A Call to all European Parks and Trails | World Trails Conference
Our executive director Carol Ritchie will speak at the #WorldTrailsConference in Ottawa!
Taking place from September 30 to October 3, 2024, the Conference will bring together trail leaders, experts and fellow enthusiasts.
With a long history of ancient pilgrimages, herding routes, long-distance hikes and transnational Grande routes criss-crossing the continent, the European experience of managing trails is somewhat unique. As an important means of managing multi-use visitors and of seeking to mitigate wildlife disturbance whilst enabling people to get into nature, trails are the most obvious and fundamental part of any park’s infrastructure.
Trails too are a way of attracting and serving tourists visiting our parks and are often an economic driver of an area. Great trails often come through our parks and they connect to areas outwith our Protected Areas.
Understanding their importance in the landscape is vital in linking people to place but too as a valuable line of communication to interpret the culture, wildlife and indeed climate change impacts around us.
EUROPARC is recommending all European parks and trail managers to consider attending the World Trails Congress in Ottawa, Canada from September 30 to October 3 2024, to bring this wealth of European experience to the world stage but also to find new approaches and management practices from across the world.
Hosted by the Trans Canada Trail, the 2024 World Trails Conference will focus on connection – to people, places and the planet. Explore the profound bonds that link humanity to the natural world and develop a new understanding of how our trails impact the environment, communities and each other.
EUROPARC will be represented at the congress, but are seeking to encourage a large European delegation to join, to discuss the benefits and challenges trails bring to our Protected Areas.
Early bird fees close soon… so make sure to register online at: worldtrailsconference.org
Do you have interesting case studies or news to share with us on this topic? Then please do reach out to us! We want to amplify the work happening in Europe!
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