Outdoor Minimalist5 Feb 2024

124. Build a Community of Activists with Mitch Stevens and Russell Lowes

In episode 124 of the Outdoor Minimalist podcast, we explore what it means to be an activist and environmental advocate and how to build a community around conservation.

To me, being an activist and environmentalist is simply a part of life. They're not a hobby or second thought because I've always had a strong sense of justice no matter where I lived or the community present in my life. As I've gotten older, I've begun to realize that community makes a huge difference in our mental health and our ability to create meaningful and impactful change.

To help explore how you, no matter your location, can begin to take the reigns and tackle some of your area's environmental issues, I had the pleasure of chatting with two gentlemen who, like me, have embodied a life of activism in their community.

Mitch Stevens and Russell Lowes have been enjoying the wild lands of America for decades, going back to their elementary school years. Mitch has been the Outings Chair for the Sierra Club's southern Arizona group since the early 2000s. He has led outings throughout the southwest and California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mitch also founded Southwest Discoveries, an ecotourism company based in Tucson, Arizona.

Russell was involved with about 40 kids from two high schools in Arizona, setting up the first pro-wilderness group in the state. He has been promoting Wilderness Areas since then and has been an avid hiker since age 10.

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Episode Resources

Sierra Club

https://www.sierraclub.org/

CleanChoice Energy

https://cleanchoiceenergy.com/

Southwest Discoveries

http://www.southwestdiscoveries.com/

Merlin Bird ID

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

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Related Episodes

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65. The Biodiversity in your Backyard with Dillon Jones

73. Wild Horse Conservation: What's the Problem and How Can We Fix it? with Women in the Wilderness

95. How Much Does Geotagging Matter? with Maddy Marquardt

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Original music by Alex Carney and Ethan Wiese

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