Outdoors People for Climate Action is born

On 1st March 2020 a new climate action group was born. Outdoors People for Climate Action hit the scene, backed by its supporters Outward Bound Australia, The Crossing Land Education Trust and Mittagundi Outdoor Education Centre.

The launch followed what was for the outdoor community, including businesses, workers and enthusiasts, a tough summer. Severe and widespread bushfires made relocating trips difficult, resulting in many being cancelled or postponed. The outdoors community experienced loss of work and business, destroyed property, damaged operational areas and evacuations.

For many Australians the summer was a visceral, real-time experience of climate change and its consequences; and certainly, for outdoors people there was a sense of loss and of foreboding.

Setting the scene, in a different way, and starting from before the peak fires, was a hopeful groundswell of climate change concern and action among Australians. Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets during the major climate strike in September 2019, with 2500 businesses participating. Since that time, there have been hundreds of climate events and actions that have taken place around Australia, led by a great number and variety of dedicated groups.

Outdoors People for Climate Actions seeks to establish our role in the climate movement. The group exists to urgently sound the alarm to outdoors people about the severity of the threat looming over our beloved outdoor places, activities, work and lifestyles. With rising seas levels and coastal erosion, increasing extreme weather events, increasing average temperatures, shrinking snow seasons, and biodiversity losses already happening and increasing, climate change must be mitigated to reduce the devastation upon the Australian outdoors.

Beyond engaging the outdoor community, Outdoors People for Climate Action then seeks to empower and equip all outdoors people to take direct climate action. It aims to create a community of engaged members and represent the climate change concerns of outdoors people and business.

Let's protect the outdoors and everything it gives us. Urgent action is needed to achieve a safe climate future. Let's do this, together.

Check out the website to learn more, access information and resources and get involved.

Don't forget to sign the 'Statement of Concern' and become a member.

Also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Join the conversation in the Facebook Discussion Group.