Embracing Environmental Responsibility in Outdoor Adventure
Trail Notes | Adventure
leave it better than you found it
Environmental
Responsibility.
Every trail we run on is on loan. The privilege of moving through wild places comes with a quiet responsibility to leave them as good as, or better than, we found them.
This is not about being a perfect environmentalist before you are allowed to lace up. It is about a handful of small, repeatable habits that, done consistently by a community of women rather than occasionally by a few, add up to real protection for the places we love to run.
Below are the practices we ask every Her Trails runner to hold, on a group run, a solo long run or a big weekend away.
The trail does not need you to be perfect. It needs you to be consistent.
Small habits, repeated by a whole community of women, protect the places we run far more than occasional grand gestures.
Trail Note · 01
Pack it in, pack it out
Leave No Trace starts with the simplest rule of all: everything you carry in, you carry out. Gel wrappers, tape, tissues and fruit peels all count, even the ones that feel biodegradable. A banana skin takes months to break down and still looks out of place on a granite outcrop.
A dedicated small pocket or zip bag for rubbish removes the temptation to tuck a wrapper away "just for now." It also means you are ready to grab any stray litter you pass, not just your own.
Trail Note · 02
Stay on the trail, even when it is muddy
The instinct to skirt a muddy patch by stepping onto the verge is understandable, and it is one of the fastest ways trails widen and erode. Running through the mud, rather than around it, protects the surrounding vegetation and keeps the trail itself from spreading.
The same goes for switchbacks: cutting a corner might save you ten seconds, but it starts a new, unofficial track that erodes long after your run is over.
Wet shoes wash off. A widened trail scar can take years to heal.
Trail Note · 03
Give wildlife its space
Observe from a distance and let animals go about their day undisturbed. Do not feed wildlife, even the friendly looking kind at a trailhead car park: human food disrupts natural foraging and can make animals dependent on people in ways that are ultimately unsafe for them.
If you are running with a dog, keep it under close control near wildlife, nesting areas and other trail users. A short, unexpected chase can cost an animal energy it cannot easily spare, particularly during breeding season.
Trail Note · 04
Choose how you get there
For many trailheads, the drive to the start line has a bigger environmental footprint than the run itself. Carpooling with your group run crew, or coordinating pickup with a training partner heading the same way, is one of the simplest levers you can pull.
It also happens to make race morning logistics easier and gives you company for the pre-dawn drive.
Her Trails coaching cue
Before your next long run, ask your crew: who else is driving that way? A carpool is a small conversation with a real result.
Trail Note · 05
Be careful with fire
If you are camping near the trails you train on, only light a fire where it is permitted, and only in a designated fire ring. Gather wood responsibly rather than stripping deadfall that shelters insects and small animals, and make certain a fire is completely out, cool to touch, before you leave it.
In Australian conditions, checking local fire bans before you travel is not optional. A single overlooked restriction can put the whole landscape at risk.
Five habits worth building
Carry every wrapper, tissue and peel out with you, always.
Run through the mud, not around it, and never cut a switchback.
Watch wildlife from a distance and never feed it.
Carpool to trailheads whenever you can.
Choose gear and brands that take their footprint seriously.
Trail Note · 06
Vote with your kit bag
You do not need to replace your entire kit overnight. Over time, favour brands that are transparent about their supply chain, use recycled or responsibly sourced materials, and stand behind repair over replacement.
A shell jacket you repair and wear for five seasons does more for the planet than three cheaper jackets that end up in landfill within two years.
We do not run on these trails despite loving them. We run on them because we love them, which is exactly why we protect them.
Pack it out. Stay on the track. Give wildlife room. Carpool where you can. Choose kit that lasts.
leave it wilder than you found it
Written by the Her Trails coaching team
Trail Notes are coaching journals written for women who train, race and run on trails. Made to be absorbed in ten minutes and remembered for a season.
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