Connecting Communities during National Volunteer Week

The Track is associated with many communities. We have different groups of people involved – walkers, supporters, volunteers – and of course the local communities, the towns with an intrinsic relationship with the Track.

National Volunteer Week this year (May 19-25) acknowledges the connection within and between communities – the impact of volunteers on communities and the engagement with community fostered by being a volunteer.

We’ll be thanking all volunteers during National Volunteer Week. It’s tricky to do this meaningfully – our volunteers and the communities they impact are geographically widespread. Media coverage will therefore be a focus – so keep an eye on your social and print media, and an ear on local radio!

For those who can make it, though, we’re holding a social bowls evening on May 23 – and it’s open to all!

We’ll be connecting our community of walkers, supporters AND volunteers – so encourage you to come.

** Event regretfully cancelled **

National Volunteer Week is coordinated annually by Volunteering Australia and promoted locally by Volunteering WA. We are very grateful for the support of our celebrations by Lotterywest, through a grant provided by Volunteering WA.

Our volunteers have an appreciable impact on Bibbulmun Track communities.

For example:

• Volunteer maintenance necessary to keep the Track functional for the walking community – over 20,000 volunteer hours per annum. Each maintenance section is inspected and worked on periodically to give walkers the best possible experience. Problem areas are resolved by the maintenance support volunteers through remediation, realignment and reconstruction.
• Information, advice and introductory experiences are provided to walkers, by our office volunteers and guides via innumerable conversations, phone and email communications, our trip planning service and walk events.
• Ongoing connection of you (our supporter through membership) with our activities is facilitated through this magazine, which includes volunteer involvement to produce.
• The management of our volunteer network is supported by volunteers, through communications, the processing of timesheets and maintenance reports, and assistance in the office.
• Awareness of what the Track can offer (for recreation and nature-based experiences; physical, social and mental well-being) is enhanced among the broader community by the contribution of our brochure distribution, community events and marketing volunteers; getting the message out.
• Track towns are beneficially impacted by the presence and ongoing reputation of the Track as a world-class trail – which would not be the case without the volunteer contributions. Accommodation providers, supermarkets, eateries and other businesses benefit. Even passing through a town, walkers contribute to social and cultural diversity.

Participation and contribution as a volunteer can also foster community engagement, connection and belonging.

• Volunteers often cite ‘giving back’ as one of their main motivations. The knowledge that they are making a difference in other lives should give great satisfaction and sense of connection. This feedback is direct and personal for volunteers in a position to interact with walkers – via office work, on events, or out on the Track – and indirect for those working in isolation.
• A sense of connection and fellowship with other volunteers is similarly promoted through shared purpose.
• In regional towns, the role of volunteering in provision of services and facilities often creates community networks not found to the same degree in the metropolitan area. However, it must be acknowledged that work on – or for – the Track is associated with their local (residential) community for only a minority of our volunteers. A couple of years ago, I did some stats and found out that approximately 70% of our volunteers live in the Perth-Peel metropolitan area, 15% in the Southwest (mostly centres away from the Track, like Bunbury and Busselton), and 15% in the Great Southern.
• For most of our volunteers – based in the metropolitan area and working somewhere along the full length of the Track – their engagement with the Track promotes activity and relationships in regional communities which might not otherwise occur.