Get Walking Keep Walking Durham is an expansion of the Ramblers' Big Lottery funded Get Walking Keep Walking project already established in other English cities. It aims to encourage regular independent walking close to home as part of everyday life, using a 12-week plan supported by led walks, information giving and motivational activities to kick start changes in behaviour. An independent evaluation of the existing Get Walking projects has found strong evidence that the approach works.
The Durham project is being funded by NHS County Durham through the local county sports partnership County Durham Sport, and is running from January 2011-September 2012.. It's part of a package of projects known as Changing the Physical Activity Landscape (CPAL) offering physical activity opportunities to adults aged 40-74 identified through NHS Health Checks as at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and their families.
A project coordinator and support worker are already working in Durham and will shortly be delivering programmes in the areas of Derwentside, Teesdale and Wear Valley. 37 programmes should run during the funding period. We will be working closely with the NHS and Durham council to link in with Health Checks conducted in local GP surgeries, but other local residents will also be welcome to many of the programmes, which will be based in health centres and in other venues.
As with the existing Get Walking projects, volunteers play a key role and we're working closely with local Ramblers Groups and recruiting and training volunteer walk leaders and walking ambassadors to support the programmes, as well as route developers to devise customised routes for the led walks. We are aiming to set up new Ramblers Groups for participants that want to sustain group walking after the 12-week intervention has ended.
The full launch of the project is due in February 2011 and will be promoted to potential participants both locally and through the existing Get Walking website at www.getwalking.org. The site will also act as a home for walking routes developed as part of the project so that they can be enjoyed by everyone.
The project is also being supported by the Future Jobs Fund.
For more about CPAL see http://www.countydurhamsport.com/cpal-projects.
