NEMO, an independent designer of outdoor gear and accessories built to improve the adventure experience, announced its 2023 community and nonprofit partners, a blend of new and renewed partnerships. Understanding that access to the outdoors is essential to getting more folks outside and to creating the next stewards of the planet, NEMO partners with for and nonprofit organizations that are focused on inclusivity, access, and equity in the outdoors.
Renewed Partnerships include:
- Camp Yoshi was founded by Rashad, Ron, and Shequeita Frazier, to help diversify the outdoor space. Since its inception in 2020, Camp Yoshi has helped to create safe spaces for people of color, allies, first-time campers and enthusiasts by curating trips that allow them to explore the art of camping through their unique lens. With an emphasis on leisure and aspirational experiences, Camp Yoshi is intent on being all-inclusive for their campers, using the most premium gear possible and serving up chef-prepared campsite meals.
- Inclusive Guide was founded by two Black women, Crystal Egli and Parker McMullen Bushman, to create data-driven, economic incentives for businesses to be more inclusive and welcoming, resulting in safer spaces for people who experience discrimination regularly. Their Inclusive Guide, a digital Green Book and website like Yelp for inclusivity, launched in the Denver community in 2022 with plans to expand into other cities across the country. Users of the Inclusive Guide can submit business locations they feel safe in and then rate the business on a range of attributes such as courtesy of staff, ADA compliance, sense of personal safety as it relates to their identity and more. Crowd-sourced entries populate “inclusivity reviews” for businesses and recreation spaces. NEMO was a sponsor of their Liberation Tour last summer that took McMullen Bushman and her family on an RV tour of the United States to increase the visibility of Black folks in travel and outdoor spaces.
- New Partnerships include:
Bewilder is a female, BIPOC-owned and founded experiential media company inspiring families to spend time outside. It hosts pop-up retail events in partnership with outdoor brands and retailers and provides a monthly newsletter featuring fun trip ideas, kid-friendly activities, and advice for staying safe in nature. - Black.Surfers is an organization fighting to attain equitable access to surfing for Black people through policy and community. The Black-centric organization welcomes allies as part of its membership. Founded in 2018 by Kayiita Johansson, Black.Surfers has a following of more than 11,000 people and a 580-person global community. It aims to eliminate the systemic and cultural barriers that prevent Black people from reclaiming their ancestral birthright to the ocean, surfing and fully enjoying all it has to offer.
Access also includes supporting organizations that work to conserve public lands and waterways and provide healthy landscapes for wildlife. NEMO continues to partner with Southeast Land Trust of NH, The Conservation Alliance, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, and Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
More information and guides can be found on NEMO’s Adventure Resources page.
