by Monique Trevett, Digital Content Producer

“Thanks for the update. Eek for using an influencer.”

A long-time follower of Friends’ Instagram wrote the comment above on a video collaboration we produced with outdoor digital creator “Voyages with Val.” Check out our Q&A with Val here.

These collaborations, which we piloted with a small group of local creators in 2025, are a brand new endeavor for Friends, and one that we know not all folks are yet comfortable with. And part of the discomfort comes down to language. So first, it’s important to state that we are not working with “influencers.” We’re working with digital creators.

That distinction matters. “Influencer” suggests someone focused on selling products or promoting brands by using trends, memes, or their own unique personality. Digital creators, on the other hand, build their communities around authentic storytelling, education, photography, videography, and experience sharing.

Their work is rooted in craft and passion, not promotion, which is exactly why their audiences trust them, and why that style of content aligns so naturally with outdoor recreation and conservation.

So with that in mind, let’s explore the question further: why work with digital creators?

When I joined Friends in fall 2023, I had an idea: What if we could connect new and younger audiences to the Gorge through creators, and how could that support Friends’ work?
In short: we’re sitting on untapped potential to help Friends grow and, frankly, to ensure the organization can be financially sustainable decades from now.

Younger audiences aren’t reading email newsletters or visiting our website. They’re watching Instagram Reels and TikToks. The most forward-thinking nonprofits have already recognized this, and we can’t afford to fall behind.

Here’s the truth about my generation. I’m 28, and we don’t open a browser to research anymore. We open social media on our phones. I planned most of my European holiday last summer using other people’s videos as “inspo” (digital shorthand for inspiration).

But this isn’t just about travel inspo and food reviews. TikTok has become one of the most powerful storytelling platforms for environmental and political activists of all types.

We started locally, searching platforms for Gorge-based outdoor creators. To our surprise, there really weren’t any with large followings. So we expanded, but only within the Pacific Northwest. If this was going to work, it needed to stay rooted in regional identity and values.

With a tiny budget and a lot of cold emailing, we didn’t know if we’d even hear back. But within 24 hours, we heard back from someone I had watched online for years during the pandemic. And suddenly the idea became reality.

Since launching the pilot program in spring 2025, we’ve been on quite a journey in the online conservation advocacy space. In just a few months, we’ve watched proposals surface to sell off public lands, seen renewed attacks on the Roadless Rule, followed efforts to roll back DEIJ policies, and tracked BLM land sales—alongside plenty of other threats that didn’t make headlines but still demanded attention. Launching a brand-new program in the middle of that landscape was, admittedly, a leap of faith. But even in this unpredictable climate, the results have already shown us why this work matters.

One of our core goals was to reach younger and more diverse audiences, and we’re beginning to see that shift take shape. Both Instagram and TikTok are showing steady growth among younger users, especially those who are engaging not just with our videos, but with the issues behind them. A great example: a young woman who had lived in Beaverton her whole life discovered our work through a video from a digital creator, joined our Mindfulness Walk, and told us she had never even heard of Friends before—and had never been farther into the Gorge than Multnomah Falls. That is the exact awareness gap we set out to bridge.

This month, newly published academic research in Sustainable Futures Journal supports what we’ve begun to see in our own program. A 2025 study of Gen Z social media users in Italy found that exposure to pro-environmental campaigns on social media significantly increased participants’ environmental commitment.

And a 2025 global survey of young digital activists conducted by researchers in India concluded that social media offers a unique and effective avenue for environmental activism, with young people deploying visual storytelling, hashtags, and platform-tailored content to bridge online engagement with offline environmental action. The study also found that campaigns connecting online visibility with real-world mobilization are especially successful.

The program has also helped us rebuild and expand community connection. This type of storytelling has opened real conversations with people who assumed Friends was simply a hiking group, not a conservation and advocacy organization fighting policy battles on their behalf. Now, when people encounter us online, they’re seeing the connection between public lands, legislation, lived experience, and the places they love to explore.

And perhaps one of the most unexpected outcomes has been the way this work has changed our visibility within the conservation world itself. Earlier this year, a partner organization told us they’d been talking internally about whether to try working with digital creators but didn’t know anyone who had actually done it. For the first time, we were able to say “We have, and it’s already making a difference.” Being early adopters in this space hasn’t just helped us reach new audiences; it has positioned Friends as a model for others who want to connect conservation to culture in new and relevant ways.

In a world where public lands are on the chopping block, DEIJ policies are being dismantled, and misinformation is moving faster than the facts, we can’t afford to sit out of the digital conversation.

Digital creators aren’t the future. They are the present. And when they care about the Gorge—and bring thousands of others with them—that is a huge win for Friends.

We’re inspired by the wave of outdoor creators speaking up for conservation. The more we work together, the more people understand that you protect what you know and love. You know what you experience. And you experience what someone invites you into.

As we look ahead, we plan to keep growing this program, not with whoever has the biggest following, but with people who care deeply, tell stories authentically, and can help the next generation fall in love with the Gorge the way all of us already have.

Because the Gorge isn’t just beautiful. It’s ours to defend. And there are millions of people who haven’t met it yet—but will.