Outdoor equity framework: gear, trauma-informed safety and cultural practices to improve coastal access, speaker says

In an online City of Sunnyvale Sustainability Speaker Series event, Sarah White, executive director of Outdoors Empowered Network (OEN), outlined a framework to increase equitable access to the California coast that emphasizes gear libraries, leadership training, trauma-aware safety practices and culturally grounded programming.

The webinar — presented as part of Sunnyvale’s sustainability speaker series and moderated by Ria Grover, an environmental program specialist for the City of Sunnyvale, with opening remarks from Sustainability Commissioner Christina Pistone — framed coastal access as both a climate and equity issue. "The city of Sunnyvale's climate action playbook is our plan to reduce our carbon emissions," Grover said while introducing the city’s climate resources. Pistone said the series theme for 2024–25 is "Beyond the Shoreline."

White described OEN as "a national network of community led, youth centered outdoor education groups dedicated to increasing access and diversity in the outdoors through gear libraries and outdoor leadership training." She said OEN has grown from seven gear libraries to nearly 40 nationwide and that members…