The Fall Campaign:

Have a booth at the fall activities fair.

Many schools have a fall activities fair to encourage students to join sports teams, clubs and more. Have a booth or table with information about the outdoor club. Include a sign up sheet for students interested in joining the club.

Make an announcement at a school assembly.

If your school does not have consistent assemblies, find a teacher who has all the incoming freshmen as students (for example gym, earth science or biology) and work with them to provide information about the outdoor club. This way you can spread the word to the underclassmen who will grow to lead the club.

Invite another club on a trip
A great way to diversify your club and invite more people outdoors is to partner with other clubs such as GSA, Interact, Model UN, Green/Environment, BSU or Civil Rights. The purpose of clubs is to make friends and have fun beyond the school day. That can happen on a trail or in a canoe!

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access Resource list from the Maine Trails Coalition

Use School Announcements

Whether this means getting on the intercom, speaking at an all-school assembly, or posting an ad in the school paper, find a way to invite a wide range of students to join the outdoor club! Invite them to future meetings and trips.

Put posters on the walls

These can help invite students to join the club and come to the first meeting. 

Outdoor Club Poster 8.5 x 11

Outdoor Club Meeting Poster 11 x 17

Establish a way for students to sign up electronically

Use the outlet that is most widely available at your school. Some examples include: texting group chats, email, Google Classroom, GroupMe, WhatsApp, and more options. Any way to ensure that members receive notifications on meetings, events, etc. will help boost your club.

Throughout the School Year:

• Outdoor club membership is fairly fluid. Some students are consistent participants and others join only occasionally. Therefore, continue to welcome and reach out to new members.

• Continue to use school announcements and posters on the walls to promote meetings and club trips.

• Have a bulletin board in a hallway just for the outdoor club with pictures and information about past and future outings.

• Talk to students directly and encourage them to join the club.

• Great outings attract new members.  Share the fun! Post pictures of trips on social media.

• Think about a diverse series of outings; little or no equipment; not physically demanding; very physically demanding; on water, on land; overnights. Ask students what they might like. Share a list of possibilities.
  
  You can read more about successful outdoor clubs and how they got started here and here.

Spring Campaign:

Recruiting incoming students

Reach out to new students during step up day

• Do they have an orientation session for their transition to high school? 

• Is it possible to do a presentation at their school working through a teacher or organized school activity such as students participating in outdoor activities such as a recreational XC ski program? Outdoor classroom?