Engaging other people

Once you've caught people's attention, you need to let them know how they can help make your neighbourhood more walking-friendly. You might invite them to:

• call you*;
• email you*; or
• visit a website you’ve set up for the purpose.

*(Of course, you will need to be careful – putting your personal phone numbers and email addresses all around town isn’t always the safest thing to do, so think about setting up a free email address for the purpose, or buying a low cost pre-paid mobile phone!).

Once you’ve got a number of people interested, you will want to start working together. There are lots of ways to do this, but one of the most efficient will be to run a meeting.

You can also write letters to some key influencers in the neighbourhood who you think might be supportive, like school principals, child care centre directors, retailers and traders, and other local groups like Neighbourhood Watch and local environment groups.

Some of these people won’t be able to get actively involved in your group, but they may welcome information about how you’re progressing. They may even be able to lend a hand where it’s needed.