Task Teams & Core Objectives
The World Trails Network achieves impact through a focused program of 3 Core Objectives and the support of our International Trail Task Teams.
- PROMOTE TRAILS – through marketing of trails, promotion of trail destinations, sell the benefits of trails to governments, local community, users, etc.
- PRESERVE TRAILS – through sustainable standards, best practice, legislation for trails, governance, conservation, maintenance and sustainability, etc.
- PERPETUATE TRAILS – through education, conferences, expeditions, events, fundraising, publications, etc.
International Trail Task Teams
The World Trails Network facilitates international volunteer teams of global and local trail experts who collaborate on various projects, international campaigns and trail advocacy. Each team has a core leadership and convening Co-Chairs, focused on delivering defined outcomes.
The Task Teams seek to make tangible impacts for trails around the world, strengthening policy, raising awareness and encouraging best practice in trail design, construction, maintenance and marketing.
Bring your expertise and collaborative skills to these dynamic networking teams and contribute to the global trails industry, further your experience and career. Direct engagement in any Task Team is based on an application process and the capacity of Co-Chairs to manage a diverse team.
As a World Trails Network member you will be able to play an active role in shaping the projects we are engaged with in each of these focus areas:
Education & Inclusive Engagement Task Team
The Education & Inclusive Engagement Task Team facilitates sharing promising practices and resources related to education and inclusive community among current and future trail stewards, leaders, adventurers, and organizations around the world.
The Team’s focus areas for 2022-2024 are:
- Support education and engagement in trail stewardship and use.
- Support the growth of the World Trails Ambassadors program, launched in 2022
- Convene conversations about community and indigenous led trail engagement
Tourism Task Team
Trail tourism is at the heart of the adventure travel industry. This travel sector continues to grow globally, and requires a solid sustainable trail management approach to support it.
Quality trails are sustainable trails, as a global initiative we encourage the development of sustainable quality trails and trail experiences to ensure an internationally sustainable trails industry championing best practice models and accurate and appropriate information being available for trail users.
We actively promote the benefits trails deliver to society through media and by having members of our board represent the World Trails Network and its aims on international forums and task groups, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Cross-promotion of trails through our International Friendship Trails program is growing a global network one trail at a time. Everyone wants to be friends.
We offer an international platform for linking volunteers to trails across the globe, unlocking the potential for sharing passion and professional knowledge to benefit trails from Costa Rica to Korea, from Turkey to Australia, from the USA to Europe, Russia and Africa.
Knowledge Task Team
The Knowledge Task Team aims to collect and promote trail-related resources and to act as a hub for researchers whose work relates to trails. The team will facilitate surveys and research collaborations to elevate trail-related studies. Focuses for the team will include:
- Producing a World Trails Report or Survey
- Becoming a hub for task teams and researchers
- Identifying needs in regards to trail research and advocate solutions
- Cataloguing trail related resources such as toolboxes and wikis
- Preparing sessions for the next World Trails Conference
Sustainability Task Team
Sustainable trails are part of sustainable communities, contributing to an equitable and resilient society, economy and environment. This task team takes a holistic approach, viewing trails through these “three pillars” of sustainability and taking into account the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Individual trails are part of trail systems, nested in landscapes, part of regional, national and transnational networks. Trails exist in wild areas, rural landscapes and cities and towns, in different ecosystems, cultures and geographies. Our core focus is to share good design and practice, helping professionals, volunteers and communities steward trails across these multiple scales and dimensions.
Communities Task Team
Trails that are close to where people live can often hold great value to those in the community. The Communities Task Team is focused on these trails and creating public engagement and advocacy tools around urban trails while also addressing the following:
- Active Travel
- Equity of trail access
- Health and wellbeing related to access to trails
Media Task Team
The Media Task Team is focused on curating a selection of trail based films and facilitating the World Trails Film Festival in communities around the world. The Festival aims to celebrate everything trails of all kinds, whether they be spiritual paths or those used for transit. Learn more about the World Trails Films Festival.
Arts & Culture Task Team
Purpose
To adopt the UN definition of culture as the basis for our research and projects.
“The United Nations agency UNESCO has defined culture as the “set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.”
The Team will explore what role art and culture can play in:
- Strengthening the identity and voices of communities along trails
- Gathering and sharing stories of the beliefs, heritage, landscape and aspirations of local people and their places along the trails
- Facilitating cultural exchange between hosts and visitors on trails
- Generating conversation and debate on shared global issues whilst walking trails.
Research: Explore different models of walking artists
Call to Action: Beach of Dreams 2023-5
www.beachofdreams.co.uk
Aspiration: To attract walking artists from all over the world to be part of WTN
Conservation Task Team
Many of the world’s trails wind through untouched nature and protected areas. Such areas have high ecological connectivity and ecosystem function allowing for the unimpeded movement of animals, plants, humans, and ecosystem services. The Trails and Conservation Task Team works to amplify trails as effective contributors to conservation outcomes, highlighting the significant role that trails play in biodiversity conservation and habitat connectivity through trail corridors . Centering trails in conservation offers an approach to protect the trail user’s experience, advance outdoor-recreation-based economies, and sustainably manage historic, cultural, and natural resources beyond the trail.
Get involved and contribute in building the world’s leading database of biodiversity and conservation projects linked to trails, consolidating best trail practices to better align with conservation endeavours. Join us in this important work to better understand the value of trails to conservation.
Digitization & Technology Task Team
Technology has the ability to play a big role in the present and future of trails. The Digitization & Technology Task Team aims to define what role the new technologies of the world can play in the world of trails. The team wil focus on digitizing trail resources, assessing the impact of technology on trail research and information, the impact of digital media on trails, and dig deeper into technological initiatives.