When we hear the whisper to step off the concrete, away from the built environment and into the bush, we step into a world and a place that speaks to the very heart of what it means to be alive.

These places, away from the constraints and controls that are part of our day-to-day lives, connect us to a place that is proven to be fuel for our bodies and the salve for our souls.

By walking away from the cement, we open ourselves up to the proven benefits to our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health; but in doing so, we also expose ourselves to environments, places and conditions that require a keen sense of risk and a whole bunch of skills to keep us safe and enjoying these places for many years to come.

It’s in these places, full of wildness and joy, that we can also find ourselves facing unexpected and unplanned-for situations, even leading us to the edge of life itself.

Rescued is a podcast of conversations with rescuers and those who’ve been rescued. It’s about the lessons we learn about ourselves, the places we go and why - without judgement - to help us have better adventures, manage risk and deal with the unexpected.

So whether you’re an armchair traveller or a multiday expeditioner, the Rescued Podcast exists to help us all connect with nature, the outdoors community and learn from those who’ve gone before.

I’m Caro Ryan from LotsaFreshAir.com - a hiking and bushwalking website and YouTube channel, started in 2012, to help inspire people to spend time adventuring, teach them how to go there safely and then encourage them to do so, looking after themselves, their mates and this incredible planet that we live on.

I invite you to join me and my guests, as they share about the time when things went wrong: what happened, what they learned and how we can stop these things from happening again.

I’ll be chatting with weekend adventurers and everyday nature-lovers, people just like you and me, along with a variety of people from emergency services and supporting organisations, like those involved in training, equipment, research and academia, lending a different perspective for incidents in these wild places we love to visit.

So join me on Rescued: An Outdoor Podcast for Hikers and Adventurers, wherever you get your podcasts.

The Rescued Podcast is produced on the unceded lands of the Gundungurra and Dharug people, of the Blue Mountains of NSW. I pay my respects to Elders past and present and acknowledge their enduring connection to and care for Country. 

Special thanks to our sponsors, Paddy Pallin and to Jen Brown for production support. 

This has been a LotsaFreshAir production.