The challenge
Our growing disconnection from the natural world is negatively impacting human and planetary well-being, diminishing our sense of purpose and belonging, and eroding our innate capacity to listen, learn, and cooperate.
At the same time, we’re also confronting a deepening crisis of human disconnection. Widespread isolation and loneliness and narratives of deep division are fracturing our relationships with one another. This breakdown is impacting our health, well-being, and our ability to work together across differences.
Our approach
We are taking an ecological systems, root-cause approach to addressing the interdependent crises of nature and social disconnection. Why?
If we don’t feel connected to nature, like we are a part of it and belong to it, we won’t protect or care for it. Likewise, if we feel isolated or divided from one another, we can’t create safe, supportive, and resilient communities together.
In times of distress and uncertainty, connecting with nature and one another grounds us in a shared reality, and helps us find our bearings. It can give us clarity, comfort, and a renewed sense of possibility. No screens, no social media, just real-time, in-person time together outdoors.
Our programs
We’re designing, producing, and piloting in-person, place-based programs to help us reconnect with nature, ourselves, and one another. Driven by proven mental and physical health benefits of time spent in nature, our programs are held in safe, accessible, outdoor environments.
By making space for people to see and listen to one another in person and in real-time, we lay the groundwork for meaningful, respectful dialogue, shared problem-solving, and stronger social cohesion.
Our programs are co-created with community partner organizations to establish trust, ensure cultural and community relevance, and foster inclusive participation.
“If you’re in the same physical space as someone, it’s harder to deny each other’s reality. You can ground in something common and shared. It’s multi-sensory. We’re in our bodies. The outdoors invites us to smell, touch, and feel. We can bond over our shared experience of our physical reality or our shared sense of awe.”
Baratunde Thurston
writer, podcaster, public speaker, and host of America Outdoors