Jun 25, 2008 8:22 pm US/Pacific
Sharing Outdoor Adventures from Baja to the Bay
Jefferson Award Winner: Diane Poslosky
Sausalito (CBS 5) ―
"What I like about the water is the calmness," says kayaker Elena Van Loo, riding in the front of a pink kayak along the bay waters just off Sausalito.
Elena is relatively new to kayaking. In fact, she didn't think this kind of outdoor experience was for her -until she met Diane Poslosky.
Diane explains, "What we want people to experience is not just the magic and beauty of San Francisco Bay, but being in the great outdoors and challenging themselves."
For 25 years, Diane has been Executive Director of Environmental Traveling Companion, or ETC for short, sharing her passion for nature and environmental education with thousands of people who, like Elena, didn't see a way to take part.
Whether they're in wheelchairs, visually impaired, or economically disadvantaged, ETC gives Bay Area people with special needs unique access to the wilderness.
"To get out there and really focus on what they can do and not focus so much on what they can't do and to focus on ability and not disability, so that when they leave the experience they go, 'Wow I crossed Raccoon Straits to Angel Island and I did it!'" says Diane.
With 400 active volunteers, ETC leads white-water rafting trips down the Feather River, cross country ski adventures, and kayak trips in Baja as well as the Bay to more than 2500 people every year.
Nine-year-old Koda Inmanahlstrom, who was paralyzed in a car accident, has now taken two trips with ETC through Berkeley's Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program.
"It's fun," says Koda. "You can go to places you've never been before!"
Diane says, "The changes I see in people are the same changes I experienced myself when I started doing this, which is increasing your sense of self-esteem and confidence and belief in what I can do. To me, it really helps us see that whatever we dream, we can accomplish, not solo, but together as a team, together as a family."
And for this former school teacher, educating others about protecting the environment is an important aspect of the program.
"This is an organization that's not just about getting out in the wilderness and having adventures and having fun," Diane says. "It's also about teaching people how to save and protect these amazing resources that are all over our planet."
And there's no better way to understand that message, than to experience it.
"It's awesome. Not good. It's an awesome experience!" adds Elena.
So for helping to make the beauty and challenges of the outdoors accessible to all of us this week's Jefferson Awards in the Bay Area goes to Diane Poslosky.
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