Dear Volunteer,
Happy New Year to you. Whatever you're doing - whether you're relaxing over the festive period, meeting up with friends and family, or taking part in the Ramblers Festival of Winter Walks (or all of the above!), I hope you're having fun.
To keep you even more fully up-to-date with news, I'm now posting to my blog as things happen. You can read my latest posts at any time by clicking here, but I'll also continue to provide a monthly round-up too.
Don't forget to fill in the Ramblers Volunteer Survey - it'll only take a few minutes, and it helps us tremendously to know your views.
Best wishes
Postings in the past month
(click on the headlines to read the full post):
Volunteers, tell us what you think (23/12/10)
The annual volunteers survey is now live - it'll be open until 1st February, and is an opportunity for all Ramblers volunteers - walk leaders, campaigners, group organisers, and everyone who gives their time and skills for free to help the Ramblers - to tell us what you think. The results are used to help shape our work. For example, following last year's survey there has been specific work on: - greater acknowledgement of what volunteers do in the Ramblers - improving the volunteer website and the…
Big Opportunity for Groups (22/12/10)
In March, for every new member recruited by a Group, on direct debit, the full first year subs will go back to the Group. (£21 for a single member, for example). The Group can then spend this on more recruitment activity, or other things to further our charitable objectives. As you know, one of the Ramblers priorities this year is to finish next September with more members than we started a year earlier. More members means more clout, more resources and more potential volunteers. At the special volunteer…
Our message for those walkers who aren't members of the Ramblers: "Now is the Time to Join" (20/12/10)
There are 120,000 Ramblers members in Britain. But there are about six million people who go walking regularly. If we can persuade just a fraction more of those 6 million to join us, it’ll mean more clout with councils, more resources, and a bigger pool of potential volunteers. Many new members join because of our led walks programmes. But others will join us to support our work to safeguard footpaths and access – in particular, those who already walk with independent clubs or with family and…
Footpath cuts begin to bite in Bolton (17/12)
I'm travelling back from a Ramblers protest in Bolton against the council’s plans to axe funding for rights of way. Earlier this month Bolton council announced their plans to delete their entire rights of way team, making two experienced members of staff redundant, as part of their efficiency saving review. This leaves the council with no dedicated staff to manage the rights of way network. Bolton has 350km of footpaths, much of it on the urban fringe - ideal for people new to walking who…
Ramblers project selected by World Health Organisation (13/12/10)
The Ramblers Get Walking Keep Walking project has been selected by the World Health Organisation as an example of leading practice for promoting physical activity in socially disadvantaged groups. Get Walking Keep Walking is a twelve-week programme designed to get physically-inactive people walking regularly. 600 volunteers have been involved in either leading the walks or designing the walking routes. I recently reported in my blog that independent evaluation shows that, three months after…
Over 570 path successes. Thanks to thousands of volunteers (10/12)
Between October 2009 and September 2010, Ramblers volunteers unblocked, saved, or succeeded in getting recorded over 570 paths. They break down into these four categories:
• 256 paths cleared through practical path work.
• 50 paths added to the definitive map.
• 29 paths saved from damaging diversion, extinguishment, gating or planning application.
• 239 paths reopened through Ramblers surveys and problem reports leading to council action.
The three Ramblers areas that have achieved the most…
Ramblers membership figures for December (7/12/10)
Congratulations to Oxfordshire, Lake District, Lincolnshire, Greater Gwent, Highlands and Islands, Shropshire, South West Scotland, Herefordshire, Mid Lancashire, and Ceredigion. Between them, these Areas have grown by 96 members since the start of the financial year (1 st October). Overall membership is down , however, over these two months in most Areas. T he full breakdown is available on the volunteers section of the website:…
Getting Inactive People Walking (6/12/10)
This morning the Ramblers launched the independent evaluation findings from our Get Walking Keep Walking scheme. The event took place at Boris's headquarters in London and is one of four similar events across England (the others being in Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester). We had lots of people from local councils and the NHS there, and it was great to see Peter Skipp and Mavis Rear too, in their role as trustees of Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust (which part-funds the scheme along with the Big…
Board of Trustees meeting (4/12/10)
I'm heading home after a Ramblers Board of Trustees meeting today. [For those who don't know, the Board meets about seven times a year (usually either on a Saturday or Friday and Saturday). The trustees are mostly elected at our General Council, together with two places for cooptions, to fill gaps in knowledge or experience. I attend the Board, together with some or all of my senior management team (depending on the issues being discussed). There are also three subcommittees of the Board, which…
Bayham Abbey Footpath Inquiry starts next Monday (3/12/10)
Monday sees the start of the public inquiry into the footpaths around the ruins of the old Bayham Abbey. The well-used paths were closed off and ‘keep out’ signs appeared following the sale of the estate by the previous Marquis of Camden in the mid-1970s. Tunbridge Wells Ramblers Group has been campaigning for over 30 years to have two of the historic paths recognised as public footpaths and ens u re that this beauty spot is reopened to the public. Last year the Secretary of State ruled that there…
Sheffield Ramblers discuss local walking issues their MP, Nick Clegg (2/12/10)
Well done to Sheffield Ramblers for securing a meeting recently with one of their MPs who had signed the Ramblers manifesto in the run-up to the General Election - Nick Clegg. The meeting, which took place at his Sheffield Hallam constituency surgery, covered a range of issues relating to walking in Sheffield. These included: the potential impact of local authority budget cuts on walking, the operation of the CRoW Act, and Local Access Forums. The Ramblers delegation was Terry Howard, Judy…
Showcasing Get Walking Keep Walking (1/11/10)
Despite demonstrating students outside Manchester Town Hall and lots of snow, the first event to showcase the success of Get Walking Keep Walking was held in the Mayor ’ s Parlour at Manchester City Hall yesterday, attended by over 50 people , many from health and local authorities . Get Walking Keep Walking is a Ramblers project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund and the Rambler s Holidays Charitable Trust, to introduce people to walking and thereby help them to improve their physical and mental health.…
Bristol volunteers meeting (30/11/10)
I'm currently travelling back from the last of the current series of special volunteers meetings with Rodney (chair) and myself - this one in Bristol. Luckily snow didn't get in the way. Many of the people at the meeting had been at last year's meeting in Bath - and everyone agreed how much more relaxed and positive this year's was. Key issues discussed include: - recruiting volunteers. It was pointed out that many of our volunteers were in the 50s and 60s age bracket. With more people…
Doesn't time fly - 10 years since Right to Roam legislation Assent (29/11/10)
Tomorrow, we’re celebrating the tenth anniversary since the landmark Countryside and Rights of Way (CroW) Act received Royal Assent – finally giving legal access to over one milli o n hectares of open country side in England and Wales. It wa s a pivotal moment in the campaign for access in England and Wales – a campaign which began back in the 19 th century . Royal Assent for the CRoW Act fired the starting pistol for the mapping process which has resulted in large swathes of the country being…
