Leading Walks for The Bush Club

The popularity and success of The Bush Club is due overwhelmingly to our leaders. They enjoy the outdoors, take pleasure in being active, and have a passion for those special places and sharing them with others. Why don’t you consider leading walks for The Bush Club? In this way, you too can help the Club by providing more opportunities for our members, and at the same time find it very rewarding personally.

The Bush Club has no prerequisites or tests for leaders. Our leaders are keen and interested members who are enthusiastic about the outdoors, and motivated to help other members enjoy the same opportunities. Initially, most leaders generally base their approach on their own experiences, and from observing other leaders. For easy urban walks, the need for any special skills is minimal, and this is a good way to start. As you develop as a leader, so will your skills, but it is important to remember that to be an effective leader, you do not need to excel in all the desirable skills and attributes – it is your own style and unique set of skills that gives you your identity as a leader. However, most leaders continue to improve by actively growing their skills and building on their strengths.

As you aspire to lead more diverse and challenging walks, then it is useful to consider what further skills you may need. For such walks, leaders will have appropriate technical and safety skills (such as navigation and first aid), for which The Bush Club offers regular training opportunities. Many leaders maintain their first aid certificate up to date, and a number are qualified in remote area first aid. (It’s useful to keep in mind, though, that qualifications don’t necessarily mean competence, and that ultimately every participant on a walk is responsible for his or her own safety.)

Leaders also arrange and organise the activities, and there are equally important personal characteristics of good walks leaders. Good leaders have a healthy self concept, awareness and empathy for others and a flexible leadership style. Perhaps one of the most important characteristics of a good leader is sound judgment – particularly so when leading a group of individuals, who may have differing levels of skill and confidence, when the unusual or unexpected is encountered.

Every quarter, all members of The Bush Club are invited to submit activities for the published program. Submissions are then reviewed and signed off by the committee before publication. (Activities can of course be submitted at any time in between, and these are publicised as short notice walks.) Naturally, if there are any questions about what a leader proposes, these are discussed with the individual. The Bush Club does have obligations to all its members (as well as to insurers!). If certain activities such as abseiling are involved, then the committee needs to have further details of the leader's training and experience.

To help you get started as a leader, there are members of The Bush Club who are willing to assist and mentor you. You will find contact details and some guidelines for new leaders on the previous page. I encourage you to take the step, and be involved in what can be a very valuable contribution to The Bush Club, and a most satisfying and rewarding activity personally.

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