Erin Baumgartner, a State College native, is a deeply thoughtful, authentic, and creative person. It brought me so much joy to hear her story and how she connects nature to art.

Today, she shares:

🌿 The story of Willow and Briar, her online art shop featuring handmade art inspired by natural spaces

🌿 The challenges and growth that have been a part of creative process

🌿 Gardening as a means of practicing sustainability and being intrigued by the natural world

🌿 How her experiences growing up shaped her relationship with outdoor spaces

🌿 A recent bike-packing trip!

And more. We could barely scratch the surface, but I hope this conversation brings some inspiration and reflection - it certainly has for me.

Willow and Briar Studio: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WillowandBriarStudio

Chris Sommer, a State College native, is a human being deeply rooted in a sense if stewardship. And, he loves to walk... far.

Today, he shares:

🌿 His solo thru-hike (& Fastest Known Time) on the Midstate Trail to raise funds for a houselessness relief organization

🌿 Misconceptions that many in State College have about those experiencing houselessness

🌿 Inclusive language when addressing those in a housing-unstable world

🌿 How you can get involved in relief efforts in central PA, or your own community

🌿 A history of the Midstate Trail, PA's longest and wildest footpath

And more. We could barely scratch the surface, but I hope this conversation brings some inspiration and reflection - it certainly has for me.

- Housing Transitions: https://housingtransitions.org/about/

- Centre Helps:https://www.centrehelps.org/about-us-1

- Out of the Cold: http://www.ootc3.org/contact.html

- Centre Safe: https://www.centresafe.org/

- Chris's blog post with a Penn State professor, addressing houselessness misconceptions: https://hike4homeless.weebly.com/blog---hiking-and-community/not-your-typical-bum

Veronica is a Wilderness Ranger for the wilderness district in Aspen, Colorado. ————————————————————— An outdoors enthusiast originally from Missouri, she fell in love with the Western slopes of Colorado and has been working with the Forest Service as a team lead for rangers in this wilderness area.

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Today, she shares:

- How human history has shaped and altered Aspen's wilderness, from the activities of Indigenous peoples to Aspen's present-day tourism & recreation

- The complex role that social media (geo-tagging) has played in both breaking down the historic whiteness of outdoor spaces, while also being used to commodify public lands

- What being an ethical outdoors person can look like in your local community

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Veronica is an absolute wealth of knowledge, and as her life work is to protect the wilderness districts in Aspen and educate visitors on mindful interaction within them, we could barely scratch the surface. But I hope this conversation brings some inspiration and reflection - it certainly has for me!

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Aspen-Sophris Ranger District Webpage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whiteriver/about-forest/districts/?cid=fsbdev3_001248

Devyn Adams is a junior at Penn State studying rehabilitation and human services. She and her friend Maria were supposed to run the New York City Marathon this year, but everything is canceled.

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Instead, they're running their own: the Raceless Marathon, which raises funds to support an organization that provides sports and nutritional programming for youth with visual impairments - an organization that had empowered Devyn to pursue her love for running, and with which volunteers with today.

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Devyn shares how she fell in love with running and what the Raceless Marathon means to her. Also, she talks about ways that she's framed this time to more deeply examine what she wants her purpose to be, in both her running and in her future. Lastly, she shares on ways that the sports community should encourage and empower friends & teammates who have visual impairments to pursue their goals in outdoor spaces. 
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The Raceless Marathon sign-up: 
https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/UniversityPark/TheRacelessMarathon?fbclid=IwAR2p1q1uxHwqEvhSasmvyRE0CFiBWar_6Mas7joQHYWbsF8ahtwzOg3E7G4

You can find Devyn at: @devadamz

On Monday, August 10th as I'm sharing this episode with you all, Adam Wolfe is kicking off his 100-mile week of running - but there's a lot more to it than just the miles.

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In this episode, he shares more about this project, among other things. The plan: to run 2 runs each day, each time with someone in his life who's really important to him. Afterwards, they'll sit down and have an open and vulnerable conversation.

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In a lot of different ways, coming together safely through the joy of running is a great way of celebrating community and that love of running during the separated times that we’re in, no matter the pace or distance. And, we talk about the immense privilege we have in stepping out the door and approaching these runs with able bodies.

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Adam is deeply thoughtful, and I hope that you'll enjoy listening to our conversation.

Adam's IG: @adam_wolfe31

Christina Platt just really, really likes walking. She's a reformed "techy", Appalachian Trail hiker, and now, she's a Wilderness Specialist for the National Forest Service and Wilderness Preservation System in the Monongahela National Forest, in WV. Also, she's just a really genuine human being.

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She's got a lot of knowledge to share from her experiences. Today, Christina gives a crash course on public lands. She also explains a bit about her incredible job and the responsibility of using data to measure the success of preservation in wilderness areas. We talk about outdoor spaces and how our country's policies and people have made efforts, and are currently working, to preserve them. (And she gives a lot of great life advice, too!)

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I'm so grateful that you've chosen to check this episode out - hope that you enjoy. 🌿

Sean Farahani is choosing not to be silent. Channeling his frustration and pain in the midst of systemic inequality and violence against BIPOC in the US, he’s using his abilities to speak up.

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Every day in June, he is running to raise awareness for the issues woven into our society and raise money for ACLU, an organization that demands accountability and justice.

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In our conversation, we talk about the importance of reflecting and educating ourselves. And the power of speaking up and acting out, in addition to supporting the voices of others and the broader organizations that are working to create systems change.

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June For Justice GoFundMe: https://gf.me/u/x6awvc

If you've ever spoken with Mike Walwro, you might have an idea of what this conversation today is like. He finds adventure in everything. He is passionate about what he cares about. He cares deeply for others. And he really, really - REALLY - likes running.

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On May 31st, he'll be doing the FKT FTK. His goal is to do a 50-kilometer solo race on the Ghost Town Trail, a trail close to his home in central PA, to raise money to fight pediatric cancer. But, there's more: he's planning to break the record, and get the Fastest Known Time - 3:46:30 (7:17/mile). And, it's uphill.

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Today, he shares some of his story. Taking those first steps towards trying new things, and the specific decisions that led him to be who he is today, is one thing that we talk about. Also, he shares more about his FKT FTK, why he feels inspired to raise money for pediatric cancer, and his fear of not chasing his own crazy ideas. And, we share some memories and pretty good laughs throughout it all.

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Mike is a gritty, jack-of-all-distances, all-around genuine human being. I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

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The FKT FTK DonorDrive: https://donate.thon.org/participant/22964

YouTube Video for the FKT FTK: https://youtu.be/ZnUKCgMzRZg

Hannah is a food science and nutrition student, avid distance runner, supporter of food as healing, and many other things. Beyond that, she’s an ulcerative colitis fighter, and eating disorder survivor, and a strong believer in her faith.

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In this episode, among many other things, she talks about acknowledging her growth, and not identifying with her past struggles, but acknowledging their importance it plays in where she is today is something that's pretty powerful.

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In a lot of different ways, coming together through the joy of sharing recipes is a form of healing and connection during the separated times that we’re in.

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Here's where you can find her:

Hannah's Instagram account: @wholesomely_hannah

Her website: https://wholesomelyhannah.net/

Welcome back to Trailblazer. On this podcast, I try to share conversations with some pretty incredible people who have committed to using their love for the outdoors to advocate for a better world.

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Sam Lapp graduated in 2019 with his master's degree is Engineering Design from Penn State University, and is also a talented musician. He's explored ways to combine his expertise in these areas with his love for nature and the outdoors, and he's found intersections of sound, math and computer science, and conservation to affect change on the natural world, and it's so inspiring.

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He shares about his experiences as a field researcher, camping in National Parks for Leave No Trace, a conservancy organization. His current position, helping computers recognize bird sounds to monitor populations, in Pittsburgh, is another way that he’s combined his love for sound, data, and nature. Lastly, he shares about his music project he co-created called "Suna Ansuna", which brings local musicians into natural spaces to share music while also bringing awareness to the story of the location and its conservation efforts.

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Sam‘s humility, wisdom, and understanding of how each person can make a difference in the world is powerful. I hope that you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did.