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Nature nurture

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Stephen ScourfieldThe West Australian
Kate Gibson. John Forrest National Park in Perth Hills.
Camera IconKate Gibson. John Forrest National Park in Perth Hills. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West Australian

Movement, connection and nature form Kate Gibson’s golden triangle.

They are embodied in The Hike Collective’s day bushwalks around Perth — a key ingredient is how being in the nature makes people feel.

Nature nurtures.

“For me personally it is the sense of calm and ease and reset every time I get into nature for some exercise or a walk,” says founder and managing director Kate.

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Knowing how it calms her mind and thoughts and lets her reset, and sensing what that does to her mental health, is “the propeller that pushes everything I do in the business”, she says.

“I think it’s why there’s a surge in people wanting to get out into nature, and especially with what’s going on in the world right now. We are looking for an outlet that gives us mental clarity and mental wellbeing.

“We are so lucky in WA to have such an abundance of beautiful nature around us. And when people feel connected to the land, they are more likely to take responsibility for it and it gives people a sense of ownership. It is our responsibility to look after these trails and help create a sustainable world for the future.

“We are lucky that we have these national parks and open spaces that we can benefit from, physically, mentally and emotionally.”

The Hike Collective offers about 30 different day tours in the Perth region, from a 3km hike around a lake “for people who have never stepped foot in nature before”, up to 22km on the Bibbulmun Track for a day hike, perhaps climbing up to the top of Mt Cooke.

As examples, prices start from $29 for a two-hour hike to $39 for five hours in Serpentine National Park and $49 for five hours on the Bibbulmun Track, covering 22km to visit Sullivan Rock and Mt Cooke.

There is usually a hike to Bluff Knoll, in the Stirling Range, and walks on the Cape to Cape Track between capes Naturaliste and Leeuwin in the Margaret River region, and on Rottnest Island.

Numbers on walks are limited. At the beginning it might be quiet but, by the end, people are chatting and new connections and friendships have been made.

Enjoying Lesmurdie Falls.
Camera IconEnjoying Lesmurdie Falls. Credit: Mogens Johansen/The West Australian, Mogens Johansen

WILDLIFE & WILDFLOWERS

On the walks, people are educated about wildlife and wildflowers, and through that get a sense of belonging and responsibility.

“We find people sharing their knowledge and doing things to help give back to nature and feeling accomplishment from that,” says Kate.

“It’s really cool to see people who have never stepped foot in a national park before. We get a lot of people who live 20 minutes away who have never seen Bells Rapids or Lesmurdie Falls. And then they bring their family back, and bring their kids along. They see this new space and become hikers.”

From beginners to advanced, Kate says she can really see people progress on the trail, and how they feel; they can take ownership of the land themselves. “I can pick up someone else’s rubbish as we go walking, or I can stick to this trail so that I don’t spread disease (dieback), which they never knew before they did it in a group environment.”

And as we discuss that, kangaroos hop by...

Kate Gibson. John Forrest National Park in Perth Hills.
Camera IconKate Gibson. John Forrest National Park in Perth Hills. Credit: Stephen Scourfield The West Australian

SOLOS, CHILDREN & WHEELCHAIRS

Walkers range from three-year-olds to grandmas and granddads.

The first word spoken by Kate and husband Andy’s young son, Finley, was “hike”.

Mum says: “We come to John Forrest National Park two or three times a week. It’s a connection to himself.

“He’s learning and discovering and that’s something that you can’t teach with toys — how to step on a rock and balance. That’s the physical side of it. But what you see happen to him,, in a completely separate space, is in his mental capacity. After this, he just sits in the car and is completely calm and quiet. It just changes how he reacts for the rest of the day.”

The Hike Collective does a lot of trails and specific events for children. “They might not be able to say ‘Mum, I’m anxious’ or ‘Mum, I feel depressed or I’m sad’. But you can see the shift from the element that nature is giving them.”

Some hikes are specifically pram and wheelchair friendly.

“People in wheelchairs want to get out into nature,” Kate says. “There are not a lot of trails for wheelchairs, but we find the right ones. But it’s as much for their carers, and for the carers to connect to one another.”

There are also school holiday trips for kids, with plenty of fun as well as adventure.

“But the majority are beginner hikers who want to come out with their families, or their parents or their children, and also a lot of people that are on their own. A lot of solos. They end up making new friends and bring those friends to the next tour.”

Eighty per cent of their guests are female. They make a new, like-minded group of friends through their new hobby.

“It’s a safe opportunity for people who want to hike but don’t want to do it alone.”

John Forrest National Park.
Camera IconJohn Forrest National Park. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West Australian, Stephen Scourfield

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

Kate was working as a personal trainer and, at the start of 2017, she asked her local community whether anyone wanted to come hiking with her once a month, just to explore the trails and see how they could be physically active outside. All she asked was a gold coin donation for mental health charity Beyond Blue.

She wanted to give back, and give people a sense of joy from giving to others.

Her “golden triangle”, upon which The Hike Collective has been developed, is the elements of movement, connection and nature.

Monthly hikers started to bring friends, and they all donated gold coins.

Kate had aimed to raise $1000 that year. But by the end of the year on one hike alone, 85 guests turned up and the walks raised $3500.

“That’s where the idea was born. I could see there was a huge craving — people wanting that element of mental health and mental awareness and connecting to community in a moving environment in nature. That full picture was encapsulated in these hikes,” she says.

The following year, 2018, as Finley was born she developed a team of 12 hike leaders, all volunteers, to lead the hikes in a safe way. They all knew the trails and were trained in first aid.

“We could offer a safe environment for people to hike,” she says. But, as Kate says “you can’t do everything for free in the world, unfortunately”, and in January 2019, The Hike Collective became a commercial operator.

It now offers a range of walk tours, with highly trained and qualified hike leaders.

It is an accredited quality tourism operator with Tourism Council WA and certified by Eco Tourism Australia.

And last year, in its first year, The Hike Collective won a silver medal in the WA Tourism Awards new business category.

“We have to give back to what we are so blessed to have here,” Kate says. They are committed to sustainable practices.

The Hike Collective also partners with Act Belong Commit, through Mentally Healthy WA, so a main element remains that commitment to mental health.

The Hike Collective founder Kate Gibson.
Camera IconThe Hike Collective founder Kate Gibson. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West Australian, Stephen Scourfield

KEEPING MINDS HEALTHY

The wider context is that Australia’s suicide rate is twice that of its road toll. Western Australia has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Forty-five per cent of Australian adults will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. One in five Australians suffers from a mental illness in any one given year.

Given our space and wealth, these are unusual facts.

“It is very prevalent in WA, and yet it is a place with so much diversity of landscape readily available. It is free to go to so many places,” Kate says.

“It think there is a lot of lack of education around this. A lack of awareness — of talking about it. We do a lot of special tours for ‘Are You OK?’ day, mental health week and things like that — to let people feel they’re in a safe space to experience their emotions and their feelings. But it’s not enough. We can only do so much.

“Our main mission now is to bring as many people into nature as possible in a safe environment where they feel nurtured, encouraged and safe.

“The more people we can bring into nature, the better it can be for the mental health of Western Australia, Australia and the world.”

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