Thrive Outside: St. Louis

THRIVE OUTSIDE ST Louis

The Thrive Outside St. Louis Community, led by River City Outdoors, is activating a network of intersectional community partners – nonprofits, schools, youth service providers, health organizations, recreation providers, and corporate and governmental partners, to share resources and skills, and build a coalition to engage the St. Louis region in repeat and reinforcing outdoor experiences. With an emphasis on youth and marginalized communities, its goal is to address outdoor equity barriers and co-create positive outdoor experiences in order to foster better mental, physical, and emotional health and wellbeing in the St. Louis community and help create a city where outdoor recreation is accessible and embraced by all people. Key initiatives include catalyzing equitable outdoor programming, supporting the development of Action Adventure Clubs, and providing support for grassroots outdoor community groups.

Thrive Outside St. Louis Community Partners
KEY FOCUS AREAS
Connecting youth and families to nature-based activities, Leveraging gear libraries and leadership training to strengthen and further develop a diverse community of well-resourced and skilled outdoor leaders in St. Louis, and building an Outdoor Equity Fund

Backbone Organization

River City Outdoors

Steering Committee Partners

River City Foundation, Terrain Magazine, Missouri Department of Conservation, Great Rivers Greenway, Trailnet, Missouri Environmental Education Association, The Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis, Northside Community Housing Inc., Ujima STL, The Nature Conservancy in Missouri, and the Clark-Fox Family Foundation

Community Partners

ARCHS, Bailey Youth Enrichment Foundation, Black Transcendence, Blueprint 4, Boys & Girls Club Adams Park, Bworks, Carnahan Public School, Cherokee Recreation Center, Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri, Confluence Academy, Old North, East St. Louis Lincoln Middle School, East St. Louis Youth Development Alliance, Explore STL Parks, Flance Early Learning Center, Forest Park Forever, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, Fresh Thyme, Gene Slay’s Girls & Boys Club of St. Louis, Greenway Network Inc., Join Hands East St. Louis, LEAD STL, Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House, LifeWise STL, Lift For Life Academy, Little Creek Nature Area, Love the Lou, Marquette Recreation Center, Missouri Charter Public School Association, Missouri Confluence Waterkeeper, Missouri Environmental Education Association, Missouri Master Naturalists, Missouri River Relief, Missouri Stream Team, MoBOT Garden’s Outdoor Youth Corps, Navigate STL Schools, North Newstead Association, O’Fallon YMCA, Open Space STL, Outdoor Foundation, Outdoors Empowered Network, Recreation Council of Greater St. Louis, River Management Society, Shaw Nature Reserve, Sherwood Forest, Sinai Family Life Center, South City YMCA, STL Youth Jobs, Swim on Foundation, The Legacy Center, The Village 314, Thomas Dunn Learning Center, Tower Grove Farmers Market, Unleashing Potential, Upper Limits, WreSTL

“By working with community organizations and partners across St. Louis, we can help strengthen our ecosystem of outdoor recreation. The goal is to change ‘I and me’ to ‘us and we.'” 

– Chris Geden, Thrive Outside Program Manager

“By working with community organizations and partners across St. Louis, we can help strengthen our ecosystem of outdoor recreation. The goal is to change ‘I and me’ to ‘us and we.'” 

– Chris Geden, Thrive Outside Program Manager

“We’ve been working for the past seven years to accelerate the outdoor recreation culture in the St. Louis region through Terrain Magazine, and now with the launch of River City Outdoors, we’re excited to gather that momentum and truly transform St. Louis into a vibrant, inclusive, outdoor community. This grant, and the additional support and leverage that comes with it, will allow us to maintain the great momentum we’ve gathered and focus it on creating diverse and equitable outdoor programs in our region.” 

– Brad Kovach, Editor/Publisher of Terrain Magazine and River City Outdoors Advisory Board Member

Ready to Thrive Outside?

Get In Touch

Lesford Duncan

Executive Director

lduncan@outdoorfoundation.org

Thrive Outside: Maine

THRIVE OUTSIDE Maine

The Thrive Outside Maine Community is led by the Nature Based Education Consortium (NBEC) together with a diverse network of partners strengthening an existing statewide network of nonprofit, philanthropic, and business partners. Maine is a rural state known to many as an outdoor oasis, and yet many of those living in the state are not accessing the outdoors on a regular basis. An expansive group of partners has planned an ambitious set of programs to connect more of the state’s children and families with nature. Two key strategies of this effort include creating Maine GearShare, an equipment lending system that will serve outdoor-based nonprofits; and further building out a Maine Outdoor Equity Fund. A goal of the Fund will be to increase the number of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and differently-abled leaders able to start or grow organizations to serve more of their communities. The reach of these initiatives is broad and intended to support under-resourced communities in both rural and urban settings around the state.

Thrive Outside Maine Community Partners
KEY FOCUS AREAS
Stories for Change working group, Maine GearShare library, advocacy to regrant Outdoor Equity Funds, and outdoor education curriculum

Backbone Organization

Nature Based Education Consortium (NBEC)

Steering Committee Partners

Maine Environmental Education Association, Schoodic Institute, Maine Science Teachers Association, Maine Audubon,  University of Maine, University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H Camp and Learning Centers, The Nature Conservancy

Community Partners

Alphabet Alliance of Colo, Bates College, Bomazeen Land Trust, Bomazeen Land Trust, Brooksville School, Bryant Pond 4H Center, Center for an Ecology-Based Economy, Chewonki Foundation, Coastal Mountains Land Trust, Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, Colby College, Compass Light Productions, Waterfall Arts, Torchlight Media, Cumberland County Public Health, ECO-BIPOC/The Third Place, Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine, ‬‭FoodCorps, Freedom Forever Solar, Friends of Acadia, Gateway Community Services, Glow, Bloom, & Thrive, Greely School, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Intercultural Community Center, Journey ONEderland, Juneteenth Downeast, JustME for JustUS, Kennebunk Climate Initiative, Kennebunk High School, Khmer Maine, Kivulini Afro Yoga Project, Lead with Nature, Maine Ag in the Classroom, Maine Association of New Americans (MANA), Maine Association of New Americans (MANA), Maine Early Childhood Outdoors, Maine GearShare, Maine Initiatives,‬‭ Maine Math and Science Alliance, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Maine Philanthropy Center, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Maine Soccer Development, Maine Teen Camp, Maine Trans Net, Maine TREE/Project Learning Tree, Maine Youth for Climate Justice, Mawita’nej Epijij: Welcome to the Gathering Place, More Women + Surf, Mount Desert Island High School, Mycorrising, National Park Service, Natural Difference, LLC, Nibezun, Niweskok: From the Stars to Seeds, Penobscot Nation, Portland Public Schools, Presente! Maine, Resources for Organizing and Social Change, RSU 26, RSU 89 – Katahdin Schools, Rural Aspirations, School Ground Greening Coalition, Sheepscot Valley RSU 12, Somali Bantu Community Association, Spoke & Feather LLC, Tanglewood 4H Center, Tender Table, The Ecology School, The Harriet Tubman Movement Coalition, The Sierra Club – Maine Chapter, The Village Nest Cooperative, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Wabanaki Commission on Land & Stewardship, Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, Wabanaki REACH, Wabanaki Rematriation School, Wabanaki Youth in Science, White Pine Programs, Wild Seed Project, Adaptive Outdoor Education Center, CK Burns School, Maine Coast Heritage Trust‬‬

Ready to Thrive Outside?

Get In Touch

Lesford Duncan

Executive Director

lduncan@outdoorfoundation.org

Thrive Outside: Philadelphia

THRIVE OUTSIDE PHILADELPHIA

The Thrive Outside Philadelphia Community, led by the National Wildlife Federation, is bringing together several regional organizations, stakeholders and existing large-scale networks to collectively create pathways for equitable access to the outdoors. The effort builds upon the existing infrastructure of networks in the Delaware River Watershed (Alliance for Watershed Education, the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed and the Circuit Trails Coalition) to amplify the work and move toward a more cohesive model of communication, partnership, programming and placemaking. The initiative will create 4-8 hubs that will be focused on developing specific strategies for removing barriers and coordinating activities geared at building youth engagement and repeat and reinforcing outdoor recreation.

Thrive Outside Philadelphia Community Partners
KEY FOCUS AREAS
Delaware River Watershed, hub model, and experiential water and trail programming

Backbone Organization

National Wildlife Federation

Steering Committee Partners

Alliance for Watershed Education, Bartram’s Garden, Berks Nature, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Tookany/Tacony Frankford Watershed Partnership, The Watershed Institute

Community Partners

18th Wonder Improvement Association, Angelica Creek Watershed Association, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Berks County Earth Day Coalition Riverfront North Partnership, Berks County Parks Department, Blue Marsh Lake Army Corps, Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club, Centro Hispano Reading, Circuit Trails Network, City of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, City of Reading, Clean Air Council, Clean Water Fund, Delaware River Watershed Initiative, East Trenton Collaborative, Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Hay Creek Watershed Association, Howard’s Healthy Choices, Latin American Legal Defense and Environment Fund, Maiden Creek Watershed Association, Mercer County Hispanic Association, Mercer County Parks Commission, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Neighborhood Land Power Project, Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center, Ollin Yolitzli Calmecac, Olney Culture Lab, Our Fishing Log, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Philadelphia Orchard Project, Philadelphia Water, Philly Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Reading Climate Corps, Reading Public Museum, RISE, Spring Point Partners, Tacony Creek Park Keepers City of Philadelphia Department of Parks & Recreation, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Trenton Area Stakeholders, Trenton Green Team, Tulpehocken Creek Watershed Association, Westminster Presbyterian Church Barrio Alegria

“Instilling a love of nature by ensuring all families can safely enjoy the outdoors is critical to inspiring the next generation of conservationists. Working with Thrive Outside will strengthen amazing conservation partnerships across the Delaware watershed to overcome the unique barriers our communities experience in getting outdoors. We are excited to team up with Thrive Outside to expand access to the outdoors for Black, Latinx, and frontline communities and implement on-the-ground activities that ensure everyone is able to safely enjoy nature.” 

– Collin O’Mara, President and CEO of National Wildlife Federation

Ready to Thrive Outside?

Get In Touch

Lesford Duncan

Executive Director

lduncan@outdoorfoundation.org

Thrive Outside: Twin Cities

THRIVE OUTSIDE TWIN CITIES

The Thrive Outside Twin Cities Community, led by Wilderness Inquiry, is using community organizing techniques to coalesce a new and diverse group of partners to help families connect with the outdoors on the Mississippi River and other local waters. Wilderness Inquiry has a strong history of introducing children to the outdoors. Together with some of its existing partners, the group seeks to engage entirely new community-based leaders and organizations to engage a more diverse population into outdoor activities on the water in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In North Minneapolis, for instance, there is only one public access point to the Mississippi River, and it includes a steep, eroded bank that makes exploring the river difficult and unsafe. These efforts will include a summer school model that connects youth to place-based learning opportunities which tie into school standards and invest in social-emotional support for youth.

Thrive Outside Twin Cities Community Partners
KEY FOCUS AREAS
Deep community engagement, landscape assessment and barrier mapping, and river-based activities on the Mississippi River

Backbone Organization

Wilderness Inquiry Steering

Steering Committee Partners

Biking with Baddies, Cultural Wellness Center, Heal Outside, Huellas Latinas, KweStrong, Urban Bird Collective, Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi

Community Partners

City of Saint Paul, Environmental DEI Working Group (a network of 30+ Twin Cities environmental organizations), Minneapolis Public Schools, Mississippi Park Connection, National Park Service, Saint Paul Public Schools, US Forest Service

Ready to Thrive Outside?

Get In Touch

Lesford Duncan

Executive Director

lduncan@outdoorfoundation.org