Outdoors for Everyone

A lifelong nature lover and resident of warm places—first Somalia, then Houston—Nasrieen Habib was baffled as to how she could continue to enjoy the outdoors when she moved to Minnesota in the winter of 2012. But after being diagnosed with seasonal depression, she decided to overcome her trepidation and started taking daily walks, sun or snow.

The chill was a challenge—but so was hiking alone. Suspecting that others might be in similar straits, she posted an invitation on Instagram for other Muslim women to join her for a hike at Afton State Park. Nine women showed up. And from there, things just, as they say, snowballed. Habib formed an organization, Hiking Hijabie, to accommodate the demand. In a few months, more than 150 women had signed on. She expanded the initiative, forming a second organization, Hiking Ummah, to include families, and the activities to include not only hiking but biking, skiing, and more. Soon groups were adventuring not only around Minnesota, but in national parks such as Glacier and Grand Canyon. Today her efforts, coalesced into an organization called Amanah Recreational Project, include promoting environmental sustainability and selling recreational clothing for Muslim women.

Q |  What barriers have you had to overcome?
It’s hard for Muslims to go into outdoor spaces. We need a lot of religious accommodations, cultural accommodations. There are language barriers. There are safety barriers. We don’t know how to swim. We don’t know how to bike. We don’t know how to dress for the weather. We don’t see a lot of people that look like us. With Amanah Rec, we try to meet our community where they are. We try to remove barriers. Learning together and experiencing it together is a huge part of the fun.

Q | Do you have some favorite outdoor places?
Anything around Duluth is amazing. Jay Cooke [State Park] is one of my favorites and then after that, Interstate State Park and Banning State Park. The only thing I’m going to say about Banning is the mosquitoes are insane.

Q |  What’s your secret to enjoying the outdoors in winter?
Coming to Minnesota, I didn’t even know there are different types of boots, so learning how to dress has helped me a lot. I make sure that I have leather hiking boots and wool socks and take off layers and add layers as needed. Everything that we do when we’re outside requires some sort of physical movement, so by the time you do it a few times your body’s warm. Now I can teach it to my group. They’re like, “No, we’re not going outside,” and I’m like, “Yeah, we are. Let me show you how to dress.”

Q |  What’s your favorite season? 
Fall. I love the changing of the weather. The colors are so pretty. It’s also my favorite season to camp because it’s not too hot, there’s no mosquitoes, everything looks pretty. It’s good for your mental health seeing all those different colors.

Q |  What part does protecting the environment play in your work?
Our mission is to revive Islamic values of stewardship through outdoor activities. We encourage our community to purchase sustainable products, and to reduce waste. Islam’s perspective on stewardship is that we’re supposed to represent our creator here by taking care of his creation.

Q |  How might that translate to others who don’t share your faith tradition? 
I use our religion as a way to engage the Muslim community, but I find the outdoor community has the same values whether they’re using religion or something else. It’s beautiful to see people who might not look like me but have similar values. We want the same things. We want to protect the planet. We want to educate our friends and families about taking care of it and making sure that they are not stealing from future generations. My favorite quote is, “I cannot do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good I can do.” You cannot do everything—but do something.

Q | What’s next for Amanah Rec? 
We plan to expand programming to include more inclusive outdoor activities, such as adaptive kayaking for children on the spectrum, weekly pool access, and group biking lessons. We’re also working on building a community garden, launching eco-sustainability workshops, and hosting “buy nothing” events to promote mindful consumption.

Q |  And for you? 
Snowboarding. I have a bit of PTSD because when I tried skiing for the first time I broke my arm in three places. But I feel like snowboarding is an activity that I would like to try.