The project aimed to improve the social inclusion and wellbeing of refugee and migrant women by using outdoor experiences as a practical, low-threshold pathway to connection, confidence, and participation in local communities. To achieve this, we set out to: (1) build the competences of both RMW educators and outdoor educators through a shared educational pathway based on identified learning outcomes; (2) develop and publish practical resources – especially the OUT4IN Toolkit – to help educators plan safe, culturally sensitive and trauma-aware outdoor activities; (3) test and refine the approach through local pilots, including routes and activities connected to local natural heritage; (4) gather feedback and learning from practice and translate it into policy recommendations for organisations and decision-makers; and (5) disseminate the results widely and support transferability so that other organisations can replicate the approach in different contexts.
Refugee and migrant women (RMW) are often excluded from outdoor and leisure opportunities, even though nature-based activities can support wellbeing, confidence, and social connection. Across partner countries, RMW face structural and cultural barriers such as limited information in their own languages, unfamiliarity with local environments and services, safety concerns, fear of discrimination, costs for transport/equipment, and care burdens like childcare and time poverty. At the same time, many outdoor and RMW educators lack practical guidance and competences to design culturally sensitive, trauma-aware, low-threshold activities and to build trustful partnerships with migrant communities. The OUT4IN project addressed these needs by creating and testing an educational pathway and practical tools that help organisations remove barriers, communicate inclusively, and deliver safe, accessible outdoor activities that strengthen inclusion and resilience.