Outdoors with Friends' Mission and Staff
About OWF
Outdoors with Friends is a local DC organization created by Matt Walters, an experiential educator, who is dedicated to providing a fun, safe learning environment for children and their parents without compromising the experience.
Washington, DC and its surrounding areas contain hidden natural treasures that are often overlooked. Come discover these parks, hiking trails and hidden wonders. Join us in a number of environmental education classes in one of our many national and state parks in and around Washington, DC. Learn about animal habitats, roll over logs to look for bugs and get ready to dig in the dirt, in one of our private and semi-private classes for parents and children. You pick the location and program that best suits your schedule.
When you can't get outside, we bring the outdoors to you. In a classroom setting, Outdoors with Friends has programs for school groups and organizations. Our programs are updated quarterly with the seasons, so be sure to check back frequently as new classes become available. Dates and times to suit your needs.
Our Mission
Outdoors
with Friends is committed to providing the safest possible, "hands-on" outdoor
education experience for children and their parents.
We
conduct activities that are only beneficial, not detrimental to the natural
environment in which we live.
We
offer instructional classes to anyone with a desire to learn more about
the natural world, regardless of age or physical limitations.
We
form alliances with other credible outdoor educational and environmental
organizations.
We
give, monthly, 25% of our profits back into the community through free or
discounted educational lessons or outings.
WE
HAVE FUN AND GET OUR JEANS MUDDY!
Our Staff
Matt Walters is the founder and director of Outdoors With Friends. He has spent the past 10 years working with children in all matters of outdoor education. Rock climbing, nature walks and canoeing are his favorite outdoor pastimes. He studied Environmental Science at Southern Vermont College and has worked for the National Park Service and the Department of Environmental Protection in Connecticut. Matt has worked up and down the Eastern seaboard at various outdoor education centers, camps, and non-profit children's museums. He is a regular speaker and workshop presenter at the National Young Leaders Conference. He holds certifications in site management for outdoor climbing, as well as current certifications form the Red Cross, SOLO for WFR and emergency management. An avid story teller and songwriter, Matt brings his dedicated commitment to the environment through, experiential education lessons with children and their parents. Although he is the acting director of the Organization, he spends as little time in the office as possible. You will often find him out in the woods with a group of kids, singing songs, leading amazing nature walks, and providing children with a safe, positive learning environment.
James Howes is Director of Education for Outdoors With Friends. A full-time science teacher at a local Washington D.C. public school, James spends his free time with us! Although he'll tell any group of children he's actually a shipwrecked pirate lost in D.C., his actual biography is a bit more sedate. Born in Litchfield, central England, James entered the educational field 10 years ago as a youth volunteer. With an undergraduate degree from York University and a Masters from Cambridge, James entered the classroom, teaching 6th and 7th grades. James then took his experiential learning techniques to more informal sectors of education by working at outdoor education centers and non-profit children's museums. Feeling liberated, he joined up with then co-worker Matt Walters to create Outdoors With Friends. In his spare time he is an avid soccer player, adventurous hiker, and an accomplished songwriter. You'll often see him leading a nature hike with a guitar slung over one shoulder.
Elizabeth Turner works with OWF's education programs. Elizabeth is currently an Emergency Medical Technician with PTS in Northern Virginia and a volunteer firefighter with the city of Falls Church. She has a BA in Conservation Biology from George Mason University. Matt and Elizabeth first met at the Hemlock Overlook Outdoor Education Center where they worked as challenge course facilitators. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys hiking and playing in the woods. She is an avid guitar player, writes her own music, and performs locally.
© 2008 Outdoors With Friends