Today, REI Co-op launched a multiyear, nationwide
initiative to ensure everyone in the US has immediate access to outdoor
nature. Outside in 5 is a community-led
initiative that supports local projects and national legislation in pursuit of
its goal of getting 100 million people outside in five minutes or less, no
matter where they live. The co-op will also be putting $5 from every co-op
membership towards the REI Cooperative Action Fund,
which supports organizations and projects that will help everyone get Outside in
5.
Data from the Trust for Public
Land (TPL) show the US is rich
in enthusiasm for the outdoors, but poor in access and infrastructure —
especially for communities in dense, urban areas that have been historically and
systemically disenfranchised. Over a third of people living in the US do not
have a public park or space to recreate within a 10-minute walk from home; that
fact spawned the TPL’s 10 Minute Walk
movement
to expand access to parks and green spaces across 300 US cities, launched in
2017.
“This problem did not just happen,” said REI CEO Eric
Artz. “It is the result of
centuries of planning decisions that oftentimes served to further isolate and
marginalize underrepresented communities. At REI, we believe everyone should
have access to outdoor space wherever they live. That’s why we’re making a
long-term commitment to get 100m people outside in five minutes or less.”
Not only is outdoor recreation a major driver of the US economy, a growing body
of
research
indicates that time spent outside has direct benefits for our physical, mental
and emotional wellbeing. In 2015, REI launched its #OptOutside
campaign
and closed its doors on Black Friday in what became a yearly reminder to its
customers and employees to spend the day after Thanksgiving enjoying the
outdoors instead of participating in the annual shopping
frenzy.
But for many, "opting outside" isn't as easy as it sounds — the extent of inequitable access to nature for many urban communities across the
country became glaringly obvious during the pandemic; and since then,
legislation such as the Great American Outdoors
Act
and initiatives from REI peers Clif
Bar
and The North
Face
have been dedicated to rectifying it — but decades of flawed urban planning
policies haven't been so quick to reverse.
Anacostia Park
DEI and sustainability: The ROI of inclusive corporate cultures
Join us as leaders from the Accomplis Collective, Bard, Beneficial State Foundation, ReEngineering HR and REI share best practices for cultivating a culture of belonging and insights into how inclusive leadership can lead to more effective and equitable sustainability outcomes — Wednesday, Oct. 16, at SB'24 San Diego.
Outside in 5 kicks off today in Washington, DC’s Anacostia Park neighborhood — a
historically Black community and home to the relatively new National Park site
that is emblematic of many others across the country that have suffered from a
systemic loss of access to the outdoors. Despite its namesake park, the
community still has limited access to green space. Anacostia has been impacted
by racial and economic inequities — from the establishment of racially
segregated recreation areas to the sewage infrastructure that polluted the
Anacostia River to the construction of Interstate 295, which cut
surrounding neighborhoods off from the
park
that was once accessible to them.
In Anacostia, as will be true everywhere REI introduces the initiative, Outside
in 5 will work to address the community’s specific needs. Friends of Anacostia
Park — with the support of REI, the
REI Cooperative Action Fund and the National Park Service — is working to
reconnect the Anacostia community to the National Park in their own backyard.
“The legacy of inequitable development hangs over Anacostia Park — with
thousands of residents still struggling to access the National Park in their
backyard,” said Richard
Trent, Executive Director
of Friends of Anacostia Park. “But coalitions like ours — that unite engaged
citizens, civic-minded corporations and accountable administrators — contain the
know-how and wherewithal needed to undo that toxic legacy and expand access to
green space to the communities that need it most.”
The co-op will join Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda
Mallory, author and
policy advocate Heather
McGhee, and other
community leaders in Anacostia Park this morning to unveil a national playbook
for Outside in 5. The launch culminates
with the Late Skate Summer Event Series — a fair and festival in support of
the “rooted at Anacostia Park” program.
Taking Outside in 5 nationwide
Whether you live in a neighborhood with limited access to parks and trails, one
without adequate public transit to those places, or even a place with ample —
but inequitable — access, there are challenges to recreating outside that every
one of us can help address. In the years ahead, REI pledges to bring this work
to more communities across the country as part of its broader efforts to inspire
actions on climate change and equitable access to the outdoors.
This fall, the REI Cooperative Action Fund will announce more than 250 local
nonprofits that will help advance the company’s Outside in 5 mission. While
every organization is unique, each:
-
Shares the goal of creating a more equitable outdoors
-
Centers the unique needs of their community
-
Will benefit from the strength of REI’s nationwide community of employees,
members and customers to support and amplify these impactful and inspiring
organizations.
REI is also tapping its 23-million-member community by asking everyone to join
the Cooperative Action Network and help pass the Outdoors for All
Act — which would help close the nature gap
by securing funding for green spaces in underserved communities so everyone can
enjoy time outside.
“We do our best work when we do it together,” Artz said. “I’m excited to partner
with our employees, members, communities, advocacy groups and governmental
organizations across the country in pursuit of this goal. Together, we can
remove barriers to a life outside for all.”
For more information, or to find out how you can join this effort, visit
rei.com/outsidein5.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Jul 12, 2023 9am EDT / 6am PDT / 2pm BST / 3pm CEST