WE GO OUTSIDE TOO’S MISSION OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Following the tragic loss of his son to knife crime in 2020, Marlon Patrice transformed his grief and hardship into a method for cultivating good within the community. Establishing his group “We Go Outside Too”, Marlon has built a network of members in Birmingham, the West Midlands and beyond with the core aim of making exploring the countryside and the natural world more accessible to the Black community.

“It started in 2020 - I was going through my son passing away due to knife crime and it was a way for me to get out, to connect with nature,” comments Marlon, “I found it was helping me a lot. So, I thought I’d like to bring the community together”. Built on an ethos that encourages healing, outdoor education, and inner-city gang prevention, WGOT provides a safe space for community members to explore and increase their overall health and wellbeing.

Born from Marlon’s own need for a space to heal, explore and access the freedom that the natural world can offer, starting WGOT has enabled him to link up with likeminded individuals who want to experience this freedom too. “You’re connecting with God and all the things around us,” says Marlon, “it raises our awareness, and it makes us just mindful of our surrounding.” Building an inclusive approach to hiking, WGOT break down the barriers that prevent inner city kids and the black community from accessing the outdoors, such as equipment availability, mental health support, access to green spaces and prohibitive transport costs. With a network of hundreds of members, WGOT continues to celebrate the outdoors and offers a sacred place to safely reflect and enjoy parts of the world that were previously out of reach for so many of their members.

For more information, visit We Go Outside Too's website here or visit their instagram here.