Jess Banes

My outdoor journey started at the age of five. My amazing stepfather raised me, teaching me about the Great Outdoors. He truly fostered my appreciation and love for wildlife, the environment and giving back. I grew up in the very small country town of Rich Hill, Missouri and as a family, we were always out canoeing, fishing, camping or hunting. As I grew older and moved away to college, I still had the desire to be outdoors but now that I was on my own, I didn’t know where to start. I fished when and where I could, tried to make it back home during hunting seasons but I was missing the constant exposure to the outdoors. I lacked the confidence and the resources to get out and do it on my own. 

Luckily in 2019, I met some incredible women who were on a similar journey, looking for a door into nature and people to share experiences with. Together we have had some amazing outdoor adventures, developed new skills and have grown into active and avid outdoorswomen. Being part of a group of women who share the same passion has been such an amazing gift that we wanted to share it. This is how wildHERness was born. 

The founders of wildHERness share the same values of respect, diversity, conservation, skill building, sharing knowledge and giving back to the community. We at wildHERness live and breathe our passion and want to share it with all women, from those who are just wanting to try something new to the lifers who grew up doing what they love. I hope you join us on some of our adventures and I cannot wait to meet you. Stay wild…