by Darren Josey
Outdoor recreation is for everyone, yet not everyone recreates outside. According to the 2024 Outdoor Industry Association Participation Report, 57% of Americans recreated outside one or more days last year, while 43% did not. When you look at the data, many groups are missing: ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and lower-income folks. So, why should people who already recreate outside care? How can we expect almost half the country to care or take action on solving climate change if they’ve never experienced the positive benefits outdoor recreation provides? To make it more personal, how would your life be different if you didn’t get outside for a hike, ride, or run in the Fells last year? What if you spent a lifetime without ever knowing it existed? For far too many people living in Malden, this is their reality.
My name is Darren Josey and I go by DJ, and I’m the person who created The Great Malden Outdoors with my company First Seed Sown. I spent a 15-year career working for outdoor and athletic brands being paid to play outside; however, as a Black and Puerto Rican kid who grew up in Medford, I didn’t see many people who looked like me in these outdoor playgrounds. In 2023 I made it my mission to start a company with the goal of building and maintaining equitable access to outdoor recreation for everyone while fostering existing participants’ recreational pursuits. If we are going to slow, stop, and someday reverse the negative effects of climate change, then we’re going to need everyone to have a personal connection to nature.
Malden, MA is the perfect starting point for a campaign like this. It has the unique combination of being the fourth most diverse city in the state and home to a wide array of some of the most accessible outdoor recreation spaces in the country. You can rock climb at several outdoor crags, view migrating birds at an official Hawk Watch Count Site at Pinnacle Rock, paddle along the Malden River, enter through multiple trailheads into the Fells, and enjoy some of the most diverse food in a single city.
This campaign has delivered a multilingual advertising campaign, a step-by-step outdoor recreation website guide, and dozens of outdoor programming and events for residents and visitors this year. A big thanks to the Friends of the Fells (FOF) team and volunteers for supporting this ambitious project.
This past summer, we partnered with FOF to offer an adaptive hike during Disability Pride month with over 30 participants. We are also working with FOF to expand their after-school programming through a Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation grant. Finally, we’ve partnered with FOF and municipal leaders to promote the Be Kind! Campaign, which encourages stewardship of our green spaces and respect for our fellow park users.
We are excited to continue to partner with groups like FOF to increase accessibility at the Fells, and I look forward to expanding upon the good work we’ve done in year one for many more people in the years to come.
To learn more about The Great Malden Outdoors, please visit (www.TheGreatMaldenOutdoors.com) and sign up for our newsletter to receive information on future events.
All photos in this blog post are by Colgan Johnson.