The Centennial celebration of 2024 was a tough act to follow! We launched the second century of Parks and Historic Sites by meeting the moment and building towards the future, and even welcoming the entire golfing world to Bethpage State Park for the Ryder Cup. Let’s take a look back at the year that was!
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.
All are welcome at New York State Parks and Historic Sites, but getting to our facilities isn’t always easy. People who don’t have cars, for example, are often left to navigate transportation barriers that prevent them from accessing outdoor recreation opportunities.
KeJuan Harmon is actively working to bridge the access gap for kids to discover and experience the wonders of state parks firsthand. In his role as State Parks’ Statewide Ladders to the Outdoors Coordinator, Harmon is giving back to communities in Western and Central New York. As part of the Share Your Story project for our agency’s Centennial, he describes the magic that happens when kids experience the outdoors for the first time.
Continue reading Share Your Story: KeJuan Harmon Talks ‘Ladders to the Outdoors’ Program“One of the most surprising things since I started working with our State Parks is the invisible barrier of Niagara Falls, the amount of kids from within three or four miles of Niagara Falls that have never been.”
– KeJuan Harmon
A ladder is used to get to a place otherwise beyond reach. That kind of help is the idea behind the State Parks’ Ladders to the Outdoors program, which provides free recreational programs for youth in underserved communities in Niagara and Erie counties.
The goal of State Parks’ Ladders to the Outdoors program is to remove financial barriers to getting children to play outdoors, try new sports, take a hike or camp in State Parks that they might not have a chance to visit. Since this program started in the summer of 2021, more than 2,000 kids from a variety of school districts, community, church, and youth groups have attended more than 50 different sporting and recreational events, completely free of charge.
Examples of programs that have been provided include guided hikes in the Niagara Gorge, sledding at Buffalo Harbor State Park, snowshoeing at Knox Farm State Park and a hike at Niagara Falls State Park. The offerings are endless and be tailored to any group or season.
When a group attends a Ladders program, activities will be tailored to the park they wish to go to and they will have access to a complete inventory of gear, from soccer balls, baseballs, bats and gloves, and footballs, to snowshoes and sleds. Want to learn disc golf? To bike? Fish? Swim? Kayak? Hike? We have all that equipment and people to help show the way, and it is always free!
It doesn’t stop at providing just the gear. To date, $300,000 has been invested to improve playgrounds and sporting fields, such as the baseball diamond and playground accessibility at DeVeaux Woods State Park in Niagara Falls, and Beaver Island State Park in Grand Island.
A safe and sturdy ladder costs money and Parks is making this program work with the support of a $860,000 grant made to the Natural Heritage Trust by the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. Wilson was the former owner of the Buffalo Bills football team and a founding owner of the American Football League, who prior to his death in 2014, created one of the nation’s largest charitable foundations to benefit the people of the Western New York, Buffalo and Detroit areas.
Ladders to the Outdoors is looking to grow this summer, with programs available at the following State Parks: Buffalo Harbor, Beaver Island, DeVeaux Woods, Reservoir, Whirlpool, Fort Niagara, and Wilson-Tuscarora.
If your youth group would like to join in or has an idea for a program, please apply or contact us. An online form can be found here. More information is available through KeJuan.Harmon@parks.ny.gov
Start climbing your ladder and see what’s happening at State Parks in western New York!
Post by KeJuan Harmon, Coordinator, Ladders to the Outdoors Program
Did you know that New York State’s public lands and waters have had a charitable partner for more than 50 years? The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) was established in 1968 as a non-profit, public benefit corporation with the mission to support parks, outdoor recreation, historic preservation and land and water conservation throughout state lands. During…
New York State Parks and Historic Sites Blog 