Workshop: Trailology: Building a Global Community of Trail Knowledge and Practice
This session brings together members of the Trails and Knowledge Task Team to share key developments since the launch of the Trailology Collective at the WTN conference in Ottawa two years ago. Trailology emerged from a shared recognition that although trails are everywhere, shaping landscapes, mobilities, cultures, and more, they are rarely examined as phenomena in their own right. The Collective seeks to place trails at the center of scholarly inquiry, opening space for interdisciplinary conversations between trail users and developers, land managers, artists, and scholars from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and beyond.
Since its launch, the Trailology Collective has grown into an expanding international network of academics and practitioners across multiple continents, creating new bridges between research and practice. This session will highlight recent progress in building this network, including collaborative research initiatives, cross-regional exchanges, and partnerships with trail organizations and institutions worldwide.
Participants will also hear updates on exciting course and curriculum development efforts, alongside symposia and field-based experiences that position trails as lenses for topics such as sustainability, mobility, heritage, health, and human–environment relations.
By treating trails as fundamental interfaces between living beings and the world, Trailology offers new vantage points and scholarly methods for addressing pressing global challenges. This session invites WTN participants to engage with these developments, contribute perspectives, and explore future directions for trail-centered knowledge production.
Martina Sedlakova, Educational trainer and advisor, Wageningen University & Research
