Touching Grass: How ARSF is Helping Bring Positive Outdoor Experiences to Everyone

Connecting People to Outdoor Adventures for Almost 50 Years

Founded in the late 1970s by college friends who shared a love for wilderness and adventure, Wilderness Inquiry has spent nearly five decades helping people of all ages, backgrounds, identities, and abilities connect with nature. At the heart of their mission is a belief that the outdoors is a place where everyone belongs. Whether on a lake, a trail, or a national park, Wilderness Inquiry breaks down barriers so that more people—especially those historically excluded from outdoor spaces—can experience the physical, emotional, and social benefits of time spent outside.

Expanding Opportunity, Inspired by Adventure

Though he had no children of his own, Adam R. Scripps was known for being the “most fun uncle”—someone who delighted in creating rich, adventurous experiences for his nieces and nephews. His deep appreciation for the natural world and belief in the power of shared outdoor experiences made Wilderness Inquiry a natural fit for the foundation created in his name.

In 2024, bolstered by transformative support from the Adam R. Scripps Foundation, Wilderness Inquiry entered a dynamic chapter of growth and innovation. The organization connected more than 40,000 people to meaningful outdoor experiences nationwide—through both established programs and newly launched initiatives. ARSF’s investment played a key role in helping Wilderness Inquiry expand its reach, deepen its impact, and bring outdoor adventure to new communities across the country.

One of the most significant developments was the expansion of the Outdoor Fellowship Program. Designed as a supported career pathway for young people from backgrounds underrepresented in the outdoor industry, the program launched a new American Sign Language Communication Facilitator (ASL CF) fellowship. One of only three paid summer opportunities in Minnesota for graduates of interpreter training programs, the ASL CF fellowship offers meaningful skill-building in outdoor settings while increasing Wilderness Inquiry’s capacity to serve Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing (DDBHH) communities.

In 2024 alone, ASL CFs provided more than 800 hours of interpreting across 44 trips—a 30% year-over-year increase in DDBHH participants.

Creating Community and Connection for Military Families

Support from ARSF also helped Wilderness Inquiry expand its Military Families Outdoors initiative. In 2024, the program brought more than 2,200 service members and their families into natural spaces across the country—from Yellowstone to Voyageurs National Park. These adventures offered families a chance to reconnect with one another and the public lands they’ve served to protect.

Thanks to a new partnership with Blue Star Families, Wilderness Inquiry established program sites in 11 states, including new locations in Colorado, Florida, and Virginia. As part of the spring 2025 Canoemobile tour, approximately 460 military-connected individuals joined community paddling events in Utah and Colorado—bringing families together and cultivating a lasting connection to the outdoors.

Measuring What Matters: Evaluating for Lasting Change

As Wilderness Inquiry expands, the organization remains committed to measuring the impact of its work. Support from the Adam R. Scripps Foundation, along with research partners like Hello Insight and the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, has enabled the use of nationally recognized tools to assess how outdoor experiences influence youth development, social-emotional growth, and long-term engagement with nature.

Results from the Hello Insight evaluation show that Wilderness Inquiry’s youth programs are performing at or above national benchmarks for outdoor social-emotional learning (SEL) growth. These SEL capacities—such as well-being in the outdoors, connection to nature, and support for the environment—are closely linked to long-term outcomes like high school completion, college and career readiness, and overall life satisfaction. As Mary Wallace of Hello Insight noted, “I don’t think I have ever met with another organization that had 80% and above on all three Outdoor SEL capacities.”

Additional evaluation through Ripple Effect Mapping with students, teachers, and parents at Harding High School reinforced the enduring benefits of Wilderness Inquiry experiences. The findings revealed that youth who participate in repeated outdoor experiences with Wilderness Inquiry build a strong sense of belonging, form meaningful relationships with peers and adults, and gain broader perspectives on environmental issues and future academic and career pathways.

A Growing Movement, With Equity at the Center

The support of the Adam R. Scripps Foundation has helped Wilderness Inquiry bring its mission to more people and places, while advancing equity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. As the organization looks ahead, it remains focused on ensuring that everyone—regardless of background or ability—can enjoy the restorative power of the outdoors.