Grant Submitted

Fiat: "It is done".
This morning I handed in our submission for a Lotteries Grant to the Department of Sport and Recreation; and my particular thanks to Barry Woods for all his work, and to all of you who provided letters of support. Also, a big thanks to Glen Lewis of Epic Events who has done a fantastic job on the Camino Salvado web-page and who created the Google map that I have included in this Blog.
Now that the Grant has been completed, it's made me think that we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket and perhaps we should look at raising funds independently. I would appreciate your feedback on this, especially from newcomers to the Blog. In the past, I wrote to some "people of means" regarding this suggestion, and I hope that now they see how real the whole project is and what a blessing it will be for WA, then perhaps they will consider donating to the Foundation, and help create an amazing experiences for future walkers.

Behind the Scenes

Only just over one week to go before the grant applications have to be handed in!! When I first applied for funding, I only gave a cursory glance to the paper work and thought, "This should be a breeze": that was extremely naive of me! In fact, I am now very thankful to the people at Lotteries West and the DSR for providing such paper hurdles to leap through. I'm half way through the Pilgrims Trail Foundation Constitution -all 48 pages of it (and all pro bono work by Barry Woods in Melbourne)- and I now have a deep respect for all those who actually run really big organizations and have to substantiate all their proceedings and actions.
One thing that has arisen from my reading so far is membership fees: this has been mooted as $10 to join and $10 annual subscription: and I would value your feedback before we make any decisions.
I've also been chasing quotes from trails Consultants whom we would want to provide an overall vision and plan for the Trail: and it's been an absolute pleasure dealing with them. They are all highly qualified professionals with a wealth of experience: I suspect that should we be be successful in our application for funding, then it's going to be a hard job to chose the "best of the best"!
My already high level of enthusiasm has been boosted further by offers of support from those whom I have already been in contact with regarding the trail, and who want to write letters of support for our application: to all of you, many many thanks.
Finally: the Pilgrims Trail continues to evolve as we search for the ideal path to follow. Looking at Google Earth there do appear to be tracks north of Bindoon that could take us off the Highway: for those of you who live in that area, I would greatly appreciate any information you may have on this area: just email me at pilgrim.trail@gmail.com or talk to Natasha Mossman or Paul Greaves (Ranger) at the Shire of Chittering.