REI and Outdoor Afro: Continued Partnership in 2014!
We are so grateful to announce a new year of partnership between REI and Outdoor Afro to help inform and strengthen our work to get more people outside! Significantly, REI and its staff will provide direct support for our Outdoor Afro staff and Leadership Team through training, gear, access to local store meeting spaces for special events - and more!
As the official outdoor retailer of Outdoor Afro, you can count on the REI co-op for superior outdoor products, staff expertise, and fun outdoor events that will help strengthen your connection to nature.
Many Outdoor Afros already know that REI lifetime membership has several benefits, including annual dividends paid directly to you based on your purchases, and a very flexible exchange/return policy.
We are especially enthusiastic about this partnership because of REI’s internal, and genuine commitment to relevant and accessible outdoor engagement for everyone -- and we consider headquarter staff members as trusted friends and advisers.
This year, you can look forward to more visible collaboration between REI and Outdoor Afro to promote events that suit a wide-range of outdoor interests, and gear that helps you stay comfortable while looking fly!
Please join us in celebrating this partnership by becoming an REI member today, and getting out in nature wherever you are!
We want to acknowledge Laura Swapp, Myrian Solis Coronel from headquarters, along with Amber Miksza and Brad Bostrom from the REI Berkeley store, who altogether helped to vision and pioneer such an awesome partnership! – Thank you!
We are looking forward to a terrific year ahead together helping more people connect with nature!
Visit REI
Making Friends With Mother Nature? It's Possible
Is it possible to make friends with nature? After visiting Hawaii's Lake Wai’au a few years ago I have to believe it is. I've never connected so strongly with a place, making me even sadder to learn that this treasure is almost gone.
In 2012 my husband and I went to Hawaii and visited Mauna Kea on the Big Island,
something thousands of tourists do every year. We went up to the summit, another fairly common activity. But we also had a rare experience almost none of those other visitors did because we took the extra step of hiking at the summit to a sacred spot in Hawaiian culture. At the top is an alpine lake just below the summit called Lake Wai’au. The path to it is unmarked, getting there requires a hike over craggy snow-covered volcanic red rocks, but the reward is an incredible experience in an otherworldly landscape that I wrote about for Outdoor Afro in 2012. Sadly, scientists don't know exactly why yet, but the lake has shrunk to its lowest level EVER.
I was as shocked to hear this news as I would be to learn a close friend was sick. I am all too familiar with losing people, but to consider losing a place I connected with so strongly is a foreign concept. I just knew I would be going back to the lake again and again, taking my daughter there when she is old enough, and showing it to our friends. Perhaps it will recover and I'll have the opportunity to do that, but for now I am grateful we took the time to just go.
Even though I was only there for an hour, Lake Wai’au became my friend, a part of my 'ohana (extended family in Hawaiian). It challenged me, it was fun, and it taught me things--all components of a great friendship. The hike to the lake and the time we spent there are experiences I reflect on more than most other vacation memories-the crisp air, the debate over whether we should turn back when it took MUCH longer than the guidebook said it would to get there, the encounter with a French couple that hiked from the bottom who arrived at the lake at the same time we did. I can instantly recall how quiet the lake was--the area was the most silent place I have ever been.
Thinking of how easy it would have been for us to skip this stop is almost comical, because we're always talking ourselves out of things. It would have been easy for us to allow some commitment or practicality to keep us on the road toward our next stop. The rental was almost out of gas (NOT advisable on a volcano in the middle of nowhere), we had just a few granola bars between us, and it was much colder than we anticipated. If we'd skipped hiking to the lake in 2012, we could have missed its presence on earth entirely. Instead we are left with a memory we'll always treasure. So in 2014 I'm vowing to talk myself into more things, particularly where nature is concerned. The natural world is a constant source of ebb and flow, and the thing I don't see today may not be here tomorrow. I don't want to miss out on making any more awesome new friends!
Lesly Simmons is a San Francisco-based writer and founder of Mamas Guide: Discover Stroller-Friendly San Francisco. She is FINALLY going back to Hawaii in March 2014.
Conservation - Consciousness Runs Deep
This is our friend Chad Brown, and we adore all he does.
Conservation - Consciousness Runs Deep from Soul River on Vimeo.
Soul River challenges traditional media by embracing the unconventional with their production of Conservation - Consciousness Runs Deep. Created and written by creative director Chad Brown, Conservation captures modern urban mythology with the message of consciousness and awareness of responsibility we have as urban dwellers and environmental protectors.
This short film mixes art, mythology, music, and poetry to provide a fresh perspective through the personal lens of environmental justice and the outdoors inspired by the sport fly fishing. In this film, a young man goes through his life in the city and morphs with his consciousness by the guidance of a Naiad. Conservation provides a breath of fresh air from a young, urban, and hip approach and inspires our consciousness to run deep and become ambassadors of the outdoors.
Sponsored by: Oakley, SIMMS, The Freshwater Trust, Northwestern Exposure, Hatch Outdoors, Korkers, Sierra Club, Groundwork Portland, Airflo
California Coast Crabbing for the Holidays!
Crab, with is tender melt-in-your-mouth, sweet-salty goodness is an ocean floor delight for many. And this week, Outdoor Afro founder Rue Mapp decided to catch her own!
Crab is a staple of holiday festivities; shows up on date night plates, or an indulgent treat that requires you to get intimate with it using a combination of tools and tenacity if you want to get past the hard shell to its meaty reward.
It is a carefully portioned and coveted star of Louisiana gumbo, and Crustaceans restaurant fans travel far and pay a pretty penny for their "secret" crab recipe using roasted garlic. But fresh crab does not need much fanfare. It is lovely simply steamed with a hint of butter and lemon. For those who love it, crab always delivers in any form.
Late fall in the San Francisco Bay Area signals the opening of the crab season, when Dungeness crab fishermen troll the Pacific Ocean along the California coast to harvest and deliver the native delicacy to restaurants, fish mongers, and boiling pots everywhere.
Earlier this week, I decided to show out my devotion to crab in a new way, by fishing for my own and inserting myself into the karma of consumption. Far too often, we consume without awareness of the context, complexity, and appreciation of the lives that bring nourishment and the pleasure of a delicacy to humans.
With the support of high-school friend and bass-pro fisherman Aaron Coleman, I was introduced to the snare method of crabbing. Unlike the more common and passive pot and net methods, snaring is more active in that it uses a pole and line, which was more suitable to use along the rocky coast.
The snare traps have a cage you filled with fresh fish such as squid or mackerel then the system is altogether tied to a hook to cast as far out as possible. Shown below
The trek to the secret location, where Aaron’s family has fished for decades was formidable. I’ve been contemplating it since, remarking to others my own sense of fear and trepidation as our journey included steep climbs over jagged rocks and thoughtful steps along a path in between the crash of waves during high tide. We had to pass our gear back and forth between us, while holding on to the contours of sea-worn stone. It was my guide’s familiarity with the area, and coaching that made it possible to arrive safely to the rock platform that looked out over the endless sea framed by the steep and unforgiving cliffs surrounding us.
Morning view from the edge
The set-up - click for larger images
First crab of the day!
All told, we reeled in 10 crab, which is the limit per person for a California sport fishing license.
Once we brought the crabs to dry land, we took the time to clean them and store them in fresh water sealed in freezer bags. Below is a fresh batch steaming with herbs and butter for my family dinner that night.
My children and I savored the hard-won meal, remembering and feeling grateful for the sea from which these fruits came. And we are excited to share our remaining stores with our loved ones as part of the holiday festivities.
Happy Holidays!
Looking Back, Up, and Forward: Greenpoint Walking Tour
By, Melissa Danielle, Outdoor Afro NYC
The coldest day of the autumn season couldn’t keep a few adventurous Outdoor Afros from trekking out to one of North Brooklyn’s oldest neighborhoods: Greenpoint.
Once a thriving agricultural center, Greenpoint quickly became the hub of industrial manufacturing, establishing shipbuilding, oil refining, pottery, glassworks, and more along its waterfront. Today, this mostly working class neighborhood is home to NYC’s largest immigrant Polish and Polish-American population with a significant Latino presence.
In the last ten years, Greenpoint has experienced a wave of gentrification, as young professionals and creatives from nearby Williamsburg and the Lower East Side and East Village neighborhoods of Manhattan have moved in, taking advantage of affordable housing stock.
NYC residents pride themselves in maintaining their personal space (and very little eye contact), so much so that they often miss what’s happening around them, even the static occurrences. For example, even though four of the five boroughs are surrounded by water (The Bronx is the only borough attached to the mainland), the fact that Brooklyn is an island is often overlooked and undermined (Hurricane Sandy being a testament to that).
Hosted by Bronx River Sankofa’s and Outdoor Afro’s own Morgan Powell, our twilight walking tour began with the Dutch West India Company and ended with the American Civil War. Stops included the Eberhard Faber Pencil factory (once the largest maker of lead pencils in the country), George Pratt’s (founder of Pratt Institute) Astral Oil Works refinery and the apartment building constructed for its employees (one of the first affordable housing units in NYC).
We also saw the WNYC Transmitter Park (a former New Deal radio broadcasting station now home to a public waterfront park), highlights of residential and commercial architecture (Dutch stoops, Queen Anne, Neoclassical Revival), the Greenpoint Reform Church and the Dutch Reform Church.
Our final stop, McGolrick Park, was the site of a monument of heroic scale honoring the inventor, engineer, as well as the sailors of the USS Monitor, an ironclad warship instrumental in the battle of Hampton Road against the CSS Virginia during the Civil War.
Today’s Brooklyn barely resembles its agrarian and industrial past, but its monuments and relics still stand.
Nelson Mandela
Today, our hearts are heavy to learn about the transition of Nelson Mandela, with whom we are honored to have shared the same planet.
Mandela will be forever known as a beacon of freedom, and a symbol of transcendence toward peace.
Father Mandela, we salute you at sunset.
In Gratitude
If you want to go fast, go alone
If you want to go far, go together
African proverb
On the tail of brisk autumn winds, we at Outdoor Afro welcome the holidays in the dawn of winter as a time to slow down, give thanks, and set intentions for the coming year.
I often feel so privileged to know what I am supposed to be doing on the planet, and find the daily courage to go forth and embrace it. People ask all the time, “How do you do it?” I have discovered that when you love what you do, it nourishes your very core and everything around you.
But I receive critical support from so many. Along with my three children, whose bravery is shown each time I board a plane for work, I stand on the shoulders of my parents, AC and Ella mae Levias, who showed me the value of connections to both the land and to family from a young age. While my parents are no longer living, Outdoor Afro is an enduring tribute to them, and a way of life.
I muse on the personal and professional mashup when I put the chickens to bed in my urban backyard, or as my cool-season collard greens grow from seedlings, or when my eldest son and I split and stack firewood for the season’s transition, logging it all via social media. There is no seam that separates what I do for a living, how I live, and who I am – and it is such a gift to share it all with others.
Much gratitude is owed to the Outdoor Afro Leadership Team. This baker’s dozen of amazing men and women from around the country answered the call to be leaders in nature and share a fire in their belly that connects people to nature right in their own backyard in places like Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, Chicago, Atlanta, Oakland, and more. Their leadership means thousands of people of all ages have gotten out and rediscovered a sense of connection, stewardship, and possibility in nature they can re-learn, and sustainably repeat in their own lives. We hear all the time powerful testimonies about what our outdoor experiences mean to people. For instance, a recent participant, after an Outdoor Afro hike said, “I feel free”, which sums up an important aspiration of our work for everyone we touch.
Finally, I feel tremendously privileged to work with partners who share common goals and support our work in a variety of ways. They not only keep the lights on, but our corporate and non-profit allies are made up of folks who are like family, who share ideas, triumphs, and challenges right by our side. We have also been blessed with several amazing individual supporters and new clients this year who facilitate opportunities to practice our craft, and expand it through a relevant lens.
Simply put, it’s been a great year.
And while we remain grounded in the present, we are also looking forward to 2014 – it’s the 5th anniversary of the blog that started it all -- and a continued, colorful celebration of people and nature.
No matter how you move into our new season, I want you to know we are thankful for you in this precious community, and wish you all the best of Thanksgivings and a joyous launch of the holiday season!
Rue Mapp
Outdoor Afro Founder
These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things!
What are your favorite things that help you get out and enjoy the outdoors? Here are ours!
We were so excited to participate in a recent video shoot put together by our flagship partner REI featuring just a few products we use from ClifBar, KEEN, and The North Face. We adore these products based on their value, style, ease of use, and functionality - especially for women! Check out the video of Outdoor Afro's founder Rue Mapp showing off some of these favorite things!
Here are a couple more honorable mentions of products we use and have enjoyed this year:
Klean Kanteen Food Canisters and Containers
This product ensures hot lunches stay H-O-T, and is great storage for on-the-go snacks of any temperature for kids and adults!
Columbia's Women’s Mighty Lite™ III Vest
We enjoy throwing on this stylish vest over most anything, and for all our outdoor activities, especially when the weather is cool!
What's on your list?
For more ideas, visit REI.com, or visit your nearest REI store!
That's a Wrap Chicago!
By: Outdoor Afro Leader Viva Yeboah
This past Saturday, Outdoor Afro Chicago wrapped up 2013 with a hike along the Cap Saucer and Swallow Cliff loop in Palos Park, IL.
This loop is linked with several other trails that make up Cap Saucer Holdings Nature Preserve, the largest nature preserve in northeast Illinois. What is awesome about this nature preserve, is that is so close to Chicago, but still provides the peacefulness of nature. The trails have multiple uses including mountain biking, running, hiking and horseback riding.
Our hike consisted of 6 miles of hilly terrain. We enjoyed great conversations around the topics of public education, zouk music and what's next for Outdoor Afro Chicago. Hiking offers a space to reflect, observe and connect with individuals. We met a fellow Outdoor Afro on his horse and even got a glimpse of deer before it galloped away!
GirlTrek represented at our hike!
2013 has been a successful year for Outdoor Afro Chicago. We have grown in many ways and that's thanks to our members, the leadership team, as well as our sponsors and collaborators. We look forward to next year and continuing to provide a variety of activities with the growth of our leadership team.
Stay in touch through our meetup group or facebook group page!
TRE Los Angeles and Outdoor Afro
Alisha here, Outdoor Afro leader of Los Angeles. Sunday we were invited by the amazing Nkem Of TRE Los Angeles to learn tension release exercises. We were hosted by the stunning Village PlayGarden in the beautiful Altadena foothills.
We had a really great group that varied in age. We were all astounded at the highly effective yet simple exercises that allowed us to release tension and trauma. Even with the different ages, personalities and circumstances we were all able to experience relief.
We were able to connect to nature as well as one another in the group. It was one of the most grounding, balanced experiences I have had.
There was a sense of community and calm that every person in attendance attributed to. Our gracious host family pictured below welcomed everyone with so much love and positive energy.
This was an experience enjoyed by all who attended, even the children participated and were thoroughly entertained.
For anyone who hasn't tried TRE, I highly recommend it. I look forward to partnering with TRE LA again in the near future. I want to make it a part of my weekly routine. Just look at the beautiful grounds we were able to enjoy for a couple hour on a beautiful Sunday while healing our bodies.
