Explore the Nature Near You

OutGrown Executive Director Jessica Carillo Alatorre has been a part of Hike it Baby since 2014 where she met Shanti Hodges, the founder of Hike it Baby on her first hike. She is inspired by the passion and commitment of the volunteers who drive OutGrown along with the mission that has created the kind of community she wants her girls to be a part of. She is committed to building a future where the outdoors is a safe, accessible space for all families to enjoy, regardless of their race, gender, ability, socioeconomic status, orientation, or religion. Jessica is proud to be raising a generation to love the outdoors.    When I became a parent, I had recently moved to Portland and didn’t know many people. Of the few people I did know, none had kids. My partner and I had left a very close knit group of friends in the Bay area and I was unsure about how I was going to get through this transition into parenthood without close friends or a sense of community. I knew I wanted to be an active parent, going to the library, walking to the park, and generally exploring and enjoying the place where we lived with my baby. I even convinced my partner we should get a dog so that I would have someone to walk with the baby and me while my partner worked. PS - don’t try having a new puppy and your first baby at the same time, it’s not a great mix! I tried to join a few meetup groups, but was told I couldn’t join until I had my baby. I tried some prenatal yoga and swim classes, but found it challenging to make connections. It seemed like the only option I had was joining my new moms group hosted by the hospital once I gave birth. I did that and met some nice women. One of them shared about a group called Hike it Baby that was for parents who wanted to get outside with their babies. I joined the group’s Facebook page and watched it from afar for a bit before I worked up the courage to go out. I finally joined a real life event when they posted a new parents hike, making it feel more approachable for my healing postpartum body and inexperience with my baby carrier. Boy, do they make those things complicated, especially when you factor in the sleep deprivation of new parenthood!  On the hike, we were greeted by several nice people, we stopped together for a rest, and we sat around in the nature center after, chatting and connecting more while we nursed our babies and had some snacks. It was very informal, but it suited me to be able to warm up and connect without the formality of specific discussion themes or baby care focus I found at my new moms group. As I joined more events, I began to see familiar faces and form connections with people. Through those opportunities, I was able to form new friendships. I started to exchange contact information and get more outgoing in my attempts to be social. I also built confidence in getting out with my daughter. Instead of bringing the whole diaper bag with me, I learned I could leave a stocked diaper bag in the car and just bring some water, wipes, a diaper, and a snack for the actual hike. I learned which carrier I liked best and how to get it on myself with my baby in it safely. It was a huge game changer when I learned how to nurse my daughter while she was in the carrier. I didn’t have to feed her in the car before or after outings or errands, I could do it while walking and shopping. It was SO liberating!   Today, the women who I connected with on those first hikes are still my closest friends nearly 9 years later. We don’t need the excuse of an organized event to get us together. We just reach out and invite each other to mom dates, play dates, birthday parties, camp trips, and more. We have a solid community that we can rely on if we need help. We can count on each other to watch over the kids as they roam in more independent play groups at gatherings, trusting that we all know each other and will keep our collective brood in good care. Finding this kind of positive community and support as a parent has been integral in my own personal development, mental and physical wellness, and general self confidence. Being able to spend time outside with my baby has also been integral. The habits and lessons learned from spending time outside and making friends that encourage more of the same have drastically impacted both myself and my children in a number of physical, behavioral, and spiritual ways. My elder daughter hiked 9 miles on her own two feet at 7 years old like it was just something we do. My younger daughter has always been the family motivator, asking from a very young age for regular “hikeababies” (walks outside). It has also connected us all more deeply to the care and importance of the land, plants, and animals around us and the planet we all share. Both my children are avid defenders of the natural world, pointing out harm and encouraging those around them to make better choices to help protect our planet. Outside time is how we find peace as a family, calming tempers, distracting us from annoyances and worries, and releasing pent up energy.  I want to give those kinds of experiences to every new parent and child who comes into this world.  As I have navigated through the challenges of motherhood, I have often wondered what it would be like for my family without the experiences and opportunities I have had thanks to my Hike it Baby community. I think both my life and my children would be very different and likely not for the better. We live in a world where the impact of social support, holistic wellness, and the importance of time outside for our positive human development is not given enough recognition or priority. More and more people are spending more and more of their time inside, in front of screens and away from the natural world we are a part of. There are significant disparities among who feels comfortable, equipped, and like they belong in the outdoors. These disparities are often similarly reflected across the social determinants of health, across health outcomes for mothers and children, and across other key factors that indicate if we are thriving as individuals. As a community of people, we are becoming more divided and polarized. We see an increase in violence and extremism. We see more impacts from our behavior on our climate, bringing in more extreme weather and an alarming increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters that destroy our homes and lives. The more we disconnect from our planet and the people around us, the more harm we experience. Without those connections to each other and to nature, our future generations are at a significant risk both individually and collectively.  We can have positive, long lasting  impacts across all of these areas with just a few small shifts. What starts as tiny baby steps become leaps and bounds of positive difference as a family grows and children mature.    From the seeds of Hike it Baby, we are expanding on what we’ve learned, letting it root deeply into our community led approach and establishing what we have identified as three core programs necessary for a strong trunk of success in supporting families in getting outside. Hike it Baby will continue to offer a community led approach to outdoor activities and events. Doing so allows individual families to host the type of outings and events that work for them while inviting others in their community to join them, which is a key element in building a community that gets outside together. Bring it Outside will work to address the barriers marginalized families face in getting outside, providing gear, workshops, and a multi-lingual, culturally relevant approach to offer more holistic and targeted support for those who don’t feel welcome, safe, prepared, or otherwise like they belong outside with their families. We believe lowering barriers for those who face the most challenges lowers barriers for all of us, helping to build toward a future where everyone sees themselves as able, confident, and excited to get outside in whatever ways they enjoy most. Turn the Blues Green introduces nature to new parents as soon as they have their babies. Resources and activities will be offered that demonstrate the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside for both the parent and the infant, inviting and encouraging parents to step outside as soon as a baby is born to help reduce the impacts of postpartum depression, the baby blues, and the increased stress, anxiety, and fear that all parents struggle with as they navigate this new transition. We believe that inviting families to play outside together is a powerful way to build community and foster a life-long love of nature. We believe that every child deserves to grow up outside, to be OutGrown. We hope you will join us and help us continue to bring it outside! ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org  EDITOR’S NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.

Over the last two years, we’ve had the pleasure of rolling out our Wander Walks programming to over 45 locations across North America.   Our Wander Walks initiative focuses on engaging young families in activity based signage that supports early childhood development and nature based play. For example, a family might be walking through a local greenspace and they see a Wander Walks sign which encourages them to explore a little further, spend a little more time outside, and ultimately it helps them have a positive and memorable experience together. Each sign is guided by Wox the Wander Walk fox and shares movement based activities, stories about native species and indigenous people, and opportunities to practice mindfulness, as well as fun nature facts that Wox tells us throughout the Wander Walk. Signs are bilingual (English and Spanish) and include adaptations for those with altered abilities.    Thanks to partners like Merrell, L.L.Bean, Sunday Afternoons, Turtle Fur, Joules and Burley, we were able to install signs in a variety of locations as both semi-permanent signage in partnership with local parks and recreation departments, and as event kits sent to our Branch Ambassadors, and community partners so they can pack them up and move them from place to place to help get their branches active on the trail. Each kit is made up of 10 signs, which are selected from our library of individual signs, offering the opportunity to pick the best signs for their location.     We’ve really enjoyed seeing where our community has been able to Wander with Wox! Here's some of what people love about our Wander Walk signs.     Hikers can interact with the signs as a group participating on a hike together, or on their own. We partnered with the Point au Roche State Park Nature Center and put the signs along one of their short trails (about a quarter mile). We had several group Wander Walks, but those staying away from others due to Covid concerns especially enjoyed that they could do the Wander Walk on their own at any time.  - Valerie Gregory, Hike it Baby Adirondack Coast NY Branch Ambassador     The signs can be used in a small area, and doesn’t have to be a hiking trail! They help kids engage with nature where ever that nature may be: Wander Walks were a great way to get our students out of the classroom and outside. Our program doesn’t have great access to the outdoors, however we were able to facilitate an educational opportunity for our students right on school grounds with the help of the Wander Walks program. - Sam Giffin, Program Director for 21st Century Grant in Marysville, WA     Wander Walks create a unique, interactive opportunity to go from simply moving along a trail to actually sensing what is happening around you This Wander Walk was interactive for our family, and helped point out things that you might not have noticed.  For example, it made us more aware of bug life.  We also went on the Ice Age Trail, and we actually looked around at what was around us rather than just walked after noticing some of what the signs pointed out.  It was a great outing with my grandkids. - Sue H, Eagle,  WI   To learn more about Wander Walks, reach out to us where you can get a set of your own, or partner with us to develop our next custom Wander Walk sign! ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org    EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.