Christopher Kilgour is stewarding his land in Mayville both to preserve it and to share it with others. His organization, Color in the Outdoors, is dedicated to creating welcoming, inclusive spaces in nature.
Nobody ever goes outside for a breath of stale air.
Growing up, Christopher Kilgour had a poster of a cartoon character, Ziggy, wearing a pair of roller skates following a butterfly. The poster read, “Try everything in life once… and do the fun things twice!”
Christopher took that message to heart. He’s tried many paths in life, and they all led him back to his love of nature. Today, he’s the founder and director of Color in the Outdoors (CITO), an organization dedicated to creating welcoming, inclusive spaces in nature for people of all backgrounds. He also serves as the Community Outreach Manager for the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Christopher (left) during a “Learn-to-Hunt Turkey” event with Marty Moses (right) from Pheasants Forever. Photo courtesy of Color in the Outdoors.
A lifelong love of the outdoors
The son of two educators, Christopher grew up traveling with his family in search of outdoor adventures. He went on road trips in the family van across the US and travelled overseas as well. His love for the outdoors grew out of these experiences and instilled in him the belief that nature is for everyone. This belief would become the foundation of Color in the Outdoors. These experiences also instilled in him the belief that nature is for everyone—a belief that would become the organization’s foundation. “Nature seems to be the great equalizer,” he says. “There are very, very few people that I’ve encountered in my lifetime that haven’t found some joy or peace in the outdoors.”
What is Color in the Outdoors?
Color in the Outdoors is an organization that celebrates diversity in outdoor spaces through programming and community building and advocates for equitable access to nature. Programming has included beginner hunting workshops, paddling events, and most recently, a foraging event with special guests Alexis Nikole (aka @blackforager on social media) and Samuel Thayer.
Alexis Nikole Nelson (far right) and Samuel Thayer (top left) leading a foraging event with Color in the Outdoors. Photo By Lauren DeGere
I would have never expected to actually meet Alexis, let alone identifying plants for hours with her. She is a big inspiration for me considering that I am also a Black girl, living in a city in the Midwest who has a love for nature.
Alana Fisher, member of the 2024 Diversity in Conservation Internship cohort, at the Color in the Outdoors foraging event. Photo by Caitlin Williamson
Christopher explains that Color in the Outdoors has three main goals: to create opportunities for people to connect with nature through recreation, to make activities like hunting and fishing more welcoming and accessible, and to advocate for equitable access to outdoor spaces. The organization challenges the idea that outdoor recreation is only for certain people — creating welcoming, safe spaces for anyone curious to try new things.
People sitting in the grass at the Color in the Outdoors foraging event in 2025. Photo by Lauren DeGere
Turning land into community
Christopher dreamed of stewarding land that Color in the Outdoors could also use – where participants to gather, learn, and feel at home in nature. That dream came true when he got the chance to co-purchase a property with a partner in Mayville, Wisconsin. When visiting the land for the first time, he wasn’t even halfway up the driveway when he knew this was the land he wanted to steward. He also knew it was the perfect home base for Color in the Outdoors.
The property itself is very diverse, both in terms of the landscape and its history. Formally a coal mine, the land has gone through many cycles of balance and imbalance. As the steward of this land, Christopher wants to help support nature’s search for balance. And just like Color in the Outdoors is reclaiming access to nature, nature is reclaiming the landscape.
Christopher showing NRF Field Trip participants a plant while on a hike through his property. Photo by Emma Schatz
In 2023, NRF hosted a Field Trip at the property called “Diversity in the Field: Intro to Hunting & Fishing for Beginners.” During the Field Trip, Christopher led participants on a tour of the land while discussing the important roles of hunting and fishing in wildlife conservation and the barriers that prevent some from being involved. The tour finished at the property’s 20 ft deep lake. There, a young participant got to fish off the dock – and caught his first fish!
A young NRF Field Trip participant standing next to a small fish that he caught. Photo by Emma Schatz
Cherishing the land we love
That moment is what Color in the Outdoors is all about—helping people find joy in the outdoors and try new things.
All Wisconsinites deserve to feel welcome in the outdoors. Not only does it benefit the people themselves, it also benefits conservation. The more people can get out and enjoy nature, the more people will value it.
Outdoor recreationists have long been some of the most ardent supporters of conservation efforts. For example, the Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund (which recently hit $3 million) has been built primarily by hunters and anglers purchasing their hunting or fishing licenses online. The more people who value and enjoy nature, the more people there are who will protect it.
Stewardship, not ownership
Christopher doesn’t view himself as a landowner but rather a steward of the land. As many land stewards will agree, managing the property is a labor of love and an incredible amount of responsibility. But for Christopher, he wouldn’t have it any other way. By tending the land and making sure it’s healthy, he’s not only preserving the land but also its ability to be a welcoming and safe space for different communities to experience.
I take care of [the land] and it will take care of me and take care of others.
Christopher speaking with the 2025 Diversity in Conservation Internship cohort while on a hike through his property. Photo by Marie Jensen
A home for all kinds of outdoor experiences
A huge part of Color in the Outdoors is the programming and community building that happens through events, both outdoors and indoors. People enjoy nature in many different ways, whether it’s camping, hunting, cooking with foraged ingredients, or building bird houses. So, cultivating a physical building that could be used for indoor teaching and learning was very important to Christopher. With the new building on his land, the team can accommodate all types of nature-based interests.
No two people think the same and no two people experience things the same.
Hunting gear on display in the building on Christopher’s property. Photo by Emma Schatz
Caring for land, caring for people
For Christopher, stewarding the land and building community are inseparable. By tending to the health of the property, he’s also tending to the well-being of the people who visit it.
Christopher says, “one of the most incredibly powerful things about the natural space is that we are simultaneously learning about the natural world and ourselves, both in it and with it at the same time.”
Through Color in the Outdoors, Christopher is showing what’s possible when private land becomes more than a piece of property: it becomes a home for connection, learning, and belonging.
NRF is currently the fiscal agent for Color in the Outdoors while they are pursuing independent nonprofit 501c3 status.
Two young NRF Field Trip participants walking through the forest on Christopher’s property. Photo by Emma Schatz
Written by Emma Schatz, digital communications coordinator