Paths to Progress: Walking as a tool to reconnect us to our natural world

Dan will share his work and experiences of using walking to bring about social and ecological change. You can expect to come away with lots of ideas, as well as ways to put "walking for good" into action. He will share his new short film - Earth in 100 Seconds - in which he completes a walk that reveals global land use. He'll explain how walking was a critical ingredient in the campaign to make London a National Park City. Finally, Dan will share Slow Ways - a citizen initiative to develop a giant national walking network.

Did you know that 92% of England’s land and 97% of its rivers are privately owned?
Reflecting on her own personal experience as a zoologist and experimental biologist, as well as her work with groups like Black Girls Hike UK and the REED Network, Bushra will be exploring land ownership, colonial history, and the politics of walking in rural Britain. She will be talking about how walking can be used as an act of reclamation, resetting presumptions about who belongs outdoors, and advocating for inclusive access to land, as well as examples of walking as a form of activism and environmental justice, citizen science, and tech tools that allow individuals to contribute to environmental monitoring.
“Every walk we take is an opportunity to reclaim space, challenge exclusion, and reshape our relationship with the land. So, where will you walk next?”

Join Annalaura and Hwa Young, part of the Flow. Walk. Drag multidisciplinary research team, on a reflective journey on what it means to be ‘outside’ for "foreign bodies" that experience invisibility or hyper visibility – including bacteria & viruses. Beyond this, what might shape the queer, trans, disabled, and Person of Colour experience in public spaces?
Hear about how they are utilising drag-walking tours to inspire a more inclusive, joyful, and biodiverse understanding of Ecological Citizenship, rooted in local histories and contemporary environmental challenges.