The tale of two peas in a pod.

In June 2026 Trash Free Trails was awarded institutional funding for the next 12 months from EOCA. That is, quite simply, HUGE.

But to understand not only the scale of this achievement, but what it means to everyone involved, let’s go back to the beginning. To dissect how we actually got here.

It all started when

In February 2020, three hardworking and incredibly supportive individuals, known as Catherine, Cat and Tania from EOCA had the initiative to approach Dom, the CEO of TFT. This was the first signifier that this was indeed huge, because up until that point TFT hadn’t been ‘approached’ before. We more often than not had to do the reaching out, and so when EOCA got in touch and effectively said: 

“The North Face has funding through its Explore Fund for a UK project, and if you do a good job with the application, there is a really solid amount of money available.”

It had the opportunity to be transformational for TFT, and for Dom as an individual (being semi-homeless in Bristol at the time), that first funding became Purposeful Adventures. What we said to EOCA was essentially: 

“This is enough money to help us become an organisation, so rather than treating it as one isolated project, can we use it to connect a series of things together that create impact now, but also help build Trash Free Trails?”

They trusted us to do that. 

Looking back, what is captivating when telling this story is how many of those things that EOCA helped us try, have now become staples of TFT: Our Community Trail Cleans, Citizen Science Programme, Kendal Mountain Festival and our DIO (Do It Ourselves) Resources. Similar to the snowball effect, to see how one thing kept evolving into the next, and ultimately ended up becoming much bigger than the original funded project, was truly amazing for TFT.

How it continued to grow

EOCA and The North Face supported TFT across several years and funding pots. More recently, when The North Face moved away from this kind of support, EOCA Executive Director Dan Yates, was upfront and honest with us that we could plan and re-forecast, while also making it clear that he believed in our work and wanted to help us find another way forward. Legendary.

That has led to where we are now. Dan recognised that much of what TFT was asking to fund was more strategic than project-based. EOCA subsequently developed a new Strategic Development Grant, which we were invited to apply for and were awarded in spring 2026.

What has been especially brilliant about EOCA ever since we began working together is that they have allowed us to evolve. Not just for the snowball to get ‘bigger’, but for it to roll around different paths, get new snowman accessories every now and again. They have always needed clear outputs and outcomes, and held us accountable, but they have also given us room to innovate, learn and change.

That combination has been really important. They have pushed us to secure match funding, understand what different partners contribute, and properly demonstrate our impact, while also allowing projects to grow into whatever the next most useful thing needs to be.

Not everything worked. They encouraged us to try ambitious things, including an application to deliver trail cleans in the Himalayas, which we didn’t get. But they told us why, gave us useful feedback and encouraged us to keep trying. When a snowman melts, they’re there with a whole coolbox full of equipment to rebuild it. That freedom to try, alongside genuine accountability, has helped us become much better at what we do.

How it's taking shape now

The relationship now feels increasingly peer-to-peer. If it wasn’t for Dan and Dom chatting at a climbing wall about the topic of disconnection from nature as a driver of environmental degradation, Dom’s Master’s research thesis wouldn’t have been the same, or even TFT’s wider thinking today. 

In the same way you’d want to go to the pub with your friend, EOCA physically participating in our work and our events has always been really important to us. Their team has joined several of our annual Citizen Science Expeditions at Kendal Mountain Festival, and Dan joined two of our Big Clean-Ups alongside the BMC and Plantlife, kindly offering his place to the TFT team to stay. Those efforts do not go unnoticed.

There’s a certain level of honesty around that participation too. EOCA choose to come because they want to join in, but also because it gives their brand partners an opportunity to see the work they support, in person, on the ground. They have their own objectives and requirements too, and they are always open about them.

That matters. Trust is such an important part of any relationship, especially one you want to last.

“Perhaps the biggest highlight overall is simply how much of what EOCA supported has endured. Their funding has repeatedly helped us create things that evolved, developed and magnified long after the original project finished.”

- Dom Ferris.

Where are we heading in the future

The relationship now feels like two snowballs standing proudly by each other and working together not only to secure support for TFT’s work, but to advocate for the changes EOCA is calling for across the whole outdoor industry.

There is a really exciting convergence in our thinking. For years we have said that single-use pollution is a symptom, and that disconnection from nature, each other and ourselves is the deeper issue. EOCA is increasingly focused on reconnecting people with nature alongside protecting and restoring biodiversity.

That feels like a really powerful place for us to work together. We now have evidence that our projects can increase people’s connection with nature, while removing single-use pollution also removes a pressure from already at-risk ecosystems. Connection and conservation aren’t two separate things.

We’d also love to work with EOCA to advocate for longer-term thinking from the outdoor industry. These are long-term problems and they need long-term solutions. Their brand network has enormous potential to support organisations like ours patiently enough to experiment, learn and build things that last and create much greater impact.

And, just as importantly, we want EOCA to keep challenging us to prove that we are doing exactly that.