Created in partnership with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation in 2021, New York State Parks’ Ladders to the Outdoors program launched with a goal to have children from underserved communities experience the outdoors at state parks in Erie and Niagara counties. Building upon the success of the Connect Kids to Parks program, which reimburses transportation costs for field trips, Ladders to the Outdoors staff members work closely with teachers and community leaders to plan visits and provide the equipment needed to create successful experiences.

Since the program’s inception, organizers have taken kids out on trail walks, fishing trips, bike rides, and to visit the New York State Fair. The program’s core mission “to connect kids to their New York State parks and historical sites, outdoor recreation, nature, and foster a lifelong love of the outdoors” remains the same today as it did at the outset, but now also features some welcome and expanded ambitions.

The Ladder to the Outdoors program served 2000 children in its first summer in 2021. Since that first year, demand has continued to grow – and Ladders to the Outdoors has grown along with it, attracting talented, service-oriented staff who believe deeply in the program’s mission.

“Kids in [the city of] Niagara Falls, within three or four miles of the Falls, have never been,” statewide program coordinator KeJuan Harmon remarked. He and his team members wanted to shatter that “invisible barrier to Niagara Falls State Park,” a phenomenon that Harmon says was one of the most surprising things he encountered at the launch of the program.

Harmon, who holds a degree in sports management, has been with Ladders to the Outdoors since the beginning. He says he’s inspired by the program’s success and growth.

“[It’s] been a true blessing for me and the success has been amazing,” he said. “We have served over 40,000 kids in the Western New York area…the program has really made a true impact in the Niagara and [now also] Central regions of State Parks, and we look forward to continuing to connect many of our communities to parks like never before.”

In 2022, the program launched its expansion to the Central Region by hiring Staffon Donerlson as regional coordinator. Passionate about working with children from under-resourced communities, Donerlson had worked with kids at the Syracuse Boys & Girls Clubs and Syracuse Department of Parks, as well as Catholic Charities, and was a natural fit for the role.

“With this job, I am able to make connections with these group leaders who serve the same kids from the same community I grew up in myself and where these kids are living. Being able to create access for them is a blessing to me,” Donerlson said.

Donerlson has done extensive outreach to ensure the success of the program in the Central Region. He serves as point of contact to local governments, schools, and community and special interest groups who are likely candidates to plan programs. He also works with local corporations and foundations to secure local funding for the programs. In the summer of 2023, a Ladders to the Outdoors group camp opened at Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville as the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar upgrade to the park.

Meanwhile, the original program in the Niagara region continued its growth. Fasha Antonio came on board as Niagara region coordinator in 2023. Like Donerlson, Antonio had extensive experience in serving others: assisting homeless youth as the Director of Rapid Rehousing and Transitional Living at Compass House; and working with newly arrived refugees at the International Institute of Buffalo. She brought her organizational skills and unmatched energy to the burgeoning Ladders to the Outdoors program, improving the sign-up process, collaborating with nature-related educational institutions like the Buffalo Zoo and Penn-Dixie Fossil Park to create new programs, and supervising and training interns. Attendance has jumped from 12,000 kids a year to more than 25,000 during her tenure.

“This job aligns with my personal and professional goals of teaching the next generations how to respect, love, and enjoy the outdoors. We are all wild creatures from mother earth, so getting back out there is what is meant to be,” she said.

The program staff all find working with the children and offering them some of their first experiences with nature to be gratifying in a way that numbers don’t reveal.  

“One time on a hike through Knox Farm State Park, a kid in the group from the East Side of Buffalo [historically the most impoverished part of the city] grabbed my hand as we entered the forested hilltop and said ‘this is my first time in the woods,’ and then proceeded to ask me dozens of questions about animals and nature that I was MORE than happy to answer,” Antonio recalled.

“Some of my highlights are receiving great feedback, watching and hearing the kids enjoy being out in nature, the newfound peace they find walking on a trail or simply overlooking the lake…hearing kids say ‘this is mad peaceful’ (mad meaning “very”), watching kids not wanting to leave so they can stay and continue kayaking or archery because they are having fun,” said Donerlson.

“I can remember a story where a kid was swimming at Fort Niagara State Park and they looked across Lake Ontario and they thought that the Toronto skyline was New York City,” said Harmon. “That moment was just a really cool moment, to be there and to be a part of [explaining that it was actually Canada to the north]. We’ve seen smiles on kids’ faces and heard that this is their first time at the parks…we really just love that moment.”

The educational mission of Ladders to the Outdoors has reached inside the agency as well. Grace Kritz met Harmon and Donerlson during what would be the first of three internships with State Parks at Green Lakes State Park. After learning about the work of Ladders to the Outdoors, she applied for an internship with the program and recently transitioned to full-time employment within the agency.

“The Ladders program showed me how much of an impact we have on young minds when we bring them to places surrounded by nature,” she said. She spent her first summer with Ladders facilitating programs at Buffalo Harbor State Park, setting up outdoor field equipment and designing arts and crafts programs. When she returned, she took on an administrative role, handling pay requests and invoice reimbursements, confirming the details of the transportation and program with the groups served, and visiting multiple programs every week with equipment. It prepared her well for her new role as Capital Field Technician in the Engineering department.

“Ladders has taught me about many state parks in the Niagara region, which has made me comfortable and familiar with my working environment. Additionally, Ladders to the Outdoors has prepared me by improving my technological skills in office work and duties,” she said. “KeJuan and Fasha are amazing supervisors as well as mentors for discovering new career paths…Being part of a program that is solely made for introducing environmental education to youth has been one of the highlights of my professional and personal life and gives me hope for the next generations to care about our environment.”

The sense of hope and the sentiment of doing deeply rewarding work is strong among all Ladders to the Outdoors staff.

“I feel as though we have opened up the state parks and historic sites to underserved children who would normally not be able to visit such places because of financial/geographical/physical hardships they encounter,” Antonio said. “Modern life is constricting — you are put in a box, it is time to do this and do that, learn about this and learn about that. You do not have a choice as a child in what you want to learn or do. But, when you are outside as a child, you can learn whatever you want, you can be whoever you want to be, you can play however you want to play. Nature does not judge, nature does not put you in a box, nature un-latches the door and lets you be free.”

“Like I said, in my Parks Story, this job really gives me a sense of gratitude and it feels like I’m being a good servant in this world,” added Harmon. “I’ve always been somebody who’s been passionate about giving back to my community. I can’t stress enough how thankful I am to be in this position and to continue to grow as a professional and to do work that I care about and am passionate about.”

Ladders To The Outdoors By The Numbers

Niagara Region Ladders (2020-2023)

Number of field trips: 685
Students served: 37,656
School districts served: 49
Community based organizations served: 122

Central Region Ladders (2023, First Year of Programming)

Number of field trips: 23
Students served: 1,273
School Districts and Community Organizations served: 22

–Written by Kate Jenkins, Digital Content Specialist