American Hiking Society Interview
More than 200,000 miles of American trails are poorly maintained. The need for hiking trail maintenance is important for everybody who enjoys the activity. Not only that but racism and bigotry affect the hiking community. These are issues that need rooting out to make hiking accessible to everyone.
American Hiking Society wants to promote the activity and empower everyone to enjoy, share, and preserve the hiking experience.
Find out how the American Hiking Society protects the places you love to hike.
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March 28, 2022
American Hiking Society Is Preserving TraIls and Making Hiking More Inclusive
#333 Great.com Talks With... American Hiking Society
Millions of people don't have access to a safe and quality hiking experience. Because of racism and bigotry, people don't feel safe going outside. Poor trail maintenance is another challenge that impacts the hiking society. In today's episode, we talked with Kate Van Waes, Executive Director at the American Hiking Society.
Kate says that anyone who puts on sneakers and goes outside is a hiker. But access to safe and quality trails is something that millions of Americans are lacking. American Hiking Society is a nonprofit organization with two missions. The first is to protect and maintain hiking trails, and the second is to make hiking an inclusive activity.
Advocating for Change, Empowering, And Preserving the Hiking Experience
American Hiking Society works with Congress, Capitol Hill, and federal agencies to protect outdoor trails. They've been around since 1976 with the mission of protecting natural areas and making hiking accessible to everyone. Kate says that hiking is one form of meditating. Being in nature is calming and healing. One of their biggest projects is National Trails Day. The event is held each year and attracts millions of community members from all over the US. The goal of the event is to preserve and maintain trails and give permanent access to anyone who wants to hike.
American Hiking Society leads the trails community to call on Congress to fund the nation's trails. Kate says that hiking has seen a huge increase in popularity over the past few years. With the Covid pandemic, more people are going outside and enjoying the outdoors. The more people use American trails, the more advocates for hiking.
Listen to the whole interview to find out how the American Hiking Society fights for the preservation of trails and inclusivity. They do most forest service work through volunteers. So if you want to help out, you can become a volunteer or donate.
Want to learn more about American Hiking Society? You can check out their blog, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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