Discover your outdoors
Outoor Academy
Many women feel they don't have the skills or confidence to start adventuring into the outdoors. Outdoor Academy is a 2023 grant-funded community project aiming to change that.
Why are we doing this?
These are some common worries holding women back from the outdoors. There is still an enduring perception of the outdoors as an extreme, competitive place which requires fitness, expensive travel, kit or expertise. Women, in particular, find this challenging and the 2021 LHW survey showed that, sadly, they are not always made to feel welcome. Yet we know the huge benefits access to the outdoors offers in terms of wellbeing, social and emotional learning, and environmental awareness to name just a few.
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I’m not a proper outdoorsy person
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I’m worried about going on my own
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I don’t have the right kit/clothes
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I feel like I don’t have the skills
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I’m not fit or fast enough so I’ll hold everyone up
Outdoor Academy is being hosted by Siân through the Love Her Wild (LHW) community. LHW is an inclusive women’s community aiming to encourage more women engage in the outdoors.
What will we do?
Outdoor Academy will select 15 outdoor beginners to join the fully-funded weekend. It will be packed with outdoor learning workshops, activities and discussions to build outdoor confidence and skills. Ideas so far include:
- what to wear
- where to go
- what to do when you’re there
-overcoming confidence barriers
- navigation
- leave no trace
- camping skills
We are determined that Outdoor Academy will have a lasting impact. All workshops will be designed to have ‘to do’ actions so team members use their new skills and confidence to explore their local areas, take their families and friends outdoors more, join local LHW events, book outdoor skills courses and plan outdoor adventures. We will also aim to inspire and enable the 26k strong Love Her Wild community and others by sharing the story of the adventure.
