Zero Footprints – join a new community
Inspired by the phenomenal response to our Zero Footprint project where every photo over a 5 year period was taken from the same location, Morag and I (Morag Paterson & Ted Leeming) have recently launched a not-for-profit web community, Zero Footprints, to act as a voice and hub for photographers across the globe exploring any theme relating to climate change. Our objectives are simple; to showcase extraordinary photography, to raise awareness and discussion on climate change and to contribute directly to charities working in the field.
Continue readingThe right tools
Arriving at any new venue, it is easy to expect that you will be able to capture the perfect “Google” photo – that classic ‘wow’ image that appears when you tap a location into a search engine. It is a natural reaction and one we are all prone to. But the weather gods are fickle, often conspiring to scupper our preconceptions when we actually get out of the car.
Continue readingSpectacled Bears protected in the Páramo
Páramo’s long-term carbon-balancing and conservation partner, World Land Trust (WLT), has announced that the Ministry of Environment of Peru has recognised a private conservation area (ACP) that will protect a large Páramo vegetation zone of the South American Andes. The community of San Juan de Sallique has pledged to protect approximately 8,650 acres (3,500 hectares) of Montane Forest and Páramo.
This reflects three years of work by the communities and WLT’s partner Naturaleza y Cultura Peru (NCP), securing the protection of this important habitat in perpetuity – an important step for wildlife such as Spectacled Bears and endangered Mountain Tapirs, but also a triumph for the communities dedicated to preserving their water sources through conservation and sustainable agricultural practices. Continue reading
Designing for Winter
Greg Care has been designing and field-testing outdoor gear for Páramo for over 20 years. Country Walking magazine asked Greg what guides his thinking when it comes to cold weather…
Continue readingIf it’s good enough for an otter…
I have been living and working in the Lake District for over 17 years. I teach wilderness bushcraft and expedition skills, instructing on everything from wild foods and tracking to axemanship and woodcraft, spending well over one hundred nights a year living outdoors under canvas in the UK, and travelling overseas to lead expeditions in the colder months, from dry desert to coastal tropical, and from steaming jungles to frozen sub-Arctic environments.
Continue readingPerformance Lab – how Analogy Waterproofs keep you drier
Páramo Commercial Director, Dr Gareth Mottram, kicks off our Performance Lab series with a look at how Analogy Waterproof fabric works harder to keep you drier from inside as well as out by moving moisture (from perspiration and condensation) away from you.
Watch Experiment Number 1 to see how Páramo can extend your comfort zone.
Jumping the midnight sun
So here I am, an Adventure Leader for British Exploring, fresh back from the land of fire and ice. It was three awesome weeks of inspirational landscapes and people. I’ve always loved geography, and one of the reasons I entered the world of outdoor education was to immerse myself in the geography of the world.
Iceland is about as amazing as it gets when you are looking for a few geography topics to bring into the day. We spent one evening jumping the sun at about 11pm! It was a memorable way to grasp the concept of the midnight sun!
Continue readingPáramo now carbon-balanced with World Land Trust since its foundation
Since 2007, we’ve worked with World Land Trust to offset our primary carbon emissions at our UK sites – and following 10 years of double donations to balance 20 years of emissions, Páramo has now made an additional contribution to offset all primary carbon emissions for the whole 25 years since the company’s foundation. Through donations to both Carbon Balanced and to other World Land Trust projects, Páramo’s contributions are invested to protect, conserve and restore forests across the globe in Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Kenya and Borneo, benefitting significant numbers of threatened and endemic species, including charismatic species such as jaguar or minute frogs.
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