{"id":12218,"date":"2017-05-05T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=12218"},"modified":"2019-08-19T18:57:09","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T01:57:09","slug":"four-forces-of-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/stewardship\/four-forces-of-nature","title":{"rendered":"Four Forces of Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Courtney, Monica, Karla and Rue. They are very different women, but they share a powerful belief that taking people into wild places can change the world. Each of them learned to find her own strength under the open sky\u2014and each is working to share that power with her community.<\/p>\n

Courtney Aber<\/h4>\n

National Director, Boys and Girls Outdoor Leadership Development (BOLD and GOLD) at the YMCA.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Courtney<\/p>\n

Photo: John Aber<\/em><\/p>\n

Courtney did not set out to work at the YMCA. In fact, her work with kids in the outdoors started as a summer job after art school, when she decided to take a couple of months off after graduation. \u201cI wanted to do something fun before getting a grownup job,\u201d she recounts. \u201cSo I spent a summer leading outdoor trips for teenagers. One year turned to many, and I\u2019ve never looked back.\u201d There\u2019s a pause, and you can hear the smile in her voice as she tells the story. \u201cIt\u2019s not exactly what I expected to do with a degree in weaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

As national director for the BOLD and GOLD programs<\/a> at the YMCA, Courtney coordinates outdoor adventures and wilderness experiences for diverse groups of girls and boys between the ages of 11 and 18. The program started in Seattle, and now organizes trips for 1,500 kids each year in more than 25 cities around the United States. The young people go outdoors in small groups to hike, climb, backpack, swim and explore, while learning leadership skills and how to face challenges with courage. The effects are powerful: 98% of participants report that they feel better about themselves after completing a BOLD or GOLD program.<\/p>\n

The demographics of the programs\u2019 trips vary tremendously. In Minnesota, the YMCA has strong connections with the Hmong community. In North Carolina there are more Africa-American participants. In San Francisco there\u2019s a higher percentage of Latino families. \u201cWe get to bring together kids from incredibly different backgrounds,\u201d says Courtney. \u201cAnd if we\u2019re going to help young people succeed, it\u2019s important to teach all families that spending time outside is an integral part of education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monica Garrison<\/h4>\n

Founder, Black Girls Do Bike<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Monica<\/p>\n

Photo: Chancelor Humphrey of @keeppittsburghdope<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

As a mother of four in her mid-thirties, Monica wanted to get outside more\u2014so she bought a bike. She loves hiking, fishing and photography, she says, \u201cBut cycling is the thing that grabbed hold of me and wouldn\u2019t let go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cycling rapidly became a favorite pastime for Monica and her family. It\u2019s low-impact, good exercise and a great way to convince her kids to put down their electronics. She quickly discovered a problem in the cycling community, though. She almost never saw another black woman on a bike. \u201cI wanted to see more people who look like me get outdoors.\u201d So rather than gripe about the problem, she started a movement: Black Girls Do Bike.<\/p>\n

The grassroots organization aims to support, engage, educate and inspire women of color who share a passion for cycling to take on leadership roles in their communities. It\u2019s a comfortable network for female cyclists to meet each other, organize rides and share skills. On its website, the organization\u2019s goals are clear: \u201cWe rejoice when women choose cycling as a tool for alternative transportation, self-care and ultimately empowerment.\u201d The women of BlackGirlsDoBike.com<\/a> share positive images of badass black women on their bikes. They encourage each other. And, above all, they ride.<\/p>\n

Karla Amador<\/h4>\n

Founder, 52 Hike Challenge<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Karla<\/p>\n

Photo: Kristina Frost<\/em><\/p>\n

Karla did not grow up hiking\u2014in fact, she describes her younger years as downright rocky. At 17 she got pregnant, and at 18 she was married with a newborn baby. \u201cI had a lot of shame about being a teen mom,\u201d she says. \u201cBut at a certain point, I decided not to let that define me.\u201d After a decade in an unhappy marriage, she got divorced, started a business and met Phil\u2014who helped her get outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first hike wasn\u2019t easy,\u201d she remembers. \u201cBut it gave me strength. I realized: If I tell myself that I can\u2019t do something when I\u2019m outdoors, how am I limiting myself in my everyday life? I left my self-doubt on the side of the trail, and I never want to look back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feeling inspired by the experience, Karla and Phil committed to hiking once a week, or 52 times each year. Originally they were using social media to document their journey and encourage them to be accountable to their goals, but they quickly found that other people around the country wanted to challenge themselves to get outside more frequently, too. \u201cPeople connected to our story,\u201d says Karla. \u201cIf we can do it, then there\u2019s hope for everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the 52 Hike Challenge<\/a> is a global movement, and growing. Thousands of people around the world are opting outside with hopes of changing their lives in a positive way. Karla is bringing on ambassadors, helping grassroots teams coordinate events in their cities, and doing everything she can to inspire people to get outside. Her motto? \u201cIf you have any problem, just go for a walk\u2014and I promise you\u2019ll feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today Karla lives in Southern California with Phil and her teenage son, along with a dachshund named Sir Louis Vuitton. Her son doesn\u2019t often hike with them, but he loves to explore the trails near their home on his mountain bike. \u201cHe\u2019ll do fifty miles a week,\u201d says Karla. \u201cAnd as long as he\u2019s getting outside, I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rue Mapp<\/h4>\n

Founder\/CEO, Outdoor Afro<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Rue<\/p>\n

Photo: Outdoor Afro<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Rue is one of those people who has done it all. In one past life, she worked as a data and risk analyst at Morgan Stanley. In another, she opened a hobby-and-game shop in the Bay Area. She\u2019s good with technology, sharp as a whip and devoted to her community. But when she found herself divorced with three children and an unfinished college education, she pressed the reset button.<\/p>\n

\u201cA friend asked what I would do if time and money were no issue,\u201d she recalls. \u201cAnd I opened my mouth and my life fell out: I wanted to start a website that helps reconnect African-Americans with the outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n

So she used her technological prowess to develop algorithms to build a blog that would reach an audience who hadn\u2019t been addressed before: black women between the ages of 35 and 44. \u201cI have been part of lots of different organizations\u2014hiking groups, biking meet-ups\u2014and they often felt competitive. Those groups were not respectful of my limited experiences and my unique comfort level. They assumed competency without assessing different levels of ability and engagement. I wanted black women to have a different option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Outdoor Afro<\/a>, women now have that different option. Leadership ambassadors take people outside, holding space for each participant\u2019s personal journey with hospitality and compassion. They hike, they talk, they teach each other, they breathe. \u201cNature is a powerful teacher,\u201d shares Rue. \u201cIt taught me that even if I don\u2019t know where I\u2019m coming from or where I\u2019m going, I have everything I need to move forward, one step at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Courtney, Monica, Karla and Rue. They are very different women, but they share a powerful belief that taking people into wild places can change the world. Each of them learned to find her own strength under the open sky\u2014and each is working to share that power with her community. Courtney Aber National Director, Boys […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":12219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[637],"tags":[726,651,728],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-12218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stewardship","tag-force-of-nature","tag-women","tag-women-stories"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/stewardship\/four-forces-of-nature","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Four Forces of Nature","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/stewardship\/four-forces-of-nature","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/stewardship\/four-forces-of-nature"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/05\/FON-header.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/05\/FON-header.jpg?fit=1500%2C950"},"articleSection":"Stewardship","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aer Parris-Hoshour"}],"creator":["Aer Parris-Hoshour"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["force of nature","women","women stories"],"dateCreated":"2017-05-05T14:00:22Z","datePublished":"2017-05-05T14:00:22Z","dateModified":"2019-08-20T01:57:09Z"},"rendered":"