By Hugo Martin / Athletic Business
Nadine Jackson enjoys a hiking trail in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., with her grandchildren. Jackson, a cafeteria manager from Compton, said she was prompted a few years ago to spend more time outdoors when she saw the Facebook posts of a friend who enjoyed hiking.
Nadine Jackson said social media posts helped pique her interests in the outdoors. Last year she decided to take 17 family members to Sequoia National Park. Outdoor industry groups have launched several outreach programs targeting minorities in the past few years.
“I’m on a mission to see as many national parks as I can before I leave this world,” she said.
LOS ANGELES – Recalling the childhood fun she had at summer camp, CiJi McBride has decided to go back to the outdoors.
The 41-year-old African-American beauty consultant from Los Angeles’ Baldwin Hills section recently joined the Sierra Club, began taking day hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains and is planning a camping trip to Yosemite National Park next summer.
“As a kid, I always liked being in the outdoors, and as I approached my mid-30s and 40s, I said, ‘What are some of the things I like to do,'” she said. “You can go to bars and movies, and that’s all great, but we live in a state with great weather.”
McBride’s renewed interest in hiking and camping reflects the growing percentage of minorities spending time in the great outdoors, a significant shift for a demographic long underrepresented among campers and hikers in the U.S. even as the nation’s population becomes more diverse. The development holds the promise of a potentially lucrative new market for state and national parks as well as makers of outdoorsy equipment and clothing.
A recent survey of nearly 3,000 Americans and Canadians found that among the 1 million people who began camping for the first time last year, nearly 1 in 5 was black and 11 percent were Latino, nearly twice the rate for those groups in 2014.
The survey, commissioned by Kampgrounds of America, showed that the latest generation of campers more closely represents the nations’ overall ethnic breakdown.
“The changing demographics of the U.S. is the demographics of consumers,” said Ivan Levin, deputy director for the Outdoor Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the trade group that represents the outdoor recreation industry. “It’s important to get these people interested in the outdoors now.” Read more