Everyone who enjoys a good walk, particularly those who discovered a love of walking because of the pandemic, are being asked to snap and share their journeys during Queensland’s Walk Week to help improve local walking environments.
Queensland Walks’ Walk Week, the free community celebration of walking which runs from August 17 – 23, is inviting individuals or groups to register and post a daily photo, video or audio recording to be eligible to win prizes, including a catered lunch for your team or group or individual vouchers. One way to be eligible to win a prize is to use Snap Send Solve, the free app that notifies local authorities of issues that may need addressing.
Queensland Walk Week is hosted by community advocacy group Queensland Walks, who exists to improve the health of Queenslanders by encouraging walking every day and promoting better walking environments.
Queensland Walks Executive Officer, Anna Campbell, said Queensland Walk Week shines a spotlight on why walking provides enormous physical and mental health benefits to Queenslanders and encourages everyone to get involved.
“Queenslanders have always appreciated a good walk but the pandemic prompted an enormous increase in walking as people used this free and fun way to stay active with their friends and families and support their physical and mental wellbeing during lockdown which has increased pressure on local authorities to prioritise walking infrastructure,” Anna said
“Walk Week promotes the value of walking for the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders and recognises the importance of making walking safe and accessible for all ages and abilities in local neighbourhoods,”.
“We encourage those who walk alone, those who walk in groups, those who walk to work, those who walk to school, those who walk for social or health reasons, and everyone who appreciates the benefits of a good walk, to register for Queensland Walk Week and share their local walking experiences.
“By bringing the walking community together we can improve the conditions and profile of walking in Queensland, identify the value and importance of walking and create more walkable places which will mean more Queenslanders walking!”
Natasha Jackson from Team “Happy Feet”, said of Walk Week:
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a whole year since our team Happy Feet participated in the ‘Walk at Work Week’ that was run by Queensland Walks!
We had such a great time last year coming together as a team and exploring some of the walks available to us in and around our workplace.
It gave us an opportunity every day to take a break from the office, warm up in the sunshine and get the blood pumping. The icing on the top of the week was winning the catered lunch! We enjoyed lunch out at a local Tavern with delicious food, beautiful weather and of course good company.
This year, I am taking part in Walk Week which will look very different with many people from the office still working remotely due to Covid-19. So instead of doing team walks, I will be encouraging as many people as I can to take this opportunity to take a break from their remote offices and explore places in your own neighbourhood that they wouldn’t normally visit.
I’ve pencilled it into my calendar, cleaned off my walking boots and am thinking of what interesting places that I can take this opportunity to visit.
People can register for Queensland Walk Week at queenslandwalks.org.au
Queensland Walk Week is hosted by Queensland Walks, and supported by the Queensland Government, 10,000 Steps and Heart Foundation Walking.
