When I moved to the Pacific Northwest from New York, I didn't know where I fit in.

I was used to being part of something.

Organizing, building community, showing up.

But out here, everything felt unfamiliar.

I was looking for my place, my people.

Through this show, I began exploring and meeting folks black, brown, indigenous, and people of color who were carving out space in the outdoors, each in their own way.

I realized we were here.

We'd always been here, and they were inspiring me and so many others to create a space that felt welcoming, supportive, and ours.

(Allison) Hello!

How's it going?

(Aaliyah) Good.

How are you?

- You ready for this?

-Yeah.

Now, four years in, I'm hosting my first community event.

We Out Here Trail Fest.

A race for us, for folks showing up for the first time.

For those who never thought they belonged out here.

This isn't just a race.

It's a gathering, a statement, a celebration of what's possible when we find each other and build something together.

But first, join me as I reconnect with past guests.

Catch up with them and learn what's given them the strength to activate this community.

Together, we are all hands in.

(opening theme music) Today I'm on Vashon Island meeting with Tina Blakey, a snowboarder, an outdoor adventurerer, an advocate and community organizer.

I first met Tina last year during my first snowboarding lesson at Crystal Mountain.

She's been snowboarding for 25 years.

For Tina, snowboarding makes her feel like a kid again.

Floating and flying down the mountain gives her so much joy.

- My name is Tina Blakey and I am a snowboarder.

I am an outdoor adventurer, advocate and community organizer.

When you were doing these things growing up, did you feel like you were the only or did you see other families like yours outside?

So I think I was fortunate and when I grew up, I was a little naive.

And so I didn't really have that awareness that I was the only one.

It was a very unique situation.

My dad is black, my mom is Asian, two mixed kids.

The lack of awareness really stemmed from the fact that I did not grow up around my family.

Especially my dad's family is black.

The desire to assimilate as a daughter of an immigrant.

And now looking back though, I realize, oh wow, I - there wasn't a lot of people that looked like me.

I didn't see myself represented in the outdoors when I was growing up.

When I started getting into snow sports, which didn't happen till later.

And I was fortunate that I had both my brothers, so I wasn't alone.

And we would kind of view it almost as a joke, like, oh, we're the, look, We're the only black people here.

Like, oh, we saw another black skier.

But I still don't think I quite had the understanding of the reasons behind that, why I didn't see people who looked like me on the mountain.

I didn't have an understanding that racism can take many forms.

It can be covert.

It can be microaggressions.

Do you feel welcome there?

Do you feel like you weren't included and that people want you there?

And those are the things that I think get missed often because you can have all of the resources in the world and have the means to get there and then get in that space and never want to come back because you don't feel welcome.

I have to say that that is what has prevented me from getting into snow sports.

I mean that in the fact that my parents were both immigrants.

So they were like “Snow?” They came from warm countries.

Like, why would you want to do that?

But also feeling like I was going to show up, not know what I was doing, not understand the culture and not have community.

How have you been working to shift that?

So the moment where things really shifted was in January of 2021, I received a scholarship for avalanche certification, and they designated 50% of the spots for women of color.

That was the first time I had been snowboarding for over two decades, and that was the first time I had been in a space in snow sports with other women of color.

Wow.

So I knew in that moment that I needed to do more than just participate and enjoy the sport.

I needed to bring other people into that space.

You can do a nice push, plant and then just hold until you come to a stop, and I think this is flat enough that you will come to a stop if you don't just drop your heel, okay?

It'll stop you.

Okay.

Plant.

Athletic stance.

Wait.

Wait.

Look where you're going.

Look where youre going.

Yup.

Just hold it.

Just hold it, just hold it, hold (laughter) Whenever you're ready.

You got this.

Yes.

Yes.

Center the weight.

Now put the pressure on the heels.

It's gonna happen.

It's gonna happen.

It's gonna happen.

Just hold it.

- You did it!

- So hey.

- Awesome.

- (Alison) It's been over a year since I first met Tina during that snowboarding lesson.

Now spring has arrived.

The flowers are out, the trees are full, and Tina is inviting me back to the mountains.

This time for a day of mountain biking.

All right.

You ready for some mountain biking... crazy shenanigans?

- Just kidding.

- Ready or not, is what I always say.

I love your fit.

You look like this is your thing.

I say, even if you can't be good at the sport, Look good at not being good at the sport.

(cheerful music) All the things and elements I love about snowboarding translate really well to mountain biking, which is kind of the action element.

The action sports element.

Just that little bit of adrenaline rush, which I really, really enjoy The feel of it, feels very similar, like you have these trails that are like flow trails and just it feels very similar to me.

And then the other piece that I love is being out here, you know, listening to the birds, just being outdoors.

It's a way for me to get outdoors and enjoy the outdoors.

And also, do you know, activity that I really love.

So this is an app I use.

It's called Trail Forks and it has all the mountain biking parks in the area.

So like we're here at Dockton, but you can see all the different ones which is great.

It's a very handy tool.

Something I learned from somebody like, this is all stuff I didn't know.

But other people shared knowledge with me and as much as I can, I like to share that giving back.

Even if this is not as much my wheelhouse.

(upbeat music) - In the right gear.

Okay, here we go.

- Ah.

- Good?

- Yeah, okay.

Just like riding a bike, right?

- So they say.

(laughter) (upbeat music) I have been on a mountain bike on and off for a couple decades, but I have not been avid about it.

So I would say in the last few years I got a bike and wanted to do more.

So I had the bike.

I had the desire.

Did not have the community Did not have the friends.

Did not have anyone to teach me.

I was very fortunate that I met a lot of people in snowboarding.

There's a lot of crossover, and I was able to connect with just a few people who did the same things.

And similar to what I do with snowboarding, I take people out one-on-one connections start to grow into community connections.

And I was fortunate to find that in mountain biking.

It was other people teaching me, introducing me to other BIPOC folks.

Similar to snowboarding, it is also a very, very white, male dominated sport.

And because I had already experienced that BIPOC community in snowboarding, I purposely sought that out for mountain biking.

Like it wasn't enough for me just for somebody to teach me skills, honestly.

Like I was very mindful of, like who that person is, what that space is going to feel like for me, because that is as important to me in learning something new, is the feeling safe.

Not just the technical skills, it's also feeling safe and supported.

I know that there was also a piece that you mentioned about looking for activities that you can do off the mountain, because snow is-- We touched on that topic, the last time we spoke, and it's still on the top of my mind.

And it is also a reason why I am kind of embracing the mountain biking more.

It is something I can do when there isn't snow.

You can do it year round.

You can do it in the rain.

I may not be the most pleasant we can do in any kind of conditions.

And the reality is that my snow season is going to get shorter and shorter.

But I also think about the fact in addition to, you know, climate change, lack of snow, what it takes for me to get up to a mountain.

I'm using resources.

It's gas, it's energy.

I mean, if you look around us here, we got a trail, we got trees.

You go to a ski resort, You have lifts that take gas, you have electricity, you have your guests.

They have to bring so much up to the mountains.

I don't know how sustainable that sport that I love is for me and for everybody.

The fact that you're always considering your own impact on the climate.

What makes you this way?

I know that the majority of people probably don't think in terms of climate resiliency.

We automatically think about what the climate is doing and how it will affect us, as opposed to what are we doing to affect it.

And it's because I love these things, not just for me, because I do also want to share these things with others.

So I think that because that's what drives it, I can never just view it through only my lens and how it impacts me, but how I can impact the greater environment, which will also impact other people.

So we all play a role in it.

We all play a part in it.

Do you struggle with imposter syndrome trying something new?

Like, snowboarding is your jam clearly.

Mountainbiking?

Not so much.

Do you have imposter syndrome?

100%, yes.

I still have it sometimes with snowboarding, but I was having it even prior to meeting up with you because in my mind, you know, I'm like, I don't know, mountain biking that well.

I'm not an expert.

I can't do this.

I can't do that.

And I was having a conversation with my friend and I said, you know what?

I need to get out of my head, because when people tell me they're not a snowboarder or they're intimidated, I let them know, if you can get on a snowboard, you're snowboarder.

There's no other definition.

You don't have to have certain tricks that you need to do.

It's just about enjoying your time.

And so I had to remind myself as I was getting back on my bike, which is not my wheelhouse.

I'm a mountain biker.

I'm on my mountain bike.

I'm enjoying it.

I don't need any other, litmus test for that.

So I know that you have built community in snowboarding.

You are all about community in mountain biking.

I am hosting a trail race that is for newcomers, really, and BIPOC people who havent experienced trail running.

What advice do you have for me?

I think the biggest advice piece of advice I would give is quality over quantity, because oftentimes we have this desire to bring all these people into this space, and I am the same.

And so we focus on getting numbers, which is important.

But I think quantity making those one on one connections is really what you need.

It's the grassroots piece of it to build on that, because if somebody comes in and has an amazing one on one connection, they're going to talk about it with their friends and they're going to bring them into that.

That's really an ego check, right?

Its like, it doesnt matter.

- Yes, it is, Because you always feel like, oh, this event didn't have all these people.

And I'm trying to create the space and we want it to happen quickly.

We want it to happen.

But that's not how community is built, right?

It's relationships.

It's relationship building is what it is.

That's not how community is built.

Yeah, community means not the activity.

It's the relationship.

And then the activity gets to be the bonus.

(upbeat music) When I cruise down a mountain, I feel like a kid.

I feel like I'm playing.

I'm having fun.

Mountain bike.

No different.

I am cruising the trails and it reminds me when I first learned to ride that bike, the first time I was able to go on my own, going to the neighborhood with my brother when I was still brave enough to take my hands off the handlebars.

I don't do that anymore.

But that feeling of just again joy, it's a joy and just the childlike wonderment too when you are just having fun and you're not thinking about anything else.

Two sports, one in snow, one not.

They actually do kind of go really well together.

They check off the same boxes, which is a lot of fun.

Today I'm at Carkeek Park to meet up with Armand Lucas and the Urban Woods Initiative, a BIPOC birding group he created when I first met Armand in 2023, he showed me the ropes of birdwatching around Seward Park.

The act of birdwatching was not on my radar.

Being a runner, taking time to slow down and listen to the world around me was new and exciting.

For him, birdwatching is an anchor, something that brings him back to himself.

It slows him down, helps him listen more deeply, and creates a sense of peace.

He believes it's a way to reconnect and feel grounded.

I first started birdwatching, definitely, when my grandfather was always excited about nature, and when I was a kid, he would share PBS episodes of Nature with me.

He would pre-record them, and I'd come to his back room, and sometimes we'd watch for hours.

And birds were always a big excitement for us to see.

And as I got older, I remember in the Bronx, in Parkchester where I grew up, there was a red tailed hawk that was in the neighborhood, and it was hunting all the squirrels in the neighborhood.

I went out with my grandfather and we actually took a photo of it.

And I remember everyone in the neighborhood- There was like a myth that it got- It escaped from the zoo.

And people didn't realize that it actually was just a wild red tailed hawk in the, you know, the area doing what it does.

But I remember after that, my mother saw the interest I had in birds.

And, after that, she bought me Sibley guides and Kauffmann guides and these animal fact files.

And I would spend hours, you know, reading about them, about their wingspan, about how they live their life, where they migrate.

And so it just took off from there.

(calm music) There's a huge birdwatching community.

There's like, people are very open about it.

When I go out, people are always asking, “What did you see?” or sharing what they saw.

So it's a really a warm community, generally.

- I have to say, this is one of my favorite things about this show, because you're mentioning this birdwatching community that to me feels like it must be underground because Im so unfamiliar with it.

But that's so beautiful.

It's like a thriving space.

Yeah, birdwatching is one of the largest, hobbies in America.

Birdwatchers, birders are always excited to get more folks into the activity, but what would you say are some of the things that keep people out?

- There have been many times that I've gone to wild places and, birdwatching where I've been, singled out.

People have, there's bad apples out there, people who don't find people of color, Black people in a neighborhood as a as a threat or as a potential very, very suspicious.

And so, I've confronted that several times, going very, you know, earnestly just out bird watching, looking for a specific bird, near a neighborhood and finding that people are concerned that I'm there.

I've rarely had those experiences, but they do- They do happen.

They do happen.

Absolutely.

They're exogenous things that definitely make people feel uncomfortable in wild spaces.

I'm really grateful and fortunate to have, my parents, my grandfather, who so like engendered that interest and and I think more people need to do that.

Like if their children have like a curiosity that's not their own, find ways to engender it or get them connected to the right people to to kind of ignite that fire.

Because I think a lot of, especially kids who grew up in the inner city don't have that exposure.

(cheerful music) - (Alison) When I first met Armand, he was mostly a solo birdwatcher.

But a couple of years later, things have shifted.

He started a grassroots community group to share his passion with others.

Today at Carkeek Park, I'm joining him and his group, the Urban Woods Initiative.

Urban Woods Initiative helps folks like himself find connection and peace through this simple, joyful pastime.

- Go around the group, everybody just say your name and anything you'd like to share.

- My name is Nick.

Welcome, everybody.

I love bird watching.

I love all kinds of nature.

One of my favorite animals to see, are reptiles, particularly snakes.

But since this is a birding trip I'll say my favorite birds are the American roadrunner.

and a Lazuli bunting.

-I'm a conservation biologist.

My specialty is reptiles.

And I like birds, too.

My name is Jade.

I'm kind of new to Seattle, and I'm very new to birding.

And my favorite bird is also a roadrunner.

- Yes, yes.

Thank you.

If anybody needs an extra pair of binoculars, I have some - Okay, guys, there's a little trail here that kind of heads, West towards the water.

- So like a crow and a raven, so we talked about them gliding rather than flapping.

The ravens tail is shaped like a wedge.

The sound of the call, the raven is much more of a throaty “rowk.” (soft music) -It was here last time, we looked for a while.

- Hes in the tree and hes got, like, a white, a little white, I see it.

- We got the kingfisher over here.

- You see this tree with the 45 degree angle?

Yes.

White, slate gray, blue, big beak with a crest on it - Wow!

And it has, like, a purplish beak?

- It's a bluish.

Yeah, yeah.

And they're sexually dimorphic.

The males and females look slightly different.

- When I met you almost two years ago, you were a solo birder.

And you now have your own group.

Tell me, how did you create that?

How do we get here?

I think it was a lot of inspiration from being on the show, on Out & Back.

And, after that, I had a lot of friends and, people in the community come up to me and said, “You know, if you created a group, there's a need for more diversity and inclusion in the ornithology space.

If you make a group, I'll come.

I'll join.” As the group grows and I see how happy people are and how motivated they are and they come back to me and tell me the birds they saw and their interest in the outdoors and ornithology, it empowers me to be more, outgoing and courageous about doing things like this.

My motto for the group now, is nature is open source.

I want them to feel like they can do this anytime they want.

They could come out to nature, feel the peace that nature brings, and use birds as a bridge with nature.

- Birding today was almost like a side part of it, right?

Like I came for the people and to just get outside of this crazy world that we're in and spend time with people.

Oh, and there were birds too.

What's the structure of the group?

Were you intentional in creating that kind of dynamic?

- I think that's just organic.

I think that there's, folks obviously that come to the group and they're very interested in ornithology, the color, the flight patterns.

One of the things that's really surprised me is how much people are craving community.

Just to get together, put down their phones, get away from work and be out in nature and have a convivial space where they can laugh and point out things that they've identified.

- So I'm hosting a trail race very soon, and what is maybe a piece of advice or something you can offer me about gathering people?

I mean, you're you're the expert now.

- I think it's just really important to, like, let people, like, enjoy the space.

They're already coming from their kind of structured lives and just letting nature come to you.

One of the missing links is having a reference point, and I think that this allows people to have a reference point that I know somebody I know about birdwatching, I know a little bit, and then they can create their own legacy.

One thing that's happened organically that I didn't anticipate is that we have kind of a divergence of the group, and even one of my, most frequent members has made a herpetology group and is going out with a new group looking for amphibians and reptiles.

So it's a new thing that I would have never thought of.

You're a solo birder.

You create a group, now you're doing retreats.

Like, tell me about that.

Well, we had a special invitation, to go to a field station in Moses Coulee, which is in eastern Washington.

And it was an amazing group.

I invited a special group of folks who are regulars to my The Urban Woods Initiative, BIPOC Bird Walks, and they really had a great time.

We even did, late night walks looking for owls and the common nighthawks.

And it was a wonderful experience.

Yeah.

So can we expect more of those?

I hope so, yeah.

And, I hope that, we have an opportunity to do that because I think it it really accelerates what I'm trying to do, which is just get more people connected with nature.

For me, thats-- I would love to go on those types of trips, but I don't want to do any of the planning, like, I don't know where I'm going.

So I want somebody to take care of the logistics and then end up there.

So the fact that you're providing this opportunity for people is so powerful.

Thank you.

Yeah, it's definitely a challenge like to to coordinate and get those things together.

But when it happens it's really a magical thing.

There's a famous quote by John Burrows and it says “The infinite cannot be measured.

The plan of nature is so immense that it has no plans, no scheme, but to go on and on forever.” (Alison) It was so great to meet back up with Tina and Armand.

Seeing their experiences and resilience has solidified the importance of the We Out Here Trail festival.

Because this isn't just about running, it's about creating a space where we don't have to explain why we belong.

We just do.

Whether it's riding through the woods or quietly watching birds, Tina and Armand remind me that connection to the outdoors can look different for everyone, but what stays the same is the power of feeling seen, supported, and rooted in community.

That's what this festival is all about.

That's why we out here.

So good to see you.

It's a beautiful day.

We brought the sun out for you.

Folks who arent from here.

It's not always like this.

We are moving through the check in line as soon as possible, but hang out, take pictures, get in the shade, and we'll get started at 4:30 as planned.

All right?

I want to hear it one more time.

How are we doing today everybody?

(crowd cheers) All right, let's get this started.

We are so excited to see so many beautiful people.

So much melanin out here today.

Now, raise your hand if you're one of the 66% of people who are running their first trail race today.

Look at that, y'all.

After this, you will officially be trail runners, and you will know what it means to show up and feel a sense of belonging in this space I hope.

Because that's what we're doing it for.

Aliyah and I came to this vision after being in the road and trail space for a long time, and wishing we could have a race where we felt like we could show up like ourselves, where our music was playing, where the swag was dope.

And you know what?

We didn't find it.

So what did we do?

- We built it.

Hey.

So thank you for believing in our vision.

(upbeat music) (crowd cheers) Now, I can't start the race like that.

Are we ready, everybody?

(crowd cheers) (crowd cheers) All right, here we go.

On you mark.

-Set.

- Go!

(cheerful music) - My favorite part of this whole experience is seeing the community show up.

Right?

Like, we put this out, and we knew we didn't want it just to be a Washington race.

We've got people all over the country who are coming, people from Canada coming, and the community is showing up in ways that I didn't even anticipate.

After today, we take away what we learned and see how we can make it better and make a bigger impact, whether that's here in Washington, taking it global maybe we pop up in some different states, maybe New York, maybe Ohio.

(laughter) One thing is for sure.

-We out here,.

-We are out here.

- We out here!