In the fall 2025 semester, Sierra Club, a grassroots environmental organization, and HBCUs Outside launched a new partnership to advance the next generation of Black leaders in outdoor communities.
HBCUs Outside is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting HBCU communities with outdoor recreation, advocacy, and professional development opportunities. Through its new partnership with the Sierra Club, HBCUs Outside connected 19 students with training opportunities hosted by the Sierra Club. During these workshops, the participating students completed the Sierra Club Outings Leader Course, which covered ethical leadership, risk management, best practices in outings planning, and strategies for building community-led conservation and outdoor access movements.
“When we equip students with the skills to lead, they gain the confidence to step beyond their comfort zones and invite others along — reclaiming the outdoors as a space for belonging and healing,” said Ron Griswell, founding director of HBCUs Outside. “This partnership goes beyond program support — it’s an investment in a movement. Together, we’re building a sustainable system of care across HBCU campuses, one that we’re expanding to reach more institutions and inviting other organizations to join. We’re deeply grateful to the Sierra Club for believing in this vision and making it possible.”
The partnership’s inaugural cohort of students hailed from Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Howard University in Washington, D.C., and North Carolina A&T State University.
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