Chapter Blog and News
What is Angeles ICO?
By Julie Garner
By Julie Garner
Angeles ICO Mission Statement: Inspiring Connections Outdoors (Angeles Chapter) serves as a bridge that enables underserved youth, disabled individuals, and others to visit and develop an appreciation for our natural environment. We work with schools, community groups, and other agencies to create safe and enjoyable outdoor experiences for persons who might not otherwise have them. ICO outings promote individual growth through group activities and environmental and outdoor skills education. https://angelesico.org/
And yes, Angeles ICO includes BOTH Los Angeles and Orange Counties. What do ICO leaders do? We have even more fun than other Sierra Club leaders!
As an ICO leader based in Orange County, within the past month:
- I’ve led a group of students from an Orange County high school on a 5+ mile hike in Caspers Wilderness Park (all of the students had little to no hiking experience), then to the Nature Center at the park and we even had enough energy left to swing from the monkey bars or on the swings at the playground within the park. By the time we boarded the bus, everyone seemed tired but happy (I know I was).
- I assisted visually-impaired adults on a drizzly but fun hike in Griffith Park. Luckily, there were four leaders plus quite a few sighted guides, because we had a total of 40 hikers that rainy day!
- I scouted a point-to-point ICO hike from Chino Hills to the Redwood Grove in Carbon Canyon. Because of rain, that outing was postponed for a couple weeks so the high school students will still be able to go on the hike.
- I was looking forward to assisting with a group of high school students from Orange County on an outing on a 110’ wooden Tall Ship. I’ve been on previous outings with other school groups and everyone has a great time helping raise the sails and climbing out on the bowsprit. That outing was also affected by the storm, but fortunately we were able to postpone it to a later date.
Do any of the above outings sound like fun to you? Volunteers (no experience necessary) and leaders from Orange County or Los Angeles are always needed!