Former REI Executive Discusses the Power of Going Outside

Eleanor Knight · The Daily · Oct 28, 2025

Featuring Marc Berejka, Center advisor

Whether it’s improving mental health, physical health, academic achievement, or environmental consciousness, the advice from Marc Berejka, a leading outdoor advocate in the Pacific Northwest, is simple: go outside. Berejka, former executive at REI Co-op and founding supporter of UW’s Center for Nature and Health, delivered that message last Wednesday evening to a sold-out crowd at the Forum in Town Hall Seattle as part of the annual Doug Walker Lecture Series.

In October 2015, a group of scientists and researchers came together to prove why time outdoors is good for the body. The result was the creation of UW’s Center for Nature and Health. A couple of years later, Berejka was one of the driving forces in REI’s decision to invest at least $1 million more into the initiative.