{"id":9864,"date":"2016-11-04T00:16:50","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T07:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=9864"},"modified":"2022-04-06T12:09:06","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T19:09:06","slug":"member-portrait-simone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/member-portrait-simone","title":{"rendered":"Member Portrait: Simone \u201cThe Green Dreamer\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

REI Member since: 2015
\nFavorite activities: Hiking, traveling<\/p>\n

As a lifelong city dweller, Simone sees nature all around her. Rooftop gardens, plant conservatories, urban green spaces and trails\u2014so many corners of Chicago are thrumming with natural life, and Simone makes it her mission to explore them. She writes about\u00a0her \u201cconstant search for foliage\u201d and posts photographs on her blog, Darker Than Green. Simone\u2019s stories are about \u201clooking closer,\u00a0breathing deeper, going slower, and finding constant beauty and value in our surroundings.\u201d<\/p>\n

1. Why is \u201coutside\u201d important?<\/h4>\n

Being outside gives me the opportunity to experience something new, to challenge myself, to interact with the wild and natural world\u00a0around me, and to expand my perspective of what it means to be alive and part of an interconnected environment.\u00a0I think nature and the city are very different, but also very similar: They\u2019re both incredibly complex ecosystems where there\u2019s\u00a0constant competition and cooperation, growth and destruction, expansion and evolution. Being outside helps me to better\u00a0understand my place in all of this.<\/p>\n

2. Who inspires you to get outside? In whom are you fostering a love for the outdoors?<\/h4>\n

I\u2019m inspired by strong solo female backpackers, thru-hikers and trail leaders. I\u2019m also inspired by urban farmers, front stoop\u00a0vegetable growers and green-roof gardeners: people creating and maintaining green space in the city. I think getting outside is the\u00a0important part\u2014not necessarily where or how you do it.\u00a0In my writing, I try to harness the feelings and thoughts that I experience when I spend time in nature. I hope to foster a deeper\u00a0appreciation for the outdoors in my readers, especially those who don\u2019t consider themselves \u201coutdoor people.\u201d I\u2019d love to inspire and\u00a0empower them to rethink their relationship with nature.<\/p>\n

\"simonemartinnewberry_q4b\"<\/p>\n

3. What is your favorite piece of gear and what\u2019s the story behind it?<\/h4>\n

After living in Chicago for over a decade, last year I finally bit the bullet and decided to invest in a good three-season raincoat. I got a\u00a0bright red Patagonia Torrentshell jacket that I broke in on a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. All the Colorado travel guidebooks\u00a0said a good rain jacket would be essential during summer hikes in the mountains since rainstorms can pop up at any time. Turns out they were\u00a0right! When we got to the alpine lake at the end of our trail, the clouds rolled in and my jacket kept me nice and dry.<\/p>\n

4. What does being an REI Co-op member mean to you?<\/h4>\n

REI is more than just a place to buy gear. I love having an REI membership because it allows me access to a variety of amazing excursions. I\u2019ve\u00a0done a couple of local REI outings and it\u2019s been really fun to get out and see parts of the Midwest I wouldn\u2019t normally have easy access to. I\u2019ve\u00a0also really enjoyed meeting other REI members on these trips. Everyone is always so interesting and hilarious and open to adventure.<\/p>\n

\"Simone\"<\/p>\n

5. What other adventures are on your bucket list?<\/h4>\n

Singapore and its string of connected public parks has been at the top of my list for a while. I\u2019m pretty obsessed with Australia and its incredible\u00a0variety of endemic plant life. There are also so many places I\u2019d love to visit here in the United States: all the parks in Utah; Mount Rainier, the\u00a0Olympic Peninsula and North Cascades in Washington; Waimea Canyon and the N\u0101 Pali Coast on Kauai. The list goes on!<\/p>\n

6. What advice do you have for other city-dwellers who want more nature in their lives?<\/h4>\n

I think the idea that the cities we live in are separate from and not part of nature is incorrect. There is nature everywhere. It may be easy to\u00a0overlook, especially when we get caught up in the everyday grind of urban life, but things are green and growing all around us, all the time. Lately\u00a0I\u2019ve started dedicating one day each weekend to local nature exploration. I open my maps app in search of a green spot that I\u2019ve never been to,\u00a0make my choice, and then spend the day there walking around and taking photos. This is an excellent way to see parts of your city you may not be\u00a0familiar with, and dedicate some time to being outside and gaining a new perspective. If you\u2019re like me and live in a place with brutal winters, I\u00a0can\u2019t recommend indoor plant conservatories enough. Being somewhere warm and green, even for just a few hours, is so important in the middle\u00a0of a freezing, gray February.<\/p>\n

\"simonemartinnewberry_q3b\"<\/p>\n

7. As a writer, what stories about wild outdoor spaces have inspired or challenged you the most?<\/h4>\n

I love fiction, but lately I\u2019ve found myself more drawn to ecocritical essays, especially those written by women and people of color.\u00a0\u201cDesegregating Wilderness,\u201d written by Jourdan Imani Keith and published in Orion magazine, really stands out, and it perfectly articulates\u00a0many of the themes I grapple with in my own writing. If you\u2019re interested in poetry, I highly recommend Black Nature: Four Centuries of African\u00a0American Nature Poetry, Camille T. Dungy\u2019s beautiful anthology of nature poems written by African American writers. I\u2019ve definitely been
\ninspired by some of the most popular nature writers like Gary Snyder and Edward Abbey, but as my reading list grows, I aim to include writers\u00a0from as many different backgrounds as possible. The land is vast and diverse, and so are we. I want the books and stories I read to reflect that.<\/p>\n

Looking for more inspiration? Read other REI Member Portraits here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not a member? Join today! Learn more\u00a0about\u00a0REI Membership<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

REI Member since: 2015 Favorite activities: Hiking, traveling As a lifelong city dweller, Simone sees nature all around her. Rooftop gardens, plant conservatories, urban green spaces and trails\u2014so many corners of Chicago are thrumming with natural life, and Simone makes it her mission to explore them. She writes about\u00a0her \u201cconstant search for foliage\u201d and posts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":9945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[570,552,369,651],"internal-tag":[1672],"class_list":["post-9864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camp","tag-member-portraits","tag-rei-members","tag-rei-membership","tag-women","internal-tag-pre-redirect-camp"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/camp\/member-portrait-simone","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Member Portrait: Simone \u201cThe Green Dreamer\u201d","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/member-portrait-simone","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/member-portrait-simone"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/10\/parrish-081916-0372-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/10\/parrish-081916-0372-1.jpg?fit=5184%2C3456"},"articleSection":"Camp","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["member portraits","rei members","rei membership","women"],"dateCreated":"2016-11-04T07:16:50Z","datePublished":"2016-11-04T07:16:50Z","dateModified":"2022-04-06T19:09:06Z"},"rendered":"