We protect what we love

FRIDAY 24.02. 2023.

Good morning and welcome to another Friday newsletter!

Do you like our pride logo? It'll be appearing in our newsletter for the next couple of weeks as we celebrate world pride and increasing diversity in running.

This week I have absolutely loved seeing my Instagram home feed full of rainbows, as different sporting clubs across celebrate pride. My local cycling group, York Street Social Club, had a rainbow ride yesterday morning with everyone dressing in rainbow colours, and Parkruns' around Australia celebrated with a rainbow-themed Saturday morning run.

Sydney-based York Street Cycle Club's rainbow ride for World Pride 2023.

There have been monumental steps towards LGBTQIA+ equality, and I love that so many people are making a huge effort to represent minority groups in outdoor culture. Something as simple as representation, in the form of a rainbow ride or run, can go a long way in creating a welcoming environment for non-heterosexual outdoor and adventure enthusiasts. I absolutely love the progress that is being made in this space, especially by grass-roots organisations and social clubs.

There has been a lot of activity amongst the volunteers at FWP. Board member, Lauren Beels, recently took part in the Tarawera 50km run and had "an absolute cracker of a day". Lauren's race plan went well and loved all of the encouragement out on the course. After finishing her massive run, she returned to the course to crew a friend to the end of his first miler and then do a volunteer shift at the finish line. What an incredible human!

Lara Hamilton, FWP volunteer, has returned to Nordic skiing racing and track racing. Over the weekend, Lara came away with the course record for an indoor 5km track race - what an epic effort.

Finally, we'd like to wish everyone participating in the takayna Trail the best of luck - we hope you have the most amazing time running through the towering, lush forests of takayna/Tarkine. Huge congrats to all runners for their incredible fundraising efforts - collectively runners have raised $295,500 to support the Bob Brown Foundation's campaign to make takayna a World Heritage site, returned to Indigenous ownership. To support this event and help them crack the $300k mark today, head to the website and donate to a runner today!

This week's newsletter is short and sweet. We merely want to remind you about some upcoming events, including TRACTION: Yarra Bend (which is tomorrow!), IWD runs taking place in Melbourne/Naarm and Sydney/Gadigal. We're also stoked to be hosting Trail Chat #10 with Majell Backhausen, who ran 273 km across the proposed Great Forest National Park to learn more about this special place, and Lucy Bartholomew, who recently placed first female at the Tarawera 100 mile run in Aotearoa/New Zealand's North Island.

There is a lot of work that goes in behind the scenes to bring these events to you, and we really hope that you are getting so much out of them. We hope you can join us!

In next week's newsletter, we promise to bring you a comprehensive update on how the campaign is going in the Pilliga Forest, which has severely ramped up in recent months.

 🏳️‍🌈  🏳️‍⚧️

TRACTION: YARRA BEND

Join us in Naarm tomorrow!

Tomorrow we are excited to kick off the first of our TRACTION: Trail Action events across Victoria. Tomorrow we are cleaning up the trails of Yarra Bend Park, a bushland oasis in inner-city Melbourne. We will be joined by two local environmental groups who have been volunteering their time, passion and skills to revegetate the Park, and ensure a healthy ecosystem for the many native birds, reptiles, insects and flora that rely on this ecosystem to survive.

This includes the Grey-headed Flying Fox colony, that lives in the gum trees overhanging the Yarra River. These megabats are keystone pollinators and seed disperses, of over 100 species of native trees and plants. However, their populations have been greatly affected in past years by heatwaves, which has led to the installation of sprinklers amongst their roosting trees to conserve the population.

If you'd like to learn more about the ecology of Yarra Bend Park and help tidy the trails to ensure a healthy ecosystem for flora and fauna alike, come join us at Studley Park Picnic Area tomorrow from 9am.

For more information check out the Facebook event and to register, head to ParkConnect.

IWD 2023

Join us on Wednesday 8th March

It's almost that time of year again - International Women's Day! This year we are celebrating one of our favourite days on the calendar with group runs in both Sydney/Gadigal and Melbourne/Naarm. The group runs will be very low-key - just a few FWP community members getting together to share some cruisy kilometres, followed by a morning coffee and snack before starting the working day! Each run will be ~5km at 6:00min/km pace.

Everyone is welcome to join - it's a day to celebrate and recognise the amazing women in our community, and start the day with connection and movement.

Sydney / Warrung*

Coogee Surf Life Saving Club, 7.00am - 8.30am

(Bring your bathers if you'd like a post-run dip!)

*To be confirmed closer to the date if this will take place

RSVP

Melbourne / Naarm

MSAC, Albert Park Lake, 7.00am - 8.30am

RSVP

Hope to see you there!

🙋‍♀️ 💜 🙋‍♀️

UPCOMING TRAIL CHATS

#10 with Majell Backhausen: Talking all things Great Forest National Park

Image: Jarrah Lynch for Patagonia

Join our next Trail Chat to hear from Victorian-based runner, advocate and oats addict, Majell Backhausen. Majell recently ran 273 km across the proposed Great Forest National Park to learn more about this special place, and why it should be protected as a National Park. Majell is an ultra-trail runner and an environmental advocate, as well as one of the co-founders of For Wild Places. Majell has since joined the team at Wild Allies to bring Dakota Jones' Footprints Camp to Australia, with the support of Patagonia, which aims to create the next generation of sport climate leaders.

Tune in on Thursday 3rd March at 12 pm to hear about the Great Forest campaign and other campaign initiatives including Patagonia’s ‘End to an End’ film and the upcoming Footprints Running Camp.

RSVP here, and see you there!

#11 with Lucy Bartholomew: On her recent Tarawera 100-mile win

Lucy, just after she crossed the finish line of the Tarawera 100 mile run. Image: Kurt Mathews Photography

Join us for Trail Chat #11 to hear from Lucy Bartholomew on her recent performances at WA Ironman and Tarawera 100-mile. We plan to talk all things nutrition, mindset, re-entering the racing world after COVID and so much more. Lucy is also currently in Kosciuszko National Park, so no doubt we'll also be hearing about these adventures too!

RSVP to our Trail Chat with Lucy here.

🌳 🌳 🌳

And that's it for this week, folks. We look forward to seeing some of you at TRACTION tomorrow, and at future events. If you're not in Victoria and feeling a little left out - never fear! We have plenty on the calendar in 2023 and are excited to head all along the east coast to bring some FWP goodness to your local trails. ✨

Be sure to get out there this weekend and soak up your last weeeknd of summer, and remember to play it safe out on the trails! As always, a huge thank you to you all for your support and encouragement - we couldn't, and wouldn't, do this without you! Thank you all, for taking the time, for wild places.

Elanor & the For Wild Places team

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UPCOMING EVENTS

25/02 TRACTION: Yarra Bend | RSVP

02/03 Trail Chat #10 with Majell Backhausen | RSVP

08/03 IWD Group Run: Albert Park, Melbourne/Naarm | RSVP

08/03 IWD Group Run: Coogee Beach, Sydney/Warrung | RSVP

11-12/03 TRACTION @ Waurburton Trail Fest | Details

16/03 Trail Chat #11 with Lucy Bartholomew | RSVP

18/03 TRACTION: You Yangs | RSVP

01/04 TRACTION: Otways | RSVP

We acknowledge the the First Nations people who have been custodians of land, waters and culture for tens of thousands of years. We pay respects to First Nations Elders past, present and emerging.

This email was compiled on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. To these people, we pay our respects.

Always was, always will be.