We protect what we love

FRIDAY 17.02. 2023.

Welcome to the weekend, folks! We hope wherever you find yourself this weekend; whether it's climbing a mountain (or two) at Hut 2 Hut, sweltering in Sydney, tapering for takayna Trail next weekend or just wondering where the first month and a half of 2023 has gone, we hope you have a blast doing it!

It's been a busy week here at FWP HQ, with a few new additions to the team! We are excited to welcome Kristen on board as TRACTION Project Manager (read on for more info about that) and Michelle as our new voluntary Board Secretary and Sasha as Finance Officer. It is very exciting to welcome fresh faces, ideas and passion into our small but mighty team! You'll hear more from these wonderful women in future newsletter editions...

This week, the focus of the newsletter is TRACTION, a new initiative we are stoked to finally get out into the world! This project has been on the cards for quite some time, as the awesome Paige hosted a session alongside Tim and the Seacliff Coasters back in June 2021. Since then, we've been applying for a few grants, and have been stoked to receive not one, but TWO to help fund seven events across Victoria in 2023! In today's newsletter, we'll be bringing you more info on what the initiative is and how you can get involved. 🥳

We really hope this initiative gains some traction (pun intended!) and FWP can become a vehicle that connects land managers (Parks authorities, Councils etc) with trail running groups that want to give back to their trails. It's a slow and steady process, and these initial events will allow us to learn, iterate and build this initative into something that is long-lasting, effective and most importantly, impactful!

If you find yourself not in Victoria - never fear - we hope to take TRACTION continent-wide in the second half of 2023! These initial events are just the beginning of a country-wide movement to take action for our trails. So, read on and see how you can get involved....

✊🏽 🏃‍♀️ ✊🏽

INTRODUCING TRACTION: Trail Action

Taking action for our trails

Here at For Wild Places, we want to connect the trail-running community with tangible ways we can help nature thrive. And as trail users, we want to see our trails well maintained, so the critters, plants and ecosystems that surround them are protected and healthy (and of course, so they are safe and maintained for our enjoyment!).

That's why we are excited to launch our new initiative, TRACTION!

We invite you to join us in taking action to keep our trails clean, tidy, marked and maintained so we can continue to explore wild places, whilst limiting our negative impact on the environment.  

The team at For Wild Places are excited to be working with Parks Victoria to bring this TRACTION: Trail Action initiative to life, which will give trail users opportunities to get hands-on in helping maintain and tidy our trails. Well-maintained trails allow us to explore further, for longer, and in a safe manner, so we can too stay healthy and thrive into the future.

We are excited to launch the following events:

YARRA BEND

Saturday 25th February, 9am - 12pm

Studley Park Picnic Area

Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

RSVP

YOU YANGS

Saturday 18th March, 9am - 12pm

Turntable Carpark, Little River

Wadawurrung Country

RSVP

OTWAYS (LORNE)

Saturday 1st April, 9am - 12pm

Location TBC, Lorne

Eastern Maar Country

RSVP

At each event, you will have the opportunity to

• Hear from environmental leaders about local issues
• Get hands-on in helping maintain and tidy trails
• Connect more deeply with the cultural history of the area
• After the hard work is done, enjoy a refreshing beverage!

All events are free to attend, and the necessary tools and/or PPE will be provided. Participants must register in advance as numbers are strictly limited. To get involved, head to the links above (via our Facebook page) and we will be in touch with links to sign up via Park Victoria's ParkConnect platform. Future events will take place at Grampians/Gariwerd, and along the Yarra River, Plenty River and Darebin Creek. Stay tuned for details on these events soon!

It is our hope that this TRACTION: Trail Action movement will grow nationally, and FWP can provide the resources and information to running groups across the continent to host their own TRACTION events. With more severe weather impacting access to trails, we feel the need to empower the trail community with actionable ways to assist has never been as important.

We will be launching TRACTION at Warby Trail Fest in Warburton, at a special seminar/workshop at 2 pm on Sunday 12th March at the Bowls Club. We will be at Warby all weekend, collecting your gel wrappers for recycling and hanging around to catch up with old and new friends! If you are keen to learn more about TRACTION and help guide the future of this initiative, come along to the workshop and join in!

Stay tuned for more on TRACTION, including a spunky website, additional events and maybe even a limited-edition-runners-rubbish-bag! 😉

🦘 🤎 🦘

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/Warrung 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. Pop the following details in your calender as a save the date, and stay tuned for more info:

Sydney / Warrung

Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club, 7.00am - 8.30am

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

Melbourne / Naarm

MSAC, Albert Park Lake, 7.00am - 8.30am

Hope to see you there!

🙋‍♀️ 💜 🙋‍♀️

And that's it for this week, folks! Next week we are bringing you a comprehensive update on how the campaign is going in the Pilliga Forest, which has severely ramped up in recent months.

If you're a current member, keep an eye on your inbox for your digital copy of the FWP Quarterly, which gives you a behind-the-scenes of what FWP has achieved over the past 12 months and or plans for 2023. If you'd like to get in on the action, sign up today to become a FWP Member (monthly & annual payment options available) and you can join in the fun!

Thank you as always for the ongoing support, and have a wonderful weekend hiking, biking, running, swimming, snoozing and exploring! And as always, big kudos to you for taking the time, for wild places.

Hilary & the For Wild Places team

CHECK US OUT ON INSTAGRAM

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 | Details to come

08/03 IWD Group Run: Clovelly Beach, Sydney/Warrung | Details to come

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

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 Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation. To these people, we pay our respects.

Always was, always will be.