Read the spring 2019 issue of Our Big Backyard

Camp ELSO participants visit Blue Lake Regional Park, where they receive fishing lessons from the founders of Get Hooked, Dishaun Berry and Philip Anderson. Camp ELSO (Experience Life Science Outdoors) provides Black and Brown children in greater Portland with opportunities to explore nature and environmental professions.

A boy plays on logs sunk in sand at the nature play area at Oxbow Regional Park

Two new nature play areas are scheduled to open at Oxbow Regional Park as early as mid-May.

Crews in February installing native plants at Metro’s Richardson Creek Natural Area in the Clackamas River Basin

Crews in February installed native plants at Metro’s Richardson Creek Natural Area in the Clackamas River Basin.

Philip Anderson (left) and Dishaun Berry (right), founders of the Get Hooked Foundation

Philip Anderson (left) and Dishaun Berry (right), founded Get Hooked to share their love of fishing and being outdoors with their community.

Meet Dishaun Berry and Philip Anderson, the founders of Get Hooked, which provides fishing lessons to children.

April 1, 2019 4:10 p.m.

They encountered bias and obstacles as they pursued science careers. Inspired by their experiences, Sprinavasa Brown and Dr. Kellianne Richardson – two women of color – founded Camp ELSO in 2015 to provide Black and Brown children in greater Portland with opportunities to explore nature and environmental professions. Brown shares her journey and offers advice to White environmentalists and nature educators.

Learn more about Camp ELSO, other parks and nature news, and find fun nature classes and events in the spring 2019 issue of Our Big Backyard, Metro's quarterly parks and nature magazine.

Our Big Backyard: Spring 201910.84 MB Adobe Acrobat PDF Published Apr 1, 2019

Find a copy of Our Big Backyard at a local public library branch, the Oregon Zoo, a Metro park, or at various community centers and senior centers. Or read individual stories online on Parks and Nature News or click the image on the right to read a PDF of the magazine.

Also in the spring 2019 magazine:

Learn more about a potential parks and nature bond measure in November.
Find out about a new initiative tackling invasive weeds along the Clackamas River.
Meet Dishaun Berry and Philip Anderson, founders of Get Hooked, which provides free fishing lessons to children.
Find fun nature classes and events.
Get out and explore nature with free parking at all Metro parks and boat ramps during 17 days in 2019.
And more!

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Read individual stories or view a PDF of the magazine on Parks and Nature News

Next: Part 2

Reclaiming spaces