Director | Common Ground Trails (WA)

Dave’s ethos is connecting people with trails, spaces and landscapes. Common Ground evolved from a shared love of mountain biking and trails and the unique ability for them to unite individuals and communities.  Dave will share insights into processes and strategies behind Dwellingup’s evolution into a premier trail destination.

Presentation topic: Vision – Do the sum of the parts make a whole?

Stakeholder engagement, regional master planning, trail design and construction, visitor facilities planning and design, development of the trail centre.

Examine how these elements came together to create unified vision, offering a seamless experience for visitors, driving increased visitation and fostering economic growth. Additionally, we’ll reflect on the lessons that can be learned by comparing Dwellingup’s visitor experience with international trail town models.

Managing Director | Dwellingup Adventures

Alicia is the Managing Director and co-owner of Dwellingup Adventures, a nature-based tourism company. Dwellingup Adventures was founded 32 years ago as an outdoor recreation and education company by Alicias’ father, Peter White. Both avid trail users themselves they harnessed the opportunity to transition the company into a thriving, multi-service, tourism provider. Now offering an extensive range of watercraft and mountain bike hire, trails retail, paddle, hike and bike tours, charters, and accommodation, Dwellingup Adventures has become central in positioning Dwellingup as a go-to destination for adventure seekers and nature lovers.

Hear from Alicia as she shares how strategic positioning, a multi-product and service approach, and strong partnerships have been key to capitalizing on the opportunities created by trail development in Dwellingup.

Adaptive MTB Rider

Richard will join our conference on Tuesday 28th of October and form part of a panel session Tuesday afternoon. Richard has been riding hand cycles for 16 year doing time trials, road races and community rides. He has been MTB riding and competing in events for around 8 years. Richard will share valuable insights and bring along his MTB for those who may not have seen an adaptive MTB before.

Director | Magic Dirt Trailworx (WA)

John Dingey, better known as JD is a passionate sustainable trail builder. Magic Dirt is one of WA’s original trail building companies with a mission to ensure every trail they build is better than the last. JD and his team have been hands on in the development of the Dwellingup trail networks crafting world-class trail systems that attract riders and elevate destinations.

Presentation topic: Building Sustainable Trails – The challenges and successes

How do you balance designing engaging but inclusive trail systems that cater to a wide range of users? How to manage excitement with sustainability and making the most of limited fall.

Assistant Director, Parks and Visitor Services Division | Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) – (WA)

Rod has been in protected area management for more than 40 years. Balancing community expectations for facilities and services in parks with available resources, whilst protecting the nature and culture of the parks.

Presentation topic: How Trails Contribute to Nature Conservation

There is plenty of research to show that people spending time in nature are more likely to speak up for and act to protect the places that that they visit and care about and to more generally adopt pro-environmental behaviours. Place attachment and connectedness to nature plays a key role in the adoption of pro-environmental behaviours.

The presentation will challenge trail managers, trail builders and trail users to think about how they can do more to give back to the environment and landscapes where they are planning, building and maintaining trails.

Trail Super User | Bennett and Slater (NZ)

Sarah has hiked and biked New Zealand’s trails for more than 25 years as a professional travel writer for Lonely Planet, Tourism New Zealand, the Department of Conservation and many more. She has seen where magic happens and where trails fall flat.

Presentation topic: The Sweet Spot – Trail tales from a super-user

What is it that creates great trails that deliver for visitors, host communities, nature and the economy?

Head of Digital Experience | Destination Store (NSW)

With a keen eye for digital trends, Ben’s focus is to strengthen destinations across all digital touch points. From growing engaged communities to sourcing compelling content, Ben understands what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to turning trails into must-ride destinations.

Presentation topic: Beyond the Trailhead – How to source and create content that grows your MTB audience

Whether you’re a marketer or a decision-maker new to trail marketing, this session will help you rethink your approach and start turning your trails into destinations.

Director and Guide | Off the Beaten Track (WA)

Tracy’s thirst for adventure and hiking combined with an entrepreneurial spirit resulted in her founding Off The Beaten Track WA in 2017. Tracy’s specialty lies in making trails and adventure more accessible and inclusive. Through hiking and trails, Tracy and her team are improving the lives of West Australians living with a disability, one step and one adventure at a time.

Presentation topic: Empowering Lives Through Accessible Tourism: The Off the Beaten Track (OTBT) journey

Join Tracy as she shares the OTBT story. A story of inspiration, resilience and impactful change. Delve into the intricacies of how seemingly modest adjustments can result in profound effects.

Tracy will share her blueprint and a call to action for other businesses. Learn how small changes, when driven by a genuine commitment to inclusivity, can yield monumental impacts.

Trail Coordinator | Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (VIC)

The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) was established on 1 December 2020 under the Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Act 2020 to manage, protect and foster resilience of the significant natural, cultural and heritage values of Crown land and marine waters along the Great Ocean Road. Prior to this management reform, 30 organisations were vested with responsibility across the region, creating a suite of planning and delivery challenges and a lack of a shared vision. These challenges included management of the region’s extensive trails network, which includes a rich diversity of multi day walks including the iconic Great Ocean Walk, shared use trails and short walks, rail and mountain bike trails.

Presentation topic: Bringing Everyone Together: Multi agency collaboration and regional trail management

Matt will share insights on how the development of a Regional Trails Strategy has presented a unique opportunity to bring together all land managers, rights holders and stakeholders under a unified vision and principles for trail development, management and promotion. Learnings in developing and fostering stakeholder relations, managing multiple objectives and expectations and creating a shared vision to deliver regional benefit will be explored.

General Manager | Flow Mountain Bike Australia

Jono is a digital marketing expert with a lifelong passion for mountain biking. Based in Melbourne, Jono has spent the past 15 years on a journey of trail exploration across Australia and globally, while honing his skills in digital marketing, publishing, and content creation.

Jono leads Flow’s content strategies and promotion campaigns for major Australian riding destinations. He partners closely with destination managers, crafting content and amplifying its presence via web, video, and social platforms.

Upon the rollout of destination content, Jono transitions to analysing and evaluating campaign metrics and KPIs, ensuring the Flow team’s marketing choices are data-driven.

Chief Executive Officer | Trails WA

Ag Sleeman is a passionate advocate for trails, outdoor recreation, and immersive tourism experiences. She leads the strategic vision for marketing Western Australia’s premier trail network, ensuring sustainable growth, community engagement and world-class experiences for trail users.

With over 25 years experience managing high profile service brands, Agata has been instrumental in positioning Trails WA as the go-to platform for discovering and promoting over 1,000 sanctioned trails across the state.

Presentation topic: Beyond the Beaten Path: Unlocking the Full Potential of Trails

This session explores the diverse and novel ways trails can be used beyond traditional recreation, tapping into the growing demand for immersive tourism experiences. Agata will be showcasing unique trail uses—from dementia-friendly trails and silent disco walks to dark sky trails and Aboriginal cultural experiences—highlighting how they attract broader audiences and enrich community engagement.

Trails WA has a unique model for promoting responsible and sustainable trail use, which provides a centralised, high-quality information source for trail users while supporting data-driven insights and sector development.

Chief Executive Officer | Outdoors WA

Neil has over 30 years’ experience operating internationally at executive and board level across a range of diverse industries. He is currently the CEO of Outdoors WA, the peak body for the outdoor industry in Western Australia and involved in the trails community globally as the secretary for the World Trails Network.

As a former Chair of Trails WA, Neil continues to be involved with trail development in WA through his representation in the State Government’s Trails Reference Group, and Nature-Based Tourism Industry Reference Group. At a national level Neil is the Chair of the Outdoor Council of Australia.  

Presentation topic: Trails. The Pathway to Creating a Healthier, Happier WA

Neil will talk about how we can inspire more people out onto the trails by connecting it with health (physical and mental) benefits. Outdoors WA published a major research report around these benefits late last year providing global research data to draw on. In our busy, screen obsessed society, getting out onto the trails is a demonstrable way to drive better health.

Presentation topic: Budget is not the most important part of the procurement process

TRC Trails is driven by a passion for creating exceptional trail experiences that inspire people and respect the landscapes they move through. As trail enthusiasts and professional builders, we combine expertise, skill, and insight to deliver trails that not only exceed expectations but also elevate existing networks to new heights. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, with every design carefully planned to minimise impact, prevent erosion, and harmonise with the natural environment. From thoughtful placement and purposeful routes to early attention on management and maintenance, our approach ensures trails remain enjoyable, resilient, and beneficial for communities and nature long into the future.

Project Officer | ACT Parks and Conservation Service

Tom is a passionate trail professional whose career journey began as a bike mechanic and mountain bike instructor before evolving into land management and trail development. Based in Canberra, Tom has spent the past seven years with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, where he is now a project officer delivering the Commonwealth Disaster Ready Fund to upgrade visitor infrastructure with a strong focus on sustainable trails. A lifelong cyclist and trail runner, he brings both personal enthusiasm and professional expertise to his work, from designing new trail networks and re-aligning unsustainable tracks to auditing unsanctioned trails and establishing procurement panels. Tom is currently working alongside the ACT trails coordinator to shape a long-term program that consolidates, strengthens, and future-proofs recreational trails across the ACT, ensuring they provide joy, resilience, and conservation outcomes for generations to come.

Presentation topic: Learning from unsanctioned trails | Trail alignment and Conservation

Tom will share insights from his work in the Canberra Nature Park, where many informal community-created trails have led to erosion, safety hazards, and management challenges. He will explore how a shift from upgrading old, unsustainable paths to building new, strategically aligned trails is delivering better results for both visitors and the environment. Drawing on case studies, Tom will highlight how this approach creates safer, more enjoyable experiences, supports ecological resilience, and offers a cost-effective solution for long-term trail management. His session will demonstrate how thoughtful trail design can balance conservation values with the growing demand for recreational access.