15/04/2025
Walking the paths of the British Isles is where it all began for me, from my first visit to the Lake District at age nine, to local walks in the Peak District with my dad, and later, weekends and holidays spent exploring Snowdonia and the Scottish Highlands and Islands. These are places that hold a special place in my heart.
Mont Blanc Treks has proudly been a member of the EOCA for the past seven years. The support and funding EOCA provides to conservation projects around the world is essential to protecting the wild places we love to explore. We all have a part to play, and giving back, in whatever way we can, is vital.
For Earth Day 2024, we chose to further support a project in the Northwest Highlands that’s in urgent need of path maintenance on the footpaths on An Teallach. This particular area lies outside Scotland’s national parks and receives very little public funding, especially since EU support dried up post-Brexit. The Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS) works tirelessly to bridge that gap, sourcing funding from the National Lottery (which requires matched contributions), EOCA grants and car park fees. Even with all that, the need still outweighs the resources.
It’s Up to Us is a brilliant joint campaign by OATS and Mountaineering Scotland. It calls on everyone who visits these beautiful wild places, because our collective impact matters. “Leave no trace” is a great principle on an individual level, but thousands of footsteps and tyre tracks inevitably leave scars. Now in its second year of a three-year effort, the project has raised £240,000 of its £300,000 target. The goal is to restore 3.2km of heavily eroded path on An Teallach, and with the work now past the halfway point, the finish line is in sight.
Last year, Mont Blanc Treks contributed to the campaign. By supporting this effort, we’re helping to protect both the paths and the wild landscapes we hold dear. A well-built trail means no more skirting around bogs or trampling the fragile land beside an eroded gully. It allows nature to heal, while still guiding us gently through the hills, a narrow ribbon in the wild, not a widening scar.
Earth Day 2025 is nearly upon us—22nd April is the date (though really, every day should be Earth Day!). Take a moment to check out the EOCA and see how you can get involved, as we do: https://www.eocaconservation.org/act-now/fundraising/
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