Summit Call for Proposals Closes May 31st

Chelsea Taylor
5 hours ago
2 min read

Over the last couple of months, the Oregon Trails Coalition Staff has been spending time with many of you brainstorming session ideas for this year's Summit. Throughout those conversations, emails, Zooms, phone calls, and analog meetings, an unofficial theme has emerged: "finding our footing". We might be "up a creek", but we have a paddle.

Times are tough, and so are we. As you consider the future of Outdoor Recreation in Oregon and just how we will "find our footing", we hope to see proposals that advance the four Summit goals:

Access & Reconnection to Nature: Increasing inclusion and belonging in the outdoors close to home and in Oregon’s iconic landscapes, addressing barriers to access and fostering community resilience, enhancing physical and mental health outcomes, deepening understanding and respect for the ecosystems that sustain us.
Sustainable Recreation: Environmentally responsible recreation, sustainable trails development, destination stewardship, planning, and management that promotes conservation, adapts to climate change impacts, and ensures long-term sustainability, Treaty Rights, and cultural respect.
Economic Prosperity: Fostering strong local and statewide outdoor recreation and tourism economies, creating jobs, strengthening career pathways, supporting local businesses, and promoting equitable economic opportunities within Oregon's outdoor recreation sector.
Creativity & Innovation: Cultivating effective cross-sector partnerships, movement building, resilience, and agile problem-solving, emerging research, and fresh and creative approaches to meet an ever-changing landscape.

We want to make sure you have the tools you need to get your proposal(s) submitted by the May 31st deadline. Here are some resources to help you push "submit".

First: If you haven't been to the Summit or haven't submitted a proposal before, watch this Call for Proposals Q&A webinar (approximately 30 minutes) and/or read through the presentation. This provides an overview of the Summit, attendees, RFP process, session types, and other key details.

Second: Review the full application in document form here. This will give you a chance to read through the details and draft your responses in advance.

Third: If there's someone else you want to be involved in your session idea, talk to them and make sure they're available and interested.

Fourth: When you're ready, submit your full response here. You can submit multiple proposals.

All of this information can be found on the Summit webpage: https://www.oregontrailscoalition.org/summit

If you have questions, please reach out to the Coalition Staff:

We are looking forward to coming together this fall to dig into the details, get creative, and share tools and resources that support a stronger outdoor recreation community in Oregon. And of course, all while having some fun!