The Thrive Outside Washington, D.C. Community is a network of organizations committed to maximizing the value of public spaces along the Anacostia River to residents of Ward 7 and 8 in the District of Columbia. The network recognizes the importance of community-based and civic organizations and the value of parks and outdoor experiences in addressing social justice, health, employment, respite, and other issues impacting economically stressed communities.

Thrive Outside D.C. works to provide a forum for local leaders to strategize more deeply and identify joint projects, this includes resources for community groups for operational resources like communication, coordination, and grant writing support, and physical resources like event and meeting supplies. 

The goals of the network include ensuring that D.C. youth and residents in Ward 7 and 8 are safe and have access to the Anacostia River and parks. This includes building the capacity of social and environmental organizations to lead meaningful park experiences that increase collective power-building through on-the-ground outdoor experiences and connect private, city, and government agencies to the community in a more meaningful way.

Thrive Outside Boulder/Denver works to connect underserved youth to nature and the outdoors through the Nature Kids/Jovenes de la Naturaleza Program, which is active in Lafayette Colorado, and expanding its reach to Boulder, Longmont, and Denver with support from the Outdoor Foundation.

The Thrive Outside Chicago Community, led by The Nature Conservancy, is bringing together an existing network of partners dedicated to reducing barriers to the outdoors by increasing meaningful outdoor engagement opportunities for youth and adults in Chicago. Our partners are focused on youth-centered environmental education, growing food in community gardens, environmental justice, environmental stewardship and citizen science in green spaces, community wellness, and health, and providing outdoor engagement opportunities to Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and all other sexualities, sexes, and genders (LGBTQIA+) and other groups that have been historically excluded in outdoor programming. The goal of this network is to foster outdoor experiences to create passionate outdoor enthusiasts.