Introducing a complete stranger — hiking — to urban families — that was the mission early last Monday evening , and if you ever were a kid or a Scout, this was a magically nostalgic outing.
By 6:30, the sun long since had sunk beyond the horizon, and if you ever have wandered into a forest at that hour, you have an idea of what the embryonic hikers were feeling.
Dozens of the curious, younger, older and middle-aged types from urban neighborhoods were standing among the tallest and bushiest trees in West L.A., not quite sure what to expect.
With the Sierra Club providing the impetus, with Tito’s Tacos providing a mountain of nutrition, with state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City) providing the star power, and with nature providing the terrific backdrop of woodsy, romantically adventurous Kenny Hahn State Park, a grand social experiment , a one-mile hike, was about to take flight.
The senator, who is running against L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors, did not just happen into the park.
For being a loyal friend of the environment, said Bill Vanderberg, of the Sierra Club, the best known environmemtal group in America has endorsed him in the Nov. 4 election.
Fittingly, Sen. Ridley-Thomas drove up the dark path to the Japanese Garden, cheerfully illuminated, aftermost of the 70 or so guest hikers were munching their casual pre-hike meals. He was fresh from spending two hours at his Inglewood campaign office, 235 E. Manchester Blvd., registering new voters whom he hopes will choose him and Sen. Barack Obama on Election Day.
Speaking with his trademark measured precision, the senator said that “hiking is a very effective way of building community. This can cause people to be introduced to an aspect of life in the urban context that is not often explored by too many people.”
Why?
“Hiking is not necessarily known by most urban dwellers,” the senator said. “This kind of pastime can be a community building experience across ethnic lines, across age groups, across educational groups. That is essentially what this does.”
Hiking for Fun
Sen. Ridley-Thomas is a somewhat seasoned hiker. Choosing his words carefully, he said that after the election he hopes he wins for Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke’s seat, “it is my intention to do this on a rather frequent basis.
“I walk practically every morning in my own neighborhood of Leimert Park, roughly a mile and a half. Mrs. Ridley-Thomas said she would be here. She walks longer than I do, about an hour every day. Both of us are walkers and hikers.”
Leaders of the Sierra Club, Mary Ann Webster and Mr. Vanderberg, were among the first to put a sneaker on the ground of the vast park while awaiting what grew into a rousing turnout. They are Chair and Vice Chair of the Santa Monica Mountains Task Force.
Mr. Vanderberg probably toted around more titles than anyone else in the park.
Interestingly, he,is the National Volunteer Coordinator for “Building Bridges to the Outdoors,” a Sierra Club activity.
Mr. Vanderberg, who turned to education later in life, also is Dean of Crenshaw High School, and he is the Faculty Advisor for Crenshaw’s Eco Club.
Ecological Epitome
He is, you surely have deduced, a serious hiker and recruiter.
“Last Wednesday,” he said, “we camped 120 kids here at the park, overnight, up at the top of the park,” students who have lived in dense metropolitan neighborhoods all of their lives, a setting where hardly anyone ever says, “Let’s go hiking.”
“All of our hikers,” said Mr. Vanderberg, “got a free sleeping bag as part of my grant from the Sierra Club, they had a catered dinner, much like what we have tonight from Tito’s Tacos. They also got a backpack, a hat and a tee shirt from their first time camping overnight.”
The entirety of the spirited experience was cracklingly new for the 14- to 17-year-olds. Most of them never had been in the park before, even though Crenshaw is less than three miles away, much less having any hiking experience.
“This is an annual event, the fourth year we have done it,” Mr. Vanderberg said, “and this was by far our most successful year.”
Why is it important for inner city teenagers to learn about hiking?
Mr. Vanderberg said it is about changing — habits and attitudes.
Once There Was One Color
“The Sierra Club,” he said, “is known as an organization of old white men,” a profile that did not fit 95 percent of the hikers on this splendid evening.
“Issues of environmental justice, global warming —these are issues that affect my children, and my children’s children, for years to come. The Sierra Club needs to diversify its membership to become more inclusive. These are young people. When they become older and voting citizens, we are going to ask them to help us protect the environment.
“I would love for them to get to learn what the environment is about and to have first-hand experience. It is going to be hard toi get them to make the commitment.”
Mr. Vanderberg said that diversification of the Sierra Club is just under way, “and the momentum is going the right way.”
