With her Clevedon Trails Steering Group colleagues, Josephine Elworthy has worked toward a trails network in Clevedon for over a decade. Her achievements have earned her an Outdoor Access Champion award from Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa, the Outdoor Access Commission, presented today.

It’s been a slow burn: She and other committed community members have worked with Auckland Council since 2010 to get trails included in the Structure Plan for the area so that trails are included as land is developed. The trails are now being built piece by piece. The group is working with Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa to ensure public access and connectivity in this rapidly changing and growing semi-rural community.

Herenga ā Nuku’s chief executive Ric Cullinane says Josephine absolutely deserves the award because of her long involvement in nurturing a walkable Clevedon.

"The way she and the Clevedon Trails Steering Group have gone about their work is very clever and with an eye to a longer-term objective - recognising that their village is growing and building in requirements for connectivity and access to meet current and future community needs."

Josephine has collected a team of willing and able locals to shape public access to serve people’s needs and preserve the village feel of Clevedon.

All the while, the Clevedon Trails group she co-founded has been working with Auckland Council to see that the community’s needs and aspirations are supported through planning decisions. These days the group is a trusted community partner, with a council contract to promote the Hunua Traverse - a new local e-bike tourist trail.

As a landowner, Josephine leads by example, with the public use of several widened Hololio roadside verges already established on her land and awaiting new walkway easements.

Josephine says trails need to be well designed so that they add to the amenity of the area, and to the quality of life of their neighbours. "Don't leave them til the last minute and try to overlay them into a subdivision. To be good, they need to be designed in from the start, and so the residential development wraps around them."

The vision of the group is to have safe, off-road access for every Clevedon child, to the school and the showgrounds at a minimum.

"We also aspire to open up access to and knowledge of the Wairoa river, and our history, including Nga Tai ki Tamaki history," says Josephine. "We have a vision of connections from our village trails network to other communities via the Hunua Trail, Te Araroa, and other proposed tracks and trails."

Event details

• 3:30pm, Informal walk, meet at the back of the Pool House at 116 Monument Road, Clevedon
• 5:00pm, award presentation at Corner Bar, 1 North Road, Clevedon 2582

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