This year, as part of International Women's Day, we are celebrating some of the adventurous women in the world that are inspiring us at the moment. These women are going out of their comfort zones, learning about themselves, and making change in their communities.
We believe everyone can go on an adventure, big or small. From Wild Walks (adventures for children to take their adults on) to human powered travel around the world, adventures help us see the world from different perspectives.
Hana Sutch
Hana is the co-founder, tech wizard and CEO of the fantastic GoJauntly App. She is a noted 'woman in tech', but we know her as a great inspirer of wanders and jaunts. She inspires folks to get outdoors for short walks. An adventure doesn't have to be Everest or even Scafell, it can be round your local park or two stops down the bus route... Hana's podcast Nature Bantz is fantastic!
Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Here she is describing her brilliant app when she won the cities category at the Impact Awards in 2018:
Clover Hogan
This 21 year old climate activist, the Founder & Executive Director of @forceofnature.xyz is herself a force of nature. She's interviewed some of the worlds most influential and interesting climate activists and is set to really shake up thinking.
We first heard Clover on the Force of Nature Podcast and more recently she did a really powerful TEDxLondonWomen talk about the very real and skyrocketing problem of ecoanxiety. Take a listen. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Mya-Rose Craig AKA Birdgirl
Mya-Rose is an 18-year old bird watcher who in 2019 became the youngest person to have seen half of the world's birds (5,369)! And last year she's had another first: youngest person in the UK to be awarded an honorary degree!
Birdgirl is campaigning to make nature more accessible for Visible Minority Ethnic young people. In 2016, Mya-Rose created Black2Nature, a not-for-profit running nature camps for black and minority ethnic children. "I am half Bangladeshi, and ever since I was a child I have been keenly aware of the lack of people like me out in Nature in Britain." (Resurgence and Ecologist).
Mya-Rose was at the Bristol Youth Strike last week, joined by Greta Thunberg. You can watch her speech here (starts at 28 minutes).
Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
Amy Walker
Amy is a wild swimmer, whatever the weather! She has been wild swimming most days, all-year round for four years. Amy describes her body as a 'vessel for adventure' - we love that!
We had the joys of watching Wild Swim, a short film about Amy's journey with wild swimming, mental health and body positivity, on the big screen at Adventure Uncovered Film Festival this year. It was beautiful and moving, we recommend!
'Growing up I very rarely saw my body type represented and at school I really struggled with body image and self-esteem... Swimming is something that my body can do exactly as it is without anything needing to change.'
We love wild swimming and all sorts of swimming at Outdoor People. But we also know there are barriers to swimming for many people, especially women and children. In collaboration with Deakin & Blue and Ella Foote (another inspirational adventurous woman!), we hosted a Swimming Women event to chat about what we love about swimming and why we don't swim.
Read more about Amy's story and watch Wild Swim here. Follow Amy on Instagram @swimthewild.
Wild Swim from Kate Drucquer on Vimeo.
Carole Wright
Carole is a walker, gardener, community activist, nature lover and beekeeper, among much much more! Carole has consulted and supported the growth of community gardens in Southwark for the last 10 years. She's an incredible role model; in an interview with Niellah Arboine (gal-dem) Carole says "It’s for me to say to young black women and girls, ‘did you know you can be a bee farmer?'".
Carole is always on adventure, she walks everywhere and brings people together along the way. “I want promote the simple act of walking and talking as a point of accessibility, which aren’t dependant on social, cultural or financial status in society” (Eden Project Communities). Come and join us on a Family Wild Walk, Carole!
You can follow Carole's adventures on Twitter or Instagram @Blak_Outside
We recommend listening to Go Jauntly's podcast episode featuring Carole, interviewed by Hana Sutch (another inspiring adventurous woman!).
Photo credit: Lou Jazmine
Anoushé Husain
Anoushé Husain describes herself as "a champion for all those experiencing barriers and self-limiting beliefs." We definitely agree. She shares her story and life experiences with authenticity and perseverance.
Anoushé is the founder of the charity Paraclimbing London. “We help a variety of people, whether you’re missing a limb or you’re visually impaired or you have invisible conditions like cancer or mental health issues, Paraclimbing London wants to remove the barriers you face and help you get into climbing.” (Ali Mitib, Hackney Post)
She is an ambassador for Ehlers-Danlos Support UK and Limb Power, a national charity created to engage amputees and individuals with limb impairments in physical activity, sport and the arts.
We recommend watching If I Can, a film by Peter Cadman and Liam White.
Follow Anoushé on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sky Brown
Sky is a 12 year old, British pro-skateboarder and she's heading straight for the next Olympics! She should have been there in 2020... one to watch for the future!
Sky is an ambassador for Skateistan, a not-for-profit empowering children through skateboarding and education in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa.
“I feel like, some girls, they’re scared to do it. Hopefully, if they see me, this little girl and crazy chick, ‘They’ll be like, I can do that’. There’s a lot of girls skateboarding now, which is pretty cool. Before, there wasn’t any. I was the only girl at the skatepark, but now there’s at least one girl at the skatepark.” (Fiona Thomas, telegraph.co.uk)
Follow Sky on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
Photo credit: Sky Brown Facebook
Beth Martin
Campaigner, adventurer, forager, boat dweller, community builder.
Beth joined Outdoor People an unbelievable four years ago having just come by the market stall. She had recently come back from cycling to Hong Kong with her friend Julia (tasting food in 20 countries...) and what she didn't know about 2 person Vango tents wasn't worth knowing... Last year when we had to put her on furlough she set up another social enterprise, the National Food Service North London, which now serves over 500 meals a week to people in need of food.
She is the power behind our Outdoor Families programme, designing and leading the Family Wild Walks and very much looking forward to welcoming the families camping this summer.
Read Forks on Wheels, follow Beth on Instagram.
My mum, Elaine Prisk
This is my mum, who took me camping and on walks and most importantly instilled in me the core belief that I could do anything i wanted to if i only try. Who when I was 14 supported me and Penny in our plans to get a train to Eskdale and to climb over Esk Fell to Wastwater and back, and on many further adventures. She never, ever said 'i don't think you should do that'. Well, OK hardly ever!
Follow her on Twitter.
And you... and yours
Our final adventurous woman nomination is someone very close to you. It is YOUR sister, mother, daughter, grandmother, friend and you.
We love inspirational women that are pushing boundaries and inspiring change, whether close to home or on big adventures, but sometimes we forget these women are right next to us.
Gender equality is about everyone. We must stick together, celebrate and elevate one another. We need to be allies to all women and non-binary people.
Our Outdoor Families community is filled with incredible women and girls. This is our thanks and appreciation to all of you. Here's to all the women in the world that are adventuring out of their comfort zone every single day.
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Written by Beth Martin and Cath Prisk
Photo credit Outdoor People, on top of Snowdon in October 2017
