Outdoor Gear’s Untold Lives

Quintessential adventures to environmental action

Consider every outdoor magazine you’ve opened up, whether you’re passing through a ferry or airport terminal, or have a copy cradled in your lap ready to be fully embraced in a solitary state. Like most magazines, the ads are frequent, but it’s a small price you’re willing to pay to gain more insight and maybe even live vicariously through the audacious adventurers found within the pages before you. What’s typically playing out in the advertisements, as well as in the main stories in regards to how outdoor apparatus is utilized? It’s often quintessential outdoor sports and activities that gear is employed for: hikers with backpacks on a sun strewn pathway, surfers in a turquoise barrel, an aerial shot of a canoe winding its way down an idyllic tributary. Of course, we are all here for this, but this only captures a small portion of the narrative as it relates to outdoor gear’s purpose -  and, arguably, how its potential is put to the test. We’re going to uncover how outdoor gear, which is often used gear, becomes an instrument for environmental action out on the field. Literally, in the ground, between the trees and where the tide meets the sand.

Outdoor Gear and Coastal Cleanups

A lot of environmental activism goes down in the virtual realm, which has risen since the onset of the pandemic. Even awareness raising film events have been converted to digital festivals. Online methods and platforms are critical for creating systemic change, but they only represent a portion of the tools needed to enact the regenerative shifts we need on the planet.

A remote beach cleanup in the Broken Group Islands region near Ucluelet, British Columbia. Photo courtesy of Surfrider Pacific Rim.

Often, online activism - in the form of petitions, media campaigns, policy recommendations and other forms of lobbying are informed by activism that takes place in person. This is where reality is witnessed and recorded first hand with data, evidence based insights, and photographs. What makes the in person action possible is what we’re all about at Outmost: sustainable, quality gear that can endure many lives and make a positive, lasting difference.

Outdoor gear is fundamental for coastal restoration projects, which remove plastic pollution from coastal environments and gather marine debris data to inform plastic regulations. In some parts of the world, beach cleans can certainly mean candy coloured water and board shorts - but in Canada, many parts of the USA and the world over, some heavy duty outdoor equipment is needed. Especially for multi-day camping cleanups, which can extend over a weekend, or over many months. In these scenarios, as seen with organizations like Ocean Legacy Foundation and Surfrider Foundation, both staff and volunteers commit to living off the grid in order to restore the shores.

The packing lists for cleanup expeditions are not for the faint of heart, which often expand multiple pages. This is despite the fact that people have to keep their packs lightweight and versatile for efficient boat trips, coastal hiking and camp relocations. On these sandy safaris, this list encompasses foolhardy tents, rain gear, hiking shoes, sandals, backpacks and coolers. For most people, it’s too much gear to procure by purchase. It’s easier and more economic to borrow and share what’s absolutely necessary, as well as buy second-hand for anything else that can be used beyond the borders of the trip.

The personal sustainability of these trips relies on high grade gear that doesn’t let up, especially between the spectrum of weather and handling pollution all day. All of these factors can be defeating, hard on the body and one’s mental capacity. Thus, acquiring quality gear through a circular economy is an integral ingredient to these trips - which not only remove toxins from iconic locations and sensitive habitats, but provide the insights needed to address the roots of the plastic pollution crisis.

The Instruments of Reforestation

Tree planting in Coastal British Columbia. Photo: Brinkman Reforestation Ltd.

Some strides beyond the beach can take us into the trees. Forests are yet another critical space for our conservation work; they not only colour the aesthetics of our explorations, they’re home to two-thirds of the world’s terrestrial flora and fauna, provide countless ecosystem services for humans like clean air, and stabilize the climate – which is needed more than ever before. According to Greenpeace USA, “deforestation contributes as much as 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions every year, while intact forests can actually absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”

Ending degenerative forestry practices and engaging in reforestation are necessary strategies for cooling the planet, increasing biodiversity, and creating a more livable planet for all to thrive on. Tree planting, as part of reforestation, also requires outdoor gear in order to take place. Like shoreline cleanups, this can manifest in the form of tents, camp chairs, backpacks, work boots, water bottles, sleeping bags and pads, and all the best sweat resistant clothing to keep folks dry while replenishing the earth.

Of course, there’s more specific tree planting gear - and the need for this equipment will continue to increase as efforts to reforest the globe are expedited. This includes gloves, shovels and planting bags which have to be attained by companies and non-profit organizations who are leading the way on tree planting expeditions. As globe trotting begins to open back up, there’s also immense opportunity to give back on the traveling path, including volunteering as a treeplanter with Forest and Bird in New Zealand or with Costas Verdes in Costa Rica.

Protests and Outdoor Apparatus

Crawl a little farther into the verdant and one might be fortunate to see the majesty that is old growth forest. A vast majority of this forest has been clear cut around the world, and now only constitutes a minority of land cover, including only 2.3% of forests in British Columbia. According to Sierra Club, old-growth forests are significantly more resilient from threats of climate change and fire than second growth and other types of younger forests. Old-growth is also critical for protecting communities from droughts, floods, as well as wildfires, and contains the greatest amount of terrestrial biodiversity on the planet.

A tree-sitter at the Fair Creek Blockades. Photo: National Observer

Currently, Canada’s largest protest is taking place to end the logging of old growth forest, organized by the The Rainforest Flying Squad in the Fairy Creek watershed on southern Vancouver Island in Pacheedaht and Ditidaht First Nation Territory. As Audrey Lorde said, “Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where we are standing.” This sentiment couldn’t be truer at Fairy Creek: where protestors have created blockades to prevent further logging at numerous logging junctions in and around Fairy Creek.

At the time of writing, over 1,000 people have been arrested at Fairy Creek since the injunction was served on April 1st, 2021, subjecting forest defenders to forcible removal and arrest. People have been living in the forest canopy, beneath and between the trees, from a few days to many months. Whether people can join the blockade in person or not, another way to contribute includes donating gear and equipment: tarps, chairs, tents, weather resistant clothing, backpacks filled to the brim with non-perishables, and other supplies. The Rainforest Flying Squad even has a “list of supplies needed at camp”. The resistance truly relies on this gear to keep going. The Fairy Creek protests have formed into community spaces that are built on gear and equipment that’s been given up by the hands of another for this worthy cause. For the folks that are camping at the protests, the same rule applies and plays out: solid gear and equipment makes it possible to do the work of showing up and standing up for the last of these sacred ecosystems.

As we’ve explored, our gear can take on many functions and many lives. This includes supporting the environmental actions we participate in on the ground - which, ultimately, contributes to a world where more ecosystems are protected and can thus be enjoyed. This is a regenerative feedback loop: the inspiration gleaned from our earthly explorations fuels us to participate in protection and restoration efforts. This also looks like the dismantling of degenerative extractive industries, which increases the viability of outdoor adventures for those who walk this planet today and those to come after us. So, when we buy, sell, donate and/or share our used gear - we need to remember it may not just be for the typical grand outdoor odyssey, it may and can be used on the frontlines for a better world.