Chicago is not often considered synonymous with adventure. While the city has climbing gyms, the Lake Michigan waterfront, rivers and parks, adventure near Chicago tends to be easiest accessed by those with a car, outdoor gear, and previous experience in the outdoors.
This Chicago-based nonprofits is looking to address the adventure gap in the city.
Chicago Adventure Therapy (CAT) works to utilize blue and green spaces healing power in and around Chicago, focusing on different marginalized and underrepresented communities. Zorbari Nwidor, current Executive Director of CAT and recently highlighted in NRS Film LEADing the Way with Zorbari Nwidor & Chicago Adventure Therapy, shared a little of her path to CAT:
How Zorbari Nwidor went from first encountering a kayak in a gym to Executive Director of Chicago Adventure Therapy
“It is a reclamation in the outdoors– reclaiming it for fun, for love, for healing,” shared Zorbari Nwidor about the experiences offered by CAT.
Nwidor first encountered a kayak in a high school gymnasium. As an eighth grader, Nwidor met Andrea Knepper, founder of CAT and then Executive Director at a high school and college career fair.
Nwidor felt a pull to the maps and charts, the radios and of course, the kayaks on the floor and she was hooked. In 2009 Nwidor went on her first trip with CAT.
“My first camping trip with CAT was what really got me connected with the organization and love of nature. My family came here as refugees, so my first three years of life was in a tent at a refugee camp,” shared Nwidor. “Then to camp with CAT for the first time since then and to have a different experience… being able to recreate and be happy with people around me and see stars and notice all those pieces instead of survival…it really changed a lot for me.
Even as Nwidor went on to college in Washington D.C. as a premedical student, she continued to come back every summer to work for CAT. When the time came to make a career decision, she chose to go full-time with CAT.
“That’s where I was happy. I was noticing that I’d be at the clinic and yes, I’m helping people and we’re providing that kind of medical care, but it wasn’t holistic,” shared Nwidor. “I’d be looking forward to the days that I have programming with CAT and checking my emails for any program plans and things like that to prep myself for it.”
Now, in 2025, Nwidor has taken over as the Executive Director of CAT.
Black People Outside on Chicago Adventure Therapy and the adventure gap in Chicago
Chevy Linear and Kameron Staton run the Black People Outside social media and nonprofit with similar goals to Chicago Adventure Therapy: shrink the Chicago adventure gap.
Linear and Staton were connected with the CAT team through the climbing world. From here, they were invited to join CAT on a sea kayaking trip in the Apostle Islands, designed to get participants in sea kayaks out on Lake Superior and build confidence in a boat. While both Linear and Staton had some experience on the water, they had never been sea kayaking before.
“I really just admire the leadership in general. They’re really organized and they take things very seriously, but they still want to have fun, and it’s just a very close knit, very organized group,” Linear shared about CAT.
Similarly to CAT, Black People Outside both as a social media page and a nonprofit works to help people in Chicago who don’t have easy access to the outdoors get outside.
“It started off with just us documenting what we are, just ushering ourselves into the outdoorsy space, camping, hiking, climbing, water activities, winter stuff, sports,” shared Stanton. “And then from there we just showcased areas, particularly around Chicagoland.”
Black People Outside quickly sprang outside of the confines of the internet and into the real world. Soon, others began to reach out to Linear and Stanton and ask if they could come and join them on hikes and outdoor adventures. Before long, Linear and Stanton began to host events and meetups.
Inside the Chicago adventure gap and barriers to outdoor adventure
“There’s an adventure gap in Chicago,” shared Linear. “A lot of people don’t even live within five minutes of a park, and transportation is a barrier. So to get to the great outdoors in Chicago, you’d have to have a car.”
Linear also explained that even with a car, many people don’t have any equipment, even down to a good pair of shoes to go for a walk in the woods. But there are solutions. Linear shared that carpooling, Amtrak, and parks that can be reached via buses are all ways to get closer to green spaces and the outdoors.
Across the board, Linear, Staton and Nwidor all agreed that there are more parks and waterways in Chicago for recreation than many people realize.
“Chicago has so many green spaces and blue spaces. You would be so surprised,” shared Nwidor. “I mean, with not just the Chicago River… on the lake itself, there are so many launch points from different neighborhoods. It’s beautiful.”
Thank you for sharing this wonderful informative article! I personally know Andrea Knepper who began Chicago Adventure Therapy and it is wonderful to see how many lives it has impacted for the better.