the Next 250

We appreciated the opportunity to bring together colleagues and community leaders to explore how we can expand equitable access to the outdoors and create lasting change through policy, investment, and community partnership. Thank you to everyone who joined us August 25th for our Community Knowledge Sharing Session.

A few key takeaways from the conversation:

Access is about more than creating spaces.
A park, program, or funding opportunity is only meaningful if people feel welcome, safe, and able to use it. True access requires us to consider the barriers that communities face and design solutions around their lived experiences.

We need to build with communities, not simply for them.
Sustainable change happens when communities have a meaningful voice in defining priorities, shaping solutions, and determining what success looks like. At the heart of every partnership is the question: Who decides?

Investment must build capacity, not just fund projects.
Funding is an important starting point, but lasting impact requires the people, partnerships, resources, and long-term support needed to sustain the work.

Youth should be leaders, not just participants.
Creating opportunities for young people to experience the outdoors is important—but so is creating pathways for them to become advocates, professionals, and decision-makers shaping the future of the movement.

A huge thank you to our partners at Justice Outside, Children & Nature Network, Next 100, America the Beautiful for All, and Nuestra Tierra, for sharing your knowledge and expectations for The Next 250.