Tails and wild places mean a lot to us

Posted on Mon, Feb 22, 2021

Somewhere to escape, socialise, test ourselves, explore and connect.

We nurture our relationship with these strips of mud, rock and hardpack, building up our bodies to withstand the forces, allowing us to run further, embracing more that they offer. Ease that effort off and your eyes will discover the various layers of fauna, developed to withstand their unique microclimates, as all manner of wildlife works in unison. The meadows, forests and crags that surround these corridors that inspire us to lace up and brave the onslaught of sideways rain in the depths of winter are vital to our experience.

Therefore, taking ownership of our trails, leaving a positive impact, ensuring they stay the way we love them is vital to our and others enjoyment.

Back in January 2017, Trash Free Trails started from an Instagram post, frustrated by the lack of knowledge and action on tackling the growing issue of trash on and in our trails and wild places. I joined as a volunteer some months later and have been fortunate to see how a social media account has grown into a Community Interest Company, with the same goals and missions

• To reduce plastic pollution on our trails and wild places by 75% by 2025.

• To (re)connect people everywhere with their ‘wild selves’ through purposeful adventure.

In 2020 volunteers across the world cleared 2,500km of trails, with over 10,000 items removed.

Now, for you near Milton Keynes, I’ll be leading the runs around Woburn and I’ll have a small dry bag with me to pick up what lies ahead on the trail. I may even have a collapsible litter picker. It’s not about making every run into a litter picking adventure, nor putting your goals to one side. Finding balance, doing a little each month soon adds up, sharing your experience is huge.

At the moment I understand that you may not all want to join in, with the word we shall not mention, however, it’s my hope that we can do our bit to look after the trails we run and share this with our wider communities.

It is our collective responsibility rather than individuals.

I’ll see you out on the trail