Mission & Aims, Beliefs, and Perspectives

Mission and aims:

  1. Stimulate and inform a conversation about the role of immersive experiences and overnight accommodations in environmental education & outdoor recreation, and think creatively about the potential roles of huts in the USA,
  2. build community among folks involved with and intrigued by the future of shelter systems for long distance walkers and skiers,
  3. stimulate research, information exchange and discussion about what we can learn from colleagues abroad as we think about the future of huts in the USA,
  4. comparative study of the
    • economics, operations, logistics, regulatory environment, etc.,
    • the geographic, social, cultural, economic, & political context within which hut systems came to exist and are operating today; and
    • relevant trends and issues today.
  5. ensure that hut development is firmly grounded in an ethos of environmental protection and education, and that huts do far less harm than good.

 Beliefs:

  • There are likely to be more hut systems built in USA over the next generation.  There is potential to do environmental harm in introducing more people to the back country.  We need to think hard about if, why, how and where we might build more hut systems, and be sure we get it right.
  • There is plenty of good information available for the users of hut systems. What is needed is information forum for those who are operating, designing, building, or dreaming of hut systems.
  • Shelter systems have the potential to provide some economic stimulus to rural communities.
  • The next generation of hut systems may need to be located, designed, and used differently from existing systems.  An imaginative re-thinking of  huts/shelter systems in America could be a useful exercise and should be informed by substantive information from around the world.
  • hut2hut.info should be a community enterprise; broad-based input and diverse perspectives are needed.

Perspectives:

Sam wears multiple hats in writing about huts, operating variously as:

  • a journalist reporting on whats happening out there,
  • a neutral academic observer trying to make sense of the situation in this arena,
  • an advocate for more huts in USA and for using them as a tool in environmental protections, and to engender biophilia/environmental ethics in the next generations, and
  • a community builder to help advance conversation and practices about hut systems.

Note: these hats are switched frequently and often worn simultaneously!