussed. "That's not true. You can use stuff you already have."

Several small groups addressed some variation of the notions that there is a lack of diversity in outdoor leadership and a lack of knowledgeable hikers, bikers and kayakers of varying races who can connect their communities to the bevy of surrounding opportunities.

The plan is for that to begin to change as the new guide initiative is implemented.

Applications for the program are due by the end of the month, and the 10 guides who are selected will complete a three-step training program between October and June.

Once trained, the guides will receive $50 for each expedition they lead - and they must lead at least six per year.

Syeed Harris, who planned to apply to be a hiking or rafting guide, emphasized the importance of immersing children in the area's outdoor opportunities.

"Kids just need to get out and see that the woods are not some big, scary place," he said.

The idea for a city-sponsored initiative stemmed from a visit by leaders from Outdoor Afro, an organization promoting black involvement in nature.

"The problem is probably a little deeper-rooted culturally in terms of bringing forth diversity," Harris said as people began to trickle out of the Outdoor Chattanooga building. "But this is definitely a good start."

Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

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