New map for walk & talk meetings in nature

Over several years, an idea has developed to encourage students and staff to hold walking meetings and do group work outdoors. The pandemic made this particularly clear: if meetings were to be conducted, being outdoors was necessary. Some have continued with these open-air meetings.

A new Walk & Talk map has been designed at Örebro University. It makes it easier for more of us – now and then – to meet while walking instead of sitting in a room. Not least, it simplifies for the thousands of new students and staff each year to navigate and take in Campus Örebro.

“A walking meeting allows you to take in sunshine and fresh air while at the same time getting some exercise,” says Anna-Eva Olsson, project coordinator at Örebro University.

The new map shows five “Walk & Talk” routes, ranging from 800 to 3,600 meters. All have been test-walked to determine their suggested group meeting duration, between 10 and 45 minutes.

“A few routes are shorter, on hard surfaces and without steep slopes. While others are a bit more challenging. The routes lead you around our lovely outdoor environment, walking close to an allotment garden, pastures, forests, and jogging trails.”

Traces from the Viking Age

Alongside our beautiful natural surroundings are several remnants of our exciting local history.

Historically, the villages around the Campus Örebro were relatively densely populated during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. But history here stretches even further back. Enbuskabacken is one of the Närke province’s most significant burial grounds, lies just south of the university. During the Vendel and Viking periods (550–1050 AD), the rich and powerful were buried here. Traces of the ancient burial grounds were discovered during excavations in 1890. The deceased had been cremated and buried with their valuables, such as weapons and riding equipment.

There is also Örebro’s old ski jump along one of the routes – a popular attraction a hundred years ago. And the narrow-gauge railway you could take between Örebro and Norrköping, with remnants of its embankment still visible today.

The lake that disappeared

Those taking one of the longer Walk & Talk routes will pass the remnants of a consequential decision in Örebro’s history. Here once lay Marksjön, a beautiful forest lake where uncommon insects and plants thrived. On official maps today, it is a marsh called Markakärret – as the lake has largely disappeared.

In the 1950s, parts of old Örebro were demolished. As new modern houses were built, the demolition debris and construction waste were dumped here. Much of it ended up in Markasjön, which was more than the lake could handle. By the late 1950s, the ground in the area had shifted. In 1964, disaster struck when the area collapsed, and the lake vanished.

Parts of it can still be seen today, partly due to plans in the 1960s to build a university affiliate in the area. The municipality ceased dumping in the area, citing that the surviving remains of the lake could be valuable for potential future botany students.

Free maps available

Free maps of the meeting routes are available at the Info Centre in Långhuset at Örebro University. They can also be printed directly from the website.

“Walk & Talk meetings are an alternative or boost to regular meetings and learning activities to introduce variety and initiate creativity. For instance, if you have something sensitive or difficult to discuss or maybe a tricky problem to solve, I sometimes find it easier to go on a walk and talk than sitting across from each other at a table and discussing it,” explains Anna-Eva Olsson.

 

Would you like to know more about the area? Visit the County Administrative Board (in English and Swedish) and Örebro Municipality (in Swedish) for information about the area surrounding Campus Örebro. There is also more to read about Marksjön.