GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Here in Michigan, we have thousands of miles of trails and millions of acres of state land all available for us to enjoy... But if you don’t have the right equipment, doing that is a lot easier said than done. So sometimes if you want to go outside you need to start inside— like at the Gear Library in Grand Rapids.
Their mission seems simple; help people from all economic levels and all communities get outside. Because our public lands should be in public hands.
“You need good gear; if you're outside and you're wet, you're cold, you're not going to have fun, “ GR Outside supervisor Sam Truby said.
The problem is, that good gear can be expensive – an economic barrier that keeps a lot of would-be outdoorsmen and -women from enjoying our public lands and water. So, Truby and the crew at the Gear Library want to change that.
Funded through a park millage and donations from various partnerships, the goal is to get the equipment — everything from hiking backpacks to yard games— out to people who would otherwise not have access to it. They even have workshops and events to make sure all this gear gets used correctly, so when you leave the woods or water you want to go back.
“I mean, going outside is good for you," Sam said. "To say it kind of simply, it's fun, it reduces stress. It's good for your body, good exercise, but also like promoting stewardship is really important. Going outside helps us care about the natural areas around us and helps us learn to take care of the natural spaces that we have.”
Emphasis on we. Every pair of boots acts as a reminder to people that our natural areas are open to everyone.
“It's not just about going out and doing extreme backpacking trips, you don't need to go climbing, you don't need to go do anything of the sort in order to enjoy nature," Raul Velasco with GR Outside told us. "If you want to just go for a stroll down the White Pine Trail, or if you want to pick up one of our picnic blankets and go have a picnic with your family or one of our portable grills. Being in the outdoors means an array of things and we're here to try and let people know that."
The library goes beyond equipment to promote inclusivity.
"We try to make the space welcoming to everyone," added Sam. "We have Spanish-speaking staff who can work with the people when they come in if you're a Spanish speaker, and just trying to empower, especially communities of color to find other people to go outside with and safe in new ways.
So no matter where you’re coming from- after walking through these doors we can all be one community outside.
