BRIDGING THE ADVENTURE GAP: A QUALITATIVE EVALUATION THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS

This project is a qualitative evaluation of an outdoor outreach program known as Step Out and examines the phenomenon known as the adventure gap from the experiences of past participants who live in South Salt Lake, Utah. More specifically, I present the findings of interviews from nine ethnically diverse youth from various Promise South Salt Lake centers. For my research, I conducted one-on-one, semi-formal interviews to answer the research question, "How do youth of color conceptualize the outdoors after participating with the Step Out program?" The findings brought to surface various positive engagements and constraints that the youth helped identify through their experience with Step Out. The data collected push forth the need for more resources and a potential long term curriculum that can provide diverse youth with more positive engagements in the great outdoors-that are long-lasting, more impactful and effective. The constraints that were revealed, in terms of outdoor participation for ethnically diverse youth, align closely to the literature surrounding the adventure gap. This includes things such as time, money, access, and cultural barriers. In order for programs, like Step Out, to bridge the adventure gap, they must understand the deeper needs and sociocultural aspects of the communities and people they are serving.

Running head: THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS BRIDGING THE ADVENTURE GAP: A QUALITATIVE EVALUATION THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS by David Robles Westminster College A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Community Leadership Westminster College Salt Lake City, Utah April 2017 THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 1 Abstract This project is a qualitative evaluation of an outdoor outreach program known as Step Out and examines the phenomenon known as the adventure gap from the experiences of past participants who live in South Salt Lake, Utah. More specifically, I present the findings of interviews from nine ethnically diverse youth from various Promise South Salt Lake centers. For my research, I conducted one-on-one, semi-formal interviews to answer the research question, “How do youth of color conceptualize the outdoors after participating with the Step Out program?” The findings brought to surface various positive engagements and constraints that the youth helped identify through their experience with Step Out. The data collected push forth the need for more resources and a potential long term curriculum that can provide diverse youth with more positive engagements in the great outdoors—that are long-lasting, more impactful and effective. The constraints that were revealed, in terms of outdoor participation for ethnically diverse youth, align closely to the literature surrounding the adventure gap. This includes things such as time, money, access, and cultural barriers. In order for programs, like Step Out, to bridge the adventure gap, they must understand the deeper needs and sociocultural aspects of the communities and people they are serving. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 2 “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” -Lila Watson THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 3 Dedication For my parents, who represent the meaning of perseverance, dedication, and hope. When you first came to this country, you dreamed of providing your children with endless opportunities, happiness, and love centered on values that I continue to hold true to myself. Mom and dad, thank you for showing me the importance of education, thank you for cultivating me to be critically conscious, thank you for instilling in me what it means to be a good person, and the most gracious thank you for raising me to understand and embody my roots as a MexicanAmerican. Without these values, I would not be the person that I am today. Although, at first, you did not understand the world of higher education, you continually encouraged and supported me to keep going. Thank you for supporting my educational curiosity of this world and all the spectacles surrounding it even though it continues to be an unusual spectacle to you. This is for you. This is for all of your labor, all of your emotional determination and support, and all of what this country has meant to you when you first arrived. We did it! For my wife, who guided and supported me throughout my educational journey since the 9th grade. Thank you for being my best-friend, my study-buddy, my novia, and my partner. You have continued to show me such a beautiful illustration of dedication by the way that you live your life. I aspire to reach your intellectual passion and kindheartedness for all things. I love you, te amo, y yo te qui. For all people who continue to feel out of place, invisible, and one of a kind—you are not alone. We are not alone. I hope that your curiosity of this spectacular world is never tarnished. It’s a beautiful day outside… THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 4 Acknowledgements First and foremost, a sincere thanks to the nine youth who participated in this research, for contributing your valued perspective. The way you see and experience the world, nature, and the great outdoors is important. Also, a special thank you to the Promise South Salt Lake advisors who worked extremely hard, out of their busy schedules, to help me coordinate interviews with their youth. I praise all that you do for these children. Thank you to my project supervisor, Liz Rogers, and my thesis advisor, Dr. Jamie Joanou, for guiding me through the capstone. We need more of you in education. And how could I forget—to my cohort of amazing, talented, and empowering women, you all embody the true meaning of passion. All of your leadership styles have helped me grow and become more conscious about a diverse spectrum of issues. I am confident that you will continue to change the world. Lastly, to my wife, who supported and cheered me on throughout the capstone, I love you. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 5 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 7 The Great Outdoors and The Adventure Gap ............................................................................. 9 The Adventure Gap ............................................................................................................... 10 Introduction to The Step Out Program ...................................................................................... 11 This Study ................................................................................................................................. 12 Significance ............................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter Two: Review of Literature .............................................................................................. 15 The Importance of Outdoor Engagement .................................................................................. 15 Environmental Stewardship ................................................................................................... 15 Education ............................................................................................................................... 16 Wellbeing............................................................................................................................... 17 Civic Engagement.................................................................................................................. 17 Leadership ............................................................................................................................. 18 The Adventure Gap As A Sociocultural Issue .......................................................................... 19 Theoretical Perspective.......................................................................................................... 19 Socioeconomic Status ............................................................................................................ 22 Age......................................................................................................................................... 23 Gender ................................................................................................................................... 24 Race and Ethnicity ................................................................................................................. 24 How To Bridge The Adventure Gap ......................................................................................... 26 Outdoor Outreach Programs .................................................................................................. 27 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 28 Chapter 3: Research Methods ....................................................................................................... 30 Research Context....................................................................................................................... 30 Participants ................................................................................................................................ 32 Recruitment ........................................................................................................................... 32 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Complications............................................................................................................................ 34 Ethical Implications................................................................................................................... 35 Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 36 THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 6 Validity ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 4: Findings ....................................................................................................................... 39 Positive Engagement ................................................................................................................. 39 Relationship Building ............................................................................................................ 39 Fun ......................................................................................................................................... 42 Unplugging ............................................................................................................................ 44 Skill Development ................................................................................................................. 47 Leadership ............................................................................................................................. 48 Stewardship ........................................................................................................................... 52 Constraints................................................................................................................................. 54 Time ....................................................................................................................................... 54 Economic ............................................................................................................................... 55 Access .................................................................................................................................... 57 Cultural .................................................................................................................................. 59 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 62 Chapter 5: Discussion ................................................................................................................... 63 Implications & Recommendations ............................................................................................ 63 Limitations & Future Research ................................................................................................. 66 Learning Objectives .................................................................................................................. 67 Personal Impact ......................................................................................................................... 67 References ..................................................................................................................................... 69 APPENDIX A: .............................................................................................................................. 73 APPENDIX B: .............................................................................................................................. 75 APPENDIX C: .............................................................................................................................. 76 APPENDIX D ............................................................................................................................... 77 APPENDIX E: .............................................................................................................................. 78 APPENDIX G: .............................................................................................................................. 79 THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 7 Chapter 1: Introduction The great outdoors is a world of exploration, leisure, biodiversity, adventure, resource, education, beauty, and sadly, privilege. In 2016, outdoor recreation in Utah made $12 billion in consumer spending and was seen as one of the top three ‘stress relievers’ for residents of Salt Lake City (“Promise South Salt Lake Report,” 2016). In this same year, outdoor recreational activities, such as camping and backpacking, continued to provide a multitude of benefits. From an increase in health and physical activity, to personal empowerment and solace, outdoor recreation embodies a world of leisure for those who have the time, money, and knowledge to explore the natural world (Beames & Brown, 2016). Although it is a place where limitations and boundaries claim to be challenged, the great outdoors struggles in its attempt to include and welcome all people. To be clearer, outdoor recreation participation is predominately made up of white, middle to upper class males (Mills, 2014). Although minorities do take part in outdoor recreational activities throughout the state of Utah, the number is minimal and has brought forth a newly explored phenomenon known as the adventure gap. As a Latino, I understand firsthand the ways in which the outdoors is conceptualized as a white, and therefore, unwelcoming space. Constraints, such as time, money, knowledge, and culture, prevented me from accessing some of the benefits associated with outdoor recreation. This includes things such as being an environmental steward, learning about the geographical landscape around me, building leadership and communication skills, having an outlet for health and wellness, and many more positive empowerments that have been linked to outdoor recreational experiences (Mills, 2014). It was not until I was an independent adult and out of high school when the world of outdoor recreation began to take a big part in my life. I started by exploring the Wasatch Mountains in Utah where a world of inspiration, solace, and wonder THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 8 began to empower my well-being in every possible capacity. Although I was attempting to acculturate myself into these newly found outdoor experiences, I began to realize that not many people who look like me participate in these settings and activities. The barriers that existed when I was younger, for me, such as time, money, and access, were no longer factors. It was then that these masked sociocultural barriers came to surface as the key reasons why these places lack diversity (Shores, Scott, & Floyd, 2007). At this point, I realized that my connection to the great outdoors was not one that had never existed, rather it was a connection that had been lost and neglected through assimilation, even before my time. My grandpa used to talk about how, before Spanish colonization in Mexico, my ancestors used to praise the earth, adventure in the wilderness, and love the land. By understanding that my roots, my ethnic background, do have a connection to praising Mother Nature, I realized that a connection to the great outdoors has always been in me. However, it is the sociocultural constraints that will be discussed throughout this thesis that continue to perpetuate the disconnect to the great outdoors that used to not exist. Similarly, this assertion is linked to why many ethnically diverse youth, in Utah, continue to be disconnected from the great outdoors. Although the great outdoors may seem accessible to all people, the understanding of why these places and activities lack diversity will be explained through the adventure gap phenomenon. By exploring the adventure gap throughout this evaluation from the perspectives of ethnically diverse youth, the sense of understanding to help bridge this gap will be made clearer. The positive engagements and constraints that surfaced from the interviews provides insight on how the adventure gap is being addressed, and whether the Step Out program is bridging this gap in the most effective way possible. While I strongly believe that the exposure of the great outdoors is important for a person’s wellbeing, the way the THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 9 great outdoors is currently framed, through programs such as Step Out, should focus more on the reconnection to all the youths’ past, present, and future relationships to nature. The Great Outdoors and The Adventure Gap The reasons why people of color are systemically marginalized and constrained from leisure experiences in natural settings can be explained in various ways and for various reasons. For some, these places can negatively remind minorities of their ancestral struggles of slavery, for others, the outdoors are viewed as a step backwards, rather than forwards in society, a place that is too similar to the horrible conditions they once experienced, a place that is unknown and not even thought of, a place that has no cultural significance, a place that is seen as “white,” or a place that is at the bottom of the priority list in terms of engagement (Krymkowski, Manning, & Valliere, 2014). Although constraints such as time, economics, access, and culture have come to surface through this evaluation, the significance of analyzing these constraints can help Step Out, and bring to surface what the great outdoors means to ethnically diverse youth. The great outdoors is a place with many nuanced significances, meanings, and perspectives. For white, able-bodied, middle to upper class males (the predominate culture that participates in Utah’s great outdoors), the outdoors is frequently used for camping, backpacking, hiking, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, wildlife-watching, and other outdoor pursuits (Byrne & Wolch, 2009). Specifically, in Utah, the outdoors is a place that has continued to have a major economic significance because of its tourist attractions. Continually, Utah has seen people from all over the world come see its spectacles. In many ways, the outdoors is known as the ‘great outdoors’ because of the empowering and symbolic connection that these places provide for many recreationists (Byrne & Wolch, 2009). These outdoor places not only provide a world of exploration, but also have been proven to provide and increase mental, physical, and emotional THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 10 health (Roberts & Suren, 2010). According to an evaluation of a similar outdoor leadership program to Step Out based out of San Francisco, all ethnically diverse youth who engaged in their program saw an increase in motivation, environmental contribution, social awareness and outreach, personal growth and leadership, school performance, and healthy lifestyles (Roberts & Suren, 2010). Unfortunately, here in Utah, the benefits associated with the great outdoors proved to not benefit people of color through the research findings. People of color, or ethnically diverse individuals, continually lack a connection and access to their natural environment throughout their entire lives (Roberts & Chitewere, 2011). A majority of these people, especially in Utah, are youth; more specifically, youth who do not identify themselves as white, are less likely to visit national parks and less likely to be involved in outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, camping, and outdoor exploration than their white counterparts (Roberts & Chitewere, 2011). It is not a new finding that ethnically diverse populations are less likely to seek recreation, adventure, and solace in wilderness spaces, but recently this topic, this adventure gap, has gained some attention (Mills, 2014). In order to understand how Step Out is bridging this phenomenon, the adventure gap must first be understood. The Adventure Gap The term ‘adventure gap’ was first introduced in James E. Mills’ (2014) book titled The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors. In this book, Mills explores the historic constraints that minorities face in terms of accessing and participating in outdoor recreation through extensive reflection on his own experience as a Black man growing up in the United States. He explains that while not everyone wants to spend time in the outdoors, those who do should be able to (Mills, 2014). The fact that less people of color participate in outdoor settings than white people is concerning. One researcher explains that the great outdoors continues to be THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 11 a “White space” and should now, more than ever, be more accommodating and explicitly accepting of diverse cultures and people (Makopondo, 2006). This connects to the idea that in order for nature to be valued by all people, all people must feel like that have a place in the great outdoors. Similarly, Shores, Scott, and Floyd (2007) explain that an intersection of socioeconomic constraints exists, which is why many minorities are limited in participating in outdoor leisure activities. From these findings, the definition of the adventure gap can best be explained as the constraints that people of color face in terms of accessing, experiencing, and connecting to the outdoors (Mills, 2014). Moreover, the adventure gap is a social constraint that has continued to create an imbalance for youth of color and their involvement in a place that provides so much growth (Mills, 2014). Research continues to demonstrate that the outdoors provides youth with long-lasting social, mental, and emotional benefits. Thus analyzing the experiences of ethnically diverse youth in these spaces is essential. This is important because new recommendations and initiatives for the Step Out program came to surface from the interviews. By understanding the disconnect and constraints that exist for youth of color, programs like Step Out can work on these recommendations and help ‘bridge’ this gap. Introduction to The Step Out Program Westminster College’s Step Out program was founded to support the ongoing efforts of the Promise South Salt Lake initiative. The goal of Step Out is focused on providing an effective environment for learning through outdoor experiences to a diverse group of youth from South Salt Lake. The Step Out program partners with six Promise South Salt Lake (PSSL) centers that focus on serving youth and provides the centers’ youth summer outdoor experiences at no cost. This type of programming involves running different outdoor trips for 7th-12th graders, eleven to eighteen years of age, from each center. The summer trips include two workshops going over THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 12 outdoor skills and activities, a day hike, and a three-day and two-night overnight trip with activities such as car camping, fly-fishing, rock climbing, and/or backpacking. With each group of about ten youth from each center, plus PSSL staff, and the trip leaders, the trips range from ten to twelve participants per trip. Keeping it to a small participation size, Step Out focuses on making sure that the program’s desired outcomes are met for the youth of PSSL. While working in the great outdoors, the youth are tested and exposed to an abundance of natural and facilitated learning experiences that cover the desired outcomes. The Step Out outcomes are important for this research because this study assessed their effectiveness based on the qualitative responses gathered from the youth interviews. In order to fully evaluate the Step Out program’s efforts, the findings in the paper serve as potential solutions towards bridging the adventure gap. This Study This project and qualitative evaluation of the Step Out program attempted to answer the questions, “How do youth of color conceptualize the outdoors after participating in the Step Out program?” This evaluation, with a qualitative approach, focused on assessing the ongoing programming efforts of Step Out. By engaging in one-on-one and interviews with past youth of color who have participated in the program, the intended goal was to dive deeper into how do ethnically diverse youth perceive the outdoors. From these interviews, positive engagements such as relationship building, fun, unplugging, skill developing, leadership, and stewardship surfaced. These were all themes that were formulated based off of questions that alluded to the youth’s perception of the outdoors, their experience with Step Out, and what nature means to them. In addition, constraints in terms of participating in the great outdoors were raised from the interview findings that included time, economics, access, and cultural barriers. These constraints THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 13 linked closely with why the adventure gap exists and how programs, like Step Out, can improve. In general, this evaluation focused on an in-depth analysis and brought forth assertions on what the outdoors means to youth of color after past outdoor recreation participation. While the Step Out program is providing its participants with positive engagements and developments, improvements are needed in order to be successful in bridging this phenomenon and being an effective program Currently there are outdoor programs that are exploring and addressing this issue by providing diverse communities with outdoor experiences and trips. Step Out is one of them, and was evaluated for its programming efforts in this research study. It is crucial for outdoor outreach programs to understand the complex barriers that youth of color face. By approaching this issue through a social justice lens, the conceptualization of the outdoors from the youth of color provided insightful feedback for improvements to better this program’s efforts and help understand the adventure gap at a deeper level. Significance The findings from this research are significant because it provides a benefit to the Step Out program and the field of outdoor education. In the past three years, Step Out has served over fifty youth through outdoor programming, but has never had a formal evaluation. By assessing the positive engagements and constraints that were identified in this research, Step Out will use this to serve as a tool and resource to better its programming. By doing so, this research will serve as a catalyst to help improve the efforts of the program, as well as a resource to leverage continued efforts and progress. In another way, this qualitative evaluation helps similar outdoor outreach programs across the country understand areas of improvement by addressing constraints, and reinforce THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 14 positive engagements that connect to progressive existing initiatives and learning goals. As the field of outdoor education continues to pursue diversification, this assessment helps gauge on what is and isn’t working. Through the findings that surfaced from the interviews, this evaluation brings forth a new perspective, progressive ideas, and substance for the ongoing efforts of Step Out. The youths’ perspectives brought forth insightful feedback and information that is necessary to bridge the adventure gap. While the nation continues to diversify and the population of people of color increases, the connection to the great outdoors, the environment, and nature faces a big challenge known as the diversity crisis (Makopondo, 2006). Through this evaluation, the outdoor education field can understand this crisis more deeply, assess diversity efforts being made, and push forth the importance of diversifying the outdoors. Overall, this study focuses on the broad significance that it serves for outdoor outreach programs, the specific resource it is for Step Out, the feedback it provides towards bridging the adventure gap, and the influence it has to my learning as a community leader. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 15 Chapter Two: Review of Literature I begin this chapter by presenting the importance of outdoor engagement, the adventure gap as a sociocultural issue, examining why this gap exists through the multiple hierarchy stratification model, while also looking at how programming, like Step Out, aims to close this gap for youth of color. In order to understand how past participants in the Step Out program conceptualizes the outdoors, it is first important to examine why programs like Step Out exist in the first place. The Importance of Outdoor Engagement The idea that outdoor engagement is both a moral imperative and political necessity has much support (Dolsak & Prakash, 2016). The benefits of outdoor engagement have continually been linked to strengthening environmental stewardship, education, wellbeing, civic engagement, and leadership among participants of the great outdoors (Dolsak & Prakash, 2016). It is through these benefits that the outdoors is valued and deemed as important. Environmental Stewardship While environmental stewardship discourse for minorities has traditionally been aligned with environmental ills (environmental justice/environmental racism) that disproportionately impact underprivileged communities (Mullins, 2014), an examination of the adventure gap “revealed that environmental justice should not only lessen the burden of pollution on the poor, but also encourage equitable access to wilderness and open spaces for all--an approach called environmental inclusion” (Dolsak & Prakash, 2016, p. 3). The idea that outdoor engagement and environmental stewardship are interconnected can be seen throughout various places in South Salt Lake. Community gardens are on the rise and so is the approach of environmental education within the PSSL centers. In one study, Agyeman (2003) found that connecting to ethnically THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 16 diverse cultures on a more historic level, also known as cultural significance, was important when empowering diverse communities to advocate and participate in environmental issues. By connecting a person’s “roots” or culture to the environment, a person feels more empowered and significant to the cause (Agyeman, 2003). For example, Agyeman (2003) talks about how many Latin American migrants in the United States lose the desire and connection to nature, let alone participate in leisure activities. This reinforced the idea that if diverse communities are not participating in the great outdoors for leisure, then they are most likely not prioritizing any environmental initiatives throughout their lives. It is important to note that the environmental aspects of outdoor outreach programs, such as Step Out, value stewardship and use it as one of their top learning goals when facilitating activities for participants. Education The great outdoors has continually been looked at as an outdoor library and natural science lab (Byrne & Wolch, 2009). By providing youth of color with outdoor experiences and engagement that encourages equitable access to wilderness and environmental stewardship, youth of color who participate in the great outdoors also increase their test scores in the traditional subject areas such as reading, writing, mathematics, and science (Ferreira, Grueber, & Yarema, 2012). Students who participate in outdoor curricula also benefit from an empowering and positive connection to the environment (Ferreira et al., 2012). The long-term consistency of implementing an outdoor curriculum for youth has proven to bring forth many positives for a student’s education. This ultimately shows the relevance and priority of an outdoor curriculum and how programs like Step Out can use it to more effectively to engage their participants. From the findings, in order for programs like Step Out to achieve their learning goals, the idea of THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 17 integrating a long-term, year-round, outdoor curriculum in the PSSL centers is the best route to go. Wellbeing A child’s experience in nature is also essential for physical and emotional development (Ferreira et al., 2012). In fact, the lack of outdoor experiences has led to an increase in child obesity, attention disorders, and depression (Ferreira et al., 2012). People of color who participate in outdoor activities experience an improvement in their emotional well-being (Field, Lauzon, & Meldrum, 2016). Outdoor engagement can lessen the impacts of stress, which can also decrease anxiety and depression, (Gentin, 2011). This component is important and one of the main reasons why participants of the outdoors engage in recreational activities. It helps improve physical, emotional, and mental health (Mullins, 2014). By stepping away from the daily pressures and functions of society, the great outdoors provides a place of freedom and serenity. Civic Engagement Field, Lauzon, and Meldrum (2016) support civic engagement as a motivator for creating active participants of the great outdoors. Their research projected that if youth learn the importance of taking care of their communities, the ones around them, and themselves, they are more likely to engage civically in the great outdoors and participate in environmental stewardship. By instilling the importance of being civically engaged into the minds of youth, the value and priority of protecting the earth is placed on a higher level (Mills, 2014). This approach of implementing civic engagement can be done throughout programs like Step Out by teaching teamwork, stewardship, preservation, and “leave no trace” principles (Field et al., 2016). By implementing civic engagement within the great outdoors, the connection of these outdoor places THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 18 becomes stronger (Mills, 2014). This can then be interpreted by the youth as a place to protect, value, and cherish. By doing so, these places can ultimately provide ethnically diverse youth with a deeper value to connecting and participating in the great outdoors. Leadership Engagement in the outdoors increases leadership capacities. Field et al. (2016) found that the great outdoors provides youth with leadership skills that can help them be better at working in groups, accomplishing a task, and communicating with others. Leadership growth and development within the outdoors has continually been proven through business retreats, family outings, school groups, and outdoor outreach programs, like Step Out. Dolsak and Prakash (2016) explain the empowerment of the great outdoors brings forth learning that can help people master individual reflection and communication and teamwork skills. By thinking critically to solve an outdoor obstacle, or deciding who is going to help put up a tent, the great outdoors is a place of personal development and reflection that can help people beyond the outdoor settings. In terms of personal development and reflection, Roberts and Chitewere (2011) highlighted that the youth in an outdoor outreach program progressed in critical reflection of themselves and experiences by keeping journals and having group discussions after every activity or task. The trip leaders saw an increase in motivation and empowerment by the youth as relationships and leadership skills developed (Roberts & Chitewere, 2011). Overall, the great outdoors are necessary and important for youth of color because these places continually provide countless benefits. However, in order for ethnically diverse youth to benefit from the great outdoors, the sociocultural constraints that exist must first be challenged and confronted. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 19 The Adventure Gap As A Sociocultural Issue The adventure gap encompasses various constraints that have continued to create barriers for youth of color and their involvement in the great outdoors (Shores, Scott, & Floyd, 2007). These sociocultural constraints, in the context of outdoor recreation, have been defined as, “Factors that limit people’s participation in leisure activities, people’s use of leisure services, or people’s enjoyment of outdoor activities” (Jackson & Scott, 1999, p. 301). The idea that the great outdoors is “open and accessible” to all people is not a strong claim and continues to be weakened. For example, in a study that surveyed 3,000 respondents in Texas, a variety of constraints were revealed that continue to hold back minority groups (people of color, women, and people with disabilities) from participating in outdoor recreation (Shores et al., 2007). This section will start by introducing multiple hierarchy stratification to help explain the constraints surrounding the adventure gap. Socioeconomic status (SES), age, gender, and race and ethnicity will be explained as barriers that hold people of color back from experiencing the outdoors. Theoretical Perspective Shores et al. (2007) argue that every person has a social capital and status in society. This means that people in society not only have a level of status or positionality, but are ranked based on socioeconomic status, gender, race/ethnicity, and age, also known as multiple hierarchy stratification (Shores et al., 2007). In this theoretical perspective, the highest social capital status is occupied by whites, young adults, males, able-bodied, and people with a high socioeconomic status (Mills, 2014). The combination of all of these high-ranking statuses is significant to why people of color lack participation in outdoor settings. Disadvantaged individuals (elderly, women, minorities, and individuals of lower SES) suffer from inequality of leisure participation because their social capital does not typically give them the freedom or priority to do so. These THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 20 disadvantaged individuals are usually fighting to meet basic needs of living and likely have other priorities, rather than leisure experiences in the great outdoors. Gentin (2011) asserts, ethnic minorities are typically fighting for survival by striving for needs such as food, clothes, healthcare, education, housing, money, and water. Compared to the dominant white population, which looks at nature through a commoditized and privileged wilderness lens, there is generally no time for leisure activities such as participating in the great outdoors for ethnic minorities. This privileged lens proliferates in places like Utah where the great outdoors is seen as a place of leisure and is considered accessible to the dominant culture— white, middle to upper class Utahns. While the dominant culture in Utah does not have many constraints because of privilege, the time and priority for leisure is made accessible to them. These outdoor places are not only accessible in a physical sense, but accessible in a sociocultural sense that embodies the dominant culture’s values and perspectives, but neglects the viewpoint of ethnically diverse communities and people. This is backed up by Mills (2014) who asserts that organizations, institutions, corporations, and participants of the great outdoors are made up of white men who dictate the outdoor discourse. In general, these assertions connect well with what is known as multiple hierarchy stratification. If the needs of many ethnically diverse communities are higher than that of the dominant white population, then they are most likely going to experience constraints when attempting to participate in a spectacle like the great outdoors. Furthermore, the relationship between leisure constraints and socio-demographic (sociocultural) variables suggest that disadvantaged groups have multiple constraints (Shores et al., 2007). While it is expected that disadvantaged groups face a higher number of leisure constraints than advantaged groups, this framework suggests that these constraints are not THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 21 limited to one or two constraints—ethnically diverse youth face all possible constraints based on this model. This means that elderly, minorities, and females are more reluctant or face barriers, if given the chance, to participate in outdoor recreation. Multiple hierarchy stratification perspective uses four variables (socioeconomic status, age, gender, and race/ethnicity) to explain this (Shores et al., 2007). Based on those four variables, the assertion that a high socioeconomic, middle aged, white male has more access to resources, such as outdoor recreation and leisure, will be demonstrated throughout this paper. White supremacy is a constraining framework that aligns to the structures within multiple hierarchy stratification. White supremacy has created the constraints and viewpoint that the great outdoors is identified as an elitist, ethnocentric, and exclusive way of life because of the white dominance that continues to focus on a hyper-individualistic and racially exclusive way of living (Mills, 2014). For example, many white individuals and groups that participate in the great outdoors do not realize that the adventure gap exists (Mills, 2014). This not only continues to neglect and oppress the voices of people of color, but the discourse and participation of the great outdoors continues to be dominated by white middle to upper class men. As white men dominant the discourse surrounding the great outdoors, the accumulation of power and wealth continues to accommodate their ideologies and perspectives (Mills, 2014). This is historically rooted to the fact that national parks, recreational areas, U.S. forests, and the idea of the great outdoors was created and made for white people (Mills, 2014). Continuing today, the great outdoors is predominately made up by white institutions, organizations, and companies that accommodate and appeal to white culture. Krymkowski, Manning, and Valliere (2014) support this argument in their survey that analyzed marginality, discrimination, and subculture hypotheses for ethnically diverse people. At the conclusion of the study, the researchers identified that low-socioeconomic, THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 22 racially diverse youth disengage in outdoor recreation because it is associated with the fact that places like conventional education, national parks, and businesses were at one time “white spaces” and largely off limits to people of color (Krymkowski, et al., 2014). The survey results also support the argument that the perception of fear and disengagement in outdoor settings from people of color is centered on the role of hostile behaviors on the part of whites and institutional discrimination (Krymkowski, et al., 2014). This is why people of color feel reluctant to participate in the great outdoors—it was never made for them or by them. The constraints that exist within a white supremacist framework are based on the theoretical perspective of the multiple hierarchy stratification model. This means that ethnic and racial minorities, poor populations, the elderly and youth, and women are at the bottom spectrum of the hierarchy in terms of social status. Since this study focused on the conceptualizations of youth of color, from a middle to lower socioeconomic community, understanding the following four constraints proved to be significant within the findings of this research. Socioeconomic Status In the context of socioeconomic status, both lower incomes and lower levels of education demonstrate a strong constraint of visiting national parks—which is the typical measurement that outdoor education focuses on to assess performance and potential initiatives (Arnold & Shinew, 1998). If a person of color has only completed a lower level of education, they are most likely going to have less money to spend on leisure activities. To support this, individuals with low incomes and lower levels of education (high school graduate or below) are less likely to go camping or hiking when given the opportunity (Scott & Munson, 1994). For example, in a study that examined if recreation fees are the reason why people of color do not participate or visit outdoor settings, the researchers found that discounted or free entry fees for disadvantaged THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 23 groups didn’t solve equity issues (Nyaupane, Graefe, & Burns, 2007). Further, this study found that the social perception of equity has little to do with income, but more to do with the perception of being explicitly fair and reasonable to disadvantaged groups (Nyaupane et al, 2007). In the 2014 census, 28% of South Salt Lake households were reported to be below the poverty line, which indicates that 1 out of 4 households have less of a chance to participate in outdoor leisure activities (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.). Until people have satisfied not only their economic needs, but their social needs as well, they are less likely to get involved in outdoor activities and have time for leisure (Makopondo, 2006). The socioeconomic barriers that exist are significant to analyzing why the adventure gap exists since they reveal what needs to happen in order to bridge this gap. Age The idea that age is a constraint to participating in the outdoors can be seen when considering the amount of freedom and time a person has. While this evaluation focused on youth who ranged from eleven to eighteen years of age, age has been found to correlate with the lack of outdoor participation within ethnically diverse communities for a lifetime (Crespo, 2000). As constraints to participating in outdoor recreation decrease with age, for ethnically diverse youth, the lack of freedom and time for outdoor leisure is likely to stay consistent throughout their entire lives (Roman et al., 2013). This limitation relates to many other factors such as the time to take part in physical activities, income to experience outdoor or leisure settings, and even gender. For example, if a young African American boy is attempting to participate in the great outdoors, they are more likely to experience age constraints, as well as many other barriers (Crespo, 2000). However, the importance of age constraints is critical when analyzing why the adventure gap exists because it generates outdoor participation limitations. Specifically for THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 24 youth, if their parents do not participate in the great outdoors, have fear towards outdoor activities, or do not culturally align with recreational activities, the youth are less likely to participate in these outdoor settings with their family, and even less likely on their own (Mills, 2014). Age is a factor for youth because it limits their autonomy if they are curious about exploring the outdoors. According to Crespo (2000), this lack of autonomy is the case for many youth—where parents, who have never experienced or had a bad experience in the great outdoors, dictate for their children to not participate. In particular, age continues to be a sociocultural barrier where many youth are not able to choose what leisure activities they participate in or don’t participate in. Gender Gender is an important constraint to discuss in the context of outdoor recreation. Although outdoor barriers affect both women and men, women encounter more constraints than men (Johnson, Bowker, Cordell, 2001). In the context of the adventure gap, women face a multitude of barriers since nonparticipation among women has been linked with concerns about body image and appearance, fear of embarrassment, concerns about skill level, and not fitting in (Arnold & Shinew, 1998). Some women participants have the embarrassment attached to them of being too masculine, while others may be judged for being too feminine (Mills, 2014). While the youth participants of the Step Out program are both male and female, it is important to consider that embarrassment can reduce the desire to participate in leisure activities for any gender (Field, Lauzon, & Meldrum, 2016). Race and Ethnicity Since this study focuses on youth of color, race and ethnicity is critical when analyzing the adventure gap. Studies show that ethnically diverse populations face more constraints to THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 25 outdoor recreation than non-minorities. In one example, a study found that people of color do not participate in the outdoors because they are too busy fighting for access and equity for other issues such as education, health, and opportunities to make a decent livelihood (Makopondo, 2006). Although the disparities that people of color face can vary from person to person, research has supported the argument that ethnically diverse populations face more disparities and marginalization than their white counterparts (Agyeman, 2003). Other attempts to explain why people of color do not access the outdoors have been related to a history of discrimination and exclusion and cultural factors (Blahna & Black, 1993). As the National Park Service analyzed why minority groups tend to visit national parks at lower rates than white recreationalists, the researchers found that people of color have a less positive view of the outdoors than whites (Krymkowski, Manning, & Valliere, 2014). Some of the minority groups mentioned that they would rather have a roof over the head instead of camping out in the wild. Others mentioned the “awkwardness” of participating in such a “white activity.” In general, this aligns with the fact that national parks were at one time “white spaces” and largely off limits to people of color. Aside from systemic structures that create these disparities, “interpersonal constraints to outdoor recreation identified have included a fear of crime, perceived discrimination, and the sanctioning of activities as acceptable by peers and family” (Shores et al., 2007, p. 232). These interpersonal constraints connect heavily to race and ethnicity. It is important to note that while race and ethnicity may only seem like a physical embodiment, it is also a cultural and structural way of thinking. If a person of color senses or sees discrimination, a hostile setting, or hears that a place is “not for them,” they are less likely to engage (Mills, 2014). The adventure gap is an issue that describes this way of thinking and has recently been challenged through outdoor programs such as Step Out. By offering youth of color from low- THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 26 income communities an opportunity to experience the outdoors, the manifestation and passion for the outdoors can potentially be created for future generations. Similar to this study, Roman, Stodolska, Yahner, and Shinew (2013) revealed that ethnic minorities were the least likely group to participate in outdoor settings because they believed that these activities did not align with their family’s values and culture. The adventure gap stems from these four limitations based on evidence that proves that multiple disparities exist for minorities in terms of participating in the great outdoors (Agyeman, 2003). This relates back to the multiple hierarchy stratification perspective of socioeconomic status, age, gender, and race/ethnicity all contributing towards the adventure gap. The stratification of these social statuses is crucial to understanding why programs like Step Out exist and further understanding why bridging the adventure gap is necessary. How To Bridge The Adventure Gap Roberts and Suren (2010) found that motivation, environmental contribution, social awareness, personal growth and leadership, school performance, and healthy lifestyles increased for forty-three ethnically diverse youth of the Golden Gate National Parks programs (2010). The positive engagements not only nurtured a constructive experience for all the diverse youth that participated, but it also brought forth an idea that the great outdoors can serve as a resource (Roberts & Chitewere, 2011). In order to fully bridge this gap, Roberts (2008) explains that while age, education, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status all factor as constraints for outdoor participation, something as simple as “good intentions” is not all that is needed from community outdoor organizations to be successful. These “good intentions” are limited and do not fully engage the youth in the manner that they deserve. Instead, outdoor outreach groups should explicitly create partnerships for enhancing the involvement of racial and ethnic minorities in THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 27 natural resource management, environmental education, and outdoor recreation (Makopondo, 2006). By targeting young people during formative years, outdoor experiences can shape environmental policy preferences in the future (Dolsak & Prakash, 2016). Similarly, creating approaches in outdoor settings that are more culturally sensitive and inclusive by understanding culturally specific knowledge, cultural resistance to theoretical dominance, and culturally informed theory and practice can help by building relationships and trust with diverse community organizations. Inviting ethnic minorities to events, fundraisers, meetings, and committees that provide an open and inclusive approach to diverse insight can prove to be beneficial (Li et al., 2008). As the Use of Public Lands-Connecting Diverse Communities revealed, “Providing access, information, and opportunities for recreational use of open space to people from diverse backgrounds will bring about a more sustainable future for all of us” (Roberts, 2008, p. 6). It is important to understand how other pieces of research approach bridging this gap since Step Out works with diverse youth. Overall, outdoor outreach programs need to ask themselves critical questions when holding meetings, events, or public events, such as “Who is not here?” Outdoor Outreach Programs Since this qualitative evaluation focuses on analyzing an outdoor outreach program, it is important to understand how existing programs, like Step Out, are bridging the adventure gap. The Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders (IYEL) and Urban Trailblazers (UT) outdoor outreach programs are similar to Step Out and will be explained based off of the evaluation that was done by Roberts and Suren (2010). The Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders program focuses on providing outdoor recreation opportunities, and environmental program curriculum, and activities centered on cultivating THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 28 leadership for urban youth (Roberts & Suren, 2010). On the other hand, Urban Trailblazers only focused on recreational and environmental learning goals. While the UT program provides youth with a weeklong trip full of activities like rock climbing, backpacking, and fishing, IYEL is a summer long program that provides multiple outdoor trips, has a three-month curriculum, and requires the youth to work on skills from home. From the two evaluations, Roberts and Suren (2010) found that while both programs effectively increased youth’s awareness about sustainability and environmental justice, the Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders program also saw an increase in long term self-reflection, a sense of identity, and an increase in social skills for their participants. The evaluation not only revealed that in order to bridge the adventure gap, outdoor outreach programs need a long-term curriculum and leadership development, but also surfaced the importance of providing more in-depth education for the youth, both in the great outdoors and at home. When the youth had to learn how to tie certain knots, practice packing their bags, make a tent in their home from bed sheets, and grow any plant of their choice, they connected more to the great outdoors and incorporated these practices into their daily lives and their families lives (Roberts & Suren, 2010). The approach to bridging the adventure gap cannot be completed during a one week Step Out trip, rather, it must be a long-term process that connects and allows the youth to embody the great outdoors everywhere they go, whether it is at home or in the great outdoors. Conclusion In conclusion, multiple hierarchy stratification serves as a useful framing for understanding age, gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity as factors connected to a phenomenon such as the adventure gap. Throughout the contextualization of the literature, these root causes explained the multitude of constraints that exist for youth of color in terms of THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 29 accessing and participating in the outdoors (Shores et al., 2007). While these factors display a varying degree of social constraint, the understanding that a white, upper class, middle aged, male is systematically more likely to access leisure resources and outdoor recreation is consistent with the findings of why the adventure gap exists (Mills, 2014). That is why it is extremely important to understand that bridging the adventure gap is necessary. Not only necessary for the act of creating a stronger force of environmental stewardship, stronger leaders, and diversifying the great outdoors, but even more necessary for providing equitable opportunities for people of color to benefit from the outdoors in their own nuanced ways. Outdoor programs such as Step Out need to consider the research that guides how to do this in a genuine and effective way. This includes assertions and recommendations such as incorporating a long-term curriculum that allows the youth to experience the great outdoors in the field and at home, focusing strongly on leadership development, providing resources for outdoor access, allowing past participants to become future trip leaders, and other recommendations that will be explained further in chapter four. Only then will we all benefit from the outdoors in an equitable and effective manner. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 30 Chapter 3: Research Methods In order to fully grasp the ways that ethnically diverse youth see the great outdoors, I decided to interview nine youth of color that participated in Step Out within the past three years (since 2014). Using the qualitative data collected through my research, I answered the research question set forth, “How do you of color conceptualize the outdoors after participating in the Step Out program?” Research Context Step Out is a program based out of Westminster College that has offered summer outdoor trips to youth from various Promise South Salt Lake (PSSL) centers since 2014. These experiences are entirely student-led from the Westminster Outdoor Education and Leadership students who take classes, attend trainings, receive certifications, and most importantly spend time out in the wilderness leading others through outdoor programming. The process to become a student leader for Step Out is rigorous and requires a high level of commitment, professionalism, and sound judgment gained through experience. The trips are at no cost to the kids of South Salt Lake. Also, Step Out manages funds by utilizing the existing Outdoor Program equipment, a combination of Westminster and South Salt Lake vehicles, and a combination of SLICE and Outdoor Program funding to cover the operation of the trips. In 2014, Step Out identified the most valuable contributions to the kids of South Salt Lake. These contributions were identified by Step Out as initiatives that could benefit the participants of their program. Through this process, Step Out developed the following curriculum; Games/activities that are designed to create a fun, inclusive, and comfortable environment, Goals & expectations for the trip—the goals and expectations of the kids as well as the goals and expectations of the staff and the respective programs (SSL & Westminster), Group THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 31 initiatives that focus on both interpersonal (e.g. team building, communication, leadership) and intrapersonal (e.g. trust, persistence, self-awareness) outcomes, Outdoor skills—relevant to each activity e.g. rock climbing, camping, fly fishing, backpacking, map reading, cooking, risk management, etc., Environmental awareness—sense of place, Leave No Trace, developing an environmental ethic and connecting concepts from the field to everyday life, Leadership—peer teaching, mentoring, role-modeling, empowering through ownership, responsibility, and natural consequences, and Reflection—debrief and contextualize the trip, check in about goals, and discuss the experience’s potential impacts on and application to everyday life (transference). In general, the Step Out program proactively structured a curriculum that proved to resonate with past participants from the interviews conducted for this qualitative evaluation. Lastly, in terms of research context, student trip leaders, professional staff, and the participants from South Salt Lake helped identify seven learning goals for the Step Out program. These include; (1) Develop character: learn about perseverance, tolerance for adversity and uncertainty, self-awareness, and confidence, (2) Develop interpersonal skills: learn to work with kids from other cultures and SSL community centers, learn to manage conflict productively, and learn how to have a positive impact on a group, (3) Develop leadership skills: supporting and teaching each other while on trips, sharing knowledge and information with others, making decisions as a group, etc., (4) Unplug from technology and benefit from building community in person, (5) See college students as positive mentors and role models: potentially changing perspectives on the reality of attending college, (6) Learn new skills and information to share with family and friends: outdoor skills (rock climbing, backpacking, fly fishing, etc.) cooking, natural history, etc., and (7) Develop connection to areas surrounding Salt Lake City and see new, awe-inspiring places. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 32 In general, the Step Out program has conducted extensive research in developing the program’s learning goals, training for trip leaders, and overall structure of the program. The significance of this connects to the positive themes that surfaced from the interviews. However, the findings revealed important constraints and will be discussed more deeply throughout chapter 4. Participants In this evaluation, nine past participants of the Step Out program, whose ages ranged from eleven to eighteen years old, or 7th-12th grade, helped me answer the research question. These past participants engaged in the summer outdoor trips during the years 2014, 2015, and/or 2016. The participants that this research focused on are self-identified youth of color who do not identify themselves as white. This includes four Latinos, one African American, three Nepalese refugees, and one Arabian refugee who have participated in the Step Out program in the past. Although no preference was given on gender, I was unable to gather any past female participants to participate in an interview. All nine youth still attend their designated PSSL centers and volunteered to participate in this research study. In general, this research project consisted of working with four out of the six Promise South Salt Lake (PSSL) community centers in South Salt Lake, Utah that serve diverse youth and continually participate in the Step Out program every summer. Recruitment This step was a major part of the data collection process. From January through February, 2017, I worked closely with all of the PSSL center coordinators to help with the recruitment of diverse youth who were willing to be interviewed. I started by emailing all of the coordinators from a past contact list that was provided to me from the Step Out program. This proved to be THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 33 helpful, as the Director of PSSL was on that list and helped me reach out to her colleagues. Once I successfully received a response from the coordinators, I set up a time for us to meet for me to also bring each coordinator parent/guardian permission forms (Appendix A), request and information forms (Appendix C), and the interview questions (Appendix D). This worked nicely because it allowed me to build an in-person relationship with the coordinators that motivated them to ask and follow up with their group of youth about participating in an interview. I followed up a week later with each coordinator and surprisingly received a response from each center with a list of youth who were potentially interested. From there we coordinated appointments for me to come in and introduce myself to the youth. This is where the process of gaining consent took place. Gaining consent. After introducing myself to each youth, I provided them with a parent/guardian permission form (Appendix A) and a welcome letter for their parents (Appendix E). From there I coordinated with them on a time for me to come in and interview them at their PSSL center once they returned their permission forms to their coordinators. Out of the twelve students that I met, I successfully ended up interviewing nine of them. Methods The nine interviews that were conducted were very important for understanding the efforts at Step Out and how the adventure gap is being addressed. By gathering qualitative perspectives from each participant, the research question was answered. I approached the research question by interviewing each youth individually, where one-on-one interviews proved to be a space of empowerment and openness for each participant (Johnson, 2017). I used openended questions in a semi-structured manner (Appendix D) to be flexible and accommodating to THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 34 each youth’s understanding and comprehension capabilities. This approach allowed for each youth to be themselves and less intimidated by the interview process (Johnson, 2017). Since each interview took place at the youth’s designated PSSL center, the accommodations of a private and quiet room varied from a large empty classroom, to a school counselor’s office, and even an empty gym. The interviews ranged in duration from 20 to 35 minutes long and were recorded with a recording device with the permission of all participants. Water was provided for the youth during the interview and each received a ten-dollar gift card for their participation. To ensure the safety of the youth, the specific PSSL coordinator from each center accompanied all nine of the interviews. The interview questions focused on the youths’ experiences during the Step Out trip as well as their general connection to the great outdoors, before and after participating in Step Out. Additionally, questions focused on the learning goals of the Step Out program and whether or not the youth believed that these were met. All nine interviews were recorded and transcribed in order to provide a more in depth analysis. I also recorded field notes within an hour after the interview. This allowed for me to recall any contextual factors or important notes that would be relevant for this research study not captured by the recording device. Complications One of the early complications that I ran into was unwillingness to participate in the interviews from youth. More specifically, three girls, who participated in Step Out, chose not to take part in an interview due to various reasons. These reluctant reactions to take participate in an interview brought to light that they did not have a good experience during the Step Out trip. While their perspective would have brought forth a strong amount of insight and critique to Step Out, they continually declined my offer to be interviewed. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 35 Another complication throughout this study dealt with the lack of timeliness of the youth to return their parent or guardian permission forms. Although most of the youth returned their permission form during the week that it was provided, two of the youth struggled in their attempt to have their permission forms signed and returned. While this complication was a tough hurdle for my schedule, the two-youth ended up returning their permission forms three weeks after my original introduction. Lastly, in my attempt and proposal to interview at least two youth from each PSSL center, I encountered a barrier when two of the centers did not have any past participants who wanted to be interviewed. After much thought, I realized that the nine youth from the other four centers were significant and sufficient enough for this study. From there, I worked with the nine youth from the other four centers in my attempt to understand and analyze this phenomenon. Ethical Implications This research project did not have any alarming risks based on the nature of this study. In a similar qualitative evaluation of outdoor leadership programs coordinated through the Golden Gate National Parks, 43 ethnically diverse youth in this research felt socially, mentally, and emotionally comfortable during the interviews (Roberts & Suren, 2010). The comfort of the participants was a top priority and they were all protected based on the consent forms that outlined their privacy and power to stop the interview at any point. All nine of the youth participants in this research study were communicated their confidentiality rights through the consent form as well as before their interview—their identity (name and birth date) was not and will not be shared publicly. All participants were also assured that their transcriptions, field notes, and recordings were not going to be shared and only listened and read to by an outsourced transcriber and me. All transcripts and field notes will only be used for this evaluation and this THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 36 research project. Throughout the reporting of findings, no first names were shared. Instead, the youth were introduced with pseudonyms where their ethnicity was discussed in relevance to analyzing the adventure gap. More specifically, real names and birth dates will continue to be held confidentially, but ethnicity, race, and general PSSL affiliation will need to be open to analyze, address, and publish. This approach was communicated in the consent form (Appendix A). By addressing the specific ethnic background of the youth and the PSSL affiliation, Step Out can grasp a better understanding for how effective their programming is to ethnically diverse populations. The justification for this was proven through the Golden Gate National Parks study, where the 43 youth were given pseudonyms, and their ethnicity and school was shared (Roberts & Suren, 2010). Roberts and Suren (2010) were able make deeper assertions when analyzing their findings and able to make significant changes for the outdoor outreach programs with the specific ethnic backgrounds and school affiliations of each youth. In general, these implications provided the data analysis with a consistent overview and assured the youth and their families that their anonymity will be continually protected. It is also very important to mention that this study was first reviewed and given permission by the Institutional Review Board. This ensures the youth’s rights and protection from any harm to their well-being. The results are to be disseminated after the Master of Arts in Community Leadership program has reviewed the capstone, during the summer of 2017. Analysis Transcripts and field notes were used for data analysis to provide material for this research study and evaluation. By using emergent thematic coding, described by Miles and Huberman (1994) as a qualitative data analysis approach in which the transcripts are read several times to identify themes that emerge from the data, common themes emerged and will be THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 37 discussed in chapter 4. Transcriptions were coded multiple times to ensure that codes were being applied consistently. Within this process, color coding was used as well as and excel document to categorize and reflect on the data (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Color coding was mainly used by highlighting key codes during the initial transcription reading stages. This allowed for me to highlight specific text with certain colors to easily transfer them over to an excel sheet. Once they were transferred to the excel sheet, I grouped the text and uncovered the data’s main themes. Through these methods, the data revealed patterns and surfaced themes that support my findings that were discussed in the literature. Validity Researcher reflexivity, where I reflected my own preconceptions, beliefs, and biases, served as an essential validity measure (Creswell & Miller, 2000). Through this method, my preconceptions, beliefs, and biases as a person of color were critically analyzed and shaped the critical paradigm of this research. In the introduction (chapter 1) and analysis (chapter 4) of this study, I reflected on the “social, cultural, and historical forces” that have molded my interpretation of the adventure gap (Creswell & Miller, 2000, p. 127). As a person of color who was born and raised in South Salt Lake, I understand the constraints aligned with the adventure gap firsthand. Throughout this research project, I used reflexivity to ensure that my positionality was acknowledged. With this acknowledgement, it then enabled me to privilege the experiences and stories of my participants. For example, before conducting the interviews for this study, I approached the process itself as a focus of inquiry (Creswell & Miller, 2000). By analyzing my own preconceptions and becoming aware of these reflections, the interviews and research findings were approached with a critical, but open consciousness for interpretation. Overall, THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS documentation such as field notes and reflections during the interviews, of my own preconceptions of the research, helped shape the context for this research. Conclusion One-on-one, semi-structured interviews, field notes and transcripts helped surface the themes for this qualitative evaluation. The data and information that was gained from the interviews was used evaluate the Step Out program and assess the adventure gap. All of this information will be explored in the following chapter as I discuss the findings. 38 THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 39 Chapter 4: Findings The purpose of this study was to both evaluate the Step Out program and understand the adventure gap at a deeper level. This chapter is dedicated to presenting findings from nine different interviews with ethnically diverse youth who have participated in Step Out. The youth that were interviewed brought forth a clear picture of the positive impacts of the great outdoors, as well as the barriers and opportunities that exist for them. I have identified themes to help answer my research question, “How do youth of color conceptualize the outdoors after participating in Step Out?” It is through these themes that my assertions will be explored to help the Step Out program in their programming and outdoor outreach efforts. Positive Engagement The nine youth that participated in the interviews identified positive benefits of participating in the Step Out program. From building stronger relationships to unplugging from a technologically dependent world, the nine youth answered questions that shaped the following themes. This section will introduce each theme, discuss how each theme connects to the research question, and assert why each finding is important for the Step Out program and bridging the adventure gap. Relationship Building One of the most consistent benefits that came to surface from the interviews was relationship building. This theme ties well with two of the Step Out program’s learning goals– benefit from building community in person and develop interpersonal skills. As the majority of the youth mentioned that the Step Out trip created a place where “relationships” and “friendships” were developed, the importance of this finding is vital to bridging the adventure THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 40 gap. To support this, Roberts and Suren (2010) assert that outdoor outreach trips are one of the best ways to build relationships. It can help people from different backgrounds, origins, social classes, and economic classes come together in an attempt to accomplish tasks, form relationships through activities, and enjoy nature in a collaborative manner. Whether it was with their peers or their PSSL advisors, the youth acknowledged that stronger relationships were made throughout the Step Out experience. In one interview with a self-identified Latino youth named Cesar, when I asked him what made the trip such a good experience, he commented about the friendships that were made when they all hiked, cooked, gathered wood, and set up the tent. Cesar also mentioned that he became closer with his classmate, who also attended the trip. He explained, “… being around a few friends, like going to the tent and just talking was my favorite part of the whole trip.” Having so much time away from any distractions, Cesar really enjoyed being able to learn about his classmates. Similarly, Damon, who identified himself as Black, believed that the trip challenged his friendship for the better. When I asked Damon what challenges he faced during the camping trip, he illustrated the idea that trying new skills, with his friends, allowed for their friendship to “grow stronger.” In addition to these youth, three other youth reinforced these positive outcomes: development of relationship building and interpersonal skills. Saabiq, an Arabian refugee, stated, “…I never really got to know these kids that went to my school until I got to camp with them. It was like camping and being outdoors really made us be ourselves.” By being in a place, as Mills (2014) explains, where social vulnerability to be oneself can come naturally, Saabiq was able to connect with kids from his school at a deeper level. Two other youth that made the same case for relationship building were Sadar and Palash, both Nepalese boys who went on the same trip. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 41 Although both of these boys went on the trip with an established friendship, they both agreed that their relationship had grown based on conflict that occurred during a hike. Sadar mentioned that when one of the other boys, named Chad, started to bully Palash, Sadar backed up Palash by “telling Chad off.” To mediate the situation, one of the Step Out trip leaders split the boys apart and had them tell their side of the story. Although they ended the mediated discussion by apologizing to each other, tension was more than alive. Palash mentioned, “We had no one to go to. The trip leaders did not want us to speak our own language because they thought we were talking bad about Chad. But we weren’t.” While Sadar and Palash experienced something that many ethnically diverse boys face, the bullying situation was not what brought them closer, rather it was their ability to connect to each other through their pre-established friendship, identity, and language. It was through these connections that their relationship developed. In the same context, other boys, on different trips, mentioned how they connected to each other during the trip since they come from the same country, neighborhood, and/or socioeconomic class. Gio, a Latino, mentioned, “Juan and I really got along because we both spoke Spanish and the other boys didn’t.” Juan, who identified himself as Mexican, also mentioned his relationship with Gio by explaining, “… I felt like we were all just friends hanging out and having fun. Gio and I are best friends… During the trip, since we both knew each other, it was easy to put up the tent and cook food together.” By having an established relationship, Gio and Juan both agreed that the Step Out activities were easier to accomplish. In general, relationship building was developed in the nuanced ways that were discussed. Some of the youth felt that new relationships were made, while other youth felt that their existing relationships were made even stronger. Developments for friendships are something that generally happens in outdoor settings, but can be more complicated when participants come from THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 42 diverse backgrounds. As Roberts and Chitewere (2011) explain through their exploration of ethnic minority perspectives, when the youth, with diverse ethnicities, went camping together, the activities typically took longer to complete. This was explained because some of the youth had a hard time understanding why they had to do certain activities and/or could not connect with the trip leaders, who were all white (Roberts & Chitewere, 2011). Interactions, rules, and customs may not come naturally to diverse youth, which means that other forms of communication and relationship building must be considered (Mills, 2014). As new skills are tested from the youth, teamwork is essential and the nature of building relationships is unavoidable when completing tasks such as putting up a tent, starting a fire, preparing food, and conversing during outdoor activities. The perceptions of youth of color proved to be crucial for providing an inclusive trip and feedback on building relationships. The memories that are created, with the ones who can connect with you, are truly what get at the core of why the great outdoors is provides a strong setting for relationship building. Fun The word “fun” was mentioned from all the youth throughout each interview and connects with all of Step Out’s learning goals. Whether it was the fun they had while hiking, mingling with their friends, or the simple idea of being outside, the youth all talked about the word fun throughout the interviews. As Gio put it, “I thought the trip was going to be kind of boring, but the trip was actually really fun. We got to relax, skip rocks, and not follow any scheduled times.” Although Gio had a preconception that the trip would be “boring”, he reflected that the trip made the outdoors fun again. Gio mentioned that he was tired of going to local parks, in urban areas, that made it seem like he was in nature–Gio called this “fake nature.” He THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 43 wanted to explore more, relax more, and have more fun. Through the Step Out experience, Gio’s needs were fulfilled as he stated, “… Just being like, somewhere else is just fun.” Similarly, the idea of fun within the great outdoors connected with the leisure activities that took place. Activities like hiking, sitting around the fire, and relaxing all contributed to the idea of fun from the youth. Juan had never been camping before because he first asserted it as “something that Mexican families just don’t do.” Although the Step Out experience was difficult at first for Juan, by the last day, he had the most fun he has had in a long time. While Juan felt homesick during the first day, activities like fishing, hiking, sitting around the fire with his friends made him “feel at home.” This type of fun involves the approach of connecting the great outdoors with the youth’s past experiences. Mills (2014) mentions that in order to bridge the adventure gap, outdoor outreach programs need to connect with a person’s past experiences and become relevant to their lives. As Juan mentioned, “… It was when we all went fishing that I finally felt comfortable.” After I asked him why he felt comfortable about the trip once he fished, he stated, “It made me feel like I was with my grandpa. We used to go fishing all the time in Mexico and it was really fun.” Juan didn’t truly feel comfortable while being outdoors until he realized that he participated in these types of activities while visiting family in Mexico. It was then that Juan began to enjoy the trip by connecting it to a past comforting and fun experience. In another example, Sadar and Palash, two best friends, spoke heavily about having fun during the Step Out trip. Although they were both interviewed separately, both of their stories about the trip lined up perfectly and brought forth this idea of fun. Sadar stated, “I liked all the fun stuff that we did… Like hiking, hanging out, sometimes doing nothing at all, and cooking.” This idea of no responsibilities, no pressures, and leisure helped Sadar enjoy the great outdoors. Palash mentioned something similar when I asked why he had so much fun, “… It was fun to do THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 44 nothing, but so much at the same time. Cooking the food and exploring the trails was a new experience, so that was really fun.” Both Sadar and Palash displayed the biggest smiles when they talked about these fun experiences during the Step Out trip. This supports the assertion that the great outdoors is a place of leisure and can be enjoyed by all participants. Since leisure experiences within the great outdoors are typically approached in a fun way, the fact that these boys had fun was anticipated. Ferreira et al. (2012) support this assertion in their findings where the outdoors provided a fun educational experience for students from a neighborhood in Detroit. The importance of connecting to the youth was at the core of what made the experience ‘fun’ for the youth in Detriot and relates to the Step Out participants’ experiences. The relationships that were made, in these natural settings, created a fun-filled experience for all the youth. Through the fun leisure activities, the Step Out participants found themselves in a place of comfort and excitement. Unplugging Another significant theme that surfaced from the findings is the idea of ‘unplugging’ from technology. As technological dependence continues to increase, the youth that were interviewed identified the great outdoors and their experience with Step Out as a place of empowering solitude. By participating in the great outdoors, the Step Out participants felt that this new experience created a place of connection to nature and wilderness. Byrne and Wolch (2009) explain that when people make the decision to disconnect themselves from technology and explore the great outdoors, they come to find a deeper connection to themselves and the world. As Oscar mentioned, “… If I was just at my home, sitting down with a laptop in my lap, I wouldn’t have been able to see all the amazing things I saw.” Oscar reflected on his experience with Step Out as an opportunity to connect to “the earth, the people, and [his] self.” Being in THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 45 nature provided Oscar an experience that not only “forced” him to unplug from technology, but allowed him to connect to the world around him. Gio also talked about this type of unplugging when I asked him what the outdoors means to him, he stated, The outdoors for me is like, not being around businesses or schools or any of that, just getting away from distractions. Or things that make you stressed out. Being outdoors is like, things that relax you; make you think of only what is in front of you. Just being somewhere new! You see, everything at home is still the same, because they [his family] haven’t experienced being outdoors and being away from their phones and being away from TV. So I think that if they went [outdoors], it would not only change my life, like it has, it would change things at home. I put my phone off to the side now. Sometimes I just sit there and look at the sky and just think about whatever I want to think about. So, I think that it is so cool to think about anything you want at that time, with no technology and no distractions. Not having to worry about, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, or whatever. I think Step Out changed my view on technology and how often we use it. This quote is a strong indication and perspective of how impactful the act of unplugging can be for ethnically diverse youth. By going on the Step Out trip, Gio has formulated a new view of the way that he uses technology. As he unplugged during the Step Out trip and experienced so many great things, he now has an appreciation for a place, whether it be out in the great outdoors or at home, where he can put technology to the side and process his own thoughts. In another interview, Devang, a Nepali boy who has attended the Step Out trip twice, mentioned that he continually looks forward to these trips because they provide him with a place where all technological distractions are forgotten. After asking Devang what was different between the two trips that he experienced, he mentioned that he embraced the outdoors more the THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 46 second time. During the first trip, he knew that he was unplugging from technology, but did not realize how big of an impact that was going to be until he got home. “I remember going home and being like, ‘Woah,’ we rely on technology for everything,” Devang said. His lifestyle began to change as he motivated himself to unplug from technology at home. Devang started doing this because he mentioned that technology distracted him from what is important—people and the world around him. In the same way, Sadar talked closely about how coming back to the city and hearing all the noises again after the Step Out trip annoyed him. He gave context by explaining that before coming to the United States from Nepal, noises and technology weren’t much of a distraction. He got to meet new people, have conversations with his family and friends, and “be present.” While he mentioned that coming to the U.S. was a blessing, he wishes he could unplug himself from technology on a daily basis. This is important because Sadar talks about the positive experiences of being outdoors, but also mentions that his desire to be outdoors on a daily basis is not being fulfilled. From this interview, Sadar reflected on many aspects of his life that were influenced by the outdoors, either in Nepal or through Step Out. The idea of unplugging for Sadar truly made him feel at home again. Through these experiences, the Step Out participants got to unplug from technology. While technology provides a resource for communication, information, and knowledge, the youth agreed that it creates a border around their opportunity to participate in the great outdoors. By unplugging and being out in nature, the youth learned many positive things about disconnecting from technology. This connects well with Dolsak and Prakash (2016) that unplugging from technology can provide many benefits to people. The disconnection from THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 47 technology can allow for reflection and it can formulate new ideas (Dolsak & Prakash, 2016). Overall, the benefit of unplugging was consistently mentioned throughout all of the interviews. Skill Development Skill development is a theme that came to surface after all the youth identified that they learned something new from their experience with Step Out. The Step Out program highlights this learning goal as a focus to learn new skills and information to share with family and friends. The youth learned practical skills such as starting a fire, how to pack their backpacks, how to hike, and how to set up a tent. Through the development of these skills, the findings correspond closely with Mullins (2014) who studied how skills develop within ecological settings for youth. If programs focus their learning goals on teaching outdoor and ecological activities that ethnically diverse youth can connect with, mastering these skills can be accomplished at a higher rate (Mullins, 2014). Similarly, the Step Out trip created a setting where the youth, who traditionally would not learn these skills, got the opportunity to do so. In one specific interview, Damon’s experience connected to this when he mentioned that the Step Out trip provided him with lifelong learning skills. He said, “Not only did I get to learn things, like how to pack my backpack or preserve food, while camping… But I learned how I could use all those skills on a daily basis.” He mentioned that after participating in Step Out, he learned how to conserve food at home when his parents could not afford to buy groceries. It was through the conversations that Damon had with one of the trip leaders that made the significance of conserving food connect to his life at home. Damon stated, “… Yeah, the trip leader really took some time to get to know me. He asked me some personal questions and I didn’t mind answering, which is cool because he helped me out by teaching me some cool things.” The approach that the trip leader took to help Damon learn new skills proved to be successful. Since THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 48 Damon respected the fact that the trip leader took the time to get to know him, he opened up and also developed some new skills. In other interviews, the youth mentioned that each time they learned a new skill, the trip leaders would give reasoning and make sure that the youth understood the practice’s significance. For example, Cesar talked about how he learned that making your own fire can come in handy for survival, in case of an emergency situation. By being able to start his own fire in an emergency situation, Cesar said, “I can help others with light, help others cook their food, and help others clean their water.” Similarly, Palash highlighted the fact that since he has gone on this trip twice, he knew what to pack and what not to pack the second time. He stated, “The trip leaders were impressed with my packing skills. I seriously practiced my packing skills for school to help me prepare for the second [Step Out] trip.” By practicing his packing skills, Palash developed a skill that helped him, as he mentioned, “… Pack for all sorts of things.” The comments from Palash indicate that he not only gained skills for outdoor settings, such as camping and backpacking, but that he also incorporated these practices into his daily life. While skill development was seen across the findings in various ways, the most significant component of teaching these skills was connecting it to the participants’ lives. By developing relationships with the youth, the youth indicated that the trip leaders gave “reasoning” to the importance of mastering these skills. Leadership One of Step Out’s program learning goals is for the youth to develop as leaders. By participating in outdoor activities where teamwork and communication are essential, the findings revealed that each youth gained a significant amount of leadership skills. Whether it was leading THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 49 a group of peers to put up a tent or collaborating on ways to accomplish a task, the youth identified key experiences that bring forth the development of leadership. Throughout my interview with Sadar, he mentioned that although he lacked experience for activities like camping and backpacking, his leadership experience with sports, like soccer, helped him lead activities for his peers and accomplish tasks. He mentioned, “When everyone was getting frustrated to put up the tent, I stepped in and made sure everyone had a task with a goal.” Sadar also talked heavily about making sure that everyone during his Step Out trip felt included. When the altercation happened between Palash and Chad, Sadar knew that he had to step in and help his friend. “I think it is about having courage, especially when you’re scared,” Sadar stated when I asked what motivated him to help Palash. In addition, Sadar developed leadership from the trip, after the fact, when I asked him if he would have done anything differently during the altercation. Sadar hesitated to answer, but finally stated, “I would have tried to makes things better with Chad… It’s not like I don’t like him. We just have different personalities.” Although this reflection could have been motivated by a numerous things outside of Step Out, the fact that Sadar reflected about his experience showed strong leadership. Roberts and Suren (2010) asserted, in their evaluation of outdoor outreach programs, that leadership development for the youth was connected to things such as personal reflections, journaling, and group discussions. By Sadar using personal reflection to reassess his actions, he gained a clear understanding of his own ethics and will potentially act differently in a similar encounter. In the interview with Oscar, he highlighted leadership development after I asked him what types of challenges he faced during the Step Out trip. Oscar mentioned that on the first day he ate two portions of food during dinner because he was extremely hungry after all the hiking. Once he realized that some of his peers only ate one serving, for the next few days he made it a THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 50 goal to make sure that the portions of food were distributed equally. By being conscious about the people around him, Oscar developed a sense of ethics that helped him build stronger relationships with his peers. After asking Oscar what other skills developed for him throughout the trip, he mentioned, “I learned to be patient and to be able to work with others. It was important for me to be able to see other people [from different backgrounds] and be able to talk to them.” This exemplified a development in leadership for Oscar that he said did not exist before. As he reflected more on the Step Out trip, he came to a conclusion that the outdoor challenges he faced helped him become a better leader. This assertion connects with Dolsak and Prakash (2016) who explain that people of color can become better leaders in nature by challenging their preconceptions about issues and people. Oscar challenged himself to step out of his comfort zone, develop patience and openness as a leader, and talk with people who he traditionally would not converse with. This experience created an opportunity where Oscar could have chosen to do many different things; instead, Oscar developed his leadership by deciding to challenge his preconceptions. In another leadership example, Devang’s interview highlighted leadership when he talked about being experienced and knowledgeable about hiking prior to going on the Step Out trip. He mentioned that he has gone hiking with his family since they sought refuge in the U.S., ten years ago. It is something that his dad and uncles did in Nepal and continued to do in Utah. By experiencing hikes throughout the Utah trails, Devang saw himself as a leader for his peers because most of them had never been hiking before. Devang mentioned that being experienced empowered him to teach others techniques, advise when to hydrate, and even help some of his friends pack. He stated, “I helped my friends pack by making sure that they brought more pairs THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 51 of socks and a second pair of shoes.” Being knowledgeable showcased Devang’s leadership and helped others in the process of participating in the outdoors. In this last example of leadership development, Saabiq talked about his experience with Step Out as a non-English speaking participant. Although he had only been in the U.S. for two years, he decided to go on the Step Out trip to “make friends, develop friendships, understand the culture, and become a better leader.” As he embarked on the Step Out trip, Saabiq talked about the trouble he had socializing in the outdoors with his peers and the trip leaders to accomplish a task. Saabiq said, “I remember that the trip leaders tried to tell me how to carry my backpack because it was so heavy. I didn’t understand them at the time, so some of the other kids helped me.” This display of teamwork to help Saabiq proved to be a model of leadership. Saabiq reinforced this idea by explaining that if the people around him would have not been so helpful, he may have had a bad experience. He also mentioned that he “learned a lot about the culture that day and how helpful Americans are.” By having a team of leaders help Saabiq in this learning experience, he gained a stronger sense of his own leadership based off of the model that his peers displayed—to help others in need. In general, the great outdoors proved to be a place where ethnically diverse youth felt empowered and motivated to make a difference as leaders. As Gentin (2011) discovered, ethnic minorities can connect with influential leadership models in outdoor recreational and green spaces at a higher rate than in urban settings. By stepping out in a physical sense, the youth developed their leadership skills by stepping out of the typical cultural structures that make them feel less than others. Being outdoors to them is not only a place of leisure, but also a place of personal empowerment. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 52 Stewardship As the Step Out program focuses on developing a connection to the natural areas surrounding Salt Lake City, stewardship is a theme that surfaced from the findings. Stewardship was explained by the youth as the protection of natural settings and our world through actions such as caring for wilderness areas and its animals, not littering, recycling, and connecting to nature. The youth all learned many of these stewardship practices from the Step Out program, their parents, and friends. It is important that connections with nature are made so that stewardship continues to be embodied throughout diverse communities and cultures. Oscar talked the most about stewardship by relating it to living in a city “where you can see the actual pollution in the air that we breathe.” He mentioned, “… Getting out of this pollution is important, but it is more important to protect this earth—our only home.” Oscar acknowledged that he has not always thought this way, but through the Step Out trip, he realized the importance of being an environmental steward. He talked about all the scenic things he saw, how during his trip they encountered a bear and its cub on the side of a mellow river, and how seeing the valley from up above inspired him to protect such a beautiful world. When I asked him about what comes to mind when he hears the words ‘nature’ and ‘wilderness,’ he stated, Protecting it mostly. Because in a few years, what if we don’t have those words anymore? Like, what if we can’t use them in a daily sentence? I love how today, it’s so beautiful to use these words and nature is part of us. If we don’t protect these places, in a hundred years, they’ll be like, “I remember when there used to be trees, now we only have plastic grass.” So I think those words mean many things to different people, and to me they mean life. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 53 Oscar’s quote not only serves as an example of how the great outdoors and experience with Step Out shaped his perspective about nature and wilderness, but also brings to surface the idea that he has constructed a sense of protection, preservation, and stewardship for these places. In another interview, Juan conceptualized the idea of stewardship through the many uses that we as people have for nature. He stated, “Nature, it’s so cool because we can do a lot of things with it. We can use the trees for shade, or build things, use the rocks for hammers, or use these places for food.” Juan’s idea of stewardship aligns itself with the act of conserving nature while using it as a resource. He explained that his life in Mexico helped him understand the importance of “taking care of the land so that it can take care of you.” Through his upbringing in a small ranch in Mexico, he mentioned that he gained a strong love for the land because it helped nurture his family and himself. By experiencing the Step Out trip, Juan reconnected to this idea and reinvigorated the importance of nature in his new home, in Utah. Gio’s comments throughout his interview touched on the importance of being a steward for the health of the earth and all the people. “We connected to nature on the trip when we began to see the beauty,” Gio answered after I asked him about his experience with Step Out. Gio was born and raised in Utah, but had never explored the mountains until the Step Out trip. Not only did he gain a perspective to protect such beautiful places, but he also related it to his own health. “I felt stronger and able to breathe better when we were out in the mountains,” he stated. As the fresh air and forest trees inspired Gio to do more, he explained that he began recycling and not littering at home. By seeing such beautiful places, Gio wanted to continue to see and feel that beauty by making his home and school look and feel more like nature. Stewardship is an important theme that surfaced throughout the interviews. The reasons why these places should be protected were explained by the youth and projected an THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 54 understanding and development of stewardship. From these perspectives, participating in the great outdoors empowers youth of color to become active stewards by reconnecting the great outdoors to their own lives and wellbeing. Constraints Although positive impacts of the trip exist for youth of color, the constraints that surfaced from the interviews include, time, economics, access, and cultural barriers. Constraints are explained as “factors that limit people’s participation in leisure activities, people’s use of leisure services, or people’s enjoyment of current activities” (Shores et al., 2007, p. 228). As the youth answered questions that provided positive conceptualizations of the outdoors from the Step Out trip, the constraints that exist were revealed. In this section, I will introduce each constraint, provide comments from the youth that link to each constraint, and make assertions based on these findings. In general, this section will provide a deeper evaluation of the Step Out program and hit at the core of why the adventure gap continues to exist. Time The idea of time being a constraint surfaced after a number of youth mentioned that they would participate in the outdoors more, aside from Step Out, if they and their family had more time. Many of the youth mentioned that their parents work multiple jobs, have other responsibilities, and that the leisure of exploring the outdoors is not a priority. As many of the youth agreed that time is one of the main reasons why they don’t engage in the great outdoors more, the deeper understanding is that that lack of time encompasses economics, access, and culture. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 55 Gio spoke about the lack of time he has to engage in the outdoors “because everyone [family] around him is always busy either working or busy with other things.” As much as Gio wants to step outside and explore on his own, the fact that he has never had the time to do so, creates a barrier for him to engage in these leisure activities. Gio explained that even when his family does have time, they usually would rather go out to eat or visit family. “I am always asking for them to go hiking, it’s hard because my mom doesn’t understand what’s so fun about walking up a hill.” As the idea of time can be decided by an individual or family, in this case, time spent is usually done doing traditional activities, such as visiting family. Devang, Saabiq, Juan, and Christian all had similar comments about their parents not having enough time after I asked why they don’t participate in the great outdoors. While other limitations can be linked to the multiple reasons why time constraints exist, the findings revealed that economic factors are at the top of the list. All four of these youth mentioned that their parents are extremely busy working and they don’t have the expertise or resources to go explore on their own. This means that the time constraints that these youth face are because of economic disparities. As Juan put it, “We just don’t have time, I am always working to help my parents and my parents are working too.” These types of barriers are what limit programs, like Step Out, in their outdoor outreach efforts. Although youth get to experience the great outdoors for a few days, the biggest challenge to bridging the adventure gap usually takes place when the youth return home. Time becomes a factor again and the idea of exploration is limited by basic needs such as food, water, and shelter. Economic As the youth talked about time constraints, economic constraints became apparent. From the interviews, economic barriers were mentioned as parents not having enough money for gear, THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 56 transportation, and/or activities. As Nyaupane et al. (2007) researched disadvantaged groups based on socioeconomic status, they found that recreational fees and costs were a detriment for minority participation. In this same context, the youth identified why economics have restricted them from engaging in the great outdoors. Both Damon and Oscar brought forth economic barriers when I asked why they don’t participate in the outdoors, aside from Step Out. Damon mentioned that he absolutely loved his time with Step Out and would like to explore more on his own, but acknowledged that his parents don’t have the money for hiking shoes, backpacks, or transportation. Damon mentioned, “… It’s just that my parents don’t have a lot of money. Shits expensive. Like I remember asking one of the trip leaders how much a backpack cost and he said $200 to $500 bucks. That’s way too much for my parents to afford, and way too expensive for me.” Since the cost of gear for Damon is too expensive, he is less likely to participate in the great outdoors. Similarly, Oscar told a story about how he and his brother tried to go hiking on their own, but realized that they needed money to enter the canyon. Oscar talked about his experience, “We were going to… I think it was called Millcreek Mountain [Millcreek Canyon] and I was so excited to go because I wanted to take more pictures this time, but we saw a booth thing and the lady said that we would have to pay to go into the place.” Once they realized that there was a cost attached to the canyon entrance, they turned back home. The economic attachment to the great outdoors was too much and proved to be, as Oscar stated, “Not worth the money.” The fact that outdoor leisure experiences in the U.S. have a price tag attached to them has resulted in many experiences similar to Damon’s and Oscar’s. The youth that I interviewed are from middle to lower economic class families and talked about how economics is one of the biggest reasons why they don’t participate in the great outdoors. Mills (2014) mentions this THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 57 constraint by explaining that families in lower economic classes can’t justify the cost of transportation, entrance fees, equipment, and food for the great outdoors based on their income. The cost to enter a canyon is only one economic barrier of many. Shores et al., (2007) explain that economic considerations for people with a high economic status typically include costs like, camping fees, transportation, equipment, and food. However, for lower to middle class economic families, these economic considerations include things like having enough money after the trip to pay the rent, buy groceries, and gas for the rest of the month, on top of the trip’s costs. The youth acknowledged this by explaining that they would not only need hiking shoes, backpacks, and transportation, but would be taking money from their families’ monthly need. Access For many of the youth that were interviewed, another barrier that came to surface was access to outdoor recreation. This barrier is best explained by Roman et al., (2013) as barriers such as transportation, distance between community and recreational places, and lack of knowledge and understanding of how to access outdoor resources and settings that limit a person’s desire to participate in the outdoors. While the City of South Salt Lake appears to be close to the mountains, transportation, distance to the great outdoors, and outdoor recreational familiarity for the youth proved to be far-reaching. In one interview, Sadar pointed out that parks and school playgrounds are the closest he gets to “adventuring.” While these activities can foster many positive outcomes, Sadar said that by being so far from the mountains, he never got to experience them until the Step Out trip. After the trip, his life went back to normal in terms of access. He mentioned, “I remember the day after the Step Out trip, I really wanted to go hiking with some friends to show them all the cool things I learned. Yeah, that didn’t happen because we all live way too far from the mountains.” By Step THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 58 Out providing Sadar one time access to the great outdoors, Sadar felt displaced and limited in his desire to continue his participation activities such as hiking. This relates back to Roberts and Suren (2010) who found that a long-term program and environmental curriculum served the youth better than a one-time trip. If Step Out provided a long-term development of leadership, a stronger curriculum, and culturally significant activities, Sadar may have been able to navigate a way to continually enjoy the great outdoors with his friends. The fact that his only exposure to the great outdoors was minimal, lasting one week, created a sense of disenfranchisement. In a similar reflection, Palash, Sadar’s close friend, talked about how the only time he gets to participate in the great outdoors is when his brother visits. Palash said, “My brother has a car, and he takes me to so many cool places… He also knows where to go because he always goes hiking with his military friends.” This connects to the limitations that Palash only participates in the outdoors because of his brother’s transportation resource and his knowledge of where to go. The slight knowledge that Palash gained from his brother about the great outdoors is minimal and has limited his willingness to go on hikes with Sadar. This is due to the assertion that although the Step Out trip did provide Palash and Sadar with a great and empowering experience, the two continue to lack the knowledge and resources to go about hiking on their own. The displacement that was felt by the youth connected with Roberts and Suren (2010), where they explained that outdoor outreach programs learning goals are short-lived if the experience itself is short and does not take into account the youths’ daily lives at home. The comments from the youth reinforce the idea that access is a barrier to participate in the great outdoors. If their homes or community is not close to a recreational area or the youth don’t have the knowledge or resources of how to explore these places, then they are less likely to participate THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 59 in the great outdoors. It is important to understand that although the Step Out trip provides youth with an outing, the act of living an ‘outdoorsy’ lifestyle is typically short lived for the youth. Cultural The notion of cultural constraints was mentioned by all the youth in a manner that relates closely to their ethnic or racial backgrounds. Whether the youth identified as a Latino, a refugee from Nepal, or African American, they each brought to surface nuanced barriers about participating in the great outdoors. Oscar, who identified himself as Chicano, talked about how his family influenced his perception of the outdoors. This perception included things like fear of animals and fear of someone getting hurt. After asking him what his family thought about him going on the Step Out trip, he mentioned, “First they were hesitant because it was scary to them, they didn’t know what to expect. They actually have never heard of camping.” As Mills (2014) describes, the fear of the outdoors is linked to the culture of families. If a family has never participated in outdoor activities, as you can imagine, they most likely have a lot of questions. These questions typically are aligned with fear since the outdoors is an unknown place to many people of color (Mills, 2014). Even though this was his parent’s reaction before his first Step Out experience, they then became supportive after they realized how much fun Oscar had when he came back home and showed his family all the pictures he took. By understanding what the great outdoors truly entailed, Oscar believed that his parents became more supportive and were less hesitant to let him go the second time. Oscar also talked about how he had to relate his experience with Step Out to his dad’s experiences, growing up in Mexico, to help him understand. “Once I explained to him that we were out there fishing, he finally understood that we were just having fun.” This similar articulation was consistent with all of the other Latino participants. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 60 Juan, Gio, and Cesar all mentioned a similar perception of the outdoors that aligns with their culture. As Latinos, the three boys explained that at first, they had major fear of participating in Step Out. Cesar stated, “…I don’t know why, but camping and being out in the dark scared me.” After asking Cesar why, he explained, “My grandma used to tell us stories about witches in the forest. I don’t really remember, but I just know it scared me.” Juan also mentioned, “…Being out there really scared me, at first. I didn’t want to get kidnapped or robbed.” To add to this, Juan said, “…I was seriously scared that we would be attacked by a bear.” Roman et al., (2013) explain throughout their findings that Latino participants had general fear of the outdoors because of family superstitions, myths and legends, and the fear of crime that is embodied in their culture. In general, they each mentioned that it was tough to explain to their parents about the trip, so they had to relate and connect it to their parents’ upbringing and customs. This relatable approach is important and was consistent throughout many of the positive engagements linked to participating in the outdoors and will be highlighted as a recommendation. If programs, like Step Out, are truly invested in bridging the adventure gap, then they must understand how well they are connecting with the youths’ life at home. In Sadar’s introduction, he mentioned that his parents came to the United States from Nepal for refuge eight years ago. The reason why this is important when discussing culture is because in his interview he pointed out that although he gained so much from the Step Out trip, he felt that the “white youth on the trip” were given more responsibilities, connected better with the activities, and knew how to accomplish the outdoor tasks. As the adventure gap continues to be perpetuated by a white supremacy framework, ethnically diverse youth, like Sadar, continue to feel constrained. He mentioned, “Even though I really wanted to lead a lot of the activities, the trip leaders talked to the other kids more. My friend [Palash] and I felt like we were being THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 61 attacked because of our language.” In addition to this, Sadar’s parents were hesitant for him to go because, as he stated, “… They’re from Nepal, and don’t trust Americans much.” By not fully feeling comfortable with Sadar to go on the Step Out trip alone, Sadar’s parents asked Palash’s parents if they would let him go too. Once both parents agreed and felt comfortable, the two boys finally got the opportunity to attend. This is important because it indicates that a strong cultural constraint exists, where the only trustworthy option is to have someone attend who looks like you. As Shores et al., explain the multiple hierarchy stratification constraints of participating in the outdoors, they connect to the idea that people of color are more likely to enjoy activities with people who relate to them, whether it be the same socioeconomic status, gender, race/ethnicity, and/or age. In this last example, Damon, who introduced himself as Black, spoke heavily about his fear of sleeping and being in the wild. When I asked why he was so scared in the first place, Damon mentioned, “Black people don’t play in the mountains. It’s scary. There’s animals— bears, lions, and maybe crazy people.” This answer revealed a strong indication that Damon’s perception of the outdoors was strongly influenced by the ancestral fear of the outdoors for Blacks. This ancestral fear can be linked back to Jim Crow laws, where places, like the outdoors, were places that displayed ‘whites only’ signs and the act of participating in these places was grave (Mills, 2014). Although Damon’s preconceptions of the outdoors were negative, he decided to attend the trip and had a very positive time. Through this experience, he wishes to show others how “amazing the outdoors, truly is.” The fact that Damon overcame his fear was due to the act of the trip leader who took to the time to get to know Damon. This allowed for Damon to become more comfortable and enjoy the Step Out trip. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 62 In general, the culture constraints that were found to exist for youth of color were all mediated by relating to the youth at a deeper level. By creating a comforting experiencing that can relate to the youths’ life at home, the youth and their families were less reluctant in terms of engagement. The cultural constraint can be difficult to approach when dealing with various and diverse cultures. The important takeaway is to discover the fear and hesitation that is holding people back from participating in the great outdoors. Once that is discovered, the misconceptions, questions, and perceptions can be addressed. Conclusion After interviewing nine ethnically diverse youth that attended the Step Out trip, the findings of this research indicate that many nuances exist in terms of engagement and constraints. While all of the participants highlighted very positive outcomes of the trips, the deeper and more systemic reasons why these youth continue not to participate in the great outdoors can be linked to time, money, access, and cultural factors. If outdoor outreach programs are invested in bridging this gap and providing youth of color with long term outdoor experiences, then they must understand the positives and constraints that exist. By understanding these findings, the hope is that Step Out can invest time, money, and energy in providing their participants with a more impactful and long term outdoor experience. Further recommendations are provided in the following chapter. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 63 Chapter 5: Discussion The research is important because it provided a multitude of implications for the field of outdoor education and outdoor outreach programs, like the Step Out program, and me. In this chapter, I will discuss what this project means for the Step Out program and other programs like it, provide recommendations, explain the limitations of this qualitative study, expand on potential future research, and expound on what this research has provided me through the Community Leadership’s learning goals and my personal impact. Implications & Recommendations This project is significant for the Step Out program and the phenomenon known as the adventure gap. To start off, the research provides the Step Out program with a deeper analysis of how the program’s learning goals, facilitations, and outdoor programming is being implemented. Step Out’s learning goals proved to be successful in the ways that they provided positive engagements for their participants of color. Though the Step Out program was successful in providing ethnically diverse youth with positive engagements, this evaluation also brought to surface the areas of improvement. In addition, by focusing on youth of color, this evaluation also investigated the adventure gap. For the Step Out program, this research evaluation can potentially help with future programming efforts to better the program’s overall success. If Step Out is also invested in helping to bridge the adventure gap, the best practices to do so were mentioned throughout this paper. This includes things like: providing more access and inclusivity for underprivileged youth through an increase in outdoor outreach funding for trips, hiring trip leaders that can connect with the youth at a cultural level that resonates with the youths’ backgrounds, implementing a long term curriculum that can help the youth engage in the great outdoors both at home and THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 64 within the Step Out experience, continually push forth the positive learning goals that have benefited the youth in numerous ways, and most importantly, understand the cultural perspectives that exist and how to best approach these perspectives in the most genuine way possible. The recommendation to provide more access to the youth will allow the youth to explore and learn more from the Step Out trips. It was found that the youth who went on the Step Out trip more than once reflected that they were more prepared, embodied the great outdoors in their daily lives, and had a stronger desire to go again. This is extremely important for the Step Out trip to acknowledge since all of their learning goals are meant to have long-lasting influence for their participants. If this is the case, the Step Out trip will need to extend their outdoor experience for the youth and provide an extensive curriculum that can resonate and connect with the youths’ daily lives. As for the recommendation to hire trip leaders that can connect with the youth at a deeper level, this could take multiple forms. The Step Out program could revamp its diversity training for the trips leaders, hire trip leaders from diverse backgrounds, train past participants to become future trip leaders, and create activities that resonate with the youth while they are camping and back at home. For the youth, this project was extremely significant because it valued the voice and input of ethnically diverse youth in the realm of outdoor education and outdoor outreach programs. The youth were all honored to participate in the interviews and even coined themselves as pioneers. In order for outdoor outreach programs to accomplish the goal of diversifying the outdoors, the input of diverse individuals is essential. This study took this into account and will possibly serve as a guide and resource for programs, companies, and people who are attempting to bridge the adventure gap and diversify the outdoors. Although these recommended initiatives THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 65 can be implemented, a white supremacist framework can easily make these efforts fail at the systemic level. While these implications can be implemented, the root cause that perpetuates the adventure gap is more complicated. In order for ethnically diverse youth to become active participants of the great outdoors, much more needs to change aside from implementing new outdoor outreach program initiatives. While white supremacy continues to lead the discourse within the great outdoors, the attempt to diversify the outdoors is a challenge that crosses into other issues. As the multiple hierarchy stratification model explains that a person’s identity and social capital is linked to their ability and motivation to participate in leisure activities, the initiatives that I recommended in this study are not enough to bridge the adventure gap (Shores et al., (2007). Not only are the majority of outdoor outreach programs made up of white trips leaders, by white organizations, and catered for white participants, but the adventure gap is bigger than diversifying the great outdoors. From this evaluation, the adventure gap symbolizes the multitude of constraints that exist for all people of color. Whether it is lack of access and sociocultural barriers from equitable education, healthcare, transportation, food, and other constraints, the root cause of the adventure gap stems from a white supremacist framework that must continually be challenged throughout all of these spectrums. By creating inclusive outdoor initiatives that challenge the white supremacist framework, ethnically diverse communities can gain leverage, opportunity, a voice, and be part of the dominant cultures’ discourse. However, the challenge of accomplishing this is systemically charged and continues to be a battle to overcome from many people of color. The freedom and opportunity to connect or reconnect to the great outdoors will continually be a constant struggle as long as white supremacist frameworks continue to perpetuate other issues that constrain the daily lives of people of color. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 66 Limitations & Future Research The opportunity to conduct further research exists. Since no girls agreed to be interviewed the findings of this research evaluation were limited. While I made a strong effort to recruit a wide range of participants, the girls that were still affiliated with their PSSL center declined my offer multiple times. Having additional data from the girls’ perspective would have been interesting to assess and address within the framework of this research. An additional limitation of the study was the time frame of conducting interviews with the youth. The interviews took place in January and February of the year 2017, and the Step Out trips took place in the summer of the years 2014, 2015, and 2016. This means that the youth that were interviewed had a huge gap between the time they actually attended the trip and the time that they were interviewed. By interviewing the youth five or more months after their Step Out participation, the findings had the potential for not being as reflective of the thoughts and feelings of the youth right after the trip. While there is still room for much research in terms of understanding the adventure gap and how programs, like Step Out, can help bridge this gap, the biggest recommendation for future research dives into understanding how trip leaders’ identities can help bridge the adventure gap. Many of the youth mentioned that they felt empowered when the trip leaders connected the outdoor experiences with their culture. On the contrary, some of the youth also mentioned that they felt that they could not connect with the trip leaders because they were all white. This brings forth an idea for potential future research questions, “How do the Step Out trip leaders influence their participants?” or “How do the Step Out trip leaders perceive themselves in the movement to diversify the outdoors?” In order to fully grasp the adventure gap, it would be interesting to hear and contextualize the voices of the trip leaders and connect it to this study. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 67 Learning Objectives Through this research study I have gained stronger insight to the issues facing the great outdoors. The evaluation of Step Out helped me grasp the dynamics of outdoor outreach programs to a greater extent. This was important for me to understand because I continually seek to pursue all my future careers within this field. I believe that this research study supported my learning objectives in a variety of ways. It was through this research that I gained a better understanding of community development and organizing and advocacy skills. This was done through the extensive research, interactions with the community, collaboration with diverse people and organizations, and attempts to effectively influence social change within the outdoor field. At a very high priority, continually challenging and improving my interviewing skills with diverse youth further developed my communication skills. This research also provided me stronger skills of articulating and writing an effective thesis, and using different forms of communication to advance and illustrate this issue. Lastly, critical, analytical and integrative thinking were all advanced and supported throughout the capstone by researching this issue, answering the research question, and discovering the findings in the most effective way possible. Overall, these developments progressed throughout the entirety of my capstone project. The learning goals of the MACL program also contributed to these developments through the required courses, projects, lectures, and presentations. Through these developmental experiences, I hope to continue my efforts to actively support a catalyst that helps people of color access and participate in the great outdoors in an equitable manner. Personal Impact This project has a very deep meaning to my upbringing and current role in the great outdoors. As a person of color, growing up, I always struggled to find my connection and THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 68 identity within the outdoor culture. It has been a constant battle of keeping up with the dominant culture, while losing a part of mine. By understanding the deeper reasons to why my struggles exist, I now take pride of my roots as a Mexican American, outdoor enthusiast. Through this research, this experience, I have reconnected to my roots and feel authentic in participation and involvement in the great outdoors, wilderness, and nature. By understanding this phenomenon through the ‘eyes’ and perspectives of youth of color, I have reconnected to an identity that I continually neglected and ignored for quite some time. This identity is connected to my Latinx culture, but even deeper, to my indigenous roots from a pre-colonial perspective. My parents always talked about how my ancestors (Aztecs) praised Mother Nature and really valued all things that she provided for the people on earth. Through a priority to assimilate to the American customs and other economic pressures, my family and I acknowledge that we have lost this value for leisure within the outdoors and nature. This project truly made me reconnect, but also empowered me to continue fighting for change. A change that I hope can not only diversify the outdoors, but also value the diverse perspectives in the discourse about the great outdoors. From understanding the constraints and positive engagements that exist for the youth that I interviewed, I reflected on my own childhood. This truly deepened my understanding of why I struggled so much to fully participate in the spectacle known as the great outdoors. My hope is that outdoor institutions and organizations can acknowledge these forgotten and neglected perspectives and truly include them in their ongoing initiatives. My personal goal is to keep learning, keep an open mind and heart, and keep sharing the activities that I love with all people. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 69 References Agyeman, J. (2003). "Under-participation" and ethnocentrism in environmental education research: Developing "culturally sensitive research approaches". Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 8, 80-94. Arnold, M. & Shinew, K. (1998). The role of gender, race, and income on park use constraints. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 16, 39-56. Beames, S., & Brown, M. (2016). Adventurous learning: A pedagogy for a changing world. New York: Routledge. Blahna, D.J., & Black, K.S. (1993). Racism: Is it a concern for recreation resource managers? Gobster, P. (Ed.), Managing Recreation In Urban And High Use Settings (pp. 111-118). USDA Forest Service North. Central Forest Experiment Station Gen. Tech. Rpt. NC-163. Byrne , J., & Wolch, J. (2009). Nature, race, and parks: Past research and future directions for geographic research. Progress in Human Geography, 33(6), 743-765. City of South Salt Lake. (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2016, from http://www.southsaltlakecity.com/department-listings/promise-ssl Crespo, C. (2000). Encouraging physical activities in minorities: Eliminating disparities by 2010. The Physician and Sports Medicine, 28, 1-12. Creswell, J.W., & Miller, D.L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 124-130. Dolsak, N., & Prakash, A. (2016, Feb. 26). Environmental inclusion: A moral imperative and political necessity. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 1-4. Ferreira, M. M., Grueber, D., & Yarema, S. (2012). A community partnership to facilitate urban elementary students' access to the outdoors. School Community Journal, 22(1). THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 70 Field, S. C., Lauzon, L. L., & Meldrum, J. T. (2016). A phenomenology of outdoor education leader experiences. Journal of Experiential Education, 39(1), 31-44. Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder. Gentin, S. (2011). Outdoor recreation and ethnicity in Europe--A review. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 10, 153-161. Johnson, C.Y., Bowker, J.M., & Cordell, H.K. (2001). Outdoor recreation constraints: An examination of race, gender, and rural dwelling. Southern Rural Sociology, 17, 111-133. Johnson, L.R. (2017). Community-Based Qualitative Research: Approaches for education and the social sciences. Los Angeles: Sage. Kindal A. Shores, D. S. (2007). Constraints to outdoor recreation: A multiple hierarchy stratification perspective. Leisure Sciences, 227-246. Krymkowski, D. H., Manning, R. E., & Valliere, W. A. (2014, December). Race, ethnicity, and visitation to national parks in the United States: Tests of the marginality, discrimination, and subculture hypotheses with national-level survey data. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 7, 35-43. Li, C.-L., Absher, J. D., Graefe, A. R., & Hsu, Y.-C. (2008 ). Services for culturally diverse customers in parks and recreation. Leisure Sciences, 30, 87-92. Makopondo, R. O. (2006). Creating racially/ethnically inclusive partnerships in natural resource management and outdoor recreation: The challenges, issues, and strategies. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 24(1), 7-31. Mills, J. E. (2014). The adventure gap: Changing the face of the outdoors. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 71 Mullins, P. M. (2014). Conceptualizing skill within a participatory ecological approach to outdoor adventure. Journal of Experiential Education, 37(4), 320-334. Nyaupane, G. P., Graefe, A. R., & Burns, R. C. (2007). Understanding equity in the recreation user fee context. Leisure Sciences, 29(3), 425-442. Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. Roberts, N. S. (2008). Use of public lands and open space for recreation: Connecting with diverse communities. Yale Conservation, 1-8. Roberts, N. S., & Chitewere, T. (2011). Speaking of justice: Exploring ethnic minority perspectives of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Environmental Practice, 13(4), 354-369. Roberts, N. S., & Suren , A. T. (2010). Through the eyes of youth: A qualitative evaluation of outdoor leadership programs. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 28(4), 5980. Roman, C. G., Stodolska, M., Yahner, J., & Shinew, K. (2013). Pathways to outdoor recreation, physical activity, and delinquency among urban Latino adolescents. Annals of Behavior Medicine, 45, S151-S161. Roman, C. G., Stodolska, M., Yahner, J., & Shinew, K. (2013). Pathways to outdoor recreation, physical activity, and delinquency among urban Latino adolescents. Annals of Behavior Medicine, 45, S151-S161. Scott, D. & Munson, W. (1994). Perceived constraints to park usage among individuals with low incomes. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 12 (4), 79-96. Searle, M.S. & Jackson, E.L. (1985). Socioeconomic variations in perceived barriers to recreation participation among would-be participants. Leisure Sciences, 7, 227-249. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS Shores, K. A., Scott, D., & Floyd, M. F. (2007). Constraints to outdoor recreation: A multiple hierarchy stratification perspective. Leisure Sciences, 29, 227-246. 72 THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 73 APPENDIX A: Westminster College Institutional Review Board (IRB) Parent/Guardian Permission Form Research Involving Minors (under age 18) Before agreeing to participate in this interview, it is important that the following explanation of the proposed procedures be read and understood. It describes the purpose, procedures, benefits and risks of the interview. It also describes alternative procedures available and the right to withdraw from this interview at any time. It is important to understand that no guarantee or assurance can be made as to the results. It is also understood that refusal to participate in this interview will not result in negative consequences for you or your child. Your child is being asked to participate in an interview, the purpose of which is to evaluate the ‘Step Out!’ program and understand your child’s experience from this program. The procedures have been identified as participating in a one-on-one interview where questions related to their experience in ‘Step Out!’ will be explored. The duration of this interview is expected to be 60 minutes or less. You will be notified of any significant variance from the stated duration of the interview. Possible benefits that your child might realize from participation in this study have been identified as… 1. A deeper understanding of their perception of the outdoors. 2. Reconnecting with their outdoor experience with ‘Step Out!’ 3. Seeing their experience with ‘Step Out!’ as a platform to help others. 4. Understanding that their experience in the outdoors is important. NOTE: There are no foreseeable risks associated with this interview. However, some side risks may be unforeseeable. If you child had a bad experience with the ‘Step Out!’ program, this is an opportunity to address the negative experience to help improve the performance of the ‘Step Out!’ program for future participants. However, if you or your child is not comfortable talking about their negative experience, they are more than welcome to opt out of this interview. THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 74 Your child's participation in this interview is entirely voluntary, and he/she may withdraw from the interview any time he/she wishes. This includes before, during, and/or after the interview has taken place. The contact person, should your child wish to withdraw from the interview or should you or your child have questions is: David Robles 801-750-2443 Principal Investigator’s name Phone: If you have any questions regarding your child’s rights as a research participant, please contact: Sheryl Steadman Chair of IRB 801.832.2164 Phone: All personally identifiable data will be kept confidential such as name and age. However, the results of this interview may be made available to you upon request or used in formal publications or presentations. If the risks and benefits associated with this interview have been explained to your satisfaction, as well as your child’s rights as a participant, and you wish to allow your child to participate, please sign and date this form where indicated. You will be provided a copy of this form for your records. Signature of Parent/Guardian Date Signature of Witness Date Signature of Primary Investigator Date THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 75 APPENDIX B: Westminster College Institutional Review Board (IRB) For the Protection of Participants You have been asked to participate in an interview for a research study called: Bridging the ‘Adventure Gap’ A Qualitative Evaluation Through the Eyes of ‘Step Out!’ Participants The study has been explained to you by: David Robles You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, and you can quit at any time. All of your information will be kept private. If you want to participate, please sign your name below and write the date next to your name. Signature of Participant Date Signature of Witness Date Signature of Investigator Date THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 76 APPENDIX C: Promise South Salt Lake Request Letter Greetings, My name is David Robles and I am a student in the Master of Arts in Community Leadership program at Westminster College. I am currently in the process of conducting an evaluation of the ‘Step Out!’ program that many of your center’s youth have participated in the past. My goal is to answer the following research question, “How do youth of color conceptualize the outdoors after participating in the ‘Step Out!’ program?” There is currently a large amount of research that shows the social, economic, and environmental constraints that ethnically diverse youth face in terms of accessing and connecting to the outdoors. While ‘Step Out!’ attempts to bridge these constraints on their summer outdoor trips, there is currently no evaluation of how effective this program is. That is why I am reaching out to you to help me connect with the ethnically diverse youth at your centers that have participated in the ‘Step Out!’ program in the past. I plan to conduct hour long, open-ended, qualitative interviews with ethnically diverse youth who meet the following criteria: 1. Have participated in the ‘Step Out!’ program in the years 2014, 2015, and/or 2016 2. Range from grades 7th-12th 3. Identify themselves as ethnically diverse youth. More specifically, youth who do not identify as being ethnically or racially white. If you have youth from your center that fit these criteria, lets set up a time to meet to discuss further steps. For questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email at [e-mail] or by phone at 801.750.2443. I appreciate all of your efforts in advance. -David Robles THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 77 APPENDIX D: Interview Questions Intro: Hello, my name is David Robles and I am a graduate student at Westminster College in the Master of Arts in Community Leadership program. I am here today to ask you a series of questions that will give me an understanding of your experience in the ‘Step Out!’ program. Throughout this interview, if you have any questions, need a question to be rephrased, would like to decline a question, or would like to end the interview, please let me know and I will accommodate your request. “Let’s start by having you tell me a little bit about yourself?” “What do you like to do for fun?” “Tell me about your experience with the ‘Step Out!’ program?” “Why did you first get involved in the ‘Step Out!’ program?” “Tell me about the kinds of experiences you had with the outdoors prior to the program. What did you think about the outdoors?” “What do you think of the outdoors now, after your experience with the ‘Step Out!’ program?” “What did you learn during your experience with Step Out? Tell me about the most memorable experience you have had while participating in this program.” “Have you had any experiences with the outdoors after the ‘Step Out!’ trip? If so, tell me about it?” “Do you feel like you gained any skills from your experience with the ‘Step Out!’ program? If yes, can you tell me more?” “Has the experience with ‘Step Out!’ changed your life at home? If so, how?” “What did your family and friends think about your trip with the ‘Step Out!’ program?” “How has your experience in ‘Step Out!’ shaped your view about the wilderness?” “Would you do the ‘Step Out!’ trip again? If yes, why? If no, why not?” “Do you have anything else you would like to share with me about your experience with the ‘Step Out!’ program?” Conclusion: Thank you for your time, answers, and willingness to share with me about your experience. Do you have any questions for me? THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 78 APPENDIX E: Welcome letter and instructions to youth/parents Hello, My name is David Robles and I am interested in learning about your past experience in the ‘Step Out!’ program. With your parents’ permission, if you would like to participate in this research study, please follow these instructions: 1. Have you and your parent or guardian read and sign the consent form that has been provided 2. Contact me at 801.750.2443 or [e-mail] OR have your advisor help you to set up an interview (date/time). Interviews will be 60 minutes or less and will be conducted by me. Interviews must take place between January 2017 and April 2017. Note: Interviews will be taking place at your affiliated Promise South Salt Lake Center. 3. Show up to your interview with your consent form(s) signed and dated from your parents or guardians. Thank you for your interest in this research study. Attached you will find a consent form that both you and your parent/legal guardian will need to fill out before our scheduled interview. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 801.750.2443 or [e-mail]. -David Robles THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS 79 APPENDIX G: ‘Step Out!’ Post-Trip Assessment Questions These questions should be asked of the SSL Step Out! Participants as soon as possible after they arrive back on campus. Try splitting the group into two smaller groups if there are more than 4 or 5 students total. Please record these responses on a voice-recorder, or jot down responses as best as possible. 1. What is the first story you will tell your friends or family about your trip? 2. Do you think you would like to take your family or friends camping outside with you? 3. What was something that you were nervous about before the trip, and how do you feel about it now? Other question ideas if the three above aren’t working: 1. What is something new that you learned on this trip? 2. If you could take a picture of your favorite place or scenery on the trip, what would it look like? 3. What was the most challenging part of the trip and how did you handle it? 4. If you could re-live a moment from your trip, what would it be? These next questions are for the Staff Debrief! These questions are targeted at the experience of the participants, based on staff observations! 1. What was the most challenging or scary thing for the participants? 2. Which activity did the participants enjoy the most? 3. What was the most positive moment of the trip? 4. Were there some especially meaningful or interesting comments during debrief? If so, what were they? 5. Did the participants bond or work well together? Did this change throughout the trip? 6. Did the participants successfully disconnect from technology? What was their response? 7. What were some skills that participants seemed to pick up over the course of the trip? APPROVAL of a thesis/project submitted by Author(s): David Robles School Department: MACL Title of Thesis: BRIDGING THE ADVENTURE GAP: A QUALITATIVE EVALUATION THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS The above named master's thesis/project has been read by each member of the supervisory committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citations, bibliographic style, and consistency, and is ready to be deposited and displayed in the Westminster College—Institutional Repository. Chairperson, Supervisory Committee: Jamie Joanou Approved On 5/9/2017 11:46:00 AM Dean, School: Dr. Melanie Agnew Approved On 5/21/2017 10:46:17 AM STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO DEPOSIT & DISPLAY THESIS IN THE INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY Name of Author(s): David Robles School Department: MACL Title of Thesis: BRIDGING THE ADVENTURE GAP: A QUALITATIVE EVALUATION THROUGH THE EYES OF STEP OUT PARTICIPANTS With permission from the author(s), the staff of the Giovale Library of Westminster College has the right to deposit and display an electronic copy of the above named thesis in its Institutional Repository for educational purposes only. I hereby give my permission to the staff of the Giovale Library of Westminster College to deposit and display as described the above named thesis. I retain ownership rights to my work, including the right to use it in future works such as articles or a book. Submitted by the Author(s) on 5/9/2017 10:28:39 AM The above duplication and deposit rights may be terminated by the author(s) at any time by notifying the Director of the Giovale Library in writing that permission is withdrawn.