Western Morning News (Saturday)
‘End-to-end’ trek will focus on the planet
ACLIMATE campaigner is walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise awareness of environmental projects tackling the global warming crisis.
Stephanie Killingbeck-Turner will set off on the trek of more than 1,000 miles from the tip of Cornwall to the north of Scotland next month.
On her walk, which will take from April until August, she aims to draw attention to community-based environmental efforts and give those behind them a boost.
“Communities are taking the lead in creating the future they want to see,” she said. “I hope that by sharing these projects it will reinvigorate those who feel a diminishing sense of hope and inspire those who are yet to act.
“I want to show that everyday people can be climate heroes taking the initiative and creating a future that is both greener and more just.”
Stephanie is starting her challenge at an Extinction Rebellion event in April, which she said was an appropriate way to set the walk in context.
Once underway she will be visiting a number of projects including the Eden Project in Cornwall, which aims to build relationships between people and the natural world to demonstrate the power of working together for the benefit of all living things; and the Totnes Renewable Energy Society, which has set up its own community-owned energy initiative.
In total Stephanie says she is planning to visit sixteen projects across England and Scotland.
Her environmental involvement began with a plastic free July challenge in 2016.
Over the intervening years her awareness of the climate crisis deepened and she joined local groups, took part in climate protests and gave a number of environmental talks and zero waste workshops.
In 2020 she left her job in the museum sector to begin volunteering on an organic farm in Scotland.
As a keen walker and with the growing belief that community action is key to tackling climate breakdown she began planning her end-to-end walk, sharing the wonderful landscape of the UK on social media and flagging up environmental initiatives.