Words by Rach Coleman. Artwork by Beth Breeden.
As today we announce the new 'Our Trails Gathering', Rach shares insights into how the event has evolved from the State of Our Trails Summit, and what we hope to explore in December at Red Bull London.
When people ask me what the highlight of my time with Trash Free Trails has been, less than a millisecond passes before I say 'the State of Our Trails Summit in 2023'. I'd work on a lot of events before, but few had the warmth, atmosphere or (let's be honest) the weather we had for the Summit at Plas y Brenin in September last year.
If there's anything you won't get me to shut up about, it's the fact that when people are together, thinking about shared ideas and questions, a kind of magic happens. Great change always starts in a room, with a group of people who happen to make the choice to show up. The Summit last year was definitely one of those moments.
We've now hosted 3 State of Our Trails Summits, each one different but championing in their own way, our work to tackle single-use pollution and empower communities across the world to do the same.
When we came to planning 2024 and the Summit came up, I leapt with joy. The highlight of my year was back in the calendar.
But we quickly came to the conclusion that though the Summit was awesome, and achieved so much, we wanted to try something new, something different. We wanted more than just the Trash Free Trails point of view, but a deep dive into the ecosystem of ENGOs, businesses, brands and individuals who work in and around recreational trails. Because it's all well and good us talking to a room of passionate people about our work, but the collaboration our trails need requires something different. Something that's not about one organisation, but every organisation.
We landed on the idea that, as a member of a lively ecosystem we could host another event like the Summit, but instead of taking lead on every conversation, we're holding the Our Trails Gathering as a blank page. We've written the question 'how can nature inspire how we work together?' in big letters, and then the rest we've left open to you.
The Gathering is our take on a new kind of professional conference. We want nature to be in the room with us. We want you to feel inspired, curious, and brave. We want the whole event to be led by the power of collaboration to better serve our trails, and therefore our industry. We want you to leave with a heap of numbers for people you're going to collaborate with. We want you to know, after it's over, that though you might work solo or in a small organisation, there's a whole sector who have your back and are working to the same ends you are - to protect our trails for the future.
I don't know about you, but I think it might be kind of amazing? I guess there's only one way to find out.
See you there!
Book your spot now to join Trash Free Trails at the inaugural Our Trails Gathering!
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