Q&A with ELK’s New Executive Director: Meet Jedidah Frederick
Q: What inspired you to join the ELK Team?
A: I wanted to be part of bringing wonder back to childhood experiences especially for youth who, because they are under-resourced and often overlooked, are not able to engage with the positive aspects of nature. Many children living in crisis or in challenging situations might not consider time in the outdoors as a way to find refuge and even healing. I believe in the power of wonder to instill hope and if there is one thing that everyone needs it’s that. So, I wanted to be part of bringing more wonder, hope and healing to kids through environmental learning and outdoor experiences.
Q: What’s your favorite outdoor activity, and why?
A: My favorite outdoor activity is hiking because I am surrounded by beauty that I can experience with all my senses — hearing birds or the way leaves sound when the wind blows through them, the feel of cold water on tired feet, the smell of butterscotch on certain tree bark, the way that all creation works together in a beautiful visual landscape. Hiking engages your entire being, body and soul, and I love that.
Q: How do you define “outdoor equity,” and why is it important?
A: To me, equity in the outdoors means that everyone who wants to, is able to connect with nature in ways that feel right to them; and that all are able to benefit from the physical, spiritual and mental health benefits that nature provides. Also important is understanding and honoring the unique ways people engage with nature. For example, I never thought my family was “outdoorsy” because we didn’t camp or even have picnics. But my family home has an amazing garden that we have cultivated over many years. We all enjoy it, and have spent many hours within it, bird watching, eating (on tables not on the ground like a picnic!), and spending time with friends and family. I have had a misconception that outdoor “adventure” was the way to love nature. It’s not! And I’m grateful that ELK is part of increasing awareness of the many ways kids and families can enjoy the wonders of the natural world.
Q: What’s your vision for our organization over the next few years? Where do you see us heading?
A: I want ELK to be a known leader in upstream, positive youth-development that is nature-based. This means moving toward a greater number of relationships with deeper impact and engagement with youth and families. I want to see our ELK Education Center used to create impactful congregating. I envision, for example, single moms with young kids regularly coming together to walk the Open Space. While they are connecting with one another and creating community, their kids are engaged in interactive environmental learning and play. Or I see a group of community elders sitting in a circle under the constellation piece (if we could ever get that thing fixed!!), smoking cigars and telling stories and laughing together.
I also want us to create a social venture enterprise so that young people can learn leadership and entrepreneurial skills by running a small business from the ground up. I’m imagining beekeeping and a flower garden. We would learn to cultivate honey, package, and then learn to market and then sell and manage a ‘store’ as well as all the financial ins and outs of small business venture. Their profits could go towards scholarships, or expeditions, or back into the business. I also envision more volunteers providing educational activities so that we can be busy in the E.C. during the day. I want us to have to find separate office space because there is too much going on at the center!
Q: How can we celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in our outdoor programs?
A: There is a saying that speaks to the indiscriminate ways of nature which is that “The rain falls on the righteous and the wicked”. If there was a group of desert peoples (from whom that proverb comes, by the way,) and suddenly it started to rain, we couldn’t determine who among them was more deserving to receive the benefits of the rain. In spite of inequities we see in man-made systems, the natural world offers its goodness to all. I think we can continue to move toward a more just society as we continue to move toward inclusion, diversity, and equity in the outdoors. We do that by making it easy for those who are marginalized to enjoy outdoor experiences. ELK is doing just that, and I think we need to continue to show that we are like the rain — offering acceptance and inclusion of all.
About Environmental Learning for Kids: Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) is a local nonprofit that creates a sense of belonging, self-discovery, and adventure in the outdoors for underrepresented young people of color and their families, transforming youth into environmental stewards and trailblazers that promote equitable outdoor access, sustainable practices, and community uplift. Learn more at elkkkids.org.
About the Interviewee: Jedidah has a Natural Resource Management Master’s from University of Denver and spent two years with the Peace Corps in Ecuador working with a local NGO to increase environmental stewardship among coastal communities. She has committed more than two decades of her career working with youth development nonprofits in Denver and is passionate about helping all young people thrive. She believes that we have a responsibility to care for the natural world and one another and is excited to be able to advance the work of ELK. She and her family enjoy birding and hiking, music and the arts.
