{"id":10307,"date":"2026-06-12T14:27:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/?p=10307"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:42:54","slug":"new-outdoor-group-aims-to-connect-troy-community-via-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/2026\/06\/12\/new-outdoor-group-aims-to-connect-troy-community-via-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"New outdoor group aims to connect Troy community via nature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION<\/a>) \u2014 Being in a small town like Troy Alabama, locals sometimes wonder what all there is to do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why one woman has created a group for those wanting to bond over the outdoors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caitlin Hartselle, a Troy local, has\u00a0been an outdoor\u00a0lover for\u00a0most of her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like being in the outdoors, because personally is brings me a lot of peace,\u201d Hartselle said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is\u00a0why she decided it was time to create\u00a0the\u00a0Facebook group Troy\u00a0Area\u00a0Outdoors.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOCAL NEWS: Troy University welcomes athletes during 2026 Special Olympics<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I just\u00a0kind of wanted\u00a0to find a group of people that were interested in the outdoors that could come together and form connections over that,\u201d Hartselle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hartselle has high hopes\u00a0for the group. From learning about nature, taking trips to state parks, and finding all the hidden gems she believes the Wiregrass has to offer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I just\u00a0kind of hope\u00a0it\u00a0strengthens\u00a0community bonds in general like getting to meet new people\u00a0and knowing\u00a0each other in our small\u00a0community\u00a0here in Troy,”\u00a0Hartselle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dou Robert and Amanda\u00a0Kurtz\u00a0are some of\u00a0those \u201cnew people\u201d and locals in Troy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It helps to get us out of our comfort zone,\u201d Amanda said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yeah,\u00a0open people\u00a0up,\u00a0get them comfortable with strangers and\u00a0developing\u00a0a relationship that this town just really needs,”\u00a0Robert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group also aims to improve mental and physical health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Especially to come out here to the\u00a0Arboretum and walk around the pond,\u00a0it\u00a0kind of just resets my brain for me.\u00a0I think that making use of that in the community can\u00a0definitely\u00a0be a big benefit,\u201d Hartselle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u00a0isn’t\u00a0just for adults. Teens\u00a0and\u00a0kids are welcome, too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I would think even like a youth group fishing would be some\u00a0involvement\u00a0for the youth so\u00a0their\u00a0not getting in\u00a0trouble,” Robert\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hartselle hopes to host more\u00a0activities\u00a0that get locals\u00a0involved. Future ideas\u00a0range from exploring walking trails to trips to\u00a0state\u00a0parks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy locals wanting to get involved can find more information on Facebook at Troy\u00a0Area\u00a0Outdoors<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) \u2014 Being in a small town like Troy Alabama, locals sometimes wonder what all there is to do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That’s why one woman has created a group for those wanting to bond over the outdoors.  <\/p>\n

Caitlin Hartselle, a Troy local, has\u00a0been an outdoor\u00a0lover for\u00a0most of her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI like being in the outdoors, because personally is brings me…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":10314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1125],"tags":[3117,3115,3114,3116],"topics":[1588],"class_list":["post-10307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-hiking-groups-troy-alabama","tag-troy-alabama-group","tag-troy-area-outdoors","tag-walking-groups-troy-alabama","topics-local-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10307"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10313,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307\/revisions\/10313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10307"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=10307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}