Reflecting on the first three months of Connect Outdoors 2025

Our educational hiking programme, Connect Outdoors, launched in 2024 with the aim of introducing people from under-represented communities to the Scottish outdoors.

Ran in partnership with Tiso and Mhor Outdoors, the intention of Connect Outdoors is to introduce these communities through sustainable, educational, and empowering outdoor activity that inspires long-term and meaningful engagement with nature. 

The Connect Outdoors programme for 2025 introduced five new partners, all aiming to enrich their communities with outdoor experiences over a period of eight weeks.

These new partners for 2025 were Community InfoSource, YAHYA’s Hub, Simon Community Scotland, UpMo and Sole Sisters, a women’s hiking group exploring Scotland.

The outdoor experiences, like hill walks, become progressively more challenging over the duration of the programme and are led by Mhor Outdoor mountain leaders. 

Participants from Community InfoSource, a Glasgow-based programme supporting refugees and people seeking asylum, celebrated a major milestone earlier in the month by summiting their first Munro, Beinn Ghlas. The group hiked up over 1,100 metres to the summit, with their hard work being paid off with views over Loch Tay.

Meanwhile, YAHYAs Hub, a charity empowering unaccompanied young asylum seekers near Aberdeen, explored the North, hiking and navigating their way through the coastlines and hills of Aberdeenshire.

Both groups put their newly learned navigation skills into action amid fog, sun, and steep climbs, combining learning sessions with hands-on experience.

Community InfoSource were the first group to complete the Connect Outdoors programme for 2025, celebrating with a ceremony attended by the John Muir Trust and Tiso in Glasgow on 8 July.

Our Community Outreach Manager, Laura Curtis-Moss, said: "It’s been fantastic to see participants build skills and confidence in the outdoors through Connect Outdoors.

We hope that the passion they've developed during this programme continues to inspire them to develop lasting and meaningful connections with nature." 

• Find out more about Connect Outdoors