New European project launches
We were thrilled to join our European partners for the first official kick-Off meeting of the Connect Project in Lyon – a European initiative promoting sustainable outdoor recreation. This initiative fosters stronger collaboration between outdoor sports organisations and area managers to promote sustainable outdoor recreation
The project will focus on four pilot sites in Sweden, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands, where Leave No Trace Ireland (LNTI) will gather insights to develop a best-practice guide for collaboration between outdoor sports communities and protected areas.
The organisations are European Network of Network of Outdoor Sports, EUROPARC Federation, International Mountain Bike Association, Europe, Surfrider Foundation Europe, European Ramblers Association, and Mid Sweden University.
Backgound to the project
The Connect Erasmus project was born out of the research and recommendations from a previous ERASMUS + project “Sustainability and Environmental Education in Outdoor Sports (SEE Project) led by Leave No Trace Ireland and involving ENOS member organisations and the EUROPARC Federation, the largest European network of Protected Areas. One of the key recommendations from this project was that protected area managers should involve and collaborate more with outdoor sports organisations that use their sites. However, there was broad recognition that is challenging and requires capacity building”
It aims to promote sustainable and responsible outdoor sports in protected areas (like Wild Nephin National Park) by fostering mutual understanding between outdoor sports organisations and protected area managers. Building strong partnerships between these groups is crucial, yet many lack the knowledge or means to engage or collaborate. The project will address this by looking at previous successful collaboration models and following their best practice.
The project will then co-create pilot engagement programmes across European and Irish protected areas and develop guidance tools and practical resources to enhance relationships between the outdoors sports organisations and the area managers. By working together and sharing knowledge the project hopes to have a positive impact on the collaboration of all parties as well as protecting the natural environment.
