Climbing Community
CSV tries to make itself as open as possible to the climbing community in order to receive input, information and suggestions and to provide updates and plans where we can. We do this through communication with our network of stewards who have a good understanding of on-ground issues. We try to broadcast progress to the broader climbing community and public via social media channels.
We have also built links links with other significant Victorian climbing organisations and make a substantial contribution to the representative body for outdoor climbing, Climbing Victoria. This organisation is made up a of a diverse range of climbing organisation and individual representatives seeking to represent and support the climbing community as a whole. Climbing Victoria recognises and supports our role as the leading volunteer organisation in the climbing community.
Many people ask us about our relationship with CliffCare. CliffCare was setup by the VCC in 1998 as an independent not-for-profit organisation that could receive tax-deductible donations to support projects that benefit the environment in climbing areas. CSV shares many common values and objectives with CliffCare and they have generously funded working bee programs, training costs and projects such as the Watchtower access trail. We greatly appreciate the support they have provided and resources they have shared.
CSV has also picked up the management of Safer Cliffs Victoria. This small group has long been a contributor to the monitoring and replacement of fixed hardware for the benefit of the broader climbing community. CSV provides a pathway for the payment of contributions towards this hardware and the approval and reimbursement for hardware projects.
Read more about opportunities to Donate (link) to Crag Stewards Victoria, CliffCare or Safer Cliffs Victoria.
Representative Aboriginal Parties (RAPs)
CSV seeks direct relationships with organisations representing Traditional Custodians in Victoria. We have had initial meetings with a number of RAPs to introduce them to the climbing areas in their country, present our proposed program for those areas, hear their view of climbing and how we can support their plans for country and protection of cultural heritage.
The traditional owners of Gariwerd and Djuritte prefer, at this stage, to only deal with the climbing community via the representative voice of the climbing community, Climbing Victoria, rather than dealing with individual climbing organisations. They have expressed concerns about our use of the term “Stewards” in their country and, as a result, we operate as Crag Volunteers in these regions.
A key aspect of of our support for reconciliation with Aboriginal Victorians is to acknowledge that relationships with them must be mutually beneficial. In this regard we hope to offer meaningful support for the care of country, the protection of cultural heritage, acknowledgement of history and harm done and the promotion of respect for culture.
Parks Victoria
At a management level Parks Victoria deals directly with Climbing Victoria as the representative body for all climbers and climbing organisations.
CSV has developed close relationships with PV staff at an operational (park) level in many parks and will continue to expand on these over time. These relationships have yielded great results. Staff are appreciative of our offers of support through volunteer labour and materials and have responded with good levels of cooperation and advice. Our assessment is that park offices are generally grossly under-resourced: this has often lead to delays to the ideal timing for proposed projects, but we are hoping that planning further ahead will help both parties.
The vast majority of climbing areas in Victoria are managed by Parks Victoria. This means that any volunteer work must be coordinated through their Park Connect system that registers volunteer organisations, individuals and their accreditations and provides a pathway for project proposals to be reviewed and approved. There is actually a great deal of preparation and paperwork to get a working bee approved. This is a significant driver for the climbing community to rely on CSV to lead volunteer work in Victoria’s parks.
Other Land Managers
A special shout-out here for the Macedon Ranges Shire Council who have been enthusiastic and helpful supporters of our volunteer work at Black Hill near Kyneton.
Commercial Organisations
CSV aims to establish relationships with commercial organisations with interests in outdoors climbing, such as gyms, stores and tour operators. We look for ways that these organisations can help to support our principles, our messaging and our care and maintenance programs while providing them the opportunity to demonstrate their care and support.
If your business has an interest in collaborating with us, please contact us.
A good example of a successful collaboration has been the import and sale of coloured chalk products. CSV sourced Grimpi Coloured Chalk product and Absolute Outdoors agreed to manage the stock and sell the products with an amount from each sale coming back to CSV to help fund our program.
Broader Community
CSV has collaborated with the Yarra River Keepers to run combined sessions of revegetation and climbing impact education based at the Burnley bouldering wall. These types of collaborations are fun and fruitful and we are happy to talk with anyone about future possibilities.
