"The walking groups are attached to an existing community centre or group that has the ongoing ability to support and promote the group when the project officer leaves" – Vanessa Tredwin, project officer

When two local councils in Melbourne’s west started thinking about a program that could promote health through low-cost physical activity, they couldn’t go past walking.

And so the seeds for Walking Out West were sown. Five walking groups make up Walking Out West. There are two mums’ groups, a seniors’ group, a men’s-only walking group, and a Macedonian women’s group. Up to 20 people walk every week in each group and there are 450 walkers registered on the database.

Behind the successful idea are Melton Shire and Brimbank Councils, who got together with Brimbank Melton Primary Care Partnership to make physical activity a priority across the two municipalities.

Once they had decided to focus on walking, they successfully applied for a VicHealth Active Participation Grant. Careful project planning for the 12 months of funding became an
important part of ensuring success.

Vanessa Tredwin, Project Officer for Walking Out West, realised that a steering group was required to build on the initial planning work. “A group was set up very early on in the project to plan exactly how we would proceed. We kept the group small and focused on developing an action plan for the life of the project.”

The group, consisting of representatives from the Shire of Melton, Brimbank City Council, Melton-Brimbank Primary Care Partnership and Djerriwarrh Health Services, meets every month.

They are supported by a project officer who is funded for 15 hours a week to coordinate the project. The remainder of the VicHealth funding has been used to train volunteers in first-aid, help groups with set-up costs and promote the walking programs.

Although the steering group is small, each of the members feeds information out to other agencies, including maternal and child health care, ISIS Primary Care, neighbourhood houses and the Western Melbourne Division of General Practice at two local networking groups. Vanessa says that the links between the steering group and other agencies are two-way: information can also be fed from these agencies back into the project planning.

“Liaising with partner agencies at the steering group and networking meetings has been vital as agencies can often promote walking groups directly to their clients, or suggest other links or ways of promoting the project.”

For example, during the first year of Walking Out West the project team built up a very effective relationship with the maternal and child health care nurses who promote the mums’ walking group to most first-time mothers in the area.

It has also been important to link walking groups with existing local community groups. In this case, the mums’ group is run and promoted by volunteers from the Mothers’ Network who already distributed a newsletter to over 500 mums in the area.

When Walking Out West was first developed, project partners hoped that as well as increasing awareness of the benefits of leading a healthier lifestyle, the program might also bring the community closer together.

According to Beryl Montgomery, aged 70, Walking Out West has achieved this. “I do like walking,” Beryl says. “I’ve been involved since it started and I feel like my fitness has improved. I know a lot of women my age who wouldn’t go out walking by themselves. Having the company makes me feel safe. I think a lot of people do it for more than just the physical benefits – it’s good for the social side too.”

Her cousin Dot Perry, aged 58, is also involved. “I’ve had two hip replacements in the past five years and wanted to do a little bit of gentle exercise. We walk around the local park – about 2.5km – and it’s good to think I can walk that far,” says Dot, a retired bank officer who admits to having lost touch with people from her working life. Fronting up for her weekly walk is also “a good way of getting back into the community”.

Part of the steering group’s emphasis on effective project planning for Walking Out West has included thinking about what happens beyond the life of VicHealth’s funding grant, which was recently extended for a further 12 months.

“We have tried to make sure that all our walking groups are attached to an existing community centre or group that has the ongoing ability to support and promote the group when the project officer leaves,” says Vanessa Tredwin.

For the walkers, the links to these local community facilities have been a great bonus. Although the physical health benefits from the 45-minute long walk were initially the main focus for Beryl, Dot and their fellow walkers, it is the post-exercise catchup over biscuits and a cuppa in the local elderly citizens hall that has become just as rewarding as working up a sweat.

As Dot says, “It’s nice just to have a bit of a chat”.

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  Go west (and walk) 

Need more info?

Contact the Social Development Unit at Melton Shire Council, phone (03) 9747 7200.

Keys to good program planning

• Set up a well-connected steering group to develop
  your project
• Keep the steering group small and action-focused
• Use partner agencies to promote activities
• Make links with existing community facilities and groups
• Ensure the project fits within broader community
  priorities