President Obama Declares June “Great Outdoors Month”

June 10, 2009

2319216661_60a3fbcc8c_b As June rolls in it brings sunshine, frogs croaking, and the unmistakable smells of summer; and President Obama, like NOLS, thinks it’s high time we Americans get out and enjoy it. Declaring June “Great Outdoors Month,” Obama encourages all Americans to get out and explore our “remote forests to urban parks,” and begs we “pay tribute to and preserve the great outdoors.”

Focused on reconnecting kids to the landscape, Obama is launching a summer mentoring initiative aimed at introducing the iPod-toting generation with the wilderness, making it his goal to “outreach to those who typically lack representation in, and exposure to, these fields.”

So unplug your phone, turn off your computer, and wander outside this month. And, hey, why not keep it up all year round?

(photo courtesy of Brad Christensen)

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Rich Brame

Rich Brame came to NOLS in the 80's as a Fall Semester in the Rockies student and worked his first NOLS course at Wind Cave National Park in 1984. Since then, he's worked varied NOLS trips and courses on five continents—with a few more on the way. Rich does some frontcountry shenanigans for NOLS, too. He's headed up NOLS' public policy, research, LNT, Yukon programs and most recently in the Alumni Relations Department.