The outdoor industry and place-based culture represent two distinct frameworks for interacting with nature, each with unique strengths and limitations. On one hand, formal structures in the outdoor industry offer consistency, safety, and commercial accessibility through qualifications, protocols, and certifications. However, these structures also standardise, externalise, and commercialise experiences with nature, distancing participants from a more intimate, personal connection. By contrast, place-based culture emphasises informal, relational interactions with nature, fostering a localised understanding and internalised experience. This article explores how standardisation, as seen in areas like the forest school model, contrasts with community-led practices, offering a path toward a more locally grounded, culturally rich relationship with nature through ethnoecology.

Standardisation in the Outdoor Industry: The Role of Qualifications and Commercialisation

Over the past few decades, the outdoor industry has been defined by formalisation and a drive for consistency, safety, and efficiency. Qualifications and certifications from organisations like the Mountain Training Association (MTA) or the British Canoeing Federation have provided practitioners with standardised paths to becoming outdoor leaders, guiding groups in activities such as mountain hiking, climbing, and water sports. This model, which relies heavily on set standards and centralised governance, has improved accessibility to outdoor activities, allowing participants to feel secure, informed, and safe.

However, the rigidity of formalisation has drawn criticism for reducing outdoor experiences to a set of predetermined outcomes, disconnecting participants from the complexity and unpredictability of natural environments. Researchers like Chris Loynes and John Pierce have identified this trend as an example of “McDonaldisation”—a process by which outdoor experiences are structured similarly to a franchise model, prioritising consistency and profitability over the nuances of personal engagement. The industry's focus on repeatable experiences creates a framework where nature becomes a “product” delivered in a controlled, predictable setting rather than a complex partner in a deeply personal relationship. This dynamic is most evident in commercialised offerings like guided tours, packaged adventure holidays, and licensed outdoor camps, which are accessible to a broad audience but tend to minimise unique, localised engagement with nature.

Forest School as a Standardised, Commercialised Practice

Forest school, a form of outdoor education originating in Scandinavia, has gained popularity across the globe for promoting child-centred, experiential learning in nature. Initially, forest school was an informal approach, driven by an understanding of local ecology, and rooted in a philosophy of nurturing children’s natural curiosity and relationship with the land. Over time, however, as the model integrated with traditional educational systems, it underwent a process of formalisation and commercialisation, standardising what was once a flexible and adaptive approach to outdoor learning.

In the UK, for instance, forest school programmes are now often aligned with national curriculum goals and adhere to formal qualifications and assessments. There are training requirements for forest school leaders, certifications to be obtained, and even national standards that regulate programme content and safety protocols. These structures offer the benefit of quality control, enabling educators to facilitate consistent, well-planned outdoor learning experiences. Yet, as with the broader outdoor industry, the formalisation of forest school has brought commercialisation, with many forest school programmes operating as businesses within the educational sector. This alignment with formal education often comes at the cost of flexibility, adapting to the schedules, assessments, and learning outcomes defined by the educational system rather than the unique ecological dynamics of local settings.

This shift toward standardisation means that the diverse, locally informed elements of early forest school practice are often lost or diluted, replaced by a more generalised model that can be applied uniformly across regions. In doing so, the deep relational elements—knowledge of specific ecosystems, seasonal cycles, and local species—that once characterised forest school are often overlooked. While the benefits of formalised outdoor education are clear, the shift towards a standardised and commercialised field has altered forest school’s core philosophy, showing how industry-led practices can separate individuals from the nuances of local environments.

Place-Based Culture: Internalising Nature Through Community and Relational Practices

Contrary to the formalisation seen in the outdoor industry, place-based culture revolves around informal, community-driven practices. Rather than treating nature as a consumable product, place-based culture views the natural world as an integral partner in a shared relationship. This approach often emerges organically within local communities and is characterised by an internalised, relational engagement with the landscape, which evolves through lived experience rather than through formal qualifications or certifications.

Place-based culture is shaped by shared knowledge and cultural practices rather than governed by industry standards. For example, fishing communities pass down ecological knowledge over generations, learning about tides, currents, and local marine species directly from family and community members. These skills are adapted to specific ecosystems and are inherently flexible, responding to seasonal rhythms and ecological changes. Instead of relying on formal education, these communities impart knowledge through direct experience, which creates a strong sense of place and belonging that cannot be replicated by standardised methods.

Since place-based culture lacks the commercialisation found in the outdoor industry, it remains largely unregulated and governed by community norms rather than by market-driven policies. Without the profit motives and structural limitations seen in formal outdoor settings, place-based practices allow for a more nuanced, locally attuned relationship with nature. Community members who engage in these informal practices develop a personalised connection with the land, one that fosters respect, stewardship, and a sense of responsibility toward local ecosystems.

Ethnoecology: A Model for Locally Grounded Outdoor Practice

Ethnoecology, a field that explores how people perceive and interact with their local environments, provides a framework for rethinking outdoor practice. By centring on place-based knowledge, ethnoecology respects the diversity of ecological relationships that emerge from community-led interactions with nature. It invites practitioners to engage with the land’s history, stories, and ecosystems as essential elements of outdoor experiences, creating a model of practice that is deeply relational and embedded in local culture.

An ethnoecological approach challenges the idea that formal certifications are the only legitimate means of engaging with nature. It elevates community knowledge, valuing local cultural ties to the land that are often overlooked by industry standards. In the Scottish Highlands, for instance, generations of locals have learned to track weather patterns, animal behaviour, and seasonal shifts directly from their surroundings, an understanding that is specific to the region. Through an ethnoecological lens, this knowledge is seen as valuable as the industry-recognised qualifications needed to lead outdoor groups professionally. Ethnoecology respects this local knowledge as an essential part of a place-based outdoor practice, which aligns with community norms and values rather than with market demands.

This approach promotes an engagement with nature that prioritises stewardship, respect, and reciprocity. By shifting focus from commercialised, standardised outdoor experiences to a place-based model informed by cultural and ecological knowledge, ethnoecology allows for a holistic approach to nature that is both culturally enriching and environmentally responsible. It empowers communities to engage with the land in a way that honours ecological nuances and sustains the local environment.

Toward a Relational, Locally Informed Outdoor Model

The outdoor industry’s structured, standardised model and place-based culture’s informal, community-driven approach highlight the complexities of human engagement with nature. While the outdoor industry makes nature accessible through qualifications and commercial offerings, it often lacks the depth and relational richness that comes from a locally grounded experience. Forest school, as a once-flexible model that became formalised through its integration with the educational sector, serves as a clear example of how commercialisation can reshape the philosophy of outdoor practice, standardising what was once an adaptive, community-driven approach.

In contrast, place-based culture offers a model of engagement with nature that is informal, localised, and inherently relational. This model is driven by community knowledge and cultural practices, fostering a connection to the land that is personalised and responsive to local ecosystems. Through the lens of ethnoecology, outdoor practice can be reimagined to honour local knowledge and cultural relationships with the land, challenging the notion that standardisation is the only path to nature.

By moving towards a relational, place-sensitive model, we can cultivate outdoor experiences that respect both cultural heritage and ecological diversity. This approach offers a way to engage with nature that is sustainable, meaningful, and embedded in the history of each landscape, resisting the pressures of standardisation and commercialisation that so often govern industry-led models. Through community-led practices informed by ethnoecology, people can build a richer, more enduring relationship with the natural world—one that prioritises local culture and ecology over commercial gain.