This weekend we’re celebrating the end of summer at the Chatt Town Cool Down and on Friday night H2O Life’s Black Women Paddle event is back.
H2O Life was founded in 2019 to help more women of color come together to connect and rejuvenate in a safe place – nature.
H2O Life founder Shawanna Kendrick said they took 38 paddlers, mostly beginners, out on the river last year. She hopes to have at least 50 paddlers this year.
She said that a few years ago, at a paddling festival in North Carolina, she spoke to another African-American woman who told her she had never paddled with another black woman before.
“And that blew my mind,” Kendrick said. “If she’s never paddled with a black woman, I wondered how many other black women there are who have never paddled with another black woman.”
“I wasn’t an outdoor person for most of my life,” she said. As a child, she played outside, climbed trees and did the things kids normally do, but before starting H2O Life, she had never hiked, paddled a canoe, kayak or any other watercraft.
“So this was a new experience for me, just enjoying everything that nature has to offer,” she said. “I can’t speak enough about the healing properties of nature. I know I’ve benefited from it. The mental clarity you get from spending just 10 minutes outside is just phenomenal. I don’t know the science behind it, but I know I always feel better. And I don’t want to discount feelings because they’re a big part of what I do and why I do it.”
She said she knows that many women of color of all ages have had difficult times. Many are just coping with their daily lives and struggling with their inner selves. Many end up struggling with mental health issues.
“I mean the whole gamut from undiagnosed mental health issues to depression or anxiety, whatever it may be, and at some point life has overwhelmed them,” she said. “And I’m not OK with anyone suffering in silence or not having access to the tools and resources to help them heal.”
Kendrick said the activities she plans outdoors help create a safe and healing environment, a source of connection and community while hiking through the woods, camping or paddling across a body of water.
“It’s very organic and can’t really be designed to be done indoors,” she said of the healing effects.
In addition to Friday’s paddling event, Kendrick has planned a day-long trip to Crabtree Farms on September 14.
“We’re going to address many of the things that might be stressing us out,” she said. “We know that stress can kill and that stressors can affect our bodies in different ways.”
Kendrick said the group will spend the day journaling, enjoying a lunch with farm-fresh ingredients, learning stretching techniques to reduce stress and pampering themselves with a glacier facial provided by their partner R3 Chattanooga.
“We will experience what I call a ceremonial liberation from anything that may be holding us back from being the best version of ourselves,” she said.
Each participant of the retreat receives an H2O Life Kit to take home.
“The goal is to provide women with resources to take home,” Kendrick said.
A new event is coming in October. Kendrick has put together a boat tour on the Tennessee River that allows participants to experience beautiful, diverse scenery while fall leaves bloom on the horizon.
“I expect women to just notice the beauty around us,” Kendrick said. “Especially those who were born and raised in Chattanooga but haven’t experienced all the beauty that Chattanooga has to offer. Seeing our city from the river is just unparalleled.”
A larger event is planned for May 31, 2025, when H2O Life will make a second trip to the summit of Kilimanjaro. A group of five women traveled to Africa in June 2024. Kendrick said this time the event will be open to men and women.
More information about Kilimanjaro will follow shortly.
To register for Friday’s paddle trip or other events, visit the H2O Life website at: https://www.theh2o.life/
