Image and words by Rach Coleman
Adventure. What does it mean to you? For us at Trash Free Trails, it’s a sixth sense - a tingling on our skin and a warmth in our hearts. The sense of adventure that hitting the places we love sparks is a fundamental part of who we are. It draws us back, time after time. Even on the trails we ride every week, there’s always somewhere new to go, something new to see, something new to discover in ourselves. Adventure is about answering the question ‘what if?’ over and over again.
There’s no satiation of that curiosity. In fact, the more times we ask the question, the more questions we discover. We lean in, go deep, breathe out. The trails are ever-hospitable to our never ending list of curiosities.
Adventure opens our minds to possibility. Self-propelled journeys affirm so much of what makes us human. Our capacity to investigate, innovate, endure, thrive, find joy and surpass failure. Through adventure we practise and confront the deepest parts of ourselves, and take these lessons back into our day to day lives.
But for some time now we've felt like the narrative of adventures hasn't been quite right. Why is it always us going out to get something? Could there be more to adventures than just self-exploration? What if our adventures not only gave back to us, but to the places we visited?
This is what Purposeful Adventures is all about, and I'm so excited that we're returning to this campaign for a third year. This summer we're leaning into our research into nature connection, to unravel exactly how our adventures support our connection to nature, and how no matter where you go, you too can leave a positive trace.
Left image by Chris Baker. Right by All Terre Adventures.
What Can You Expect from Purposeful Adventures this Summer?
We're dedicating five weeks to understanding what nature connection means, and what we can do to foster positive relationships with our wild places. We're doing this through five 'pathways' to nature connection: emotion, compassion, beauty, sense and meaning. (Miles Richardson et al., 2017)
These come from seminal research in the field of nature connection, but instead of spending heaps of time writing reports and sharing academic studies, we've invited five inspiring adventurers to get out to go in, exploring each pathway in turn and showcasing just how diverse our connections to nature can be.
Every week from July 29th the Trash Free Trails channels will be 'taken over' by an adventure story, sharing videos, blogs, photoessays and more on their adventures and where their connection took them. I am genuinely in awe of each one of them, and can't wait to share their stories.
How Can I Get Involved?
Plan your own Purposeful Adventure! Throughout we'll be sharing tips and ideas on how you can 'leave a positive trace' on your summer adventures - from picking up a pocketful of trash on your evening walk, to taking on your summer holiday via public transport - we've got ideas and we've got them for you!
You can also register your adventure on the Purposeful Adventures webpage, letting us know what you got up to to inspire our community with your story.
And don't forget to share your adventure on komoot! As champions of Purposeful Adventure we love seeing everyone's routes and what you've gotten up to.
Image by Joby Newson. Artwork by Helen Wilson
What is Nature Connection anyway?
I know right - it's pretty hard to put into words! Most researchers say that nature connection refers to how your relationship to the natural world informs who you are and how you live your life. But we like to think of it more as a feedback loop - it's not just nature that informs you, but we inform nature too.
This is why we believe in leaving a positive trace. We can't just aim to leave nothing behind - it's time we championed making active choices that give back to the places that host and sustain our adventures. We've got ideas but we want to hear yours too! Use the #MyPurposefulAdventure hashtag on your social media to let us know what you get up to, and what you learned about your relationship to place.
Special thank you to our Purposeful Adventure partners: komoot, Kickback Coffee, Stubble & Co, Bikmo, Go Ape, Macs Adventures, Sidetrack Magazine and Adventure Tours UK. Thank you to our Strategic Parts Trek, Bosch eBike Systems, The North Face and EOCA, Red Bull, Orbea and the People's Postcode Lottery. Thanks to all, we're able to continue sharing inspiring stories of adventure to protect our trails.
See you out there?
Learn more about the The Five Pathways to Nature Connectedness here.
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