IN THE B A G
Belinda Kirk
How did you start your journey to becoming an adventurer? I joined the Duke of Edinburgh scheme at the age of 15. As an underconfident timid teenager with little experience of the outdoors, a few days trekking and camping in the Brecon Beacons worked its magic. I returned with a new belief in myself but also with a real passion for choosing challenges in nature. It was life changing
Fave types of adventure? The ones that mean the most. I've got a Guinness world record, which of course I'm proud of, but I'm far prouder of the work I've done on youth development expeditions and working with vulnerable adults or kids.
What are your key sources of inspiration?
My son; kids are so naturally adventurous. As we grow up, I believe that modern life makes us more cautious, sometimes to the extent that we stop following our call to adventure, both outdoors but also in our relationships, careers, lifestyles. I like to consider that adventure has helped me keep my childlike outlook (rather than childish!!).
What inspired you to write the book Adventure Revolution? It was due to 30 years of leading groups into the wilderness and witnessing the transformative effect of adventure. A curiosity to understand why and a frustration that we don't value adventure for the powerful tool it is for
Belinda Kirk runs Adventure Mind and wrote the book that explains the psychology of why adventure is essential to wellbeing.
personal healing, growth and simply as a path to living our best lives.
Most challenging thing about writing a book?
Sitting still for days on end, especially when your son is having fun in the sun outside your window.
What is the Adventure Mind Conference?
A conference series exploring the importance of adventure to wellbeing and mental health. For outdoor professionals, health and wellbeing practitioners, researchers, and all adventurers. This year’s theme is ‘Small Adventures, Big Impact’.
What motivated you to create it? The first conference was to convince the research community to rethink ‘adventure’. Not as something done by the elite or for those with a death wish, but instead as an activity that can improve mental health and wellbeing for everyone. There has been a huge uptick in adventure for wellbeing research since the conference was launched in 2019. Now the conference is all about enabling the professionals to deliver adventure for wellbeing and mental health, to help them connect, get funding, improve practice, and better communicate the value of their brilliant work.
What's your next big project? Walking across the Canary Islands as a family. We're halfway. And home schooling my son.
Belinda Kirk has led dozens of international expeditions over the last 27 years, gained a Guinness World Record for rowing unsupported around Britain, and is a leading campaigner promoting the benefits of adventure on wellbeing, performance, and mental health. In 2009, Belinda established Explorers Connect, in 2019 she launched Adventure Mind and will host this year’s event, and she also wrote “Adventure Revolution: The life-changing power of choosing challenge”, the first book to explain the psychology of why adventure is essential to our wellbeing.
www.belindakirk.com /
www.explorersconnect.com/adventure-mind
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