Canberra Walking Meetup
Group Basics
This Meetup group is for people interested in improving their health by putting one foot in front of the other and to be sociable whilst walking.
Walking events are the core of the group’s activities. These events are organised by a combination of the Leadership Team and Event Hosts - ordinary group members who volunteer to lead walks they know and enjoy with the rest of the group. Walks will vary from a few kilometres or about an hour, through to longer walks that might take all day.
Walking events are free of charge. That said, at some events shared transport will be organised, and it would then be appropriate to contribute to your driver’s vehicle operating expenses and any other specific costs associated with your travel. Where accommodation or other services are arranged, you will be expected to pay your share of the costs for these.
Walkers may organise a post walk social activity, typically a light refreshment, separate from and after a walking event. All walkers who attend an event are welcome to join in such post-walk activities, but they are entirely optional.
Non-walking events can be held occasionally during the year.
Walkers who are keen to extend social contacts made walking with the group will find that there is a range of other Meetup groups here in Canberra in which to do that, or they can set up their own Meetup group.
We generally walk in the ACT and nearby NSW. Organisers may propose events further afield, and will have plans for getting group members to and from the event location that might include using local accommodation or camping.
Most walks use established walking tracks and management trails, such as those managed by the ACT Government as part of Namadgi National Park, Tidbinbilla, Canberra Nature Park and the urban parks across Canberra. Event listings will indicate if the organiser intends to do otherwise.
The Leadership Team is a small, voluntary team that assists Lorina, the group’s founder and organiser in achieving the group’s purpose. They do this by setting up walking events they will host, and by helping ordinary members list walks they want to share with others.
The group co-organiser, currently Doug Fitzgerald, has practical control of day-to-day management of the group, and can assist you with any queries or concerns you wish to raise about the running of the group.
Any member of the leadership team can help ordinary group members set up an event by listing it in the calendar.
There is a slide deck showing how to contact the Leadership Team members and Event Hosts at this link.
Most events are open to all group members. It is normally up to you to determine if you have the required fitness, endurance or stamina to participate. Event hosts know to expect that members will have a wide range of walking ability, and will make adjustments to ensure that all who attend have a good, safe experience, even if it might sometimes be challenging or demanding.
In some special cases, such as much longer and more arduous walks and/or where there are significant logistical arrangements needed to get to the start point, organisers might want to confirm you are going to be sufficiently well prepared before putting you on the attending list.
Event hosts understand that there are sometimes circumstances that prevent a walker arriving before the advertised start time. Unless an event is listed as beginning at a specific time ‘sharp’, event hosts will normally wait for up to 10 minutes for late comers. Where an event is listed as beginning at a specific time ‘sharp’, the event host need not wait beyond that time to start the event. You definitely need to arrive a few minutes before the advertised start time in that case.
If you RSVP for an event, and do not turn up, the event host will move you from the ‘Went’ list to the ‘Didn’t go’ and, at their discretion, flag you as a ‘No Show’. Event hosts have no obligation to wait at the start of an event should a walker with a history of ‘No Shows’ be late arriving. (Tip: change your RSVP promptly if you do decide not to attend an event, or message the event host with an explanation - most are sympathetic, at least once or twice!)
Any group member can be an Event Host. You will need to contact one of the Leadership Team and provide them with:
The Leadership Team member you contact will then set up the event page for you, normally listing themselves as a co-host. You will then be able to add and edit the event listing, and then conduct the event.
Note that the Leadership Team is still working through some of the fine details on this, so be prepared to work with us as we develop our own understanding of what is involved in making this happen for you.
The Leadership Team is committed to protecting group members from inappropriate behaviour, and we will support group members in such matters. If you are made to feel uncomfortable by the actions of another group member, let the management team know, or report the matter directly to Meetup. You don't have to tolerate bad behaviour, and we will do our best to ensure that you are safe as a member of the Canberra Walking Meetup Group.
Meetup provides substantial security measures designed to protect your privacy when you are using the Meetup website and apps. This includes all the functionality normally needed to list and coordinate the running of an event. However, some peripheral matters, such as arranging for transport to an event, might see the exchange of telephone numbers. Contact made this way cannot be protected by Meetup.
If you have a concern about the conduct of an event, you should raise that with the Event Host in the first instance. If the Event Host cannot or does not resolve your concern, or for some reason you need support to raise a particular matter, you can raise the matter with a Co-organiser, and ultimately the Organiser.
Matters that are brought to the attention of the Leadership Team will be acted on - you cannot ask that they are treated on a ‘just between you and me’ basis. That said, you can ask that your identity not be revealed, and members of the Leadership Team will do so to the point where further resolution cannot be progressed on the basis of an anonymous complaint. This will be discussed with you before further resolution is attempted.
As a member of Meetup, you have agreed to its Terms of Service, which contains in Section 6 a release by the member of organizers for any liability related to a group or event.
The group does not have public liability insurance separate from these arrangements between you and Meetup. Noting that, event listings will include a reminder and acknowledgement about this, and for some events you will be asked to release event hosts from liability related to the event.