I am so excited because the Adventure Mamas are going to be taking over the Born to be Adventurous Mamas Facebook group and hosting discussions about adventure and motherhood in our Real Talk series. They believe that “adventure is an incredible catalyst for growth, healing, and empowerment.”. Join the Born to be Adventurous Mamas Facebook community and be part of the discussion. Trust me. With the Adventure Mamas hosting, it is going to be Epic. Here is the full list of topics that will be covered.

September 4th Why Adventure: exploring the parallels between motherhood and adventure

September 10th Debunking Hardcore: recognizing that adventure is subjective

September 17th Eff Mommy Guilt: the importance of modeling a passion-filled life

September 24th Let’s Be Friends, 101: how to build authentic community

Real Talk Series: Getting real adventurous with the Adventure Mamas Initiative

The “Adventure Mamas Initiative supports maternal wellness by facilitating adventure, building community, and providing educational resources to a dynamic community of women.” I first interviewed the founders of the Adventure Mamas Initiative, Stephanie Feller and Justine Nobbe, in the post “Redefining Motherhood through Adventure Mamas Initiative”. It was great to dive in and learn more about the moms that created such an impactful organization.

Let’s start at the beginning. Why did you both create the Adventure Mamas Initiative?

Stephanie and I have been close friends since high school and have had the opportunity to travel and adventure together for nearly 15 years. Although the Midwest isn’t known for its lively outdoor culture, we both had dreams of exploring new, wild places and decided we might as well go for it. Together, we’ve backpacked hundreds of miles up mountains and across rivers, we’ve rock climbed, kayaked, slacklined,and more. These adventures have helped us develop a strong, honest, trusting friendship that not many people get to experience. When we both became moms in 2015, we felt the traditional sense of elation and joy, and yet there was also a part of us that worried our adventures were now a thing of the past. We wanted to be surrounded by other women who affirmed our need to pursue challenge in the outdoors, even after becoming mothers. We believe that in pursuing our passions, we are better moms, partners and professionals. But we had a hard time finding that community – so we built it.

Tell me what type of programs and support the Adventure Mamas Initiatives offers to mothers.

-Collabs: We’ve built a community platform for women to connect, find inspiration, and share beta that spans across North America with 5000+ members.

-Expeditions: In the past 12 months, we’ve facilitated 2 immersive, all-mama backcountry trips. The first was a high-elevation backpacking trip and the second was an intro to mountaineering and ice climbing.

-Grassroots Leadership Trainings: We offer regular Grassroots Leadership Trainings to help women develop and hone in on their own leadership characteristics

-Dirtbag Family Bash: The first-ever family adventure festival scheduled for October 5-7 in Moab, UT.

-Wellness and Education Resources: We’ve built out a section of our website that hosts information and resources on various topics (nutrition, postpartum wellness, partnership, adventuring with kids, etc) relevant to the mamas in our community.

Who is the group for?

This group is for ALL women. Women have different needs throughout the various phases and stages of motherhood, from pre-pregnancy and beyond. AMI exists to support and empower all women, wherever they are at in their motherhing journey.

There is also no adventuring experience required. We all started somewhere and women who are curious about engaging in more technical outdoor endeavors will find AMI a welcoming space to learn.

What can mamas expect to see from the Adventure Mamas in the future?

There’s so much happening behind the scenes over here. Some things that are currently in the works include a national wellness workshop series, more localized adventure opportunities, and international expeditions. So stay tuned.