In 2015 I was introduced to this newly formed group called Be Outdoors Arizona. They saw a need to support the youth and conservation groups that held activities and camps for kids to get connected to nature. Their goal was to create an easy path for new outdoor enthusiasts to find, explore and create new life long hobbies that supported our outdoors. Some of these organizations are small, or have only one event a year. If someone went to one event there wasn’t an easy way to find another event to continue their journey of learning more. These new outdoor enthusiasts didn’t have the support to stay engaged.

Many of these conservation groups and other organizations have mentored activities and camps for kids teaching them outdoor skills like camping, fishing, and hunting. Instilling ethics, responsibilities, confidence and giving purpose to the newer generations.

The environment was already facing a decline in those who participate outdoors and contribute funding to maintain our lands. At the same time there are growing groups that were becoming more and more vocal, preying on the public with emotional misleading information gaining support that causes more harm to our environment, open spaces and ability to use and enjoy it.

So, when I joined them in 2015 their website and google calendar had crashed. I volunteered to rebuild it and start a Facebook page. I started in 2016 when they had 35 organizations contributing events. By 2019 I had rebuilt the site twice, installed a robust calendar system, and built partnerships with 100 more organizations. The Facebook page was at 9000 followers.

I even started running one of the youth camps and personally witness shy kids become confident, defensive kids become outgoing and with a smile in their eyes.  I watched a young girl grow from a shy 10 year old to a determined woman who has now moved out of state to study wildlife biology. I was sharing all the things that I had learned about our outdoors and found most people had no idea about all that Arizona had to offer. I became quite passionate about the mission.

Then in October 2019 the president on the board came to me thanking me for all my work in helping them reach their goal of connecting all the organizations and having a great resource for Arizonans.  The board had lost steam and wasn’t meeting anymore so they were going to shelve the project for now and hope that  an organization who could take it over in a couple of years and do something with what had been built.

And the next thing I knew I heard my voice say “ you can’t do that, you will lose everything, you’d have to start all over again.  I’ll take it over.  Let me run with the mission.”

He looked almost as surprised as I felt. What had I just said?!

I planned a public launch of the event calendar at the big Game and Fish Outdoor Expo, estimated to bring in around 50,000 people. I bought banners, bags, brochures, hats for the event, that was scheduled for March… 2020

Sometimes you choose your challenges, sometimes they choose you. The pandemic allowed me to contemplate what Be Outdoors could offer, how it would serve, what it would be. And the results of the shut downs on the mental well being of kids and adults made this resource even more important. People need nature.

I researched and studied running a non profit, created a business plan, by laws, outlined what the board would look like, created an intern program, partnered with the University of Arizona, created marketing programs for my partner organizations that have events,  a membership program is in the works. We have an advertising program for outdoor recreation retailers and sponsorship packages for corporations. We’ve  partnerships with Arizona Tourism, State Parks and many more.

As of mid 2023 we have over 260 partners displaying their events on our website and many more resources for Arizonans to explore the outdoors with confidence. Volunteers and interns help with the administration of the site and social media. Javiel (our mascot) and I attend expos to spread the word and visit our partners to video and promote what they do.

To help cover the costs associated with the website, software and other fees we are creating an exclusive marketing/advertising for top notch retail and service providers that will provide services to our outdoor enthusiast followers!