CONNECT – Connecting Outdoor Sports and Protected Areas in Europe
This project builds on research and recommendations from a previous ERASMUS+ initiative, the Sustainability and Environmental Education in Outdoor Sports (SEE Project), which involved ENOS member organisations and the EUROPARC Federation. One key finding was that Protected Area managers should work more closely with Outdoor Sports organisations that use their sites. However, this collaboration can be challenging and requires additional support and training.
The Connect Project aims to strengthen relationships between local Outdoor Sports organisations and Protected Areas by identifying key elements for successful cooperation. It will develop a practical guide to help professionals in both sectors build effective partnerships. This guide will be based on real-world evidence from successful examples and five pilot projects designed to bring these two sectors together. The project’s findings will be shared across partner networks and presented to key policymakers at a final event in Brussels.
Survey
The research portion of the project is run by the Mid-Sweden University and is based on a literature review as well as a survey to collect real world data. If you know of protected areas and outdoor sports groups working collaboratively, please share your knowledge with us by filling in the short surveys below!
Each survey has less than 10 questions and aims to screen for examples of good practices within Europe. Sharing it with your colleagues and other organisations to help us discover good practices to learn from!
Are you an organisation working in the Protected Areas sector?
Are you an Outdoor Sports or Recreation Federation?
Are you an Outdoor Sports or Recreation club or organisation?
Project Partners
- European Network of Outdoor Sports (ENOS)
- The EUROPARC Federation
- The European Ramblers Association (ERA)
- The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA Europe)
- Mid Sweden University
- Leave no Trace Ireland (LNTI)
- Surfrider Foundation Europe
Role of EUROPARC Federation
Jessica Micklem-Kolenic will be EUROPARC’s project officer for the CONNECT project.
The EUROPARC Federation will play a large role in this project as a link to Protected Areas. The first stage will be a survey for Protected Areas to collect examples of best practices and key information useful to identify the elements for success.
EUROPARC will also lead on the creation of a Stakeholder Engagement Meta Plan, with a mapping tool for stakeholders. This will be adapted into a short training courses on the European Nature Academy. The partners will use this plan and training to develop their pilot projects together with EUROPARC’s assistance.
Duration and budget
The project duration is 3 years: 01/01/2025 – 31/12/2027
The project is a Erasmus+ Sport project with a total value of EUR 400 000
Follow this project!
You can follow the CONNECT project on the social media platforms of the partners, especially EUROPARC and ENOS.
Facebook: @EUROPARC and @ENOS.outdoor.sports
Instagram: @EUROPARC_Federation and @outdoorsportsnetworkeu
LinkedIn: @EUROPARC-federation and @european-network-of-outdoor-sports
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.