Why walking?
Our cities, towns, and neighbourhoods are full of details, stories, and possibilities, but most of us move through them without really noticing. Walking, mindfully, changes that.
Why walking?
Walking slows us down. It grounds attention, awakens the senses, and opens space for noticing what we often overlook, in the world, and in ourselves. Whether we are walking to notice the world around us, walking imagined futures, exploring present realities, or recovering forgotten stories, we begin by putting one foot in front of the other.
In a world of urgency and overload, walking offers an alternative: a way to reconnect with place, body, and possibility. When more humans report being lonely than ever before, walking in groups offers us the vital opportunity to connect with other people and their opinions and perspectives.
Walking can also plant seeds for change. And that change can be as simple as an increase individual or collective awareness of the places around us, or it can nudge for individual, collective, and systems change.
How we walk together (here’s where it gets a bit more academic)
The walks and work at Ways to Walk are guided by a method called senstoryscapes. This is a seven-step process for creating sensory, time-layered, participatory experiences. It was created by Suzanne Whitby as part of her doctoral work, with the intention of finding ways to reduce psychological distance, immerse people in experience, foster a sense of agency, and encourage change. Originally designed to encourage sustainability mindsets and climate action, the senstoryscapes method is now used as a catalyst for many different types of change, at all scales.
Each step of the senstoryscapes framework invites a different kind of engagement: grounding in place, opening the senses, weaving stories, wayfinding through space, creating, choosing, and returning. It’s flexible, gentle, and designed to meet people where they are.
I use this method across our formats, from walks and installations, to workshops and training, and more. You can learn more about senstoryscapes here →