Jennifer Daring: Representing Women of Color in the Outdoors

“I like to take action. I like to see things come to life.”

Jennifer Daring describes herself as a bi-racial woman whose passion is being an outdoor inclusion activist. She proudly advocates for those who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). Jennifer co-founded Green Recreation Organization (GRO), a group that offers women and LGB people a welcoming community in which to explore new outdoor experiences. GRO regularly plans outings to Cuyahoga Valley and other parks. In 2022, Cuyahoga Valley National Park interviewed her as part of a Women in Parks oral history project. Shortly afterwards, Jennifer began working for Cleveland Metroparks as an outdoor recreation specialist.

A Path to the Outdoors

Jennifer grew up in Stow, Ohio, not far from Cuyahoga Valley. Her mother is a hospital food service worker who raised Jennifer and her brother as a single parent. Jennifer sometimes lived with her grandma. “I was originally in Girl Scouts and I loved Girl Scouts, but ... I wasn’t the most outdoorsy kid,” Jennifer recalled. “It wasn’t for a lack of being immersed in it ... I guess the ‘not knowing’ part was what made it intimidating. We went camping. We went fishing ... As I got used to it, it was more of a welcoming experience.”

After high school, she became a bartender. A boyfriend introduced her to rock climbing which became a favorite activity. Starting in her late 20s, Jennifer committed herself to being a lifelong learner. She began taking classes in environmental studies, biology, and geography at Kent State University’s Stark campus. There she found nurturing professors. As part of her degree, Jennifer did an internship with Summit Metro Parks, working as an outreach program assistant. She gained experience planning and leading themed hikes and after-school activities. This was during the development of Summit Lake Nature Center, located in an economically distressed Akron neighborhood along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. While at Summit Metro Parks, Jennifer organized Summit Lake trash cleanups. She also worked a season as a wildlife biologist. Jennifer said, “I spend most of my time hanging out with snakes and turtles, bats, salamanders—pretty much anything herpetology related. In the off-season, I do a lot of the deer management stuff.” In 2021, after studying full time and juggling several jobs, Jennifer became the first person in her family to earn a college degree.

Organizing the Summit Lake Cleanup

Jennifer Daring describes her role in organizing and participating in a Summit Lake trash cleanup.

Date created:
05/20/2022

I kind of was a person of many hats. So I organized it. I did all the supply retrieval with the trash grabbers, the trash bags. Making sure the trash had a proper end place. I weighed all the trash, so I could keep a record of how many pounds that we’re collecting out of the lake so I can do an end-of-year summary of our collection, and an ongoing end-of-year collection. And then I’m also a participant. So I’m not just making sure people are doing everything correctly and giving direction. I’m also participating and being a part of the action and collecting the trash out of the lake.

Growing the Green Recreation Organization

GRO’s mission statement is: “Encourage women to get outside, protect the earth, travel, and share your voice in adventure.” The group offers a wide range of meetup events. Activities include hiking, yoga, climbing, kayaking, and mountain biking. GRO is also part of an environmental advocacy group that cleans up trash in Northeast Ohio parks. In recent years, GRO has organized member trips to national parks across the country.

Rock Climbing to Roller Skating

Jennifer Daring explains the different activities that Green Recreation Organization (GRO) offers.

Date created:
05/20/2022

We do rock climbing, kayaking, trail running, hiking, roller skate, longboard, slack lining. We do skiing and snowboarding. We do foraging. We’ve had some book club meet ups. We did yoga in the park. We definitely do trash cleanups. The trash cleans are probably my personal favorite. That’s the one I usually take the reins on. I usually focus on huge cleanups at Summit Lake just because it’s in desperate need of help. We dabble in a bit of everything.

GRO was originally called Green Girl Gang when it was formed by Jessica Suvak-Tran in 2016. Jennifer joined early on after receiving a social media invitation. She almost didn’t attend. Luckily, she did. The outdoor yoga event was one of the best times she has ever had. Jennifer was asked to take over the helm in 2020 when Jessica left to start Ohio Women on the Fly, a fly-fishing group. As the new leader, Jennifer bolstered GRO’s social media presence, promoting it far and wide. The mostly White membership supported her as she expanded the group in a new direction. Jennifer blossomed into an advocate for those who have been historically marginalized by the outdoor community. “Representation matters. Diversity matters. Equity matters. Inclusion matters. There isn’t a time where those things don’t matter or become less important.”

In 2021, Green Girl Gang changed its name after polling its members. They decided that they didn’t like the negative meaning of “gang” and wanted non-binary individuals in the LGB community to know they belonged. “We really included everyone in the renaming. During that process, I had so many people reaching out saying, ‘I’m so glad you’re changing the name because I feel like the original name wasn’t inclusive,’” Jennifer recalled. “You’ll notice I use ‘we’ a lot, even though it’s me by myself. I don’t ever like to use ‘I’ because the group is a ‘we’ group. It takes a community to run this group.”

“I’m just proud of the group in general—where it’s going, and where it’s going to go. . . . I think great things are coming.”

Building a Community

Jennifer Daring discusses how GRO helps women to make friends, creating a sense of community within the outdoor scene.

Date created:
05/20/2022

I would get messages saying, “I’m so thankful for this group. Without this group, I wouldn’t have all these friends.” Just to feel welcome and connected. A lot of the women are in the same position I was or Jessica was in. You’re surrounded by a bunch of guys in a male-dominated industry. And you’re like, ok, there’s got to be other women out there that exist besides just me. So, I always get the thanks and appreciation. Just to see it kind of blossom. People gain these friends from this group, long-term friends. And had it not been for this group they would have never met or crossed paths.

Learn More

Stay up-to-date with Green Recreation Organization by following their Instagram page @greenrecreationorganization. GRO has a new website coming soon.

Explore more stories on our Women of Cuyahoga Valley page.

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