Photo courtesy of Vedia Barnett
The soft launch of the Veterans Outdoor Recreation Listening Tour took place in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday, Dec. 2, hosted by Sierra Club Military Outdoors (SCMO) with the support of the Sierra Club Savannah River Group. With 15 participants ranging from their 30s to 81 years old, the event aimed to understand veterans' desires and needs regarding outdoor access, and to identify the barriers preventing them from engaging in outdoor activities.
During the Augusta event, veterans engaged in robust conversations and explored their relationship with the outdoors, with a specific focus on access to outdoor spaces, awareness of resources and programs that exist, and employment in the outdoors. Thought-provoking questions prompted participants to move around the room, open up with fellow veterans, and share their ideas and hopes for what the VA can achieve with the task force.
The event opened with lunch and brief introductions. Ana, a disabled Navy veteran, burst through the door, leading with, "I'm not nervous at all", which in turn created a space for laughter and put the rest of the group at ease.
Among the discussion topics, employment resonated strongly with the attending veterans. They discussed the difficulty or ease of the transition process they experienced when looking for employment as a newly discharged service member. They also discussed that there is no place to find employment specifically for veterans who have disabilities such as traumatic brain injuries.
Disability access also came up during discussions on awareness. Conisha, a newly discharged Army veteran, shared that green spaces should have more benches or places for breaks along trails and that information should be readily accessible as someone enters a park or before they visit it. The discussion around access also touched on the lack of public transportation that rural and urban veterans face. Another veteran suggested an app that shares transportation routes from VA centers and sites to green spaces. The attendees also discussed the difficulty in accessing VA clinics and hospitals when veterans do not have their own private vehicle.
It was a valuable listening session. The data and suggestions collected from the multiple-city tour, including this Augusta event, will be analyzed and compiled into a comprehensive report. This report will be delivered to the Task Force on Outdoor Recreation for Veterans, a Department of Veterans Affairs-led initiative, providing valuable insights and perspectives directly from the veteran community. Our next listening session is scheduled for February in Los Angeles, offering further opportunities for veterans to share their experiences. From there we will head to Jacksonville, Florida Detroit, Michigan; New York; Kentucky; and Minnesota.
For veterans unable to attend in person, there is an online survey available to ensure their voices are included in the feedback process. More information about the initiative and access to the survey can be found here. SCMO looks forward to continuing the conversation with veterans, building on the insights gained from these listening sessions to shape policies that genuinely reflect veterans' needs and aspirations in outdoor recreation.