Wondering how to get buy-in from local councils and stakeholders? The East Gippsland Rail Trail (EGRT) Committee of Management (CoM) came up with an innovative idea: invite them along for a ride.
The 7-member committee hosted 3 East Gippsland Shire Council’s councillors including the mayor and a community infrastructure planner on a section of the 96km-long trail on a Saturday morning in March. They used the opportunity to show councillors improvement works that had been done on the trail over the years –thanks to grants from the State and Federal governments – and to discuss the challenges the committee faces without ongoing maintenance funding.
Chair of the committee, Gaynor Rettino, said the group rode from the historic Stony Creek Trestle Bridge to Nowa Nowa, with some continuing on to view Ironstone Creek Trestle Bridge.
The EGRT is one of the longest 
in Victoria and is entirely in one municipality, whilst many other trails in Australia go through 2 or more shires. Prior to departing on the ride, the mayor and councillors were given a brief history of the trail and information on how other trails throughout the state are funded for maintenance (frequently funded either directly or indirectly by their local councils).
The ‘about’ section on East 
Gippsland Rail Trail’s website (www.eastgippslandrailtrail.com.au) has before and after photos of the rail trail, showing sections that have morphed from weed-infested single-track to crisp, wide, rideable sections. “We were successful in obtaining 4 large grants from the State and Federal governments that we used to upgrade almost the entire length of the trail’s surface as well as repairing/replacing bridges, addressing problem areas with new culverts, safer road crossing points and emergency markers,” says Gaynor. Now the small volunteer committee 
of management needs to maintain the 96km-long trail.
The EGRT CoM has only been able to do the upgrades due to the hundreds of hours the committee has spent writing grant applications. “I couldn’t tell you how long I’ve spent doing grant applications,” says Gaynor. “For those big grants? It’s a lot of time!” And there’s no guarantee they’ll win them, which means the committee is never quite sure if they’ll have enough money for basic trail maintenance. “In the past, we’ve had to wait until we have enough money in the bank to be able to spray the weeds and slash the sides of the trail,” says Gaynor. “We’ve put a great deal of effort into upgrading the trail to its current standard and it would be a shame for it to go backwards,” she says.
The CoM has commenced upgrades to the final section of trail east of Simpsons Creek, thanks to funding through the Victorian Government’s Regional Tourism Investment Fund. This project marks the completion of the 96km trail surface refurbishment, making it safer and more enjoyable for users of all abilities.
In July this year, post-bike tour, the committee formally briefed East Gippsland Shire Council and asked 
it to provide an annual budget for maintenance for the popular rail trail. “Basically, what we’re asking for is for the shire to give us certainty that we’ve got some money to be able to control the vegetation on the rail trail a couple of times a year so it doesn’t become overgrown,” reports Gaynor.
The committee is still waiting for the response from the shire, but Gaynor knows what she’ll do if she can finally have a break from applying for all the grants: “I’ll probably be out on the trail, having a ride!” she says.

IMAGE: Rail trail committee members along with East Gippsland shire mayor, 2 councillors and the council’s community infrastructure planner ready to inspect the rail trail, starting at the iconic Stony Creek Bridge. Photo: East Gippsland Rail Trail CoM