11/26/2025
“How is nature a part of how you experience wellness?”
This is the question we explored with participants in our Girls Outside program—a cohort of high-school girls from the Westlake community who met twice a week for nine weeks at Vista Hermosa Natural Park. Together, we created space for art, wellness practices, field trips, and nature-based activities that deepened their sense of belonging outdoors.
We know time in nature supports mental, physical, and spiritual health. Yet many low-income, BIPOC, and migrant families face barriers to accessing these benefits. When young people and their caregivers are constantly hustling to meet basic needs or navigating the stress of over-policing and immigration enforcement, there can be little room for rest, reflection, creativity, or healing. Entire communities can be pushed into survival mode without access to the grounding power of nature.
A central theme of this cohort was making time and space to develop a wellness practice on participants' own terms. During a visit to Leo Carrillo State Park—with the sound of the ocean behind them—the girls shared how being in nature brought them bodily calm, sensory relief, and a sense of spiritual restoration. Throughout the program, girls were supported and compensated to practice wellness in natural spaces: from sound baths and tea ceremonies to journaling, storytelling, and sensory exploration. Each experience offered moments of resilience, joy, and connection.
The vision of Girls Outside is to strengthen a world where communities have:
🌳 Spaces to heal and reflect
🚌 Access to those spaces
🕑 Time to engage in collective care, creativity, rest, and the simple pleasure of being in nature
We know there are many organizations deserving of your support, and we’re deeply grateful you choose to stand with us. As we enter the season of giving, we invite you to resource this work by becoming a CNC member via the link in our bio and helping ensure programs like Girls Outside continue to thrive.
