Our vision
Outdoor recreation spaces, activities and experiences connect people to place, and provide benefits within our communities. Australians value a cross-cultural ‘Connection to the land’ and we act to protect the legacy of participation in outdoor recreation and education for our current and future populations.
Guiding Principles
Community Benefit
Outdoor recreation provides benefits to our communities by contributing to health and well-being through physical activity, as well as quality of life through social contact.
Interconnection
Communities are stronger from being connected through greenways and waterways that act as corridors for recreation; and by linking landscape units tying urban to peri-urban, rural to wilderness.
Stewardship
Outdoor recreation participants are more inclined to become stewards of the environment in which they engage when well planned, diverse outdoor recreation settings of high environmental quality are provided.
Validity
Outdoor recreation spaces need appropriate access, infrastructure and planning to balance significant pressures from competing land uses.
Future Needs
The outdoor sector needs a comprehensive, integrated and collaborative policy approach that fulfils recognised outdoor recreation benefits with projected demand.
Outcomes We Seek
Provision of a comprehensive range of opportunities for participation in legitimate outdoor recreation and education activities, integrating interstate and regional projects where possible for wider accessibility;
Properly resourced land and water management agencies to effectively manage our protected areas;
A commitment to resource studies of the socio-economic and environmental benefits of diverse outdoor recreation activities;
Tangible support for outdoor recreation providers and educators for the delivery of positive and inclusive outdoor education programs within the P-12 school system;
A “whole of government” approach to planning, coordination, resourcing and delivery of outdoor recreation/ education/ therapy/ tourism programmes, and work with the VET, and higher education and industry associations to provide relevant, accessible, sustainable training and professional development for outdoor leaders;
Identify and protect land and water resources for current, future and latent demand for outdoor recreation spaces.
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