Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) is kicking off Great Outdoors Month by joining the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Office of Outdoor Recreation at Tuckahoe State Park in hosting a full day of family-friendly programs.
Visitors will take part in activities such as guided walks, prize raffles, a fishing derby, informational displays, archery programs and more. The event includes a ribbon-cutting for Tuckahoe’s new Lore of the Land: Sensory Trail.
Jessica Wahl Turner, president of Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, said, “Every June, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable is proud to coordinate Great Outdoors Month. This is an opportunity to celebrate outdoor recreation and America’s incredible natural treasures. Outdoor recreation contributes an impressive $1.1 trillion to the economy, while also providing health and wellbeing benefits to communities across the country. Great Outdoors Month is also an opportunity to ensure the outdoors are welcoming and accessible to everyone. This month, let’s come together to celebrate the joys and benefits of outdoor recreation and renew our commitment to making the outdoors accessible for all.”
Together Outdoors, an ORR program aimed at making outdoor recreation more inclusive and representative of the diversity of the United States, will highlight its Share-the-Air initiative at Tuckahoe State Park today, June 6, in collaboration with the Maryland DNR’s Office of Outdoor Recreation.
“We are pleased to partner with Maryland’s Office of Outdoor Recreation and support their commitment to increasing access to the outdoors for everyone. Share-the-Air aims to encourage outdoor industry groups leaders to champion under recognized communities’ ability and desire to experience welcoming opportunities to recreate, explore new hobbies and feel a sense of belonging outdoors. Throughout Great Outdoors Month, Together Outdoors is providing outdoor industry groups with resources, tools and access to partnerships to host events, activities and learning labs for all intersections of diversity to experience the great outdoors,” said Ambreen Tariq, Together Outdoors Coalition lead and ORR senior program director.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to connect with nature, and this sensory trail is so exciting because it allows more people to do that!” said Sandi Olek, director of the Maryland Office of Outdoor Recreation. “The best part is that this trail will help visitors create core memories of being outside and help inspire future stewards of our land and waters.”
ORR said it is committed to helping states create Offices of Outdoor Recreation (ORECs) and ensuring existing ORECs succeed. Twenty-two states have created ORECs that coordinate efforts across agencies, identify new opportunities for economic growth, connect communities to the benefits of time outside and promote responsible recreation on public lands.
Every June, ORR coordinates Great Outdoors Month, a month-long celebration of outdoor recreation and America’s parks, wildlife refuges, forests, monuments, marine sanctuaries, waters, national conservation lands and other natural treasures. Great Outdoors Month first started as a Great Outdoors Week under President Bill Clinton in 1998. Since then, every president, Congress and states across the county have issued proclamations designating June as Great Outdoors Month.
Outdoor recreation is an economic engine that creates jobs and sustains state and local economies throughout the United States. In its most recent data, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that outdoor recreation makes up 2.2% of U.S. GDP, generating $1.1 trillion in gross output and supporting 5 million jobs.
For more events celebrating Great Outdoors Month, visit ORR’s website.
