On Saturday the 12th of October we spent the day meeting local Rainbow, Brownie, Guide and Ranger leaders and sharing our ‘3Ps’ Leave No Trace wild toileting campaign at the annual South West Girl Guides conference. This was in partnership with Engagement Ranger Kats, of Dartmoor National Park, who we have worked alongside in creating and delivering this initiative.

We were delighted to have many excellent conversations about the importance of empowering young people with the knowledge needed to spend time in nature, without any barriers caused by toilet anxiety. Alongside this, we chatted about the importance of taking all litter home, including wipes and loo roll, and showcased some reusable wild toileting products. We gave away a number of antimicrobial pee cloths, which the Guide leaders loved, and talked about how there wasn’t any one method for litter free wild toileting, but lots of methods that worked when done correctly.

What came up in conversation many times was the gap in knowledge between people used to spending large amounts of time outdoors, who didn’t think twice about having a wild wee, and those new to nature connection, who had no idea how to begin a conversation about toileting needs. Feedback from Guide leaders was that it was really useful to made aware of this gap, and the importance of modelling conversations around 3Ps planning, even if some elements might seem obvious. We also spoke about period poverty, and how planning for a wild period connected with other period support which Guides were already engaged with.

What surprised us was how many barriers leaders felt were present when it came to exploring Dartmoor with their groups. Wild toileting was certainly one of them, with teenage girls reporting concerns about how they would manage without standard toilet facilities. Another barrier was a lack of training, as walk leaders are required to have specific qualifications which allow them to take children and young people out on the moor. Given that fact that local Guide groups have the fantastic opportunity to stay at Bowerman’s Cottage on Dartmoor, we are now actively looking at ways in which we can support Guide leaders to achieve the qualifications needed to fully benefit from exploring the moor.

Five Guides and Rangers groups, who were either newly formed or lacking any kind of wild toileting pack, were given a complete ‘3Ps’ pack, which included: rubbish bags, wipes, tick remover, trowel, antimicrobial pee pad and anti-bac. We hope that this enables them to access nature more confidently and normalize conversations within their groups about pee, poo and period preparation before outdoor adventures.