By Amy Kapp
Conservation
Through
Outdoor
Opportunity
D
espite his experience in conser-
vation-focused trail manage-
ment, Greg Brumitt doesn’t
consider himself a conserva-
tionist. He prefers to be called an “outdoor
advocate,” because that’s what he believes is
key to encouraging people to become stew-
ards of their communities. And his career
might be proof positive.
After 20 years in the technology field,
Brumitt became heavily involved in out-
door programming and trail development,
first as a whitewater kayaker and later as
director of business development for the
Nantahala Outdoor Center in Asheville,
North Carolina. While there, he founded
Asheville’s Mountain Sports Festival, now in
its 15th year.
In 2005 he launched the first out-
door recreation initiative at Five Rivers
MetroParks in Dayton, Ohio, and helped
create the region’s comprehensive bike
plan. He went on to found Outdoor
Connections, a diverse group that focuses
on how to get people outdoors, engage
them in conservation and help cre-
ate a more livable, resilient Dayton.
Today Dayton is recognized as one of the
GREG
BRUMIT
Midwest’s most bike-friendly cities and fea-
tures a LEED-certified commuter bike hub
that supports the country’s largest regional
bike trail network.
In his home city of St. Louis, in 2014,
Brumitt became director of conservation
and community service for the Great Rivers
Greenway District, which is developing a
600-mile trail network. He also initiated the
organization’s first conservation efforts by
focusing on urban stream habitat improve-
ment. Now he is owner of Active Strategies,
a consulting practice specializing in park
and outdoor/active-lifestyle culture develop-
ment, community activation and resiliency.
We recently spoke with Brumitt to get
his take on trail-led conservation.
Why are trails powerful drivers for
promoting conservation, particularly
in urban areas?
For people to care about land and con-
servation issues, they have to be able to
experience the land first. Trails are often the
first places where people can move around
outside, specifically in urban settings—espe-
cially people who aren’t “outdoors” people
in the traditional sense.
Trails are great places for kids to play,
and that’s important as America deals with
“nature deficit disorder.” As people become
more engaged with technology, they are
becoming more separated from the out-
doors. Having that basic access that draws
people outside and onto the land is incred-
ibly important. Trails also have a unique
ability to capture people’s imaginations.
ey are transporters, taking people to dif-
ferent places than they are typically in their
everyday lives.
Dayton’s trail system has blossomed in
the past couple of years, in part because of
what we did with the regional bike plan and
encouraging active living. We put formal
programs in place that encouraged people
to get out and use the trails for recreation
and engagement with nature. People got
excited about the community, and that
initial excitement allowed us to have other
conversations about what they could do to
make their community better.
In many cases, trails are set next to rivers
and other water sources, which are natu-
rally developed corridors. But communi-
ties don’t always utilize and maintain them
because of a lack of understanding of their
rails
to
trails
winter.16
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