In this outdoor news round-up, Francesca Turauskis takes us through some news stories from the outdoors world:
- This month is Ramadan, and several athletes and grassroots organisations have been calling on events to be more inclusive of Muslims who observe the holy month.
- The main sponsor of a major women’s cycling race, the Women’s CiCLE Classic, has withdrawn his funding in reaction to British Cycling’s new rules on transgender participation
- In Ireland, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan has announced a ban on the small-scale commercial selling of turf from September 1st, 2022. It comes as part of the ban on carbon-high fuels.
- The Sporting Pride Conference is taking place in Birmingham on 23rd April
- Right to Roam announce the Kinder in Colour event for the anniversary of the Kinder Tresspass
- Friends of the Earth have announced a grant to support local nature projects
- April 30th is Local Bike Shop Day.
CALL TO ACTION:
Email your MP - https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/ban-conversion-therapy
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Email us your thoughts and stories ontheoutsidepod@gmail.com
CREDITS:
Produced, Hosted, Edited by Francesca Turauskis
Artwork by Sophie Nolan
Music is Bassbeat by Alex Norton
Special thanks to our Patreon Support Crew. You can join the crew on Patreon.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
[MUSIC starts - Bassbeat by Alex Norton: "Funky and upbeat, jangling guitars, a fat bassline and a full horn section create the perfect soundtrack to a late summer block party."]
FRAN: Hello and welcome to On The Outside, the podcast that shares diverse views on outdoors news. My name is Francesca Turauskis, I am the producer of On The Outside. I'm recording this on Thursday 14th April 2022 and this is the latest outdoor news round-up.
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This month is Ramadan, and several athletes and grassroots organisations have been calling on events to be more inclusive of Muslims who observe the holy month. For Muslims across the globe, the 30 days of Ramadan are a sacred time for worshipping Allah, involving fasting and prayer. But it's been highlighted that many high-profile running races often take place during Ramadan - the Manchester Marathon, and Great Birmingham Run are both in April, and next year the London marathon will also be during the holy month. People are calling for event organisers to work more closely with communities to organise their calendars.
On a positive note, Muslim hikers hosted thier first Ramadan hike & Iftar last weekend in the Peak District. They worked alongside the National Trust team to welcome 80+ attendees, who do a short hike before breaking their fast with a meal in the Park after sunset. The Wanderlust Women also had a successful Ramadan hiking event on 10th April.
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The main sponsor of a major women’s cycling race, the Women’s CiCLE Classic, has withdrawn his funding in reaction to British Cycling’s new rules on transgender participation. Peter Stanton withdrew his £15,000 of support after British Cycling announced it was suspending its transgender policy, and effectively banned transgender riders from competing in women’s races.
Two groups that campaign for trans exclusion have made a formal offer to back the race instead.
I will try to keep you updated on this one in the newsletter.
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Leaving the UK for a moment, over in Ireland, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan has announced a ban on the small-scale commercial selling of turf from September 1st, 2022. It comes as part of the ban on carbon-high fuels.
Peat turf is the surface layer of soil, and turf cutting for use as heating homes is a traditional activity across many peatlands and rural communities in Ireland. The Irish Rural Link (IRL), a national network representing the interest of rural communities, has said the ban is “an unrealistic measure to impose on rural households”.
But research shows that undisturbed peatland traps almost twice as much carbon as forests, despite covering just 3% of the earth's surface.
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The Sporting Pride Conference is taking place in Birmingham on 23rd April. This is a unique One-Day Conference bringing together the LGBTQ+ sport & physical activity sector LGBTQ+ networks of National Governing Bodies, LGBTQ+ sport and physical activity groups and those interested in developing their own NGB networks and clubs, this day will provide unique networking and learning opportunities for participants. Clinics, workshops and social sessions for those engaged in LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sporting-pride-conference-tickets-307473550667
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The campaign group Right To Roam have announced a Kinder In Colour event for the 90th anniversary of the Kinder Scout trespass. The 24th April marks 90 years since hikers and members of the Young Communist League, took part in a mass trespass on Kinder Scout to highlight the fact that walkers in England and Wales were denied access to areas of open country. Now, Right To Roam is marking the anniversary by gathering together Black and People of Colour communities from around England. They will take part in a joyful march of song and ceremony to take up space, be seen and forge a vision of the New English countryside, based not on exclusion, but inclusion.
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Friends of the Earth have announced a grant to support local nature projects. The Local Nature Innovation Fund will provide grants of up to £1000 to local community groups who are aiming to protect or restore nature, create a healthier environment for their community, or reconnect people with nature.
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And lastly, April 30th is Local Bike Shop Day. Participating stores will be hosting a wealth of activities on the day - from bike appraisals to puncture repair courses. You can find out more and see what is going on in your local area on their website - https://localbikeshopday.co.uk/
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That’s all the stories from me for today. But just before I go, my initial idea behind these round-ups was to provide facts without any of my opinions or calls to action. But British Cycling’s decision also comes on the back of the ECHR guidance on single-sex spaces, that provided examples of instances where trans people could be barred from single-sex spaces. And the British government’s decision to keep conversion therapy legal for trans people. So I do have some calls to action for you. You can email your MP and tell them why you think the ban should protect all people including trans. The link for that is in the shownotes.
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/ban-conversion-therapy
If you are a member of a sporting community, make sure you have your own policies that are explicitly inclusive. Because if you are not including trans people, I honestly don’t know where you’re expecting them to go. And if that brings up pushback from members of your community, have the hard conversations about where that concern should actually be directed.
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Thank you for listening today. If you have thoughts on these stories, or if you think I’ve missed anything, you can email them to me at ontheoutsidepod@gmail.com and I will try to put it into the next newsletter. And until next time, be kind.
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