The Brave Space Project's - A Gathering in the Woods.

Basecamp for The Brave Space Project.

This September we had the honor to serve as basecamp for A Gathering in the Woods - a community event put on by the Brave Space Project, a multi-racial, women-led, radically collaborative creative team seeking to decolonize outdoor culture both in front of and behind the lens. We want to share how this happened and what we hope to grow from this experience.

A special thanks to Nikky Torres, Co-Creator of A Gathering in the Woods & Mary Big Bull-Lewis, A Gathering in the Woods Participant for re-sharing your instagram photos to help tell the story.

Furthering community through place.

The seed for The Brave Space Project’s A Gathering in the Woods event was planted by Brave Space Project Team Members Nikky Torres and Erin Nash. The idea was to host a three-day meditation retreat somewhere outside for members of their community to gather, celebrate, and to connect (within, with one another, and to nature).

Through personal connection and previously supporting The Brave Space Project’s work, we discovered their need for place. Erin, Jon and I decided to meet up to learn more about how we could help.

The need was a place, but it was more than that. Erin explained that they were seeking a location where folks felt welcome, safe and free to be themselves. They wanted a place where they could camp, but also gather (rain or shine), as well as connect to their natural setting. We agreed that Basecamp was a great fit.

These specific needs were why we had created Basecamp Cascadia in the first place.

Soaking in the surroundings.

Nikky Torres, The Brave Space Project Team Member and Event Organizer, soaks in her surroundings at Basecamp Cascadia during A Gathering in the Woods. Photo: Nikky Torres.

Sunrise at Basecamp.

Sunrise over the camp during A Gathering in the Woods. Photo: Nikky Torres.

Connection.

Mary Big Bull-Lewis, The Brave Space Project Team Member & A Gathering in the Woods Participant, touches an aspen tree in the forest that surrounds Basecamp Cascadia during A Gathering in the Woods. Photo: Mary Big Bull-Lewis.

The Dome.

Evening at Basecamp Cascadia with the lighted dome in the background. Photo: Mary Big Bull-Lewis.

Erin, The Brave Space Project Team Member and Event Organizer, dances & lights up the dome at Basecamp Cascadia during A Gathering in the Woods. Photo: Nikky Torres.

In that conversation we found that this was our opportunity to provide a basecamp for an existing outdoor organization that shared a similar mission.

This fall, as community members of the Brave Space Project gathered to reflect, co-create, dance and just be, Jon and I experienced the energy of what it truly means to be an outdoor community space for all. As we heard laughter, howls of joy, exchanged smiles, and witnessed the boundless love that emerged from this community gathering, it was a testament to the importance of providing a place for community organizations to host. Providing the space filled us with a sense of compersion. *an empathetic state of happiness and joy experienced when another person experiences happiness and joy.*

Only the beginning.

Farewell photo with A Gathering in the Woods Co-Creators & Participant Nikky, Sage, Erin and Katie with Basecamp Cascadia. Photo: Nikky Torres.

Growth. This was Basecamp Cascadia’s first time having another organization host their own event at Basecamp, but as we said goodbye we knew this was only the beginning.

Ecstatic by what can happen when groups gather in community outside, we plan to sow even more opportunities for outdoor organizations to host (or what we fondly like to call basecamp) at Basecamp Cascadia and only further our mission to provide a place that serves as a community outdoor space for all.