by Leigha Schultze, Adirondack Diversity Initiative Research Fellow
This summer, I had the incredible privilege of working alongside ANCA as a research fellow for the Adirondack Diversity Initiative. My research contributed to an ongoing three-year study on how welcoming and inclusive users of the High Peaks wilderness perceived the space to be. Specifically, the research aimed to evaluate whether people are welcome in the Adirondacks on the basis of race, class, religion, gender, sexuality, age, and disability.
Data was collected via surveys distributed to hikers at the Adirondack Loj and Keene Garden trailheads, asking questions surrounding their prior experience on the trails, where they acquired information for their hikes, individual motivations for using the trailheads, their perceptions of welcoming in the wilderness space, and personal demographics. I additionally collected passive survey data regarding visitor demographics, including where visitors are traveling from to the Adirondacks, racial diversity observed at a given trailhead, and the average size of groups hiking together. This data was then collected in an online spreadsheet, so that it could be used to inform policy decisions made by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
For me, one of the most incredible privileges about this experience was getting to meet and speak with hikers on a regular basis. I truly loved getting to hear stories of their experiences on the trails, their motivations for visiting the High Peaks, and their priorities with regards to conservation. Many hikers took an active interest in the research being collected and were enthused to see this critical work being done on the trails. These interactions were particularly valuable because it created a space where hikers could offer their unique perspectives and perceptions on safety and inclusivity in the Adirondacks, in addition to providing input on how we could improve our surveying methods and strategies.
Working with ADI has helped me recognize that empowering community actors is a vital first step toward affecting real change, as this belief is consistently reflected in their work to uplift communities through funding and education. This summer experience has taught me that spending time, money, and effort building up communities in the Adirondacks is a worthy investment because it is in these communities that progress is felt most acutely. It has shown that grassroots movements and nonprofit work can create far greater ripples throughout communities than one might anticipate. I was so lucky to be part of their change-making.
Photos: Adirondack Diversity Initiative Research Fellow Leigha Schultze, left, conducts hiker surveys in the Adirondack High Peaks (top); Leigha shares findings from her summer research at a Colgate University poster session, held at the Hotel Saranac in Saranac Lake, N.Y. in July 2025.