August Field Notes - Finding the Path Forward

Mike Smith | OSI Executive Director

This month on the OSI Blog we shared an article about working with our fear. After spending the summer months talking with educators from around the country, it felt particularly relevant. There’s understandably a great deal of fear and uncertainty as schools head back into session for the fall.

More fundamentally we’re all experiencing fear, or at least unease, about what it means if the basic structures in our society can’t function. Just like in the outdoors, the unknown can be a breeding ground for fear and that can present real barriers.

Several years ago, I spent a summer working with a group of volunteers on increasing use of their community trail system. The trails had existed for several years, and residents could spend hours if not days hiking and biking just a few minutes from town. Very few people, however, took advantage of this.

After talking with folks in the community we learned that they didn’t use the trails because they didn’t know their way around and were scared of getting lost. Trail signage was inadequate, and unless you were willing to figure it out for yourself, there was no way to know where you were. That summer, maps and signs were installed at every trail intersection and trail head. Almost immediately local trail use spiked.

When doubt creeps in we all appreciate seeing the trail marker or having a heads up about the hazards we might encounter. Reassurance can help us overcome the barriers that fear presents. Right now, it’s hard to feel that reassurance as schools go back in and we enter a new season. If there’s one thing that the outdoors and outdoor sport can teach us, though, it’s how to work with discomfort, fear, and exploring the unknown.

Whether it’s figuring out how to engage students in creating an outdoor classroom so they can safely learn, or stepping away from traditional physical education curriculum to leverage outdoor spaces, there’s opportunity to create new paths forward. And the great news is that no one has to do it alone.

We’re all going to figure it out as we go and while we can’t alleviate all the fears we’re feeling, through the OSI Community we’re working to help you figure out some of your trail maps this fall. Our monthly roundtables are a great place to start by connecting with others facing similar challenges. We’re also posting new blogs and resources each month, and this fall we’ll be launching a new series of online trainings to help you and your community connect with outdoor sports where you live.

While it would be easy to give into fear as a barrier, there’s strength in knowing there are others out there also working to figure it out. The more we share, the more we learn, and the more each barrier becomes a new path forward.