New to the outdoors? These volunteers will teach you to explore safely

W

hen the best laid plans go south, and you're stuck in the wild either lost or hurt, Seattle Mountain Rescue springs into action to get you home safe. The volunteer team covers a vast area from Seattle city proper to the Cascades, and after 70 years they're finally close to getting a new base of operations in North Bend.

Meanwhile, a recent study from the Black Washingtonians Workgroup on Outdoor Recreation found fewer than 1.5% of State Parks visitors are Black. So how can Washington improve access to its famed outdoors?

First, Soundside host Libby Denkmann speaks with David Dunphy, a volunteer with Seattle Mountain Rescue (SMR). Dunphy explains that a few decades ago, SMR could expect roughly 30 rescue missions a year. That number is now 100, and the volunteer-led organization is looking to build a new base of operations in North Bend to help.

Then, Denkmann speaks with Reco Bembry, principal consultant for Bembry Consulting and the Lead facilitator for the Black Washingtonians Workgroup on Recreation. Bembry outlines several major barriers that communities of color face when recreating in Washington state, and how the group is working in tandem with the Washington state Parks Commission and Commission on African American Affairs to make sure that recreators feel welcomed, safe and supported.