2025 Richard Louv Prize winner CJ Goulding inspires nature connection and leadership in communities of color

CJ Goulding is a nature leader, a community weaver and a storyteller. He believes deeply in the power of community connection and building mental models that drive systems-level change. 

“It’s about shifting the inner stories people tell themselves and that our systems are built on,” Goulding says. “I hope our work changes the mental model people have around themselves, around nature, around community, around mental health and what it means to be whole. I hope our work changes the systems around nature connection.”

“Our mental model is,” he continues, “if we can build a world where Black men see nature as a tool for their restoration, invest in their own healing and are able to do that for others, we will see a change in the world.”

For more than a decade, Goulding has been a tireless mentor and champion for children and nature, from leading teen backpacking trips to developing and managing youth leadership programs. He has dedicated his career to addressing the systemic barriers that prevent people of color from spending time in nature. He is also the co-founder of Boyz N The Wood, an organization that creates immersive outdoor experiences for Black men, forging connections to nature, to brotherhood and to mental well-being. 

On May 16, the Children & Nature Network awarded Goulding the 2025 Richard Louv Prize for his work expanding access to nature for people of color by fostering individual connection to nature, personal growth and leadership in the outdoors.

The Children & Nature Network created the annual Richard Louv Prize for Innovation in Nature Connection in 2022 to honor the visionary leadership of its co-founder and celebrated author, Richard Louv. This $15,000 cash prize is open to any individual, anywhere in the world, and is designed to recognize innovative strategies for advancing equitable access to the benefits of nature everywhere children live, learn and play. 

“This year, we had more nominees with perfect scores than any year before, which made the selection process both inspiring and challenging,” says Cheryl Charles, Founders’ Council co-chair and selection committee member. “That speaks to the growth and strength of our movement, even in a challenging time.”

The Founders’ Council unanimously selected Goulding because of the innovation, sustainability and replicability of his work, which demonstrates a deep understanding of how nature supports health and well-being.  

“CJ’s work is centered on nature being a place of belonging, healing and liberation,” Richard Louv says. “Beyond his formal roles, CJ volunteers his time, energy and expertise to a long list of organizations. He approaches leadership with an open heart and mind, and he constantly puts himself in new spaces, trying new activities and meeting people where they are — all in service of creating a connection with the outdoors.”

Goulding is a first generation American, whose Jamaican parents and grandparents inspired his affinity for the outdoors. “My mom and grandmother always had their hands in the dirt, for food or flowers,” he says. “As a kid, I was routinely kicked out of the house — ‘go outside, we’ll find you when we need you.’ So my connection to nature was something I grew up with, running through the woods, biking on the train tracks, digging in my grandmother’s garden and getting in trouble for it.”

Those early experiences would seed a lifelong passion. As a young adult, Goulding interned with the National Park Service, leading teen backpacking trips in the North Cascades National Park in Washington. 

“I learned about the national park system, which is amazing, but my whole journey, there’s nature and people, and my story is not complete without both,” he says. “That year, I met people and mentors who were deeply invested in me as a human being, and who taught me that this kind of life was possible.”

Goulding spent the next few years trying different activities in nature and picking up skills, like canoeing and outdoor leadership. He led kids on backcountry camping trips and urban conservation projects. And, in 2013, he participated in the Children & Nature Network’s Natural Leaders Legacy Camp, learning about leadership and community organizing with 50 other young leaders from around the U.S. It was a pivotal moment. 

“We were learning about storytelling and leadership, connecting with all these different people we saw eye-to-eye with and talking about how we change our communities — it was relational, active and in nature,” he says. “That’s when I began to see that education is the way that I can communicate this love for people, and nature is the framework.”

In 2015, Goulding returned to the Children & Nature Network as the Manager of Community Leadership Development. He managed the Natural Leaders Network, mentoring over 450 youth leaders across 44 states in the U.S. Through that work, he fostered a community of young adult leaders working at the intersection of outdoor equity, environmental activism and community organizing. He also helped launch the Fresh Tracks program, a partnership with the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. Fresh Tracks equips urban and Indigenous youth with leadership development training, civic engagement opportunities and the tools to drive youth-led community action. 

In 2022, Goulding used his background in outdoor recreation and mentoring young leaders to co-found Boyz N The Wood. The nonprofit uses restorative outdoor retreats as a framework to inspire Black men ages 20-70 to forge a connection to nature and reignite the best versions of themselves. 

The idea came to him on a backpacking trip with Ron Griswell and a group of Black men, one of them new to backpacking. He told Goulding that the physical challenge of carrying 50 pounds of gear and food on his back was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but doing it — and being in community with other men — had also allowed him to set down the emotional load he’d been carrying. 

“In my head, I realized, ‘I’ve done all this work to build different communities and help young people develop their relationship with nature,” Goulding says, “and people like me, Black men, need this and there’s nothing — I have not been helping myself or people who look like me.’”

Boyz N The Wood retreats specifically center Black men and their lived experiences. This cultural relevance is key to making outdoor spaces feel welcoming. “How do we introduce this to Black men, who have not had these spaces for themselves, who may be burdened with responsibility — like John Henry, ‘I’m gonna work ‘til I die’?” Goulding asks. “We start by addressing some of the stigmas and barriers that Black men face to mental health, to vulnerability, to talking about well-being, to connecting to nature.”

That’s where the program’s Five Pillars of Restorative Connection come into play. Goulding thinks of them as tiers of success — meaning that even if a participant only makes it to one or two of the pillars, it’s a win. 

The first pillar is Rest. True to Goulding’s original vision, the retreats create a space for Black men to take a break. He tells them, “If you feel like you have the space to put things down, not be in charge, your needs are taken care of, you’re just gonna sleep and join us for meals — wonderful. I want to give that to you.”

Boyz N The Wood’s outdoor adventures focus on restoring the connection Black men have to the Outdoors and Nature — the second pillar. By creating an opportunity to try new activities, like kayaking, archery and mountain biking, the program inspires interest in spending time outside and seeking it out as a tool for healing, stress relief, mental clarity and joy.  

The third pillar, Brotherhood, is the way in which the retreats create a network of men who share experiences and encourage each other’s well-being. “It’s the idea that there are people on this journey with you,” Goulding says. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

A member of Boyz practices breathing techniques in nature. Photo courtesy of CJ Goulding.

That support is essential as the participants move into the more immersive work of the fourth and fifth pillars, Personal Development and Mental Health. The retreats offer sessions on topics like life skills and courage, as well as opportunities to find a mentor among your brothers — or become one. There are also sessions on historical trauma and developing the tools to heal. “It’s understanding what happened to us historically and in our lives — and being able to use the words to describe and name those things,” Goulding explains. “Then you can begin to say, ‘Knowing what I know about myself, how can I begin this journey of healing and restoration — with brotherhood, with nature and with this ability to restore and regulate myself?’”

This support doesn’t end with the retreat: Participants are given access to three months of virtual therapy, group brotherhood check-in calls and ongoing opportunities to get out into nature.

Innovation was a common theme in the multiple nominations that Goulding received for the Richard Louv Prize. The nominations specifically referenced his approach to partnerships and his abundance mindset. Goulding believes that all the resources needed to spark a person’s connection to nature and well-being are out there. “What if we take away all the barriers we can see?” he says. “I don’t want gear, or travel, or the cost of therapy — or not knowing where to find a therapist — to be a barrier.”

“I want people to feel the same way I felt in my initial experiences,” he added. “I want them to feel poured into, so that they can pour into others.”

Boyz N The Wood partners with state funding resources, travel services, healthcare providers, major outdoor brands and community-led recreation organizations, like Wilderness Inquiry and Black Outside, Inc. These partnerships allow the organization to share resources, such as transportation, outdoor gear and access to resources, reducing the financial burden on both the organization and participants, and making it easier for programming to continue without relying solely on one revenue stream.

In fact, Boyz N The Wood offers all of its retreats for free, providing every participant with coaching and all of the necessary gear, transportation, accommodations and food — an investment of about $2,425 per person. 

Boyz N The Wood grows that investment in individuals each year. In 2024, the organization tripled participation, hosting 132 men over the course of three immersive, nature-based retreats in Minnesota, Massachusetts and Washington — as well as an expedition in Big Bend National Park, Texas. 

The nonprofit also works with research organizations, using survey data to measure their own impact but also to help design a study investigating the influence that culturally-responsive nature-based programming has on social well-being.  

In addition to leading Boyz N The Wood, Goulding has provided youth leadership training and strategic planning for partners like the Children & Nature Network, National Park Service and Casey Family Programs, as well as REI and The Aspen Institute. He also works to build equitable funding strategies, expanding resources for community-led organizations. For example, through his work, a National Recreation Foundation grant program invested $3 million in over 50 organizations across 33 U.S. states. Eighty-seven percent of those organizations serve youth of color, and 70% are led by people of color.

How does Goulding feel about receiving the Richard Louv Prize? “My parents always told me, ‘You do the work, people will see it’ — but it doesn’t always work like that,” he says, laughing. “For this community to see and appreciate the work I’m doing is validation that I’m on the right track — it’s encouragement to keep going.”

Yet Goulding is also uncomfortable with the idea of exceptional individuals. He talks about Jane Wei-Skillern’s constellation theory. It’s the idea that rather than lifting up a single bright star, we should weave constellations — understanding that people drawn together by a common story and purpose will form a whole stronger than its parts. 

During his acceptance speech, Goulding thanked not only Richard Louv and the Founders’ Council, but his “constellation of stars” — the people, coalitions and organizations who have been weaving the movement with him. 

“For me, this award is an opportunity to highlight the many people I work with on a regular basis, the people around me who could have won this award,” he said. “If this is the ticket to get me into the movie theater, I’m going to hold the door so people can come in through the back.”

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