Outdoor Lives by Mike Raine

Iago is managing upland peat restoration on the National Trust Ysbyty Ifan estate here in Eryri National Park. He helps to understand why peat and blanket bogs are incredibly important and how they are trying to enhance the status quo.

Gus Routledge is a Scottish ecologist with a particular interest in bryophytes, though he also puts a good case for grasses and sedges. He operates in the uplands, where he has found several very rare plants. In this podcast he discusses with Nathan what he does and the projects in which he is involved. Take a look at his inspiring posts on Instagram @pinkfootedgus

Darren Johnson is a Midlands based Mountain Leader who is currently the Chair of the  BMC Midlands committee. Darren has a lifetime of diverse experience and a passion for bringing people together, he brings more to the outdoors than a love for adventure. Over the years, he’s built a multi-faceted career, spanning local government management, social services, and business ownership, which has give...

Helen Moran of the Martin Moran Foundation talks to Dr. Nathan Chrismas for the Outdoor Lives Podcast The https://www.martinmoranfoundation.co.uk/ aims to inspire people through the power of mountain adventure, climbing and community in wild places. To elevate the lives of young people through purpose, passion and powerful experiences in the mountains and to remove barriers for young people who wa...

Lou, from Devon, is now living and working in the French Alps as a Mountain Guide. She talks through gaining her Mountain Training Qualifications and then becoming a Guide. She tells us what it's like to work as a Guide. She now lives in Chamonix with her Mountain Guide husband and they are expecting their first child, which is always a challenge for self-employed people. We do, of course, touch o...

This is a special, bonus summer edition of the podcast. I visited the Cymdeithas Eryri/Snowdonia Society weekend in Nant Gwynant to find out more about the Society and the event. Cymdeithas Eryri's Make A Difference (MAD) weekend was funded by the UK Government, with funds administered by Gwynedd Council. A full new series will start in November

Angela heads up the Ramblers in Wales. She leads a team campaign on behalf of footpaths and walkers. We chat about what the Ramblers are doing and how they are going about it. We touch on many topics, such as working with Welsh Government, volunteers and landowners.

Sarah believes passionately in the importantance of walking for all. Her business is based in a lowland area and she thinks the Lowland Leader could be more valued. “There are such a high percentage of the population that, if you have ‘hill’, ‘mountain’, ‘challenge’ or ‘hike’ in the title of anything, they won’t even consider it.” Sarah Price.

Staff Sergeant Nathan Jones is an Adventurous Training Instructor (ATI) in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC), Nathan is on a mission to transform people's lives through the power of the outdoors by connecting wannabe adventurers with professional guides and instructors through the Discover A Guide platform.

Rhys works for a combination of the National Trust, the Eryri National Park and Natural Resources Wales. He is the warden and public engagement officer for the National Nature Reserve that contains Cwm Idwal.

Rob is the current Chair of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI). He is a keen climber, freelance mountaineering instructor and technical advisor based in the South Lakes. He offers offer Rock Climbing Instructor (RCI), Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) and Climbing Wall Development Instructor(CWDI) courses. He can provide guiding, and a range of climbing courses.

David is a conservationist and naturalist, and this book is a story of nature, farming, conservation and reconciliation in the Welsh uplands. It is set on one particualr farm and we get to learn about that farm, the people who work there, their history and the story of their land. It's a great read. In this podcast we discuss some of the issues raised in the book and glance at the interaction...

Chris Forrest – Chief Instructor Joint Services Mountain Training, former Senior Instructor at Plas y Brenin and Instructor at Glenmore Lodge. UIAGM Guide, Kayak and Canoe Coach, Climber, skier, paddler and family man.

Rich is a climber, walker, biker and A&E Consultant. He heads up the medical team for Ourea Events and is an active member of, and doctor with, the busiest mountain rescue team in the country.

Mountain Leader, Nature Friendly Farmer, former Bannau Brycheiniog Ranger, former Yr Wyddfa Warden, Former Head Warden and Senior Manager at Eryri National Park; Helen Pye chats about her new role at the National Trust the land the Trust own, how it’s managed and a few other tangents besides.

Former headteachers Fiona and Rob Nicholson have been running Gwesty Plas Coch in Llanberis since 2019. Their vision was to develop Plas Coch as part of the outdoor community whilst themselves working hard to become part of their new home village community. Their knowledge of the Eryri mountains and lakes have helped them to establish themselves and drove their recent endeavours to become the firs...

Phill has been an active mountaineer for over 40 years. During that time he has completed the Winter Mountain Climbing Instructor (WMCI) qualification and the British Mountain Guides scheme (IFMGA) which qualifies him for all aspects of mountaineering activities world wide. Phill is a qualified teacher and has worked for private and local Education based centres throughout the country on an instru...

Pete Edwards owns and runs his own business, Prowess Climbing Coaching; helping climbers of all abilities and ages to not only improve their climbing grade but also their enjoyment of their climbing by helping improve technical, tactical and psychological skills. Prowess also provides coach education courses, including the BMC FUNdamentals of Climbing workshops and other CPD workshops. Pete speaks...

In a wide ranging conversation with Tom about his role and how he comes to be doing it we touch on all sorts of things, including the fact that it didn't freeze on Clogwyn Ddu (850m) at all last winter!

Mal Creasey has influenced thousands of mountain leaders, instructors and guides in a climbing career spanning over 60 years. He worked as the Technical Officer for Mountain Training England, as a Guide in the Alps and as a member of staff at Plas y Brenin. He was involved in the first two MIA (now MCI) courses, he’s an author, writer and is still active walking and climbing every week.

Dewi Davies is the Project Manager for National Trust Cymru focussing on the Uwch Conwy catchment in the east of Eryri National Park. Dewi leads a team of people on the restoration of nature, predominantly peatland at the head of the river basin, but also working on rivers and their catchments to improve habitats by restoring natural processes and increasing tree cover. The project also supports f...

Paul Poole runs a range of mountain based training courses in north Wales. He's a very popular provider of the Mountain Leader Courses and the Rock Climbing Instrucotor courses. Paul also runs trips to Scotland, Morocco and Nepal. Listen in to find out more about him and the way he does things.

My guest today is Robbie Blackhall-Miles of Llanberis. He is, amongst other things, a conservation scientist, ethno-ecologist, ecology lecturer at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, writer, horticulturist, and the charity Plantlife’s Vascular Plant Officer for the National Heritage Lottery funded Natur am Byth project - a partnership project between Natural Resources Wales and 9 environmental chariti...

Dan Lane, Operations Manager at RAW Adventures is a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Chemistry Graduate, keen climber and proud dog owner. Dan is also a trustee of the Tom Furey Trust. In Dan's role he employs many walking leaders and climbing instructors, he organises major events and manages to climb in between. He works on ML courses and has been central to the setting up of the Tom...

Jut a little chat about First Aid in the outdoors. To fill the mid-summer gap before Outdoor Lives returns in the Autumn.