This International Women’s Day, we celebrate some of ARV’s women who are thriving in areas that have traditionally been considered ‘men’s’ roles.
Hailing from Western Australia, where there is definitely no snow, Lucy Jackson became familiar with Victoria’s alpine region in 2021 as a winter seasonal worker at Falls Creek, then was forced to become a local when the state borders closed due to COVID.
It turned out to be a case of being at the right place at the right time.
“I’d been working in hospitality and it wasn’t really for me, so in 2022 a few of my friends who were working on the new mountain bike trails at Falls Creek suggested I go and work with them. They thought I’d be really well suited for the work and they needed workers and I was willing to give it a go.”
After helping build the new Falls Creek trails, Lucy was fortunate to be considered for the first ever Falls Creek Trail Crew. During the summer of 2022-23 it was particularly tough as the resort was closed to visitors, but the Trail Crew still had to keep the trails maintained.
“It would have been difficult to get the trails back to top condition if we hadn’t been there to keep it under control. Trees fall down, there are storms, and the drainage across the tracks needs to be maintained or the trail gets soft and once bikes go through those spots, it gets hard to fix it. The list of things to do never ends and I love it.”
The Trail Crew relies on riders alerting them to problems on the tracks, but will also jump on their bikes and do sweeps, especially when mountain bike events are scheduled and the trails need to be in top condition.
In Lucy’s opinion, having a team that gets on well is essential, as it encourages women in these work environments to speak up and ask for opportunities.
“We are really fortunate here. We’ve got such a great, involved group and everyone is open to giving us a crack with learning things that, generally speaking, women don’t have as much knowledge of, like using power tools.”
“It’s really important to be confident and keep asking questions and keep putting yourself in a position that’s a bit outside your comfort zone.
“For example the crew was building steel bridges on the trails, requiring lots of heavy lifting and power tools. I thought, you know what, the only way you’re going to learn is to just ask and as soon as I did that, they were keen to teach me. You have to really be proactive in a male dominated industry and put yourself out there. At the end of the day everyone actually appreciates you doing that.”
Page last updated: 08/03/24