Emily (age 12) from White Cloud Middle School took this interesting shot during our first Parks in Focus afterschool program with TrueNorth Community Services. To read more about the initiative, supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Minigrant Program administered by LowellArts!, click here.

Photographs taken by middle school youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County who participated in our fall 2012 and spring 2013 Parks in Focus pilot programs will be on display at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art from Thursday, May 16 through June 2, 2013.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Inasmuch Foundation, Parks in Focus ­conducted two pilot programs that put digital cameras in the hands of more than 40 Boys & Girls Club youth (ages 9 to 12) and guided them on a series of afterschool and weekend outings to local parks and natural areas including Martin Park, Myriad Gardens, Roman Nose State Park and Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The photographs on display portray the adventures they had and the people, places, plants and animals they met along the way.

“The Parks in Focus experiences for Boys & Girls Club members were amazing, and we look forward to providing similar opportunities for more of our members in the future,” said Jane Sutter, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County. “Allowing the youth to experience nature through the lens of a camera was truly a transformational experience, and the wonderful photographs they took are visual reminders of their unleashed creativity.”

The photographs will be on display in the Founders Hall from Thursday, May 16 through June 2, 2013. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Bret Muter at muter@udall.gov or 520.603.0739.

Clarissa (age 12) from White Cloud Middle School took this awesome photograph during our first Parks in Focus afterschool program with TrueNorth Community Services. To read more about the initiative, supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Minigrant Program administered by LowellArts!, click here.

This initiative is being supported by

Rosa (age 12) from the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County took this awesome shot from Myriad Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City. To read more about our second Oklahoma initiative, supported by the Inasmuch Foundation, click here.

Parks in Focus just wrapped up the second (and final) week of our spring 2013 initiative with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County [read more about it here] made possible by the Inasmuch Foundation.

Our second week kicked off with visits to Myriad Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City and photo critique sessions at the Boys & Girls Club, culminating with a weekend camping trip to one of the country’s most visited national wildlife refuges: Wichita Mountains. Our trip — which was the first time the majority of our participants had been camping — was chocked full of highlights, including:

• Volunteering with the Friends of the Wichitas to assist in the removal of invasive vegetation and repairing fences damaged by recent storms.
• Making s’mores and listening to coyotes yipping in the distance from our campsite. 
• Incredible wildlife sightings including deer, turkeys and lizards, as well as the refuge’s flagship megafauna: bison, longhorn and elk.
• Hiking to the top of Elk Mountain.
• Exploring the top of Mt. Scott, the second highest point in the Wichita Mountains.
• Light painting (taking pictures at night with cameras, tripods and glowsticks).

Check out the slideshow above to see some of our Week 2 adventures and stay tuned for more photos, stories and news about our Parks in Focus initiative in Oklahoma City!

Brandon (age 11) from the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County took this awesome macro photo at Myriad Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City last week. To read more about our second Oklahoma initiative, supported by the Inasmuch Foundation, click here.

Parks in Focus participants from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Newaygo County (a TrueNorth program) reunited in March for a winter ‘alumni’ outing.

Next week, the Udall Foundation and TrueNorth Community Services will team up to pilot a set of two, weeklong afterschool Parks in Focus initiatives to introduce approximately 40 White Cloud middle school students to digital nature photography.

Using the natural areas near schools grounds as an outdoor classroom and as a source of artistic inspiration, the youth – all participants in TrueNorth’s Project FOCUS program – will learn basic photography functions and concepts such as composition, perspective and lighting. Each of the afterschool initiatives (held April 22-25 and April 29 – May 2, respectively) will also provide the participants with an opportunity to meet with a professional photographer and to reflect upon their experiences through writing.

Since 2007, TrueNorth’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program has partnered with the Udall Foundation on small-scale Parks in Focus efforts that take approximately 10 to 12 Newaygo County youth to explore scenic places like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Seney National Wildlife Refuge each summer (see our 2012 report here). The success of these efforts has led the two organizations to explore opportunities to host additional programming throughout the year, team up with other TrueNorth youth programs and, ultimately, reach more Newaygo County youth.

“TrueNorth’s partnership with the Udall Foundation on Parks in Focus has provided incredible opportunities for Big Brothers Big Sisters youth to use photography to express themselves creatively, increase their self esteem and connect with the natural world,” said Lisa Schillaci, program director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Newaygo County. “We look forward to continuing and expanding this partnership to involve youth from Project FOCUS and our other TrueNorth programs.”

Photo highlights from the afterschool Parks in Focus initiatives will be selected, printed and displayed at the TrueNorth Community Services building in Fremont in September.

This initiative is being supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Minigrant Program administered by LowellArts!

Last week, thanks to a generous grant from the Inasmuch Foundation, Parks in Focus kicked off its second two-week initiative with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County [read more about it here].

Highlights from our first week included participating in a challenging photo scavenger hunt within Memorial Park, receiving instruction from guest photographer Carl Shortt, observing deer, ducks, geese and other wildlife at Martin Park, and exploring some of the hiking trails at Roman Nose State Park.

In our first week, Parks in Focus offered approximately 22 hours of program activities in temperatures ranging from the mid-30s to the mid-80s. Combined, the participants have already taken more than 2,500 photos of their adventures to date.

Check out the slideshow above to see some of our Week 1 adventures and stay tuned for more photos, stories and updates from Week 2!