New Executive Director for Walking SA

Walking SA is delighted to announce that Sharon Kelsey has been appointed as our new Executive Director.

With over 15 years as an Executive leading local government and public sector organisations, she has formal qualifications in law, management and adult education. With lived experience in the Australian outback, Asia, Europe, the US and interstate, she brings business acumen with her lust for walking.

Her wanderlust developed from her early years spent accompanying her amateur botanist grandfather as he trekked across the Fleurieu Peninsula. It was here she became adept at not only spotting orchids but knowing where the best spots were to take in the expansive views and find sufficient shade for a well-earned rest. As an active walker she has completed much of the Great South West Walk, the Heysen Trail and walked from Port Augusta to Quorn via the Pichi Richi Pass.

With a good knowledge across all our focus areas of bushwalking, walking for transport and walking for health, she will be working to seek the best outcomes for all trail users.

With an extensive career in leadership in large urban and smaller rural community-based organisations both here in South Australia and interstate she will be a valuable asset in liaising with a range of diverse stakeholders.

As a strong advocate for the benefits of walking including the health, social and mental wellbeing that flow from active participation, she will help Walking SA to achieve its vision of seeing more people walking more often.

Website feedback survey

At Walking SA our mission is to get more people walking more often.

We are upgrading our website. We’d love to hear your feedback on the current website and other comparable websites, to assist in guiding us in determining where to focus our upgrade.

Complete the survey by 10th March 2023 for a chance to win an Osprey Siskin 12L Hydration Pack valued at $189.95 thanks to Paddy Pallin.

The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.

Read on for background, or take the survey now.

Background

The Walking SA website was developed in 2013-14. At this time, the key outcomes for the website were to provide an online presence for Walking SA, to provide basic background on the organisation, and to inspire walking activity with 20 or so popular walks showcased through the ‘Find a place to walk’ database.

Since this time, the website has grown significantly to cater for a variety of different functions. This includes:

  • an online walks database with over 780 walks
  • a repository for news items (including advocacy work and newsletter topics)
  • a walks calendar of weekly club walks and walking events (uploaded by organisers)
  • organizational information (such as board members, the constitution, contact information)
  • opportunities to support Walking SA (individual/organizational supporters and donations)
  • club-specific resources

Walking SA receives regular feedback on the quality of the website as a resource. This largely relates to the online walks database, which is viewed over 3 million times annually. Although the website is very highly valued by the walking community, the foundation programming and design was never intended to house the massive walks database, or the array of different content that now sits on the website. The gradual growth of the website, in unplanned directions, has resulted in a non-optimal structure, with background technical ‘fixes’ that work, but could be streamlined and improved significantly. In addition, many possible additions and improvements have been identified over time to enhance the user experience and improve accessibility for a wider range of users.

Read on for background, or take the survey now.

Known website upgrade needs

There are many features we know we lack on our website, or could improve:

  • Make the website Accessible for all website visitors, including for visitors with visual and other impairments.
  • Inclusion of acknowledgement on First Nations Peoples, ideally so that people can have an understanding as whose Country/Countries they are on whilst walking a trail.
  • Refreshed aesthetic – redesign the website, so that it looks better, and works better, on all devices.
  • Upgrade of some walks and trails content to include key information such as:
    • a clear starting point (extend to many more walks, currently only on the recent few hundred walks)
    • improve the number of walks and trails that include public transport directions
    • improve directions to walks to enable better understanding of how far someone needs to travel to walk a trail
  • A clear statement of who manages the trail and how to contact them (eg National Parks and Wildlife Service of SA, Forestry SA, a particular local council)
  • Resources for bushwalkers (such as safety tips packing lists for walks, and training pathways for skills like navigation)
  • Resources for ways to improve urban walkability (such as case studies and success stories on improvements in local government areas)

Employment Opportunity
Walking SA – Executive Director

Exciting opportunity to work for peak body in SA

About us

Walking SA is the peak body that leads, promotes and supports all forms of walking in South Australia, including walking for recreation, transport, health and wellbeing. We achieve this through promoting walking opportunities, events, adventure, environmental appreciation, education, training and fun experiences. Our vision is to see more people walking more often.

About the role

Walking SA is looking for an Executive Director to work with the Chair, the Board, key stakeholders, our volunteers and members to provide strategic advice, manage communications and implement strategies to support the activities of Walking SA within our Strategic Plan.

The Executive Director will represent Walking SA to the broader walking community, including the general public, all levels of government and key stakeholders.

To apply for this senior salaried position, you must be experienced in project management, and have highly developed oral and written communication skills. A proven record of writing successful grants would be beneficial. You must be able to generate workable, practical solutions, understand basic bookkeeping (knowledge of using Xero is an advantage), fundraising and marketing, be committed to a collaborative working approach; be able to operate autonomously, and have good, negotiation and liaison skills. A high level of organisational skills is essential.

Most importantly you should have an understanding of, and commitment to, the benefits and promotion of walking. A demonstrated knowledge or background in walking and the factors influencing opportunities for walking in South Australia, both recreational and for transport, would be advantageous.

This position has the potential to become full-time if additional funding is sought.

Employee benefits

We value our employees and volunteers and believe your passion and commitment will make a difference to achieving our vision. We offer:

  • Work-life balance – flexible work arrangements (some out of hours may be required).
  • Developing your career – we provide professional development opportunities.

To apply for the job please provide a cover letter addressing the criteria (max 3 pages), and your recent 2 page CV.

Salary: On Application

Office location: Adelaide

APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED

General information about Walking SA and our activities can be found at walkingsa.org.au.

2021/22 Annual Report, Walking Awards and AGM

Walking SA held its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 20th October at the Torrens Rowing Club, with an attendance of over 50 people from member clubs, organisations and supporters. We greatly appreciate the attendance and engagement with those there on the night.

Thank you to Mary-Anne Healy from the Department of Environment and Water for the presentation for our bushwalkers on trail updates and plans, including the Southern Flinders Ranges (new Gorges Walk – construction to commence in 2023 and improvements to Tapanappa Ridge Lookout), the new infrastructure along the Wild South Coast Way (those who have used it give it a big thumbs up!), and the continuing work at Kangaroo Island.

Thanks to EXURBIA The Adventure Supply Co the Lucky Door Prize, a Salewa Denali II Tent valued at $429 was won by Sharon. The Denali II is a large 2-person, 3-season, double wall dome tent for hiking and trekking.

Award Winners

We presented the awards for the annual Walking SA Walking Awards. The awards recognises and promotes the achievements and work of groups, organisations, local and state government, and volunteers in South Australia. The Awards process is an opportunity for public and peer recognition of achievements in walking, and demonstrates to volunteers, community groups, the recreation industry, business, government, and the wider community the significant and positive impact that can be achieved through improvements to walkability.

Awards were presented to three organisations and one individual, celebrating their contribution to walking in South Australia. Awards were presented by Lyn Dean, Chief Executive, Wellbeing SA, and Rod Quintrell, Walking SA Chair.

Board

Walking SA Board and AGM guests, 20 October 2022. From left-to-right: Jim McLean (obscured), John Eaton, Jeremy Carter, Rebecca Tooher, Lisa Murphy, Matt Lang, Bill Gehling, Charlotte Budenberg, guest Mary-Anne Healy from the Department of Environment and Water, Rod Quintrell, Ian Radbone, guest Lyn Dean, Chief Executive of Wellbeing SA, Daniel Osborne, Meredith Lawson, Daniel Bennett, Jinal Shah, Tuesday Udell.

Daniel OsborneWe welcome Daniel Osborne as a new Board member, having earlier taken on the role of Chair of the Walking for Transport Committee. With Daniel’s professional background as an Urban Transportation Plangineer he brings a valuable perspective to the Walking for Transport Committee. He brings a strong data driven approach to planning, design and policy development, informed by the work of globally recognised thought leaders. He has key skills in public transport infrastructure and network design, human scaled street design and spatial driven data analysis. He’s a big fan of challenging conventional wisdom.

2021/22 Annual Report

The 2021/22 Annual Report was distributed at the AGM and Helen Donovan, Executive Director of Walking SA, spoke to the report identifying a range of highlights from the past year.

Walking SA AGM 2022

Thursday 20 October 2022
AGM: 6:30pm
Trails presentation: 7pm
Followed by Walking Awards award ceremony

Torrens Rowing Club
Victoria Drive, Adelaide SA 5000

Join us to hear from our Guest Speaker Mary-Anne Healy, Director, Community and Nature Partnerships, Department for Environment and Water, who will discuss trail updates for National Parks and Wildlife Service SA (NPWSSA). Trails, camping, and future plans for NPWSSA – hear it all, direct from the source, with an opportunity to ask questions!

Thanks to EXURBIA The Adventure Supply Co we have a Lucky Door Prize, a Salewa Denali II Tent valued at $429 up for grabs. The Denali II is a large 2-person, 3-season, double wall dome tent for hiking and trekking.

Public welcome, please register for free ticket.

Torrens Rowing Club is located on Victoria Drive, just north of the Adelaide CBD, on the southern bank of the River Torrens next to the City Bridge and Jolly’s Boathouse.
Please note the venue is accessed by stairs.

Nominations for the Board

Nominations for membership of the 2022/23 Walking SA Board are invited from anyone with a passion for raising the profile of walking, improving walking environments and getting more people walking. We are particularly interested in applications from members from our walking clubs.

Please refer to the Nomination Form ( Microsoft Word, or PDF.)

Please send your completed nomination form to:
Helen Donovan, Executive Director
Walking SA
Level 4, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide SA 5000
or email office@walkingsa.org.au
by Thursday 13th October 2022.

Getting there

Please note the venue is accessed by stairs.

Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/6d5sECmBaqcLXzVj6

By bike: there are some bike racks nearby.

By public transport: 10 mins walk from the Adelaide Railway Station, or from the nearby tram stop.

By car: Use the Park Adelaide app to find street parking, displaying real-time info about available parking spaces, time limits, and parking payment. You can download the app free on Apple or Android.

Walking SA starts creating their Reconcilliation Action Plan

It has been 5 years since the launch of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – the call for a First Nations voice to parliament. Watch this short video clip from NITV’s The Point explaining what the Uluru Statement from the Heart is.

Walking SA has begun the process of creating a Reconciliation Action Plan, engaging in the Reflect stage of the framework. We welcome any feedback as we find ways to advance reconciliation. We look at walking, especially bushwalking, and see a disconnect with love of being on country and engagement with, or understanding of Indigenous culture. Should you wish to contribute, please get in touch.

It’s Reconciliation Week 2022 – Be Brave, Make Change.

The RAP Framework

The four RAP types – Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate – allow organisations to continuously develop their reconciliation commitments.

Reconciliation Australia’s RAP Framework provides organisations with a structured approach to advance reconciliation.

Each type of RAP is designed to suit an organisation at different stages of their reconciliation journey and organisations can repeat the same type of RAP if appropriate.

Reflect: Scoping capacity for reconciliation

Reflect RAPs are for 12 months and are right if your organisation is new to reconciliation and unsure how to get started.

They set out steps to prepare your organisation for reconciliation initiatives in future RAPs.

Committing to a Reflect RAP means scoping and developing relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, deciding on your vision for reconciliation and exploring your sphere of influence.

reconciliation.org.au/the-rap-framework

2020/21 Annual Report and AGM

Walking SA held its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 29th October at the Torrens Rowing Club, with an attendance of over 60 people from member clubs, organisations and supporters. We greatly appreciate the attendance and engagement with those there on the night.

We had a panel discussion on all things trails – trail building, trail maintenance, current and emerging trail projects, and how the walking community can help. Our panel included Matt Lang from National Parks and Wildlife Service SA, Rachel Godoy from Forestry SA, Chris Bushel from South Australian Recreation Trails Inc (SARTI), and Chris Davies from the Willunga Basin Trail.

Award Winners

We presented the awards for the annual Walking SA Walking Awards. The awards recognises and promotes the achievements and work of groups, organisations, local and state government, and volunteers in South Australia. The Awards process is an opportunity for public and peer recognition of achievements in walking, and demonstrates to volunteers, community groups, the recreation industry, business, government, and the wider community the significant and positive impact that can be achieved through improvements to walkability.

Awards were presented to four organisations and individuals, celebrating their contribution to walking in South Australia. Awards were presented by Lyn Dean, Chief Executive Wellbeing SA, and Tuesday Udell, Walking SA Chair.

2020/21 Annual Report

The 2020/21 Annual Report was distributed at the AGM and Jeremy Carter, Co-Chair of Walking SA, and Helen Donovan, Executive Director of Walking SA, spoke to the report identifying a range of highlights from the past year.

New Board Members

We’ve welcomed two new recruits to the Board, Meredith Lawson and Rebecca Tooher, who with their backgrounds will deepen our perspective on encouraging and supporting people to walk.

Our Treasurer, Graeme Duncan, is retiring as Treasurer and from the Board, and we thank him for his work over the past couple of years in guiding and informing our finances.

We also thank other retiring Board Members: Ben Trewren, Lorraine Thomas and Jeremy Carter, who are all focussing on their contributions in the Walking for Recreation Committee.

Walking SA AGM with Panel Discussion on Trails and Award Ceremony

Thursday 28 October
AGM: 6:30pm
Trails panel discussion: 7pm
Followed by Walking Awards award ceremony

Torrens Rowing Club
Victoria Drive, Adelaide SA 5000

Join us for a panel discussion on all things trails – trail building, trail maintenance, current and emerging trail projects, and how the walking community can help! Our panel will include representatives from National Parks and Wildlife Service SA, Forestry SA, South Australian Recreation Trails Inc (SARTI), and some of our South Australian trail-related groups.

Public welcome, please register for free ticket.

Torrens Rowing Club is located on Victoria Drive, just north of the Adelaide CBD, on the southern bank of the River Torrens next to the City Bridge and Jolly’s Boathouse.
Please note the venue is accessed by stairs.

Nominations for the Board

Nominations for membership of the 2021/22 Walking SA Board are invited from anyone with a passion for raising the profile of walking, improving walking environments and getting more people walking.

Please refer to the Nomination Form ( Microsoft Word, or PDF.)

Getting there

Please note the venue is accessed by stairs.

Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/6d5sECmBaqcLXzVj6

By bike: there are some bike racks nearby.

By public transport: 10 mins walk from the Adelaide Railway Station, or from the nearby tram stop.

By car: Use the Park Adelaide app to find street parking, displaying real-time info about available parking spaces, time limits, and parking payment. You can download the app free on Apple or Android.

Walking SA welcomes new Board Member Daniel Bennett

We’ve welcomed Daniel Bennett as our newest Board Member.

Daniel is a registered landscape architect with over 20 years’ experience asking questions, developing ideas, testing scenarios, working through them and shaping projects across all scales of strategy and design.

His expertise in understanding cities, movement, place and green infrastructure has helped shaped many projects in both the private and public sector, most recently in his role as Associate Director of Strategy and Design at the City of Adelaide, and prior to that as a Principal at Hassell.

At the City of Adelaide he developed the award winning Adelaide Design Manual, the city’s guide to creating great public spaces and streets, as well as developing c$65m of initiatives and projects delivering on the city’s Transport Strategy, Smart Move, and the Adelaide Park Lands Management Strategy.

This included the City Bikeways project (Adelaide’s first separated bike lane network), the City Laneways project and Park Lands park upgrades – all developed in partnership with the State Government.

He is currently shaping several projects across Australia – including an urban design strategy for Melbourne’s $10b Airport Rail link with Aurecon and Architectus, and an urban design and landscape strategy for the Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct with Jensen Plus.

Daniel is an active advocate within industry bodies, and is the Australian Institute of Landscape Architect’s State President in South Australia, chairs AILA’s National Advocacy Committee, is an independent member of the Premiers Climate Change Council and a past National President of AILA.

Daniel lives in the lower Adelaide Hills and is an avid bushwalker and has, amongst his achievements, walked Tasmania’s Western Arthurs and South Coast Track…packhauling at one point and determined to do it again one day.

Being naturally curious, he has a creative and innovative belief in strategy and design, and can synthesise ideas into things…he prefers to challenge defining a problem, not solving a perceived one.

Walking SA Club Presidents’ Summit, Friday November 13, 2020

Walking SA Club Presidents' Summit, Friday November 13, 2020A get together of the key people from walking clubs and organizations of South Australia was held to develop a more cohesive and relevant strategy going forward. We had nine clubs in attendance, representing over 2,600 members from around the state, however mostly Adelaide based.

The feedback seems to indicate a clear mandate to take the lead on issues and to be bolder and more coherent with our strategic vision.

There was an acknowledgement that most clubs were not seeing the benefits of stay-at-home tourists bar the bigger groups and all agreed we needed to find a way to get walkers to try out clubs. Volunteer leaders/maintenance teams were also identified as a finite resource.

The Leadership Training program has to date proven to be very popular with clubs, we still have some spots left for clubs who did not take up the offer first time around, so get in touch with the office.

Our guest speaker from National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, who was to speak on getting clubs involved in park of the month promotions had a covid scare and could not attend. The proposal was presented to group, but without a calendar of parks, no actions could be made.

The importance of walking trail development and maintaining walking trails was iterated and it was great to see so many passionate people keen to keep these assets both in place and also being established.

Generally, all agreed this was a useful get together, if not lacking some strong vision on getting more people bushwalking.

Thankyou to all who took part. We hope to build from this and link up the thinking, resources and knowledge of the greater South Australia walking community to benefit all.

The next Summit will be in six months time. We are planning a First Nations training workshop in February 2021 – details to follow when finalised.

2019/20 Annual Report and AGM

Walking SA held its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 22nd October at the Adelaide Town Hall, with a healthy attendance of over 70 people from member clubs, organisations and supporters. We greatly appreciate the attendance and engagement with those there on the night.

Our guest speaker was Sophie Thomson from ABC TV’s Gardening Australia. Sophie spoke about her love affair with the environment and gardening, and how we can use time outdoors in the environment, walking or gardening, to ground us in our mental health.

2019/20 Annual Report

The 2019/20 Annual Report was distributed at the AGM and Tuesday Udell, Chair of Walking SA, spoke to the report identifying a range of highlights from the past year.

Walking SA AGM with guest speaker Sophie Thomson

Thursday 22 October
6pm for 6:30pm start

Adelaide Town Hall, Banqueting Room
128 King William Street
Adelaide SA 5000

Public welcome. Participant numbers are limited due to COVID-19 event planning guidelines. Please register to assist us in managing our COVID-Safe event plan.

Guest Speaker Sophie Thompson

We are very pleased to announce that Sophie Thomson from ABC TV’s Gardening Australia will be joining us as our guest speaker. Sophie’s love affair with the environment and gardening was inherited from her plant loving parents whilst growing up and working at the family nursery in the Adelaide Hills.

In recent times, Sophie has mounted a successful mission to bring trees to those who lost their gardens in the bushfires in Kangaroo Island, created bee ‘hotels’ to protect existing native bees and encourage pollination, regularly advocated for saving significant trees in our environment (noting they improve our health and wellbeing and reduce the build-up and trapping of heat) AND she is an ambassador for Wild Orchid Watch! With over 35 years hands on experience, Sophie now believes that aside from the obvious environmental benefits, being in nature and gardening improves our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing as well as that of the broader community.

Sophie lives at Sophie’s Patch – a three-acre property in the Adelaide Hills, with husband Richard, five children under 18 and a menagerie of animals. Over the last eight years the Patch now includes numerous contained spaces as well as a fully productive organic vegie patch, more than 100 fruit and nut trees and what she hopes one day will be a breathtaking, climate compatible ornamental garden.

Nominations for the Board

If you wish to nominate for the Board you are encouraged to do so. Please refer to the Nomination Form ( Microsoft Word, or PDF.)

Getting there

Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/pi7odynxQHSBcGKe7

By bike: there are some bike racks outside the Town Hall on King William St, and a larger bike rack area around the corner on 25 Pirie Street outside of the City of Adelaide Customer Centre.

By public transport: the Pirie Street tram stop is outside of the Town Hall. Catch the tram from the Adelaide Railway Station, from the Entertainment Centre or from Glenelg.

By car: Use the Park Adelaide app to find street parking, displaying real-time info about available parking spaces, time limits, and parking payment. You can download the app free on Apple or Android. Multi-level paid car parking is available 4 minutes walk from the Adelaide Town Hall at UPark Topham Mall, enter from Waymouth Street (open until midnight). Also nearby is a 5 minute walk from Auto Park on Franklin, open until 10pm.

Our Coronavirus (COVID-19) response

Along with the rest of the community, Walking SA is concerned about and monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and are thinking of you, your families and friends. The safety and health of our members, volunteers, supporters, staff and the South Australian community are our first priority – we are following the advice of health experts and government.

Can you go for a walk?

7 April 2020: During COVID-19 social distancing going for a walk in your neighbourhood or a nearby national park is OK, provided you are well, not in self isolation and follow social distancing guidelines. Find a trail near you for a short walk.

Walking SA activities

Further to increasing COVID-19 restrictions, please note that all Walking SA activities have been cancelled, postponed or have taken on a non-face-to-face format until the end of June 2020 or until further notice.

Walking SA administration and support is continuing remotely but the office at Marleston is now closed until further notice.

Advice to bushwalking and outdoors clubs

The Walking SA Board advises all bushwalking and outdoors clubs to:

For the future

We look forward to everyone resuming and enjoying bushwalking and outdoor activities when it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Please get in touch if you need any additional information.

Walking Awards Presentation, 2018/19 Annual Report and AGM

Walking SA held its Walking Awards Presentation and Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 23rd October at the Jade in Flinders Street, with a healthy attendance of over 70 people from member clubs, organisations and supporters. We greatly appreciate the attendance and engagement with those there on the night.

Walking Awards Presentation

Many volunteers and others have contributed to South Australia’s great walking trails, walking clubs, and walking promotion and opportunities for health, wellbeing, recreation and tourism. In its fourth year, last night’s annual Walking Awards presentation recognised sustained and outstanding contribution to walking at all levels throughout South Australia.

Awards were presented to 12 organisations and individuals, celebrating their contribution to walking in South Australia. Awards were presented by Matt Cowdrey MP, Member for Colton, and Tuesday Udell, Walking SA Chair.

Annual General Meeting and 2018/19 Annual Report

Walking SA held its Annual General Meeting immediately before the Awards Presentation.

The 2018/19 Annual Report was distributed at the AGM and Tuesday Udell, Chair of Walking SA, spoke to the report identifying a range of highlights from the past year.

Announcing new Executive Director for Walking SA

New Executive Director for Walking SA, Helen Donovan

Walking SA is delighted to announce that Helen Donovan has been appointed as our new Executive Director. Helen has been a keen walking and cycling advocate for many years, and is passionate about behaviour change by connecting research to policy and actionable outcomes. With a good knowledge across all our focus areas of bushwalking, transport/health, she will be working to seek the best outcomes for all trail users, continuing to advocate for walkers particularly where they are disadvantaged on trails or they are unsafe in urban environments.

Guest Speaker on trails

Ben Trewren was a guest of our Q&A. He was awarded the 2018 Terry Lavender Churchill Fellowship to explore opportunities for trail destinations to attract and grow world class ‘shared-use’ interests. Having recently returned from his exploratory trip overseas, he is moving on to completing his investigation report. Ben spoke about how the key to a world-class trail seem to lie in being community initiated and led, and how every one of us owns the outdoor space, and how we might bring more people into discovering trail and outdoor experiences. We’re very much looking forward to his final report, and seeing how what he observed and learnt could be applied to South Australian trails.

Board Member Appointments

We’re delighted to appoint one new member to our Board. The range of skills and expertise complement the existing Board, and help towards the vision of representing and advocating all forms of walking including for health, transport and leisure.

  • Walking SA welcome Lorraine Thomas to the BoardLorraine Thomas
    As a keen bushwalker, Lorraine walks with and leads walks with ARPA Bushwalkers and Adelaide Bushwalkers, and will bring her enthusiasm and can-do attitude to Walking SA. She leds by example, demonstrating and encouraging others to get more involved in encouraging others to walk.

Retiring Executive Officer & Board Members

We thank the work of our retiring Executive Officer and Board Members:

  • Greg Boundy, retiring after over 4 years of service as our Executive OfficerGreg Boundy, Executive Officer
    Greg is retiring after over four years serving as our Executive Officer. Over this time the profile of Walking SA has been raised, developing a strong foundation and voice. We thank Greg for helping to direct and facilitate this growth in our voice and reach.
  • Ian Budenberg, retiring after 5 years of service on the Walking SA BoardIan Budenberg, Board Member
    Having contributed and served on our Board since 2013, Ian is retiring from the Board. Walking SA acknowledges and expresses our appreciation for the significant contribution Ian has made over the past six years of service.
  • Nola Bellenger retiring from the Walking SA BoardNola Bellenger, Board Member
    Having contributed and served on our Board over the past two years, Nola is retiring from the Board. Walking SA acknowledges and expresses our appreciation for the significant contribution Nola has made over the past two years of service.

New Executive Director for Walking SA

Walking SA is delighted to announce that Helen Donovan has been appointed as our new Executive Director. Helen will take up the role on October 29.

Helen has been a keen walking and cycling advocate for many years, and as a City of Adelaide Councillor is a strong advocate for prioritising urban planning as a means for improving health outcomes. This includes a recent success with getting the full support of all councillors for the City of Adelaide to develop a walking strategy.

With a Doctorate in Psychology (Health), she is passionate about behaviour change by connecting research to policy and actionable outcomes. In her work with Heart Foundation Walking she was involved in the rollout and evaluation of state-wide health behaviour change programs to increase physical activity participation across all 79 local government areas in Victoria.

With a good knowledge across all our focus areas of bushwalking, transport/health, she will be working to seek the best outcomes for all trail users, continuing to advocate for walkers particularly where they are disadvantaged on trails or they are unsafe in urban environments.

With an extensive career in project and program management for large national and state-wide organisations she will be a valuable asset in liaising with a range of stakeholders.

Helen started her career in the army reserves, and has worked with the organisation Trojans Trek, which conducts wilderness based interventions which reconstructs the psychological health and well being of service and ex service personnel.

Her passion in enabling physical activity in South Australia will help Walking SA to achieve its vision of seeing more people walking more often.