"Heaven isn't a place you have to die to get to, you just need a good pair of hiking boots."
-Shelton Johnson
An excerpt from James Mills and The Joy Trip Project
For those of us who spend a great deal of time outdoors it’s hard to believe that there are many of those who don’t. Especially when it comes to our national parks there is an entire segment of the United States population, natural born citizens who seldom if ever visit. This is particularly true among people of color. African-Americans, Hispanics and other ethnic minorities spend far less time in nature than their white counterparts. And in a shifting demographic where minorities will soon become the majority there’s rising concern throughout the conservation movement that one day in the not so distant future most U.S. citizens will have no personal relationship with or affinity for the natural world.
Thanks to James Mills, you can listen to Shelton's entire 40 minute spech; moving, inpiring, and tear-jerking.