Outdoor trust evaluates its year
Improving paths, controlling invasive species and repairing fences were just some of the hotlydebated topics at the Outdoor Access Trust’s AGM.
The meeting at Perth’s Royal George Hotel saw a “fantastic”turnout, with all eager to hear talks, presentations, discussions and demonstrations.
The highlight of the day for many was hearing about volunteering work carried out as part of the trust’s newest project‘The Mountains and The People’.
Over the past 18 months, 178 people have volunteered more than 2700 hours on a number of conservation tasks with the trust. The volunteers were recognised at the AGM in a prize-giving ceremony.
James Gillies from Glasgow won volunteer of the year for his work in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to repair a number of paths, and for‘adopting’Ben Ime to conserve the upland landscape by reporting on erosion damage.
James Brownhill, a retired meteorologist from Aberdeen, also won a volunteer of the year award for working in the Cairngorms National Park for surveying Dubh Loch path on the Balmoral Estate for the past five years.
The prize for the most conservation days volunteered went to Euan Ramage, a shopkeeper from Alloa, for his work on 14 different conservation projects in both of Scotland’s national parks.
Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland chair Ian Moffett, Euan Ramage, James Brownhill, James Gillies, and Julie Wilson – an activity project officer for The Mountains and The People Project