Convening Spotlights Connections & Collaborations
More than 60 people met at the Forest Park Visitors Center on October 12 for a two-hour meeting focused on developing a network of collaborators to help build a vibrant outdoor culture in the Greater St. Louis region. The Thrive Outside St. Louis Partner Convening, hosted by River City Outdoors (RCO), brought together representatives from approximately 35 nonprofits, recreation organizations, educational facilities, community groups and clubs, and outdoor retailers.
“By working with community organizations and partners across St. Louis, we can help strengthen our ecosystem of outdoor recreation,” said Chris Geden, Thrive Outside Program Manager for RCO. “The goal is to change ‘I and me’ to ‘us and we.’”
Attendees discussed opportunities to do just that after an introductory presentation that described the benefits of outdoor recreation — physical, mental, and emotional heath; positive economic and community impact — as well as some of the challenges St. Louis faces, including building outdoor accessibility and overcoming racial, cultural, and socioeconomic divisiveness.
Chris Rutgers, a representative from the Outdoor Foundation, spoke on the idea of collective impact and how by working together to create new partnerships and programs, we can increase participation and inclusivity in outdoor recreation in our region. The Outdoor Foundation administers the Thrive Outside Initiative, which awards multi-year, capacity-building grants to communities to build and strengthen networks that provide children and families with repeat and reinforcing experiences in the outdoors. St. Louis was chosen as one of four cities to receive a Thrive Outside grant in 2021. (Read more here.)
RCO is the backbone organization leading the Thrive Outside St. Louis initiative, and the convening in October was the first step to building a network of nonprofit, philanthropic, and business partners to collectively create pathways for equitable access to the St. Louis outdoors.
“We want to provide the support and structure needed to strengthen our outdoor community and talk about how we can all work together to make that happen,” said Geden.
Representatives from RCO provided examples of local outdoor recreation strategies currently underway and invited attendees to join these initiatives or come up with new ones. Present strategies include partnering with schools and youth groups to provide kids with opportunities to paddle on the Missouri or Mississippi river; supporting the Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League and developing a Try Mountain Biking for Free program; and helping grassroots outdoor community groups and events gain traction and build capacity by offering mentoring, education, marketing, and funding support.
The meeting ended with a moderated discussion of next steps, which touched on the topics of how the Thrive Outside St. Louis Partner Network should be structured, who wished to be included in the leadership, and how to engage other partners/collaborators. RCO was also tasked with completing an outdoor recreation asset map in advance of hosting a second partner meeting in January 2023.
Those interested in learning more about the Thrive Outside St. Louis Partner Network or joining the movement to remove barriers and help grow an inclusive outdoor culture in St. Louis should contact Chris Geden at thriveoutside@rivercityoutdoors.org.