We protect what we love

FRIDAY 14.07.2023.

Good morning friends!

We've had a lovely week here at FWP headquarters. Following her Pilliga Pottery visit with Lauren, Hilary has ventured east, and has spend some time in Crescent Head, and is loving whale watching whilst exploring the beautiful Dunghutti coastline. I went on a long cycle through Ku-ring-gai on Sunday with a couple mates, and was pleasantly surprised with how warm it was, and Paige is continuing to explore local trails in Dharawal country.

Hilary in Hat Head National Park/Dunghutti country.

In this week's newsletter, we are bringing you an important (and disappointing) update from the Pilliga Ultra, as well as a yarn with with Erchana Murray-Bartlett as she runs from Devenport to Hobart to deliver some precious cargo. We also give you the opportunity to get your hands on one (or some!) of our upcycled, custom-made trail trash bags. We hope you enjoy this week's read.

✌🏽 🐋 ✌🏽

PILLIGA ULTRA UPDATE

A difficult but necessary decision

It is with a heavy heart that the FWP Board of Directors, along with the event organising crew have made the decision to postpone the Pilliga Ultra 2023, and push the event date back to September 2024.

There are a number of reasons why we came to this difficult decision. First and foremost, we want to ensure we create the biggest impact we can for the community around the Pilliga. Registration numbers were very low, and being a small not-for-profit, our organisation is not in the financial position to run this event at a loss. We want to be around for a long time, not just a good time, so this postponement will ensure we can continue to thrive and create positive change into the future.

Over the coming months, we are going to listen and reflect on how we can ensure the 2024 iteration of the Pilliga Ultra is more accessible, welcoming and rewarding for all that want to be involved. This is where we'd love your help. If you thought of participating, or planned to but hadn't yet registered, then we'd love to hear from you. We have put together a short survey that will allow us to ensure we are back, bigger and better than ever in 2024. It will take ~5 minutes to complete, and your input is invaluable. We have 2 sweet Fractel caps to give away for those that take the time 🧢

COMPLETE THE SURVEY

The main goal of this event is to get people out into the beautiful Pilliga forest, and if we are not able to do this in a meaningful way, we feel it is only right that we postpone and use the additional time to continue building awareness amongst our wonderful community to bring more people to the Pilliga in 2024.

Something that you can do TODAY to support the communities of the Pilliga, is to watch this short documentary (12 min) from Market Forces, which tells the story of Gomeroi Yiinar (women) Karra and Miah who are fighting to protect the Pilliga against Santos' Narrabri Gas Project. If you're banking with one of the big 4 banks, then you're savings or superannuation could be helping fund this destructive project.

A new campaign from Market Forces, Walk With Us

You can watch the documentary here and learn more about the campaign here. Although we may be postponing the Pilliga Ultra, our campaign to support the communities of the Pilliga and stop this CSG project will not lose momentum. We thank you for your patience and understanding, and if you have any questions, please reach out - we'd love to hear from you.

✊🏽 💚 🌳 🏃‍♂️

Q&A WITH ERCHANA MURRAY-BARTLETT

On her adventures from Devonport to Hobart

in lutriwita/Tasmania

From 'Tip to Toe' to top to bottom, World Record Holder Erchana-Murray Bartlett is now on another cross-island adventure, travelling from Devonport to Hobart to deliver a special package to Hobart's Parliament House. We caught up with Erchana yesterday as she sheltered in a cosy pub, enjoying a warm fire and mulled cider, as her fingers and toes defrosted after a freezing day on the rugged Tasmanian trails!

You're running from Devonport to Hobart on somewhat outdated maps; how far do you expect this to be, and what's your deadline?

E: I am! I left Devonport last Sunday, with nothing but some water, some gels and three wonderfully drawn pictures of luscious green forests from Alice (10), Ange and Mel (both 8). The plan is to get these drawings to nipaluna/Hobart in time for a meeting with Greens MP Rosalie Woodruff next Monday the 17th of July.

These drawings depict an environment that Alice and her sisters would like to see when they’re old enough to grab a backpack and explore themselves. My goal is to enable our next generation to feel empowered to fight for a greener future.

After your (incredible & inspiring!) Tip to Toe adventure, has your attitude to sports activsim changed? What lessons did you take from that experience to shape this one?

Tip to Toe inspired me to continue further into the activism space. I have always loved running, but the activism component of my expeditions is definitely new. My partner and I love storytelling and as we work closer together on these expeditions, I feel we are leaning more and more on positive storytelling to share the message that we don’t have a planet B. Lucky for me, my partner (Ry) has a great sense of adventure too.

In terms of lessons, I’m a lot more cluey when it comes to prep this time and how much time/energy we need to put aside each night to focus on the social media component of the mission, to ensure the story is being heard.

You did the majority of Tip to Toe in the warmer months - how has running during winter (in lutriwita, no less!) changed your approach to the daily routine & carb consumption? 

It has been SO COLD here! But to be clear, I expected this, even anticipated it! It was one of the reasons I chose to do this in winter. I wanted to completely flip the challenge. Tip to Toe was warm and I was very supported. I didn’t have to carry my water or food (for the most part). Here, I am following the Tasmanian Trail which at times has no vehicle access for hours! It’s a wild adventure as I leave camp in the morning, carrying literally everything I’ll need for what could be a whole day in the 0 degree temps, and then relying on a GPX file downloaded onto my Garmin to get me to a camp site, or a rendezvous point. I’ve been seriously lost twice, and once I found myself at a river than was completely impassable on foot! I had to bush bash for about 7kms to a bridge on private property so I could get across!

How can we support you?! We have some crew in Hobart - can they come out and meet you?

I’ve loved the challenge of having to rely solely on my own intuition and legs for this run, so unlike usual, I haven’t asked for running support. In saying that, the biggest support would be getting behind any FWP TRACTION events, fundraising events, or trail races as the more we explore the outdoors, the more we grow to connect with it and perhaps want to invest more money in protecting it!

Some snaps from the trail

Could you share one/some of the highlights (and lowlights!)

of your run so far?

 The highlights have been endless, to be honest. The places I’m rolling into in the evening to camp have been just stunning – usually by a river where I can have a (very) cold rinse. I’d say the biggest highlight has been the snow. Since moving to the Gold Coast, I don’t get a lot of cold weather, and certainly not snow. Even though it makes for a bit more preparation in terms of wearing more clothes and having more emergency supplies, it’s gorgeous, so I wouldn’t change it!

While I’m out here delivering these drawings, I’m also actively encouraging everyone to join the FWP membership community! By joining, we’ll be working together to help our wild places survive and thrive! And I can tell you, by running through them this past week, they’re mighty beautiful!

Thank you Erchana for not only taking the time out of your evening recovery time to chat to us, but for the incredible support you continue to show towards FWP! Travel safe on your final days of your lutriwita adventure, and take care of those precious pictures you are delivering to Parliament! We'll be following along at @erchana, living vicariously through your snow filled adventures ❄️

🥶 🏃🏼‍♀️ 🥶

UPCYCLED TRAIL-RUNNING TRASH BAGS

We have a bunch to give away

As part of TRACTION: Trail Action initiative, we have a number of custom-made, up-cycled trail-running trash bags to give away. All of the materials have been sourced from discarded tents at the Inner Varnika festival, which took place near Camperdown in Victoria over the 2023 Easter weekend.

To get your hands on one, head to this form and register to get one for yourself, and maybe some of your running buddies while you're at it! Reviews we've received so far indicate just how great they are:

"Brilliant concept and very user friendly"

"I love my new (recycled) trash bag! Thank you!!"

It's first in best dressed, and with only 15 left in this giveaway round of 100, you'll want to jump in quick. We'd love to give you one, so you can join our crew of dedicated trail custodians! Make sure you tag us in any IG posts and stories, so we can share them with our wider community. Trash bag in hand or not, remember you can always #Take3FortheTrail 🤙🏽

♻️ ⛺️ ♻️

NEXT WEEK

In next week's newsletter, we'll summarise our chat with Phil Gore and link you to the YouTube video.

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And as always, thank you for taking the time, for wild places.

Elanor (she/her) & the For Wild Places team

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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 Gadigal land of the Eora nation. To these people, we pay our respects.

Always was, always will be.