Introducing: Ritwik Swain

Maroochydore

Do you know the Aboriginal name of this location? Please share
Maroochydore is derived from the Gaabi Gaabi name…

Do you mostly: Walk, run, roll or stroll?
Walk

What is your favourite thing about walking?
No equipment needed although a good pair of shoes is really helpful. I like the social aspect of it too, in that you can interact with other people as you walk.

What is your favourite place to walk?
I like walking in tree-lined shopping streets

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
Good for health and for the bank balance

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?
Being able to easily, safely, and happily walk in a neighbourhood means a neighbourhood that is more social, and conducive to building community. I hate places that makes us travel in metal cages only.

Have the places where, and how you walk, run, roll or stroll changed over the years? How?
I have often moved city and country. When I moved to Brisbane, I noticed that hills were plentiful and quite steep. The shoes I used to wear in the Netherlands simply couldn’t cope with the hills, and so I bought a pair of hush puppies that were amazingly comfortable and had superior grip.

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?
I would make at least 10 percent of all transport spending go towards walking infrastructure specifically

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
wide and flat surfaces, well protected by cars. Shade from trees.

Available for media?
Yes

Follow me on Instagram: @rity_rocks

Introducing: Elisha Matthews

Hamilton

Do you know the Aboriginal name of this location? Please share
Meanjin

Do you mostly: walk, run, roll or stroll?
Roll

What is your favourite thing about walking?
Meeting people in my neighbourhood and getting a dose of vitamin D.

What is your favourite place to walk?
Along the Brisbane River

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
Reducing my carbon footprint and getting around.

Do you participate in a walking, running, rolling or strolling program or initiative (e.g. 10,000 Steps)? Tell us!
No

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?
Connectivity with my community. Participation in society. Being able to get to the places I need to go.

Have the places where, and how you walk, run, roll or stroll changed over the years? How?
There have been many improvements with new wider paths and shade. There has also been an increase in challenges with escooters and hireable parking.

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?
An education campaign about accessibility. Accessibility benefits everyone. People with disability, prams, elderly, people with temporary injuries, deliveries and all pedestrian safety. This would reduce the amount of human created obstacles.

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
Wide paths with spaces to stop and rest in the shade or shelter in the rain. Connectivity that allows me to keep moving if a path is temporarily blocked or closed.

Available for media?
Yes

Follow me on Twitter & TikTok: @MsFridayology

Anything else you’d like to add?
Access benefits everyone!

Introducing: Ben Wilson

West End / Sunshine Coast

Do you know the Aboriginal name of this location? Please share
Kurilpa

Do you mostly: walk, run, roll or stroll?
I do everything I can.

What is your favourite thing about walking?
Oldest form of travel that links you with time and place. Plus my dog loves it.

What is your favourite place to walk?
Urban, beach and mountains!

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
Climate, enjoyment, and sustainable.

Do you participate in a walking, running, rolling or strolling program or initiative (e.g. 10,000 Steps)? Tell us!
Do my steps, walk and run with the dog and occasional park runs

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?
Everything- it’s critical to a decent liveable place

Have the places where, and how you walk, run, roll or stroll changed over the years? How?
Yes – busier so more motorised traffic and less sensible public transport. ( i remember trams!) But good news is bikeways and walkways.

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?
Make walking a right, as it should be, in road design to be equitable and pleasant.

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
Wide paths, equitable priority at intersections in busy urban areas and regular shade opportunities.

Available for media?
Yes

Introducing: Olive King

Ripley, Queensland

Do you mostly walk, run, roll or stroll?
I do everything I can.

What is your favourite thing about walking?
My favourite thing about walking is the friendships that I have made. Nothing nicer than to walk and talk, actually sometimes I walk and just listen, which is great. Its so satisfying to walk and know that you have made a difference to someone’s day.

What is your favourite place to walk?
I love to walk a 10km loop around Brisbane City taking in the sights of South Bank, Kangaroo Cliffs, The Story Bridge, Eagle Street and Queen Street Mall. There’s always something interesting to see and is just beautiful.

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
We have so many wonderful places to walk – wetlands, esplanades, along the Brisbane river, over the Bridges, (nothing better than watching planes come in while walking over the Gateway bridge), and there is plenty of bushland and mountains offering trails.

Do you participate in a walking, running, rolling or strolling program or initiative (e.g. 10,000 Steps)? Tell us!
Love the motivation that Queensland Walks offers. Im taking part in Fly into July which is counting steps for the month of July.. I have completed 230 parkruns in 79 locations and have completed 215 fun runs. I have virtually walked around Australia, New Zealand and am now going around USA.

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?
I am new to my neighbourhood and am loving exploring it by walking. Finding out where the kangaroos are living and enjoying the sunrises and sunsets along with the street names and parks.

Have the places where, and how you walk, run, roll or stroll changed over the years? How?
The changes I have noticed while walking is that there are a lot more trails open to walk, cycle/walking paths and the development happening is huge.

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?
Through the councils I would promote parkrun as you can walk or run, they are 5km, timed and free.
I would love to see councils start walking groups in their areas as the majority of people are not keen to walk alone. This would help with fitness and weight loss and also mental health. With the use of social media this would be an easy task.

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
Being a mature age walker I prefer to stick to paths but love walking with the grandkids around the area and finding parks for them to play at. Taking a pathed shortcut to see where we come out is always fun.

Available for media? Yes!

Follow me on Facebook: Keep Active Brisbane

Anything else you’d like to add?
Can you tell that I love anything walking and running.

Introducing: Craig Barrett

Point Vernon, Qld.

Do you mostly walk, run, roll or stroll:
I do everything I can.

What is your favourite thing about walking?
Walking is life. Walking is to live. It is primal, so basic that it is the primary form of locomotion for our species. And yet it is also sophisticated. To wander, to promenade, is the apotheosis of a civilised society! To walk is to be present; moving, but slowly enough to notice things, and to stop if you want. To be with those you love, hold hands, steal a hug, to smile and they smile back. When I walk with my children, I get to see the world through their eyes and delight in their delight. We find secret paths that most people will never know of, and revel in the deliciousness of our discovery. We talk to people and pat their dogs, and turn our faces towards the sun. I love the crunch of gravel, dirt and stones, under foot, and the smell of trees. And I love walking in cities! At least cities that aren’t dominated by cars. The bustle and energy are infectious. These are some of my favourite things about walking.

What is your favourite place to walk?
Our neighbourhood in Point Vernon. We get to walk through forests, along the beach, up and down winding tracks, and under enormous gum trees. Most days there aren’t many people driving cars, and if they do they’re usually driving slowly, so we feel safe and we get to hear nature, which is important.

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
As I get older, I want to walk more. When I walk I feel like time expands. And there’s so much to see! Not the big things, but all the little things, the myriad details that are so often missed.

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?
All of the above 🙂

Have the places where, and how you walk, run, roll or stroll changed over the years? How?
I moved to Point Vernon with my family eight years ago. The local council has built some shared paths over that time, which are great. The shared path along the Esplanade was built in 1989, so its quite old. Overall, not much has changed where we live, which is great, because it’s quiet and peaceful as it is. Other parts of Point Vernon are being developed and car traffic is increasing substantially. Unfortunately, we have to avoid those places, because they’re not very nice to walk in and crossing roads is unpleasant if not dangerous.

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?
Where to start? I would reduce the speed limit of all local streets to 30km/h and arterial roads to a maximum of 50km/h and make speed limiters on cars mandatory. The best active travel plan is the car plan! By quickly reducing car speeds all our neighbourhoods and cities will be nicer and safer to walk in. By fitting speed limiters (you know, like e-scooters!) we can overcome the enormous logistic difficulty of redesigning our roads, which would be more expensive than fitting speed limiters (the government could help with the cost of retrofitting existing cars, but for all new cars the expense would be on the car manufacturer and purchaser). But bear in mind this would only be the first thing – there would be many other changes 🙂

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
Safe.

This is a photo of my two children. We’re walking to the school bus stop. The view is at the end of Spence Street, looking out over Gataker’s Bay.

Available for media?
Yes

Follow me on: Twitter
@safestreetsfrasercoast

Introducing: Luisina Perassi

Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Qld.

Do you mostly: walk, run, roll or stroll?
Walk

What is your favourite thing about walking?
My favourite thing is that walking is like therapy for me. When I do it in a good environment, walking helps me think clearly. Sometimes when I’m struggling to be creative or can’t focus, I just go for a walk. And I can say that my best ideas come to me when I’m walking, even without thinking about it.

What is your favourite place to walk?
I love walking in the city. But if the city is not designed in a way that encourage walking and cycling, the experience of walking could be very unpleasant.
My ideal place to walk is a city that offer a great urban experience for people, with a good quality-built environment. A good mix of nature, urban design, detail at the eye level, access to reliable and well connected public transport and low speed on the road. I love walking and being surprised by small details like flowers, public art, colours, and find diversity of buildings, uses and activities on the way.

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
To answer this question I have to talk a little about myself. I don’t know how to drive a car and I CHOOSE not to drive a car. I’m an architect and urban planner and my passion is to help transform cities into better places for people.
I firmly believe that walking and cycling are essential to create inclusive, healthy, happy, and kind cities (to the planet and to ourselves). So that is what (in a very short answer) inspires me to walk more.

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?
Having freedom of movement around the city is a human right. We should all be able to walk, run, roll and stroll in our local area, and have the same opportunities regardless of age or physical ability.
The key is to have the right conditions to feel safe and enjoy walking. Having a safe and pleasant walking environment in your local area will encourage people to be more active while also fostering social interaction and sense of community, helping to create stronger and more resilient communities.

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?
I would make sure that everyone has access to a good quality and accessible footpath network. I would give people reasons to walk in their neighbourhood, such as good quality public spaces and diversity of uses and make sure they can access all their daily needs within a walkable or cyclable distance.
I would also encourage the community (including developers) to help to create a better urban environment through small but powerful actions such as adding greenery and flowers in front of their houses, tactical urbanism interventions and organising temporal events that promote walkability such as Open Streets or Play Streets. I would involved the community in the city-making and design process, focusing on young people.

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
As I mentioned before, the best walking conditions for me are a good quality-built environment, good mix of nature and urban design, detail at the eye level and low speed on the road.
The weather on the Gold Coast is perfect for walking all year round, although I believe streets need to be greener to provide shade during summer and make the experience of walking more pleasant.
As a young woman, one of the biggest challenges that I face as a pedestrian and is safety. Even though Australia is extremely safer than Argentina, my home country, sometimes I don’t feel safe or enjoy my journey when walking at night in some areas of the city.

Do you have a tagline or social media account you would like to share?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisinaperassi/

Anything else you’d like to add?
About me:
I’m originally from Argentina. I moved to Australia in November 2019 and I’ve been living on the Gold Coast since then. As I mentioned, I’m a passionate architect and urban planner. I’ve been involved in urban projects in Argentina, The Netherlands, Israel and Australia and all these projects have a common goal: to create a more equitable, healthy and sustainable urban future for all.
In 2019, in Argentina, I started a project with El Desafio Foundation (ARG-NED) to give young people a voice in the decision-making process and involve them in the design of the city. A year later, in Australia I started my own project called “Cities by kids”.
I’m currently a transport planner for the Gold Coast City Transport Strategy 2041, City of Gold Coast. In this role, I lead youth engagement programs to give local young people the opportunity to express their ideas and aspirations on how they want the city to be shaped in the future. I believe that including young people in the city-making process is key to creating more human cities with resilient and strong communities.

I’m curious about: People-focused design l Mobility | Community engagement | Social change l Public spaces for women and girls

Introducing: Nicole Voevodin-Cash

Sunshine Coast, Qld.

Hi, I’m Nicole Voevodin-Cash, I’m an Artist and use walking as a means to create artworks. Oh and it makes me feel good.

I am walking on Kabi Kabi Country, the Sunny Coast, and happy to walk beach, bush, urban and all terrain.

Do you mostly: walk, run, roll or stroll?

I sometimes stroll especially if it is with my daughter and daughter-in-law as they push their prams with my new grand babies.

However I am a walker because it is mesmerising to put one foot in front of the other to quickly  find yourself in another place. Alway mindful of where you step, take in what you see, capture it by using a LANDscanner [digital frottage] I especially love to document what you don’t always see, through touching the landscape and its textures.

What is your favourite thing about walking?
My favourite thing is that walking is like therapy for me. When I do it in a good environment, walking helps me think clearly. Sometimes when I’m struggling to be creative or can’t focus, I just go for a walk. And I can say that my best ideas come to me when I’m walking, even without thinking about it.

What is your favourite place to walk?

My favourite thing about walking is that it calms me, slows me down, grounds me so I can start to tap into myself, how I Walk, move, engage and be present. The embodied experience of walking is really intriguing, especially when I use my drawing machine – a Billycan that’s fitted out with a weighted pen over paper that draws and captures my every move. Resulting in beautiful simple renditions of my experience on that day as a drawing.

I do love to walk on the beach, early morning to greet the day, though I am happy walking just about anywhere, except heights!!!

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
Making art when I walk inspires me, keeps me focused on something other than my troubles, which is one of the reasons why I started walking. I actually have my own 10,000 steps program that is inspired by drawing…I ask myself what does 10,000 steps, 1,200, or 50 look like? Then I go out and I use my MADE [Many Adventure Directly Experienced] Walking app and it shows me every time I use it, what all the steps look like. Never once the same, similar but different because it draws from your engagement, your swaying, moving and gait.

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?

Making art when I walk inspires me, keeps me focused on something other than my troubles, which is one of the reasons why I started walking. I actually have my own 10,000 steps program that is inspired by drawing…I ask myself what does 10,000 steps, 1,200, or 50 look like? Then I go out and I use my MADE [Many Adventure Directly Experienced] Walking app and it shows me every time I use it, what all the steps look like. Never once the same, similar but different because it draws from your engagement, your swaying, moving and gait.

I want to do bigger and longer walks but no, Walking hasn’t changed for me it is still my happy place and now a focus of my art making.

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
I am so lucky where I live in Mudjimba, on the Sunshine Coast because it is a real pedestrian friendly place, people walk everywhere because they all walk to the beach. If I could I would put a walk from one end of the coast to the other and through the hinterland and back so there was a loop and spots you could get off and on as you pleased. I love the idea of democratising the landscape so all can experience its beauty not just those that can afford to buy it.

Do you have a tagline or social media account you would like to share?
voevodincash.wordpress.com

Introducing: Michael Pugh

Introducing: Jo Piggott

What suburb do you live in?

Redlynch

Do you know the Aboriginal name of this location? Please share

Jungara

Do you mostly walk, run, roll or stroll?

I do everything I can.

What is your favourite thing about walking?

Walking opens up so many opportunities for everyone. Whether we walk our dog daily, walk with family, walk and talk with our friends or go on adventure hikes
Walking takes us everywhere!

What is your favourite place to walk?

I love walking in my neighbourhood. I walk in the rainforest, through canefields and along our cycle paths.

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?

Cairns and the surrounding areas offers so many wonderful places to connect and walk in nature. We are spoilt for choice living in such a magical part of Australia, QLD.

Do you participate in a walking, running, rolling or strolling program or initiative (e.g. 10,000 Steps)? Tell us!

I created a women’s Walk + Talk group in 2019. It commenced with one walk per week sometimes with only my self. We now have over 850 members with 6 walks per week. We fundraise for local not for profits, enjoy social outings, hikes and retreats. Your tribe has given women a safe healthy supportive community through walking and talking.

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?

My daily walks set me up for a better day.
They help build my mental + physical fitness. Walking connects me to my community and has allowed me to share my energy and love for walking to support and care for the well being of others in my community

Have the places where, and how you walk, run, roll or stroll changed over the years? How?

Yes the places I have walked in Cairns have changed. Once I walked along rainforest trails, which I still do however our council has been proactive with building accessible bike, walk paths for all abilities to enjoy

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?

I would love to inspire, connect and empower more women and men to get off the couch and get into walking whether it be along a path or exploring the trails. Walking is and can be for everyone.
Lao Tri said it best “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”. I love encouraging and supporting that first step for a positive body mind and soul through walking and talking with ‘Your Tribe’. I have seen the positive benefits for our members and will continue to grow and support the empowerment of women in our Tribe

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:

Walking to see a sunrise. Walking to see the sunset. We love to walk along the creek through the rainforest, through the canefields with our dogs

Please describe the photo and the location where the photo is taken.
This photo was taken on the first retreat I organised in 2021 for Your Tribe. We travelled to Magnetic Island to walk 20km’s in the Great Island Trek.
20 ladies ventured from Cairns to Magnetic Island for 3 nights.

Would your be interested in doing any media?

Yes.

Do you have a tagline or social media account you would like to share?

Your Tribe #positivebodymindsoul

Introducing: Spencer Robinson

Main location of your walking
Logan Village, Yarrabilba, Mt Tamborine

Do you know the Aboriginal name of this location? 
Yuggera Country, Yarrabilba – place of song Yugambeh langauge

Do you mostly: walk, run, roll or stroll?
A bit of all, but I mostly Plog*. Unfortunately, I can’t walk, run, roll or stroll without feeling the need to pick up the ever increasing road side rubbish.

*What is plogging? 

According to Wikipedia ‘Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter (merging the Swedish verbs plocka upp (pick up) and jogga (jog) gives the new Swedish verb plogga, from which the word plogging derives).It started as an organized activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running, hiking, or walking. An estimated 2,000,000 people plog daily in 100 countries and some plogging events have attracted over 3,000,000 participants.’

What is your favourite thing about walking?
Exercising.

What is your favourite place to walk?
At the moment it is Mt Tamborine, but I’m sure we’ll find a new favourite next week.

What inspires you to walk, or walk more in Queensland?
Discovering and exploring new places at a slower pace.

Do you participate in a walking, running, rolling or strolling program or initiative (e.g. 10,000 Steps)? Tell us!
I’ve done over 160 parkruns, majority at Yarrabilba and volunteered there 127 times, thankfully our event team allow me to plog our course every Saturday.
I also have a small group of like minded PLOGGERS, who THINK GLOBALLY AND ACT LOCALLY. With pride in our community.

What does it mean to you to be able to walk, run, roll or stroll in your neighbourhood?
I would like to say it fills me with pride and joy, but it depends on how much rubbish I see on my walk…

Have the places where, and how you walk, run, roll or stroll changed over the years? How?
The development of Yarrabilba has increased road traffic to rural roads surrounding the estate. There has been no plan to make these semi rural roads walker friendly. A high sense of awareness is needed when venturing out for a walk/plog. Certainly not a place I would take my grand kids for a stroll.

If you were an elected leader, what would be the first thing you would do for walking in Queensland. Where, why, and how will this make a difference?
Definitely a “PLOGGER TAX” on all fast food to be put toward cleaning up the road side rubbish….the fact it will make fast food more expensive is a good thing.

Describe the best conditions for walking for you and your family:
Safe
Clean
Comfortable

Available for media? Yes

Introducing: Julia Austin

Blog: Hello from Brisbane Walkers!

We’ve kicked off Walk Month 2 days early, so keen were we to show our support for this great initiative.

On Saturday, we headed to Arundel (Gold Coast) to spot koalas and wallabies. We only saw 1 koala this time (maybe in winter they’re more huddled inside the bush) but last time we saw six. This sole koala was not far from the entrance to the park so it kinda looked like it had been given the job by the other 149 koalas in the park –  ‘your job today, Kenny Koala, for the tourists to take photos and stare at you!’ ‘Well, OK!’

We saw many wallabies and a few kangaroos too. How amazing to see these gorgeous animals in the wild – but only possible if you get out and about, and walk into the Coombabah Lakelands Conservation Area.

We walked for about 8kms, slowly for us, as we usually walk at a stride but koalas are hard to spot unless looking directly up all the time.

On Sunday, we walked at a stride from Brisbane Portside, along the river at evening to Mary Mae’s Bar and Kitchen. It’s about 5kms. The river, as the sun sets, is particularly beautiful. Once at Mary Mae’s, we rested over a drink and chips (yep!) and then headed back for another 5kms. Walking back at night is wonderful when the sky is clear, and it was a great way to walk off those chips. I got home in time to relax while watching TV.

Walking is one of my passions and I strongly believe it’s the best exercise – for anyone – any size.

In a group, like Brisbane Walkers, you get the chance to have a chat with some wonderful people of all ages, get your exercise (some walks really stretch your fitness level) and engage with nature.

So, c’mon, get out of your comfort zone and get to know and see the wonders of South East Queensland, while walking.

Julia Austin

Brisbane Walkers organiser 

Introducing: