Good evening, everyone:

Seven years ago, we provided the seed funding for Garrett Dempsey, working through the local chapter of the Sierra Club, to establish “Detroit Outdoors,” an effort to connect young people from Detroit to the natural world of parks and open spaces. Garrett began with the refurbishment of the 18-acre old Boy Scout Camp in River Rouge Park, which had been abandoned and neglected for nearly a century.

Since then, the program has expanded – both beyond summertime camping and beyond the city limits. Garrett has introduced ice climbing, trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota, and other activities.

He recently sent me a note describing his latest undertaking: leading Detroit young people on a trip to Yosemite National Park. The trip has a marvelous twist, which Garrett describes as follows: “This trip centers the legacies of the Buffalo Soldiers as some of our nation's first park rangers, but the emotional heart of the trip is introducing Detroit youth to National Park Service Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, a Detroit native and Cass Tech graduate.”

I thought you would be interested in seeing the rest of Garrett’s letter:

While this trip is a first for Detroit Outdoors, it represents an evolution of the collaboration that the Kresge Foundation made possible with your investment seven years ago. The participating teens are engaged with Outdoor Adventure Club efforts at their schools that are cultivated with support from Detroit Outdoors and our camping leadership program. These are the teens that are also learning to ski and snowboard, backpack, canoe, ice climb, rock climb and much more. (Here's a short video of our youth ice climbing trip this past February.)  

The Yosemite trip will be their opportunity to journey far from home and experience the immense awe of the mountains. They will be welcomed by an African-American Park Ranger from their hometown, and in some ways they will be following in the footsteps of the Black soldiers that protected that space before a National Park Service even existed. We'll also be joined by Phil Henderson, the expedition leader of the first all African-American Everest Team, Full Circle Everest.

As we strengthen our relationships in the park each season, the experiences for the youth will deepen and expand. They'll return with energy that feeds the embrace of the outdoors in their schools, and it will be a meaningful way for Detroit to honor and sustain the decades of contributions Shelton Johnson has made to our National Parks along with his efforts to connect youth of color to this vital part of our shared heritage. It’s one trip, but it will be significant for our relationship with Detroit schools.

This is just such spectacular work. Congratulations to Garrett, and to all his campers.

Rip

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