The Howard University Student Association (HUSA) Sustainability Department, in partnership with non-profit HBCUs Outside and outdoor apparel retailer REI Co-op, hosted the 2025 Welcome Outside Yard Fest, followed by an off-campus adventure at Key Bridge Boathouse.
The events support HBCUs Outside’s goal of “closing the nature gap” by connecting HBCU students to outdoor recreation, education and career opportunities.
Wednesday’s Yard Fest featured tents from local businesses and nonprofits, yoga and meditation sessions, plant sales, a trail mix station, a clothing swap and a 20-foot rock wall with a live DJ keeping energy high.
White Paw Run mitts, REI Corporation, Soul Trak Outdoor, Center for Native American Youth, Black Ski Corporation and Black Girls do Bike offered ways to get more involved with the outdoors through sign-up sheets to join the organizations, volunteer opportunities and giveaways.
Sydney Sauls, HUSA executive director of sustainability, and Omari Romeo, HUSA executive director of special projects and programming, spearheaded the Yard Fest event. They said the goal was to expose freshmen to internal and external opportunities, including career opportunities, building campus morale among freshmen and promoting sustainability.
The department also plans to open the Bison Boutique this fall as part of its move-out campaign. Sauls said the free closet will offer professional clothing and small appliances that would otherwise be discarded.
“We have clothing donations. Most of the clothes on display today are professional clothing. You can’t do anything on Howard’s campus without professional attire,” Sauls said.“Professional development is key to getting into anything on Howard’s campus. We want to make sure that students are never barred from that.”
Sauls emphasized building connections with local organizations, businesses and nonprofits in D.C, noting that students seize more opportunities when they know what’s available.
“One of the tables here introduces students to many different companies. They can work in any field from communications, business, environmental work, to even medicine and biology,” Sauls said.
She said that the efforts of her department in HUSA are made to push students toward a more sustainable life. Through events like Outside Yard Fest, HUSA wanted to show many the amazing opportunities for enrichment within the metro D.C. area.
“It’s kind of become a locals versus us, a safety thing. I think once students understand the city they live in and the opportunities here, they won’t be afraid anymore. They’ll be excited to go to the city and what it has to offer,” said Sauls.
Beyond introducing students to sustainability and professional opportunities, the event also promoted the importance of balancing technology use with outdoor experiences. Sauls also said part of the push for outdoor programming is to offer healthier outlets for students.
In an article by Maureen Salamon, executive editor of Harvard Women’s Health Watch, research showed some effects of “doomscrolling” included headaches, muscle tension, neck and shoulder pain, low appetite, difficulty sleeping and elevated blood pressure.
An August 2024 study of 800 adults published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports reinforces those findings, suggesting doomscrolling evokes greater levels of existential anxiety.
On Saturday, 40 students joined Soul Trak Outdoors for free activities, including kayaking on the Potomac and yoga at Georgetown Waterfront Park.
Nyle Scott, a music major, was excited to kayak for the first time in Washington, D.C.
“I didn’t know that was a thing you could do in D.C., which is silly because we have so much water around us,” he said.
Scott pointed out that nature is a third space, and said he appreciated how the event gave him the resources to engage with the outdoors.
Ron Griswell, founder of HBCUs Outside, hopes to use part of the $75,000 grant provided by the REI Cooperative Action Fund Grant to plan more excursions for Howard students.
“This is a giant interest meeting for Bison Outside,” he said, speaking of the club run by his organization’s ambassadors on campus, including Kiera Hale, a junior environmental science major from Cleveland, Ohio.
Hale said Bison Outside is working on planning four events: another kayaking trip, a zoo trip, a cleanup at Rock Creek Park,and a “secret fourth event” that will be made available via the Bison Outside Instagram.
Copy Edited by D’Nyah Jefferson – Philmore
