An Introduction to Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (EDAI) for Outdoor School Partners

Make Outdoor School a Transformative Experience for Every Student

Are you ready to create more inclusive, meaningful, and impactful outdoor learning environments?

This free, self-paced course will equip you with the tools to ensure every student feels welcomed, valued, and supported during their outdoor school experience.

Whether you are a classroom teacher, outdoor school site staff, nonformal educator, or a community member involved in outdoor education, this course will help you build culturally responsive skills that make a difference.

Why Take This Course?

This course will help you create outdoor school experiences where every student feels seen, heard, and valued. You'll learn how to engage with students in ways that respect their diverse identities and backgrounds, while making equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion part of your everyday work.

By the end, you’ll know how to foster safer, more welcoming spaces using inclusive language and materials.

Best of all, the course is free and self-paced, so you can start whenever it fits your schedule and learn at your own pace.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Recognize and respect the diverse identities your students bring to outdoor school.
Apply cultural responsiveness in your interactions and program decisions.
Identify and address barriers to equity in outdoor education settings.
Foster a supportive and inclusive learning environment where all students can thrive.

Who Should Enroll?

You will benefit most if you are:

A provider, educator, or staff member involved in Oregon Outdoor School programs.
A school administrator or district partner supporting outdoor education.
A nonformal educator or outdoor/environmental education professional.

But if you’re simply passionate about outdoor learning and want to implement EDAI principles in your program or organization, this course is for you!

Meet Your Instructors

Charissa V. Jones:
Outreach and Inclusion Coordinator, OSU Extension Service Outdoor School Program
With over 20 years in outdoor and environmental education, Charissa brings deep expertise in integrating culture and inclusion into meaningful outdoor experiences.

Dr. Kristi Backe: Curriculum and Professional Development Coordinator, OSU Extension Service Outdoor School Program
Kristi has a passion for helping educators create engaging, student-centered outdoor learning environments that connect young people to nature.

Ready to Make a Difference?

Start today and take your first step toward building more inclusive, equitable, and transformative outdoor school programs.

👉 Enroll now – it’s free and available anytime!

This course is 100% online and on-demand.

2 hours

Online

Free

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Instructors

Dr. Kristi Backe

Dr. Kristi Backe is the Curriculum and Professional Development Coordinator for the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School program. After earning a B.A. in Elementary Education at Purdue University, Kristi spent six years teaching environmental education programs and coordinating curriculum development at the Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. While earning her Ph.D. in Entomology at North Carolina State University, Kristi organized outreach events in schools, camps, and community centers to support students in connecting to their local ecosystems. In her role as Curriculum and Professional Development Coordinator, Kristi works with the Outdoor School team, formal and nonformal educators, and many university and community partners to support meaningful outdoor learning experiences for students throughout Oregon.

Charissa V. Jones

Charissa V. Jones is the Outreach and Inclusion Coordinator for the Oregon State University Extension Service Outdoor School Program (OSU Ext. Outdoor School) and a first-year doctoral student at Oregon State University in the College of Education’s STEM Education program. She is a cultural and community connector with over 15 years of experience in outdoor and environmental education. Originally from Suriname, South America, she is interested in (re)connecting folks to their environments by exploring the intersections of culture, EDIJA (equity, diversity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility), and environmental and outdoor education with a particular interest in exploring how culture filters community sense-making around “environment/outdoor/nature-based” learning. Charissa understands the power and necessity of grounding her work in her own subjectivity to hold herself accountable to the communities she works with. This attention to her identities and how they intersect her work provides her with the ability to provide attention and care to implementation processes. She active in the outdoor and environmental education community at local, state ,and national levels and currently serves on the board for the Environmental Education of Association of Oregon (EEAO) and is a member of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Affiliate Networking Group. Charissa earned a M.Sc. in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England (AUNE) and a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a focus on Environmental Education from New College of Florida (NCF).

Past Students' Work

Take a look at some recent projects our students have created.