Surrey Area suggestions (25/3)

I enjoyed meeting up with the new Chair of Surrey Area, John Nathan, today.  John is a retired doctor, with lots of ideas and energy for Surrey – our biggest Area in terms of membership.

In setting up the meeting with John, I emailed him to say that it would be useful to talk about his plans for the Area.  His response today was, to adapt a Tony Blair quote, that he had three priorities: increase membership, increase membership, increase membership.  This is, of course, music to my ears.  Points he raised with me included :

-       We need to convince people about the importance of increasing membership.  He said that many see the same numbers on walks, and don’t realise that non-walkers are not renewing – yet the numbers of walkers are going up. 

-       We should send out email acknowledgements to new members when the sign up, as well as their letters [this is something we’re working on].

-       We still need to work on our image.  He said that he’d been told as a reason why a woman did not join was Ramblers walks were “too far too fast”.  Another woman had done the Tongariro crossing in NZ but did not think that she was fit enough to join the Ramblers! [I totally agree.  I think we’ve made some strides in changing our image, to show that we’re for all walkers whether beginners or old hands, but we need to keep going with this.]

-       We should be a partner in ‘Walking for Health’, particularly at this time when local authorities are cutting budgets for such work.  [Again, I totally agree.  I’m very keen that we forge stronger links – nationally and locally – between Ramblers and Walking for Health.]

-       We should offer more services, such as insurance, for members.  [This is an interesting idea.  I’d like to hear other views on this, and other ideas for ‘member benefits’.]

-       We should provide an award for the member who recruits the most new members in a year. [I’ll look at this one.  I told John about the Challenge Cup in Cornwall Ramblers, which will be awarded to the Group which has the biggest membership growth this year.]

I am very grateful to John for sparing the time to meet with me.  It is always very instructive to hear the views and ideas from Areas and Groups.  While we can’t act on everything, and certainly not instantaneously, the ideas do help us to shape future plans.

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Happy birthday to the Campaign for National Parks (23/3)

There was a reception in Parliament today to celebrate the 75th
anniversary of the Campaign for National Parks. It was good to hear
the minister, Richard Benyon, talk with conviction about National
Parks being part of our country's crown jewels. And to hear the CNP's
President, Ben Fogel, talk about the work to encourage young people to
enjoy the parks.

It's more than coincidence that the CNP is celebrating its 75th year
just a year after the Ramblers' 75th. The two were set up by many of
the same people, and for 75 years the two have campaigned alongside
each other.

I'm sure we'll be working together on many campaigns to come.

Well done to the CNP.

Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:
www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Government announces Forestry Panel (17/3/11)

It is great that the Terms of Reference for the Independent Forestry Advisory Panel, announced by Caroline Spelman today, takes a complete step back from previous sell-off plans, and enables the panel to look afresh at forestry policy, including how to broaden access and public enjoyment, as well as biodiversity and the protection of wildlife and ancient woodland.    The Ramblers spoke out against previous government proposals to sell off Forestry Commission land and is therefore now welcoming the chance to look at the whole of woodland policy afresh.

I am pleased to join the Independent Panel.  I am very keen that the panel listens to the views of community groups, large and small, who have been so passionate in their support for their forests over recent months.  Those who visit and enjoy their local woodland can help to shape the future of England’s forests.  The Panel is due to report in the Autumn, so we will have a busy few months ahead.

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Listen to Radio 4's Ramblings this afternoon 3pm (17/3/11)

There's a great piece on the programme about Ramblers volunteers in Birmingham - from the South Birmingham Ramblers Group and the Birmingham Ramblers Get Walking Keep Walking project.  The programme follows one of a number of walks led by the South Birmingham Group for Get Walking participants who wanted to try walking in a more rural area – and proved to be extremely popular with local residents who wouldn't have gone walking with the Ramblers otherwise.

We're increasingly finding examples of Ramblers funded projects and Ramblers Groups linking up, and I think there's a lot of advantages from grant-funded local Ramblers co-ordinators helping across the range of local walks, from short health walks to longer walks. 

If you can't listen this afternoon, you can catch the Ramblings programme on  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006xrr2   

For more examples of how Ramblers Groups are linking up with Ramblers grant funded projects, read the article on the volunteer news section of the website: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/News/radio4ramblings0311

Tom Franklin

Sent from my iPhone

 

The Ramblers' Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Helping the walk leaders to lead the walks (15/3/11)

We’ve published on the volunteers website (led walks section) today two new resources to help Groups train the next generation of Ramblers walk leaders.  Well – when I say ‘new resources’, but they are actually age-old Ramblers resources which have stood the test of time, and we’re now simply making them available to everyone.

Firstly, ‘Navigation and Leadership – a manual for walkers’ has been put online.  The manual was first produced in 1993 and sold out almost immediately.  Revised and reissued in 1994, it was distributed until stocks ran out in the mid 2000s.  (We’ve made a few changes to take account of changes in the Ramblers and the wider world in the decade and a half since it was published.)

Secondly, we’ve placed online two Navigation and Leadership Powerpoint Presentations – one covering an Introduction to Leading Walks, and the other an Introduction to Navigation.  There are also accompanying notes to the presentations.  These two presentations have been adapted from a set of slides (in those days, on acetate), first produced in the 1990s to accompany the manual.  We’re making them available for Groups that want to use them when they put on training events for new walks leaders.

If you’d like to access any of these materials, they are available here: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/AreaGroup/Led+Walks/Led+Walks.htm

This is just another part of our actions to help the Ramblers fantastic army of about 15,000 volunteer walk leaders put on a safe, varied and fun programme of led walks. 

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Ramblers leads the way in Birmingham (14/3/11)

I've been in Birmingham today for an event organised by the Big
Lottery Fund to bring together the major charities - Ramblers included
- which have benefited from lottery funding to help improve people's
well-being through encouraging physical activity and healthy eating.

Thanks to a team of six Ramblers Get Walking volunteers, all the
delegates, including the Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund, took
part in a Ramblers Get Walking walk during their lunch break.

In my presentation to them, I told them that the World Health
Organisation has highlighted the Ramblers Get Walking Keep Walking
scheme as an examplar of how to encourage physical activity amongst
disadvantaged communities. I also said that many Ramblers groups are
putting on shorter walks as a way of attracting new people to the
Ramblers.

Thanks to the volunteer team who made today possible. (And thanks also
to the Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust, which has helped to make
the Get Walking project possible.)

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:
www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales