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Soraya Abdel-Hadi - Award-winning writer, artist, and advocate for women and diversity in UK outdoor

  • xtinecruzat
  • Jul 1, 2021
  • 3 min read

Renata Chlumska - Adventure athlete who became the first Swedish and Czech woman to climb Mount Everest and in 2005 did a circumnavigate of the lower 48 States of the United States by her own power.

Soraya believes in taking a holistic approach to making the world a better place, and writes about sustainability, nature and adventure travel. Soraya is Lonely Planet Sustainable Storyteller 2021 and founder of the All The Elements – a community working to increase diversity in the UK outdoors.

Soraya in her own words:

In 2014, I left my ‘dream job’ to make a difference. I kickstarted my new career by studying sustainability for business. As a reward to myself for handing in my dissertation, I went wild camping and canoeing on the Mississippi river. This trip was far more than an adventure holiday – it was a re-connection to nature. I want to help you to be more mindful in what you do and to understand that individual decisions can make a positive impact on our planet. When I'm not travelling, writing or creating net-positive artwork, you'll find me tackling diversity in the UK outdoors, organising all-women sailing trips exploring plastics and toxics in our ocean and walking my labradoodle Rory.

Listen to Soraya on the Tough Girl Podcast - New episodes go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.

The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite podcast and becoming a patron please check out www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.


Listen to Soraya Now!

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Show notes

  • Who is Soraya

  • What her childhood was like

  • Having a passion for horses

  • Going to university to study law

  • Pivoting her career into sustainability

  • Not being happy in her dream job

  • Figuring out her purpose

  • Wanting to study sustainability for business

  • What does sustainability mean to Soraya

  • The One Planet MBA - University of Exeter

  • Adventure and sustainability

  • Why adventure has to have a purpose

  • Why are we going to these places?

  • How are we communicating what we are seeing?

  • Travel with a lower impact

  • Getting involved in the adventure community

  • Being inspired by Ben Keene

  • Rebel Book club

  • Love Her Wild

  • The Yes Tribe

  • Adventure Uncovered

  • Explore at the RGS

  • Starting to travel on her own in 2016

  • Taking a trip to the Sahara desert

  • Canoeing on the Mississippi with Dave Cornthwaite and Emily Penn

  • Liking to have shared experiences while adventuring

  • Losing the fear

  • The Sail Britain Voyage

  • Not always being artistic, but always being creative

  • Wanting to be able to paint and draw

  • Drawing while on expedition

  • Heading to Vancouver in 2018

  • The challenges to tacking plastic

  • Feeling overwhelmed

  • Breaking the challenge down

  • Black Lives Matter

  • How can we create change?

  • What are you most passionate about?

  • Making informed decisions

  • All the elements which was set up in August 2020

  • The importance of role modelling

  • Stepping into the light

  • The many aspects to diversity

  • Bringing everyone together

  • Sharing her story online and feeling uncomfortable at the start

  • Taking on a new project with her mum and dog (Rory)

  • Deciding to walk the South West Coast Path

  • Final words of advice

  • Working out what is important to you

  • Not worrying about what other people are doing

Social Media

Personal Website - www.soraya.earth

All The Elements - A network to support everyone working to increase diversity in the UK outdoors #diversifyoutdoorsuk.

Instagram

Facebook @sorayaearth

Twitter @sorayaearth

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