David Taylor: Embracing New Experiences through Nature

There's no shortage of clichés about travel and it's ability to challenge us, broaden our worldviews, or enrich our lives. Eye-roll-inducing as they may be, there's a good reason for these hackneyed phrases: They're often true, as 21-year-old David Taylor of Detroit, Michigan, can attest. Growing up, David was no stranger to the outdoors, but his experiences were limited mostly to sports, games, and climbing trees near home. That changed in a big way five years ago, when he joined a canoe trip run by his local Boys and Girls Club in partnership with the Sierra Club's Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO) program, which provides adventures for kids who wouldn't ordinarily have the chance to experience nature. This trip, and the many that followed, opened David up to places and activities he'd never considered before and expanded his perspective of the world. "Honestly, the Sierra Club is the reason why I have a bucket list in the first place," he explains.

 

Since that first trip, David has enthusiastically embraced almost all of the new adventures offered by Detroit ICO, including canoeing, kayaking, hiking, camping, and skiing. Of all these memorable experiences, he is particularly vocal about an overnight trip led by the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit (a Detroit ICO partner) to the annual Ice Fest in Munising in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. On this trip, David and his peers hiked to an ice cave, learned to dogsled, and received ice-climbing instruction from world-renowned climber Phil Henderson, who flew from Utah just to be with the group. The ice climbing, David recalls, was particularly challenging. "I was a little nervous because I had never done this before. The first time I went up the mountain, I had no training and no techniques. I was going on pure instinct." He fell a few times on his first climb, but with perseverance and close adherence to the techniques he learned during a one-on-one session with Phil, David eventually made his way to the top faster than before and without falling once. His confidence restored, David began instructing the group and demonstrating what he'd learned. The day ended as magically as it began, with a group dinner followed by stargazing and contemplating constellations on the deck of the lodge.

David's story, says Detroit ICO chair Garrett Dempsey, "is emblematic of the power of communion both between people and between people and nature." David's involvement in the program has established a broad, interconnected network, including him and his family, Detroit ICO volunteers, the Boys and Girls Club, the wider Sierra Club, and beyond. This network has influenced others in David's immediate circle, such as his mother and aunt, who camped overnight in a tent—something they once said they would never do—as part of a Detroit Outdoors camping leadership training for adults. The leadership David has demonstrated in taking these trips, Garrett believes, is part of a virtuous cycle that will encourage the next generation of teen leaders to try these adventures, as well. "It shows how trusting relationships between caring adults, youth, and organizations that serve young people can grow beyond two individuals," says Garrett. "Time outdoors has the power to forge and strengthen relationships that grow outwards from individuals and weave themselves into a larger community fabric."

 

The past year has been busy for David, who is now enrolled in college and working for the Ford Motor Company while in school, though he's made time to apply his passion for music to writing an original score for a Sierra Club Detroit Outdoors youth camping collaborative video. And he's eager to try his hand at new adventures, including skydiving, ziplining, and swimming with sea life. Reflecting on his journey these past few years, David says that ICO helped him build a lot of healthy relationships that he's grateful for and taught him to be more open-minded. And he hopes that his growth can inspire other young people to take a chance, too. "Don't be afraid to try new things—because you might like it!"

 

Do you want to help inspire connections outdoors? Learn more, volunteer, or donate at sierraclub.org/ico.