About us
How it all started
The Alba Cross originated as a 6-week human-powered expedition across Scotland. Born from our passion for the outdoors and looking after the world around us, and a desire to make knowledge more accessible to a wider, diverse audience, we set out on a journey to document our experience of human-powered travel across the country and the connections we made along the way.
Since our initial expedition, the Alba Cross has grown into a community formed around connections between people and the environment. We collaborate with diverse groups and creatives to create multidisciplinary experiences in the outdoors.
We now lead a variety of events and workshops encouraging the incorporation of art into the urban outdoors of Glasgow, as well as organised trips to more rural locations.
Our goals
Our goals
Connection
Through a variety of art forms and collaboration, we encourage unique relationships between people and land, different communities and personal connections. Our aim is to open the space for individuals to connect and care for their surrounding environment in a personally meaningful way.
Environment
We believe in the right to roam, access to nature and to be welcomed in green spaces as a human right. We aim to work with projects addressing how socio-economic barriers can be dismantled, so that diverse communities are able to enjoy and care for our beautiful planet. Our projects aim to build relationships between people and land, as well as bridging the intersections between creative projects and environmentalism.
Inclusivity
We work with LGBTQIA+ communities in order to expand and grow spaces where everyone can feel safe and heard. We work creatively to encourage access to the outdoors, adventure, and to diversify outdoor adventure culture. In finding connection across diverse communities, we share skills and experiences vital for the growth of connection between people and land.
Our team
Our team
Ailsa is based in Glasgow, and after having spent 3 years working in the private renewable sector, they currently work in Forestry as a tree planter, and developing her own creative practices.
They enjoy organising events and workshops with The Alba Cross and look to continue to collaborate with different organisations and facilitators in Scotland to showcase Scottish landscapes and bring people together. collaborating with artists, community groups and other organisations across Scotland.
She is particularly interested in finding ways to make time outdoors, and in creating spaces where people can learn, make things and spend time together.
Ailsa Beck - Co-founder and Director
Nellie has and is based in Glasgow, where she is studying a Masters in Social Work, alongside working in the outdoor childcare sector. With a background in Sustainable Development and Anthropology, the Alba Cross was a passion project born from the desire to explore the Scottish environment sustainably and with a purpose.
She enjoys the diverse experiences and people that The Alba Cross projects have led to so far, since its first ambitious planning sessions over 4 years ago. She is always exploring new ways to develop the Alba Cross within an urban setting, and encourages collaboration with anyone who is passionate about diversifying the outdoors and caring for our natural environment.
Nellie Wilson - Co-founder and Director