Why "For Us, by Us" Is So Crucial When It Comes to Disability Justice in the Outdoors

In our All Access issue, we're spotlighting how the disability community is making the outdoors more accessible for everyone. Explore the package here.

For Syren Nagakyrie, "for us, by us" isn't just a phrase — it's a philosophy, one that was learned the hard way. The disability justice advocate was raised in a rural area just outside of Tampa, FL. Growing up in a low-income household where "everyone in the family was disabled" meant that they didn't get many outdoors experiences. Nagakyrie grew up neurodivergent with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, severe asthma, and POTS.

"We didn't do summer road trips and camping and going hiking and that kind of stuff," they say. "But I spent a lot of time just hanging out in my yard and watching the birds and the bugs and the plants." However small, those moments were meaningful, Nagakyrie says: "It really helped me feel like I had a place to belong."

"As I grew older, I wanted to experience more and more of that," they say. But the more they craved the outdoors, the more barriers they faced and the more it seemed their needs were an afterthought.

"It took a long time for me to figure out what my body could do and what it meant for me to be in the outdoors," Nagakyrie says. And there weren't many resources to help guide this process. Often Nagakyrie would sign up for a hike or educational outdoors program only to learn that their access needs, like rest breaks or length of the trail, hadn't been considered.

"It all kind of came to a head one day when I was hiking in Olympic National Park in Washington state," Nagakyrie says. Beforehand, they did their own research on the trail, Googling information about the steepness, length, and overall accessibility of the hike.

"[I] thought it was going to be good and then showed up to the trail, and there was all these barriers like steep stairs and rocky drop-offs and steep sections and things like that. It put me in a pretty dangerous situation, and I was in a lot of pain, fatigued, and frustrated," Nagakyrie says. "Inspiration just kind of struck at that moment." They went home and put up a WordPress blog called Disabled Hikers.

Today, six years later, Disabled Hikers exists as cross-disability-led nonprofit dedicated to building disability community and justice in the outdoors through accessible trail guides, storytelling, and inclusive hikes.

"There's really so much of a pity and charity mindset when it comes to this [work]," Nagakyrie tells PS. Disabled Hikers, on the other hand, celebrates disabled people's experiences in the outdoors, helping to facilitate those experiences with information, resources, and events. It's this crucial perspective that Nagakyrie says rarely exists when resources for disabled people aren't created by disabled people. "One of the biggest barriers, for sure, is just people recognizing that this is important for the disability community and we have the knowledge and skills, and that we want to be out there and we don't need people to do it for us."

One of Nagakyrie's favorite aspects of their job is conducting accessibility assessments for trail guides across the country. "So much of the work that is happening in this space is not led by the community at all," they say. This leaves plenty of gaps in assessing resources and needs in the outdoors. In Nagakyrie's evaluations, they start from the moment they leave the house. They're assessing the drive there, what the road is like, whether a wheelchair-accessible van can maneuver it, what parking options look like, whether there are restrooms and water fountains, how difficult it is to find the trail once you arrive, and so much more. Then they evaluate the trail itself.

"It really is a step-by-step, roll-by-roll guide," Nagakyrie says. During their simulation hike, they're constantly measuring along the entire length of the trail, noting the surface, width, grade, and if there are any obstacles or bridges. "Really narrating that entire experience from start to finish."

In the near future, Nagakyrie plans to launch the Disabled Hikers Network, a peer mentorship, leadership development, and networking program that can train more disabled folks on how to do this work and assess trails. Right now, Nagakyrie is reviewing most of the trails themself — an important but draining task.

This past year, Nagakyrie struggled with homelessness and still continued to do the work. "The community is really so supportive, and they really appreciate our work, and that helps a lot to keep me going, especially on the hard days," they say.

Going back to the simple elements of nature and why they fell in love with it in the first place allows Nagakyrie to pour back into themself. "I recently have been or started doing better about taking time outdoors that is just for me, that it's not work," they say. The more they do this, the more connected they feel to their bodies, to nature, and to the work of disability justice.

"I really keep coming back to how disability is natural and disability exists in the landscape. It's in the plants and the animals and the landscape and all of that. And for me, recognizing that has been so meaningful for my own journey in disability and helping me feel that connection and sense of belonging," Nagakyrie says. "I really want that for other people."

For more, check out a new book by Syren Nagakyrie available now, "The Disabled Hiker's Guide to Northern California: Outdoor Adventures Accessible by Car, Wheelchair, and on Foot."

Jump Back to the All Access issue.

Alexis Jones is the senior health and fitness editor at PS. Her passions and areas of expertise include women's health and fitness, mental health, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining PS, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women's Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.