Walks organised at the community or 'grass roots' level both in Australia and
internationally have been organised as a means to highlight environmental and social
issues to the wider community.
This thesis focuses on a coastal walk from Melbourne to Sydney during November 1993
to March 1994 called CoastWalk which was organised as part of the Australian Conservation Foundation's 'Coasts in Crisis' campaign. The Walk aimed to highlight
environmental management problems specific to the coastal zone at both local and national
levels using mass media, information evenings and targeting groups within local
communities.
Using a case study approach to the methodology, combined with principles from both
social (interpretive) and empirical methods, this study involved determining the impact of
CoastWalk, i.e. whether it changed individuals at the levels of awareness, understanding
or action. The scope of the study does not include a detailed analysis of the communities
themselves, nor does it explore the psychological aspects of individual and social change.
It was found that the mass media aspect of the CoastWalk campaign created a short term
awareness of the need to have concern for coastal management issues in those who did
not participate in the Walk. For those who did participate, the impact was deeper and
profound, changing individuals understanding and actions towards coastal management
and translating into other areas of their lives. The impact of the Walk on local community
groups who supported the Walk was negligible and it was determined that CoastWalk did
not meet their needs.
Community involvement in environmental management or campaigning equates to long
term ownership and responsibility being taken for those issues. However, neither
community nor government intervention in environmental management alone can resolve
these issues successfully. This thesis argues that a combined approach from both
community and government organisations is required - but as exemplified by CoastWalk,
the success of this approach requires equality in communication and co-operation.
As other environmental awareness walks have occurred, it is evident that they are
perceived as worthy events by the community, and that there is potential for them to occur
again in the future. It is therefore essential for an evaluation to occur of the techniques
used to achieve their environmental education aims. Thus, the learning from previous
Walks can be built into future Walks enhancing their success.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219530 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Phillips, Jocelyn Katrina, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Resource, Environmental & Heritage Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Jocelyn Katrina Phillips |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds