josh bulpin
FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
Adventure is a way of life for Josh. As is his commitment to the value it holds for people in exploring themselves and their place in the world.
It's been his vocation for 15 years. It's his why.
Josh is committed to working with others with a desire to facilitate meaningful adventures for others, fostering opportunities for deep personal growth, alongside building our connection with, and stewardship of our planet. As a result our adventures are all about taking the time to notice, to think, to explore and to revel in connection with ourselves, other humans and the environment. This is living according to Josh! Well that and great food (shared obviously).
Josh lives between Australia and the UK, exploring his love of the wild in these different lands, and while still leading the odd adventure here and there, his main focus lies behind the scenes, making our adventures fly!
CORMAC DAVEY
FOUNDER, MOUNTAIN LEADER & COACH
Cormac currently lives in Singapore with his wife Carrie, and while he's stepped back from the day-to-day since our founding, he remains a passionate leader of adventures for The Living Project.
Cormac's committed to connecting people to support each other with the simple intention to be healthy and live well. He believes to live well requires an honest engagement with the world we experience through our senses as well as our inner spirit. Our physical & mental wellbeing is interconnected with our sense of wonder and need to explore beyond the received wisdom of our sometimes toxic culture.
He has trained as a Kundalini yoga teacher, life coach and expedition leader and specialises in facilitating slow group journeys in the wild where adventure and nature connection allows individuals to ask questions, find answers and commit to healing.
We're building A CULTURE guided by our values
OUR remarkable LEADERS
MATT
mountain LEADER, COACH, Mental Health TRAINER
I love the great outdoors, in fact I've come to realise that I actually need the great outdoors in my life and I'm completely passionate about combining access to nature and wild places, with mental health awareness, connection and wellbeing.
I've been a qualified teacher for 17 years now, having worked in almost every sector of education; and I've seen first-hand, the direct benefits of nature and outdoor spaces when working with young people.
My love of sharing knowledge and connecting with people led me to my dream role as an overseas expedition leader, during which time I've been fortunate to work with some amazing young people and adults, in beautiful countries such as Malaysia and Tanzania.
My own personal journey with the outdoors led me to pursue my licence to deliver Mental Health First Aid training, as an accredited instructor with MHFA England. More recently, I have become an Adventure Guide with the Water Skills Academy (WSA), combining my expedition leadership experience with a new, exciting form of travel and the chance to see places from a whole new perspective.
I live in the Midlands with my wife, two children, Pickle the cat and Ludo the labrador.
EMMA
MOUNTAIN LEADER, WILD WATER GUide
I grew up camping and exploring and was extremely lucky to be encouraged to get into paddle sports at an early age. I loved it and wanted to keep doing it so I made sure the outdoors was part of my future. I studied Adventure Tourism Management at university and then used my skills to travel and take me on Adventures around the world as a raft guide, watersports leader and an international expedition leader.
I'm passionate about encouraging and supporting people to get involved and get out having adventures, no matter how big or small. I love empowering them and watching them grow, achieve and enjoy their wild....whatever that may be. Spending time working with young people particularly has shown me how powerful the outdoors can be.
I love being outside having adventures and embracing whatever mother nature throws at me....you can try and tame her.... but she's got a mind of her own!
Water is particularly special to me and makes me happy....whether I'm on it or in it.
I currently live in mid Wales near to the beautiful Lake Vyrnwy where you'll often find me paddling around on my sup.
ALEX
WILD FOOD FANATIC, MOUNTAIN LEADER, SAILOR
Alex has been working in the world of foraging and bushcraft for 8 years. He manages a plot of woodland on Dartmoor which has been in his family since he was a teenager.
As well as leading on our other adventures, we are honoured to work with Alex on our Thrive in the Wild adventures for schools, combining conscious adventure with conservation and foraging seasonal wild food.
Alex loves nothing more than a long walk, his longest involved covering the length of New Zealand, a total distance of 3000km.
He also enjoys sailing, catching fish, and playing the drums.
BEtHANY (BEE)
mOUNTAIN LEADER,
LOVER OF THE COLD
Hi I'm B! I grew up adventuring and believe that it runs in everyone's blood, you just have to see an opportunity and take it. I've been lucky enough to take many opportunities in mountainy, watery and snowy places throughout my life, from living in the Japanese alps to working in the Scottish Highlands.
Adventure for me is learning to manage yourself in any environment, deeply understanding your own needs and what's around you. This could mean finding shelter behind a rock and inspecting it's ice formations, reading what they can tell you about wind direction and air moisture. It could mean resting on a park bench, watching the birds and wondering if they have enough food for winter. A connection to nature doesn't always mean foraging to survive, it means listening to what it tells you about life.
I love helping other people learn to trust in themselves and connect with challenging environments and situations. This is deeply personal and I can't say what will work for you, but I'll be there to keep you safe and allow space to discover your own relationship to nature.
BEX
MOUNTAIN LEADER, WILD WATER GUIDE & OUR UK OPERATIONS NINJA
I grew up in Kent, with little inspiration for what I wanted to do in life. At 16, I found that inspiration, when I helped on a residential outdoor pursuits trip to Snowdonia, with an SEN youth club that I volunteered at. Two years later, I moved to North Wales to begin an Outdoor Education apprenticeship, and this is when I really started to explore and learn what the natural environment meant for me.
Working and being in wild landscapes, has given me the opportunity to understand how being outside isn’t just fun or beneficial for us mentally and physically, but it is essential. With a frighteningly quick increase in technological dependence, I feel we must access natural environments to avoid any further detachment from the natural world.
This is why I love providing people with the opportunity to nourish themselves in nature, to open the connection that is so innate to us and to let ourselves enjoy whatever that means to us!
I am 'semi-but not really-settled’ in North Wales and I loooove cooking for people, learning how to look after my garden, stroking our fat rescue cat and losing at chess. I also love a candle. I really believe that we should stay close to anything that makes us feel glad to be alive.
We're very lucky that when not leading our adventures, Bex also supports The Living Project's UK operations, making sure our adventures run smoothly for our guests
MAXIE
NATURE FACILITATOR
I grew up in the African bush, on the edge of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. It was a feral existence and I felt like we were always on an adventure. My family spent a lot of time in baboon, lion and wild dog research camps learning from animals. At one stage, we raised a pair of cheetah cubs (whose mother had been shot) at our home before rehabilitating them in a nature reserve.
We moved to Wales when I was 11 and set up an eco-tourism project giving guests the experience of living more simply with nature. We built yurts and treehouses out of mud, straw and local wood. I studied History of Art and lived in urban jungles for a while. I loved to travel and began to follow a creative path before I heard the term nature facilitation and booked onto a course the very same day.
It was life-changing. I realised that nature is always there to resource us and show us who we really are.
Since then, I’ve volunteered on so many diverse projects, from a Hunger Games camp with 50 savage teenagers to a spiritual retreat for All That We Are podcast held in beautiful Embercombe.
I understand what a gift I have been given to feel so at home in the wild and I feel that this is my mission - to help others to open up to their innate wildness. It’s always there, waiting for you.
SOPHIE
POET, MOUNTAIN LEADER
Sophie is a poet and has recently achieved their Mountain Leader Award.
They love hiking up mountains, surfing, riding their motorbike, wild camping and identifying trees.
Sophie's very passionate about making nature more accessible to people who don't feel confident navigating and exploring the countryside.
They have worked as a full time poet for many years and want to combine their love of nature with their love of writing.
They can be persuaded with vegan treats.
CHRIS
mOUNTAIN LEADER,
COACH
Nature is my reset button after too much concrete and technology.
I have a normal life with a house, a car and work that takes me to London, but you might also find me swimming in the sea, or climbing on mountains.
I have led groups on adventures all over the world, but I don’t want to drag people up hills. My joy comes from helping others to connect with nature and find peace in wild places.
I love foraging and growing my own food. There’s something magical about watching the plants develop through the season, knowing that their leaves and fruit will taste better than anything in the supermarkets.
As an accredited coach (ICF) I help people gain self-awareness, clarify goals and choose actions that will move them forward. Wild places, far from everyday stresses, can be the ideal location for these conversations.
I currently live in the very south-east corner of Kent. You can see France from my village on a clear day.
JAMES
DOCTOR, NATURE FACILITATOR
Getting out in nature has always been my way of unwinding and looking after my own mental health and well-being. I grew up exploring my local woods camping and mountain biking, and since being a medic I've been lucky to have adventures in amazing places, from working as a ski patrol doctor in New Zealand to trekking through the Canadian wilderness.
I love helping others connect with nature and have witnessed first-hand how transformational time in the outdoors can be. It's a real privilege to be able to share that with others and I can't wait for the next adventure!
When I'm not at work you can usually find me camping, surfing, fishing or generally spending time in and around the sea.