Outdoors Queensland Symposium 2018

Wednesday, September 12th
Mezzanine Room 4
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 

Program (or download Brisbane Program here)

(click links below for more info on individual presentations and presenters)

08:25 | Dom Courtney, QORF
Welcome/Housekeeping

08:30 | Songwoman Maroochy
Welcome to Country

08:45 | Hon. Mick de Brenni
Minster’s Address

09:00 | MC
Theme, purpose & process

09:15 | Prof. Marcia Langton
Keynote

10:15 | Morning Tea

10:30 | Liz Horne and Mel Brown, SkillsIQ
Economic Contribution of Nature-based Activities in Queensland

11:15 | Ben Gall, Australian Heritage Specialists
Cultural Stewardship

12:00 | Phil Reeves, QFSR Skills Alliance
The skills and training landscape of the OR sector

12:30 | Lunch

13:15 | Matthew Townsend, Nature Freedom
Snapshot: An inclusive way to make our environment accessible

13:20 | Katrina Beutel, Redland Kayak Tours
Eco-tourism and Eco-certification

14:00 | Chris Glennie, Surfrider Australia
How to keep on, keeping on

14:45 | Afternoon Tea

15:15 | Lauren Coventon, UPLOADS
Snapshot: UPLOADS

15:20 | Adam West, Pinnacle Sports
Passchendaele V3 Bouldering Festival

16:00 | Ben O’hara, Spicers Retreats
Protecting our ecosystem now for future generations

16:45 | MC Close

Economic Contribution of Nature-based  Activities in Queensland

Liz Horne
Skills IQ

Liz is Skills Engagement Specialist for SkillsIQ.  Liz has worked full time in the outdoors community for 30 years. Liz brings her experience in working across the subsectors of outdoor recreation, education, residential camping and community recreation to enhance the Outdoor Recreation Update.   

Mel Brown
Skills IQ

Melinda Brown has over twenty years of experience across a variety of industry sectors.

As General Manager of SkillsIQ, Melinda is responsible for the oversight of all eighteen national Industry Reference Committees supported by SkillsIQ.  She manages the Skills Engagement and Training Package Advisory teams, ensuring that the work being undertaken meets industry’s current and future needs.

A highly experienced project manager, Melinda’s extensive experience in stakeholder engagement has seen her work on many consultancy projects both within Australia and internationally.  She has in-depth knowledge relating to VET sector policy as well as skills and workforce development, including the development and maintenance of training package products.  She has previously held roles in not-for-profit industry associations, as well as in conference and event management, retail store management and the retail travel industry.

Melinda holds a number of vocational qualifications in business and in training & assessment, as well as a degree in Tourism Management from UTS.  She is an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Cultural Stewardship

Australian Heritage Specialists (AHS) are an expert team of heritage consultants with a track record of providing practical, strategic and cost-effective advice throughout Australia and New Zealand.  Our principal consultants are among Australia’s most experienced and respected cultural heritage specialists.  AHS services are as diverse as our clients, ranging in scale and complexity from preliminary advice through to complete ‘end to end’ assessment and management of heritage matters. Our specialties include heritage advice and assessments, heritage architecture, archaeology, Aboriginal heritage, cultural awareness training and interpretation.

Ben Gall
Australian Heritage Specialists

Ben has substantial experience delivering strategic outcomes for a wide variety of cultural heritage places across Australasia. As director of one of the country’s largest heritage firms previously, Ben has substantial experience running multi-disciplined teams of professionals including heritage architects, historians, planners, engineers and archaeologists.

Ben is highly regarded in the industry for his ability to achieve quality outcomes in difficult environments and projects, at all levels and has participated in a large number of regional studies and master plans, including adaptive re-use of heritage buildings and local heritage studies, overseeing the listing of more than 1500 local heritage places in Queensland since 2006.

Ben is recognised by his clients and peers as a leader in the delivery of strategic and practical solutions for a wide variety of heritage and cultural places across Australasia, including a significant number of landscape, archaeological and built heritage places.

Ben is a full member of the Australian ICOMOS, Association of Preservation Technology (Australian Chapter) and the Queensland National Trust. He has also held positions on the panel of heritage consultants to the Commonwealth Department of Defence, Queensland Transport, Energex, Local Buy Panel for local government for planning, design and heritage consultancy.

Redlands Kayak Tours

Redlands Kayak Tours is an eco-certified, eco-tourism, award-winning local business that provides kayak tours, kayak lessons and kayak eco-experiences on the spectacular southern Moreton Bay waterways of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Started in 2011 by husband and wife team of Tony and Katrina Beutel, Redlands Kayak Tours specialises in taking people out of their homes and giving them an experience of the great outdoors. Tony and Katrina have both lived in the Redlands and enjoyed water sports and boating all of their lives. They’ve kayaked together for over 12 years and have turned their passion into a business to share their love of kayaking with others.

Redlands Kayak Tours has a fleet of over 24 sit on top kayaks and 4 double sea kayaks, running tours for individuals, families and groups from beginners to experienced. They also cater for private lessons and tours/experiences for schools, community groups and corporates.

Tony and Katrina’s vision for Redlands Kayak Tours is to provide all of our customers – from beginners to experienced kayakers – a safe and memorable experience connecting with nature, themselves and the family and friends they bring along.

Katrina Beutel

Katrina Beutel is an avid lover of the outdoors – whether she’s hiking, bike-riding, walking, running or swimming, but she’s most at home on a kayak in one of the top 10 kayaking locations in Australia – Moreton Bay.

Katrina and her husband Tony, own Redlands Kayak Tours, a multi-award winning, eco-certified eco tourism business located in the Redlands. Redlands Kayak Tours conducts tours and sea kayak adventures in and around the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, creeks and foreshores.

Katrina is a local Redlands resident having lived in the area her entire life. She is the Chief Experience Officer for Redlands Kayak Tours (CEO if you like) and runs the business on a day-to-day basis. She handles all sales and marketing, and is the Office Manager ensuring all enquiries and bookings are handled professionally. She also attends most tours to ensure clients are greeted, morning and afternoon teas are provided, photos are taken and everyone is having a good time.  Katrina holds her Coastal Sit on Top Guide Qualifications with Australian Canoeing along with her Senior First Aid certificate.

Nature Freedom – inclusive way to make our environment accessible

Nature Freedom is an emerging social enterprise organisation based in Brisbane aiming to inspire, connect and empower young people aged 18 years to 35 who have disabilities and/or mental health to meaningfully access, participate and lead with the environment. A core element of Nature Freedom emphasises personal and professional development through self-discovery, adventures and environmental action. We focus on improving social inclusion and accessibility for young people to act and lead on matters that are important to them by collaborating and connecting existing services, programs and projects on an expanding basis.

Mathew Townsend

Mathew Townsend is an advocate, keynote speaker & environmentalist. He possessed Master of Environmental Management degree at UQ in 2016. He founded Nature Freedom in 2017. He was recently voted as 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award at Healthy Land & Water Gala Dinner for his dedication in inclusive environmental projects. He has been a regular presenter at Autism in Education conferences since 2014. He recently spoke at the Asia-Pacific Autism Conference and presented his ideas at the Global Greens Congress at Liverpool, UK in 2017.

The skills and training landscape of the OR sector

Skills Alliance will present the findings of recent research into the future skills and training needs of the fitness, sport, recreation and racing industry, with a particular focus on the outdoor recreation.  Presentation will also include an update on the future direction of Skills Alliance and what we can do to support the outdoor recreation sector workforce, including volunteers.

The Queensland Fitness, Sport and Recreation (QFSR) Skills Alliance is a not-for profit industry workforce development peak body that leads and influences workforce development and innovation in Queensland’s fitness, sport and recreation industry.  Our vision is that industry operates at maximum effectiveness, through a workforce that is skilled to meet the needs of the industry.  We work closely with industry on skills, training and workforce development issues and provide resources and advice to industry to support their operational needs.

Phil Reeves
QFSR Skills Alliance

How to keep on, keeping on

Surfrider Foundation is a global network of grass-roots volunteers, dedicated to the Protection and Enjoyment of Beaches and Waves

Surfrider Foundation operates under the acronym of C.A.R.E.

C stands for Conservationism, so we organise twice yearly Beach Clean up events at Teewah Beach, each time removing 2-3tons of waste from the beach, and monthly Beach Cleanups at Peregian Beach. We also work with Council to perform Dune Restoration work.

The “Endangered Waves” Campaign is one of our main campaigns, and it’s aim is to protect by any means possible, the integrity of Dunes and Beaches.

Eg:  At Martha Lavinia Beach on King Island, a company is proposing to have fish farms near where people surf. This will attract sharks and may cause human fatalities. It is also unnatural and upsets the delicately balanced eco systems adjacent.

A is for Activism, as we are all activists. 2 recent “Claims to fame” are the Container Deposit (Refund) Scheme, and the banning of the single use Plastic bag. Surfrider was a main driving force with bringing about these changes.

When we all link arms, we become powerful. Individually, and under the Direction and planning of the Boomerang Alliance, we can achieve many things, when we form allegiances with other Not for Profit groups such as Sea Shepherd, and Stop Adani, Greenpeace etc.    We are interested in Source reduction of plastics, so Stop Adani is a group we link arms with on the Sunshine Coast.

R Research. We are working with Qld Uni, to document the amount of plastics in sand at various locations on Teewah Beach, and bacterial counts as well.  This is to establish a set of data, to ascertain, the amount of  plastic contamination, and human waste  coming in from the sea, and the Tourists on Teewah beach, where we are running the study.

E  Eduation. We visit Schools, Kindergartens, High Schools and other facilities, to spread the message about the problems of marine debris, as this is our main focus. Education is the key, and instilling in people the love and respect of the Ocean, then becomes the driving force to bring about change, to protect our amazing Oceans and the creatures who live within.

Chris Glennie
President
Surfrider Foundation

Hello there, and welcome to my “Bio”! You will find it a friendly place, as that is how I am as well!

I was born in Victoria, on a sheep and wheat farm,  then as a teenager, was raised and then married in Queensland.

I have one beautiful son who is very happily married with his own gorgeous  wife and 2 children. Single again, and able to dedicate my energies to the well being of the Planet, especially the Oceans, as part of the Global Surfrider Foundation Family, is very rewarding intellectually, socially, and morally.

At Surfirder, we are all Environmental Activists with our focus on Waves and Beaches. Our motto is, “To surf and Protect”.

Surfing has come and gone, (shoulder injuries, ) but the passion, wisdom and insight,  gets stronger.

I have a wickid sense of humour, and as a qualified Horticulturalist, and Registered Nurse, I have in life, learned, that if trees are having problems, a hug may fix it, and if people are having problems, a little light pruning may do the trick!!

My “Day Job” is as a Community Registered Nurse. Very Community minded, as I feel we need to support each other in many many ways, so my contribution to humans is to look after sick ones, and for the Oceans, I intend to be her Advocate.  When I was married, and living on acreage in Brisbane, Koala habitat protection was my “thing”. Then there was the Sea Change J

One time, many years ago, on sunset, I was standing in the shallows of the Surf, the water coolly caressing my feet.

I stared at the Ocean, and promised to her, that I would do all I could to protect her. So I do.

It is the biggest challenge of all time, the looking after of our Planet, and in the cross hairs for me, are the Oceans.

I now live on the Sunshine Coast, by myself, apart from 2 Geckos, who scold me when I come in late.  Life is awesome and very very busy, but that is definitely how I like it!

A new and improved UPLOADS App: making incident reporting and analysis easier

Understanding and Preventing Led Outdoor Accidents Data System (UPLOADS) is a sector-wide incident reporting system that was first deployed in organisations across Australia in 2014. It was developed to address the lack of good quality data on injuries and incidents during led outdoor (LOA) activities. UPLOADS uses a System’s Thinking approach and provides a standardised, national approach to incident report and learning for the LOA Sector.

The UPLOADS App is a web-based tool used to record: incident reports; LOA participation data; and action plans used to address identified problems. LOA providers are encouraged to use the UPLOADS App to collect and analyse detailed information to detect trends and formulate data-driven incident prevention strategies.

The UPLOADS research team will provide an overview of the App and its key features, and explain how you can participate in a cutting edge research project.

Lauren Coventon and Kelly Murphy
The UPLOADS Project

The University of the Sunshine Coast has partnered with Edith Cowan University, and Australian outdoor education and recreation associations, providers and government departments on the UPLOADS research project.

The UPLOADS research team includes:

• • Professor Paul Salmon (CI, Project Leader), Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems (CHFSTS), University of the Sunshine Coast
  • Professor Caroline Finch (CI), Edith Cowan University
  • Dr Natassia Goode (Senior Project Manager), CHFSTS, University of the Sunshine Coast
  • Lauren Coventon (Research Assistant), CHFSTS, University of the Sunshine Coast
  • Kelly Murphy (Program Manager), CHFSTS, University of the Sunshine Coast

The Passchendaele Bouldering Festival

Pinnacle Sports has been an integral part of the Australian Climbing Community for over 15
years. They provide a range of products and services including; Climbing and Abseiling
experiences throughout South East Qld, accredited training courses, overseas guided climbing
holidays, climbing equipment sales and advice, as well as hosting the annual Passchendaele
Bouldering Festival. Pinnacle Sports have been longtime advocats for a sustainable approach to
providing exceptional and safe outdoor recreational experiences.

Adam West
Pinnacle Sports

Adam has been involved in the climbing industry for 25 years. He has played a significant role in
the development of Brisbane’s indoor climbing scene, initially as Manager of Rocksports he
introduced Qld’s first Jnr Development Program and Social Comp Series. In 2004 Adam
Founded Urban Climb West End, establishing new benchmarks in coaching, safety standards,
training and competition management; brining the Australian National Climbing Championships
to Queensland for the first time in 2005. In addition to climbing, Adam has also enjoyed an
extensive creative career as a Professional Photographer and Creative Director. Now, as
General Manager for Pinnacle Sports, Adam continues to develop his range of skills by adding
Event Manager of the Passchendaele Bouldering Festival to his repertoire.

Spicers Retreats: Protecting our ecosystem now for future generations

Ben O’hara
Spicers Retreats

Ben is the General Manager of Land & Environment for Spicers & TFO and has years of experience in land restoration, nature refuge establishment & management.