by Belinda Kirk
Saying goodbye to 2019 got me thinking about just how much has happened over the past decade - both for me and for Explorers Connect.
Ten years ago I was trying to find people to go on big adventures with and Explorers Connect a very fledgling idea. Fast forward ten years and Explorers Connect has become something bigger than I had ever dreamed possible and I’m so proud and grateful to all the people I’ve met along the way.
Today, Explorers Connect takes hundreds people on adventures every year, led by myself or my handpicked team. We inspire others to get outside through nationwide events, including adventure talks in Bristol and London, and upskill through our courses to improve self-sufficiency in the outdoors. We also provide an adventure industry jobs board to help people develop a career doing something they love.
Alongside this, we advise people on how to run their own adventures (small and big), put expert advisors and team mates together and work as a catalyst on several major expeditions and lots of personal challenges through the year. We teach Expedition Leadership to dozens each year and help set up new projects/groups getting them to the stage they are then able to run themselves (e.g. this year we helped set up a refugee's hiking group and supported a women’s walking start-up She Who Walks Wins with training and advice).
However the most exciting step for me personally in 2019 was launching the Adventure Mind conference (to take place late February 2020) an idea I have been encouraging others to start for several years because I didn’t have the time, I finally made the time myself in 2019. Adventure needs to be better understood. I have tried to start this dialogue by sharing stories of transformation for several years through Explorers Connect and of course by my talks at Base Camp Festival and other events - but the Adventure Mind conference is something altogether more focused. This year the conference will inform outdoor leaders on how to deliver their adventures to better impact mental well-being. In future years it will continue to highlight the importance of adventure to wellbeing to different groups of society. It is the first conference of its kind about a new idea. I am very excited that I will have Members of Parliament attending as well as leading scientists, outdoor practitioners, outdoor influencers etc - together I hope to reinvigorate the conversation with regards bringing adventure into mainstream. I strongly believe that taking on outdoor adventures is good for us, a necessity of the human spirit, and I know there's many who've come into contact with Explorers Connect that feel the same.
This doesn’t stop us keeping the fun going too…. to recap, in 2019 we have had a fantastic time…
Delivering 36 brilliant adventures and courses in the UK & abroad, including newbies such as Lundy Island Escape, Everest Base Camp Trek, and Scrambling & Performance Coaching.
Hosting 10 Adventure Talks in Bristol & London, including Jo Ruxton’s talk in Bristol on A Plastic Ocean, and our special screening in London of ‘Kadoma’, about legendary South African kayaker Hendri Coetzee. Some truly memorable evenings with plenty more coming up.
Resurrecting Base Camp Festival - Britain’s friendliest adventure festival - for 2020 after a maternity break in 2019, when our 10th Birthday Party took its place. Thanks to everyone who joined.
Running Wild Night Out - Britain’s National Night of Adventure - to encourage people outside their comfort zones on one night of the year. 2019 was another brilliant year for Wild Night Out with 6 brand spanking new Wild Night Out Campouts.
Publishing hundreds of job opportunities in the adventure industry, and sparking many new careers for people doing something they love.
Launching Adventure Mind - A conference to promote the positive impact of adventure on wellbeing which will take place in February 2020.
We also published tons of great content and adventure opportunities from the community including…
33 new ‘Join A Team’ posts, which included…
27 brilliant blog articles from some great writers, such as…
We really enjoyed hearing what you got up to in 2019, and were so happy to share how…
Astrid & Dave walked the length of the West Highland Way & Great Glen Way last winter
Val Ismaili completed 800m traverse of Tien Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan
Amanda Challans rowed solo across the Baltic Sea
Astrid, Daniel, Ingrid & Scott walked the length of Hadrian's Wall
Anna McNuff ran 2352 miles across Britain bare foot, whilst her other half - Jamie McDonald - won a Pride of Britain fundraiser of the year award.
Some truly inspirational stories, and we are looking forward to finding out what you get up to in 2020. (Please do continue to send us your stories, so we let others know what’s possible!)
With a more serious hat on, we've taken some time to clarify what we stand for: that being to provide people with the opportunity to access Adventures With Purpose - where each adventure involves a journey of some kind, whether it be getting from A-B, or a personal journey of discovery. To this end, we have remodelled our trip portfolio a little to focus on journeys and expeditions, big and small. As ever, and hopefully anyone who has been on an Explorers Connect trip can attest - we continue to commit to (safely!) extending peoples comfort zones, with the support of a strong & friendly community, and to being a thought-leader in the world of adventure-for-wellbeing.
I’m very proud to say that we've done all this with a whole new team. I came back from maternity leave in November 2018, just as Becky & Rowan joined Explorers Connect. We are now all fully bedded in and setting our sights on the delights that 2020 will bring. Alongside our core team, we have the good old A-Team people still going strong - helping us to host trips, and providing us with valuable counsel on lots of different matters.
But nothing would be possible without all of you: the people that go on our trips, read our news, tell us about your plans, and ultimate inspire and support each other to try new things, and to give back to the community with increased energy and invigorated souls - the wonders that you get from adventuring in the outdoors.