Infrequently Asked Questions

Things people may or may not have asked, but we’re answering anyway.

 

 

Why the name Field Trip?

 

Because “Responsible Outdoor Media Brand With Conservation Leanings and a Mildly Unhinged Sense of Humor” was too much of a mouthful. ; )

 

Field trips are about curiosity. You go somewhere, notice things, ask better questions, and come home a little changed. That is the whole Field Trip idea.

 

No permission slip needed.

 

 

Do people try to book actual school field trips with you?

 

Not as often as we’d hoped.

 

Field Trip is not a school tour company. We are an outdoor storytelling, conservation, and adventure platform. That said, if a bus full of curious people shows up wanting to learn about pollinators, public lands, camping, or why squirrels are tiny woodland heroes, we’re happy to host.

 

 

Is Field Trip a blog?

 

No. Also yes. Annoying answer, but accurate.

 

Field Trip includes articles, guides, interviews, product features, conservation stories, community projects, newsletters, partnerships, merch, and whatever else we’ve yet to dream up.

 

Our founder, Kayt, also shares a monthly “Campfire Chat” in our newsletter, which is more personal and blog-like. Some of our articles feel that way, too. Others are more practical, reported, researched, or guide-based.

 

We officially describe Field Trip as “an online platform for those who prefer to be outdoors.” What does that mean exactly? Your guess is nearly as good as ours. It is the closest we could get to: gather around our virtual campfire, learn something useful, laugh a little, and let’s be friends.

 

 

Is Field Trip only for hardcore hikers or regular humans, too?

 

Regular humans, absolutely.

 

We like trails, campfires, lakes, wildlife, native plants, public lands, and fresh air. We also like snacks, decent coffee, bug spray, and sleeping somewhere our backs will forgive us for later.

 

Field Trip is for people who love the outdoors, want to love the outdoors, are trying to spend more time outdoors, or currently admire the outdoors from a climate-controlled room.

 

 

So, I don’t have to be “outdoorsy” to hang out here?

 

No. But you should probably be at least outdoors-curious.

 

We are not here to shame anyone into becoming a sunrise-hiking, dehydrated-meal-eating, ultralight backpacking legend. If your current relationship with nature is “I like looking at trees through a window,” welcome. That counts as a starting point.

 

Field Trip is for the backyard bird watchers, reluctant campers, picnic people, trail wanderers, porch sitters, campground loungers, native plant newbies, lake people, bug-noticers, and folks who want to care more but do not know where to begin.

 

 

What is Field Trip trying to do?

 

We want to help more people care about the outdoors without making them feel scolded, bored, or left out.

 

We believe adventure can be accessible, conservation can be creative, sustainability can have a sense of humor, and curiosity is one of the best gateways to action.

 

Basically, we are here to help people laugh, think, go outside, notice more, care harder, and maybe pack out their trash.

 

 

What makes you qualified to talk about this stuff?

 

A mix of professional experience, lived experience, training, and being the kind of people who research for fun.

 

Field Trip is built by people with backgrounds in journalism, marketing, storytelling, outdoor travel, wildlife rehabilitation, native plants, pollinator education, conservation, community organizing, and asking “wait, but why?” until someone either answers us or quietly backs away.

 

We cite sources. We ask questions. We talk to people who know more than we do. We update our thinking when we learn something new.

 

In other words: curious, not careless.

 

 

Are you perfect environmentalists?

 

Absolutely not. We are not here wearing hemp underwear and levitating above our carbon footprints.

 

We drive vehicles. We buy things. We forget our refillable water bottle. We make tradeoffs. We live in the same messy world everyone else does.

 

Field Trip is not about being perfect. It is about paying attention, learning out loud, making better choices where we can, and not giving up just because we can’t do everything.

 

 

What if I care about the planet but also occasionally forget my reusable bags?

 

Welcome to humanhood.

 

We won’t judge. We’ve done it too. We have stood in checkout lines, realized the reusable bags were sitting heroically in the car, and groaned inwardly.

 

Use what you have. Reuse what you can. Recycle the bags properly if you end up with them. Then try again next time.

 

 

Are we allowed to laugh while talking about serious environmental stuff?

 

Please do. If we don’t laugh, we may cry.

 

Climate news can be hard to hear. It can be even harder to know what to do with it.

 

One of the things we strive for at Field Trip is making climate and conservation stories approachable, understandable, and actionable. We share the hard stuff, but we also look for good news, smart solutions, weird nature facts, practical steps, and reasons to keep going.

 

 

Is Field Trip political?

 

Depends who’s asking and how much coffee we’ve had. ; )

 

Field Trip is not here to tell you who to vote for, what bumper sticker to plaster on your hybrid, or how to survive Thanksgiving dinner with your uncle. We are not a political campaign, and we are not interested in turning every trailhead into a debate stage.

 

But…we do cover climate, conservation, public lands, wildlife, outdoor access, sustainability, and community action. Those things sometimes bump directly into policy, funding, leadership, and laws.

 

So are we political?

 

Not in the party-loyalty way.

 

But in the “we believe clean water, healthy forests, protected wildlife, breathable air, safe outdoor access, and a livable planet should matter” way? Yes. Absolutely.

 

We aim to write from a place of science, research, lived experience, and care for the outdoors. We do our best to prioritize facts over party lines and solutions over outrage.

 

That means we may support a policy, question a decision, criticize a brand, or call out leadership when something threatens the places and communities we care about. It also means we may give credit where credit is due, even when it comes from an unexpected corner.

 

Our loyalty is not to a party. It is to the planet, the people living on it, and the wild places that keep showing up for us even when we make an absolute mess of things.

 

 

Do you actually test the stuff you write about?

 

Yes. We do not recommend places, products, or processes unless we have tried them personally and would feel good recommending them to our readers.

 

If you read about a campground on our site, someone from Field Trip has stayed there. If you read about a product, we have used it more than once and decided it was worth sharing. If you see a DIY cleaning recipe here, we mixed it up, used it, and made sure it actually worked before telling you about it.

 

If you find it on Field Trip, we feel like it’s a fit for our readers and our planet. That’s just how we roll.

 

 

What does “sponsored” mean in your posts?

 

The short answer: It means a brand gave us money, product, or both.

 

The longer answer? Field Trip follows rules set by the Federal Trade Commission, which basically says we need to disclose brand relationships in a way that is clear, conspicuous, and hard to miss. We do this by using words like “sponsored,” “ad,” or “hosted” in our articles and posts.

 

We also follow our own guidelines. Sometimes, a brand sends us something to test. Sometimes, a brand pays to be featured. Sometimes, we earn a commission if a reader buys something through one of our links. In all cases, the same rules apply: we have to use it, like it, trust it, and feel good about sharing it.

 

Sponsored does not mean perfect. It does not mean every product we feature is compostable, carbon-negative, handwoven by woodland elves, or saving the planet just by you using it. 

 

It means we believe the product, place, service, or brand is a good fit for Field Trip and our readers. It means it is a product we have brought into our homes and feel good about using and recommending.

​

If we have received income from a brand sponsorship, as with all of our income, at least 1% goes to worthy conservation causes via our partnership with 1% for the Planet.

 

 

If a brand gives you money or products and you end up not liking them, what happens?

 

You’ll never learn about them from us.

 

We will contact the brand or agency and let them know we cannot move forward and why. And yes, that conversation is just as awkward as you think.

 

We have turned down advertising partnerships because the brand did not align with our values, the product did not live up to our expectations, or we believed there were better alternatives out there.

 

It is not easy to turn money away. Field Trip is a small business with real expenses, and sadly, our website host doesn’t accept payment in trail tips. But our readers’ trust matters. Our integrity matters.

 

If you see a brand on our site, it is there because we have used it, liked it enough to share it, and feel good putting our name next to it.

 

 

Do you have a merch shop?

 

We do. You can find it HERE.

 

Do we think you need another reusable water bottle? Probably not. Do we want you to wear a Field Trip T-shirt? Absolutely. Do we feel deeply delighted when someone buys from us? Also yes.

 

We did not originally plan to have merch. When readers first asked for it, we were flattered, but unsure. Who was going to buy it besides our moms?

 

Also, merch can be tricky from both a cost and environmental standpoint. We chose Bonfire as our merch partner because products are made as orders come in, which helps avoid piles of unsold inventory sitting around and potentially ending up in a landfill. Bonfire also offers eco-friendly product options, which we choose whenever we add items to the shop.

 

Just as with any brand we work with, every Bonfire item in our shop has been tested by us. We only want to sell things people genuinely want, will use, and will care for so they last.

 

And, as with all of our income, at least 1% of our merch sales goes to good environmental causes through our 1% for the Planet partnership.

 

 

Can I submit a story, idea, trail tip, weird nature photo, or poem about mushrooms?

 

Please do.

 

Honestly, the weirder the better. Bonus points for limericks.

 

We love reader ideas, tips, oddball observations, useful resources, nature photos, trail notes, conservation projects, backyard experiments, and heartfelt mushroom poetry. We read it all. Talk to us.

 

 

Do you use AI?

 

Yes.

 

Gasp! Did we just admit to using AI? Isn’t AI evil? Ruining the Earth and humanity, one prompt at a time?

 

Here at Field Trip, we aim to use AI responsibly. We recognize its value as a support tool, not as a replacement for human writing, reporting, judgment, or lived experience. We also know that each inquiry has a true cost beyond the keyboard and have gone to great lengths to be trained in ethical and responsible use.

 

We may use AI to help brainstorm ideas, organize research, outline drafts, check clarity, or speed up routine production tasks. Our final published articles are written, shaped, reviewed, edited, and approved by real humans.

 

Our stories reflect human experience, editorial judgment, curiosity, humor, fact-checking, and care for the outdoors. We do not publish AI-generated articles as original Field Trip writing.

 

When we cover conservation, outdoor life, sustainability, wildlife, gear, travel, or community issues, our goal is simple: be useful, honest, accurate, and worth your time.

​

 

How do I become a Field Trip team member? Are you hiring?

 

Want to hang with the cool kids, huh? We can’t blame you. Our team is a group of pretty fantastic human beings.

 

Field Trip is purposefully small and still growing. Most opportunities are project-based, contributor-based, partner-based, or “this sounds cool, let’s talk” based.

 

While our job opportunities and internships are not plentiful, if you have a good idea, a strong voice, useful expertise, or a weirdly specific outdoor obsession, we want to hear about it. You just never know. Drop us a line.

 

 

I have a brand or product that might be perfect for Field Trip. Can I tell you about it?

 

Yes, please.

 

We love hearing from brands doing useful, thoughtful, fun, outdoorsy, planet-minded things. Especially if your product helps people get outside, camp better, travel lighter, waste less, care more, or solve one of those tiny-but-annoying problems that makes someone say, “Wait, why doesn’t everyone know about this?”

 

Brands can work with Field Trip in a bunch of different ways, including hosted trips, sponsored series, feature articles, product recommendation reviews, newsletter placements, display ads, giveaways, and custom ideas we haven’t thought of yet.

 

Send us a note at talktous@explorefieldtrip.com. Tell us what you make, why it matters, and how you think we could work together.

 

 

I have a question you haven’t answered here. How can I get it answered?

 

Send it our way at talktous@explorefieldtrip.com. 

 

We’ll do our best to answer it, point you in the right direction, or admit we need to go learn something new. Around here, curiosity is kind of the whole thing.