Why we lend gear
The cost of equipment is the most common reason people tell us they cannot come camping. So we removed it.
When we ask people why they have not been camping, the answer is almost never “I’m not interested”. It is “I don’t have the stuff”.
A tent, a sleeping bag and a mat is comfortably three hundred dollars before you have driven anywhere. For a weekend you are not sure you will enjoy, with people you have not met yet, that is not a reasonable ask.
So we buy it once, and everybody uses it
We keep a store of tents, sleeping mats and cooking equipment that any community member can borrow, free of charge. You tell us what you need when you book, and it is there when you arrive.
There is no deposit and no means test. We do not ask why you need it.
This is the access mission, not a nice extra
Our whole reason for existing is that the outdoors is harder to reach for LGBTQIA+ Victorians than it should be — and the barriers are rarely the ones people assume. They are the cost of gear, not owning a car, not knowing where to start, and not having anyone to go with.
Gear lending removes exactly one of those four. We are working on the others: transport support is the next one, and it is partly why we fundraise.
How you can help
Donations to the Nature Access Fund buy equipment and subsidise places for members who need it. Every dollar goes to getting somebody outdoors.
If you have good-condition gear you no longer use, get in touch — we will take it.