{"id":215743,"date":"2026-06-10T17:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/215743\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T17:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:54:19","slug":"new-event-series-encourages-trying-outdoor-experiences-across-pittsburgh-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/215743\/","title":{"rendered":"New event series encourages trying outdoor experiences across Pittsburgh region"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">PITTSBURGH \u2014 The First Try Collective is launching a summer event series across greater Pittsburgh, bringing free, beginner-friendly outdoor experiences for residents of all ages and abilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The series aims to invite individuals, friends and families to try new activities, explore local outdoor spaces and build confidence outside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The First Try Collective is designed to make outdoor recreation more welcoming and accessible, providing a low-pressure opportunity for participants to try new activities. The initiative aligns with findings from the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, which identified \u201cno one to go with\u201d as the third-highest barrier to outdoor recreation for Pennsylvanians. The plan also highlights \u201ctry-it\u201d opportunities as a key strategy to reduce barriers and foster quality outdoor connections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Marcus Shoffner, president and CEO of the Outdoor Inclusion Coalition, says the program\u2019s goal is straightforward. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\u201cThe goal of the First Try Collective is simple: make it easier for people to participate, feel welcome and try an outdoor activity for the first time,\u201d Shoffner said. \u201cThis series is about opening the door to new experiences and helping people see themselves outdoors well into the future.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The event series will feature supportive instruction and activities such as mountain biking, mushroom identification, yoga, forest bathing, disc golf, ecosystem exploration and stewardship opportunities. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Some events may require pre-registration due to space, equipment or safety needs and accommodations are available upon request. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Participants can use the First Try Punch Pass to track their involvement throughout the summer. Individuals who complete three First Try Collective events will receive free ice cream from Millie\u2019s Ice Cream during Outdoors for All Day at Allegheny Commons on Saturday, Aug. 15. Additional raffle incentives will be available for select activity collections, including biking, mindfulness and ecosystem exploration. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/mobile-apps\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Follow Channel 11 News on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wpxi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WPXI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>. | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpxi.com\/video\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph body-copyright\">\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 The First Try Collective is launching a summer event series across greater Pittsburgh, bringing free, beginner-friendly&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[19713,1329,2088,94463,29832,2211,46981,20542,4033,11466,19307,8779,3618,772,94464,10423,12933,1346,59893,94465,19719,837,1399,5091,4370,708,18174,7700,73,75,74,7171,11991,11647,12049,13547,94466,10326,94467,25898,11929,3842,8218,726,4223,5381,94468,3668,27464,44804,45573,94469],"class_list":["post-215743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-active","tag-activity","tag-area","tag-basket","tag-chain","tag-competition","tag-course","tag-disc","tag-equipment","tag-fitness","tag-flying","tag-fun","tag-game","tag-golf","tag-golfer","tag-grass","tag-green","tag-hobby","tag-hole","tag-holes","tag-leisure","tag-lifestyle","tag-man","tag-nature","tag-outdoor","tag-outdoors","tag-outside","tag-park","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-play","tag-player","tag-point","tag-pole","tag-position","tag-putting","tag-recreation","tag-recreational","tag-rules","tag-score","tag-shot","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-spring","tag-success","tag-successful","tag-summer","tag-target","tag-throw","tag-throwing","tag-toss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}