What is it about the project you are involved in that got you interested in conservation and drives your work?
The QMTBC [members] are involved in a variety of projects that all relate to developing and managing mountain biking in the Wakatipu area. As mountain biking is a relatively young sport compared with tramping, fishing or hunting, there isn't a background of facilities or standards in place specific to the sport's needs. The QMTBC aims to basically be a voice for the MTB community which is now a very large part of outdoor user groups.
Our primary goal is to provide trails and riding areas within the Queenstown region for local and visiting riders to have high-quality places to ride. The club also manages and maintains any facility it develops to ensure its long-term success.
The club is driven by passion for riding and a desire to make the Queenstown area one of the best places in the world to ride bikes for riders of all abilities.
As the voice for mountain bikers we also work hard to lobby for land/trail access that would be suitable for riding and are involved in any issue in which we feel that the mountain bike community needs to be represented.
How do the project(s) you're involved in benefit conservation?
Providing for the community's needs. Opening up access to otherwise inaccessible areas and showing users unique parts of Queenstown's heritage, such as gold-mining operations.
The way we build our trails is also very sympathetic to the environment, we aim to have as little impact as possible with mostly hand-built trails and carry out wilding pine control and replant native vegetation wherever possible.
We also provide avenues for volunteers to get involved in trail building in our awesome playground.
What do you get out of your work in conservation?
Satisfaction from providing facilities for the community that they asked for and making people's lives better.
Seeing the same volunteers coming back week after week because they love it and are learning new skills while making something cool and usable.
What challenges have you faced and how have they been overcome?
It's a hell of a lot of work for a volunteer group. We have eight people on our committee and doing what we do is basically a full-time job that you don't get paid for. A lot of admin' work behind the scenes takes time and it's hard not to get burnt out.
As mountain biking is a new sport there are challenges persuading authorities that it is here to stay and a legitimate outdoor user group that has specific needs that have to be addressed on a higher level than just a volunteer group.
What direction do you see your conservation work going in the future?
Carry on with what we are doing. Building and maintaining tracks, lobbying for access and representing our members' (657 members in 2012-13) needs.
We have big plans for a large network of trails that will link existing trails and we would like to partner with other interested parties to make this happen. One day we would also like to build our own back-country hut on a long distance high quality trail.
