When you visit the Co-op Journal, we hope you feel a sense of belonging, that you see yourself reflected in the pages (and pixels) of the stories you read. That’s the point of what we do here on the Co-op Journal. We aim to tell your stories and the stories of the people and places you care about.
This fall, we’re thrilled to introduce our first-ever print magazine, Uncommon Path, brought to you by the same editorial team that produces the Co-op Journal and published by Hearst Magazines. Through this magazine, we want to help more people see themselves in the outdoors.
“Uncommon Path tells the stories of the experiences, events, issues and ideas that shape the relationship between people and life outside,” said Ben Steele, executive vice president and chief customer officer for REI Co-op. “But those stories aren’t limited to trails and peaks. They take us to parks and urban places closer to home, covering issues like climate change impacts that, due to dwindling resources and shrinking local newsrooms, are inevitably getting less press.”
In our first issue, we’ll lead you on a bike ride through Atlanta with Civil Bikes founder Nedra Deadwyler, reveal the stark landscape of the United States-Mexico border and explore what’s next for outdoor preschools. And it wouldn’t be our magazine if we didn’t also tell you about the gear we love.
In September, Uncommon Path will be distributed to our members and will be available at all 155 REI stores and in select newsstands across the country.
REI is also taking this opportunity to begin a partnership with NewsMatch in an effort to strengthen local journalism. This year, the co-op will invest $100,000 in 10 local news organizations*.
We believe a life outdoors is a life well lived. And that no matter where you come from, what you look like or what you knew before, everyone is welcome outside. Here is your invitation to take the path less traveled with us: the Uncommon Path.
See you in September.
*The launch cohort of newsrooms funded include InvestigateWest (Washington state), Carolina Public Press (North Carolina), Adirondack Explorer (New York), EcoRI (Rhode Island), Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting (Illinois), High Country News (Colorado), Bay Nature Institute (California), Wisconsin Watch (Wisconsin), VTDigger (Vermont) and Southerly (The American South).