David on path to volunteer award
Alan Dorman, Alex and David McKeggie A Crieff man has been nominated for the Paths for All volunteer awards.
David McKeggie (75) volunteers at Crieff Community Trust path group and has been put forward for the community path volunteer of the year award by greenspace ranger Alan Dorman.
David said: “I just love being outdoors with nature and seeing how I’m helping to breathe life back into the land and paths in the local area just spurs me on.
“Five years ago I retired from the Forestry Commission and moved to Crieff.
“I’m really chuffed to be nominated for the award and, as a newbie up here, I really feel as though I have been accepted.
“When I moved to Crieff the newly-formed path group were looking for volunteers and I hoped that, with my forestry background spanning some years, I might be of some use.
“I’ve made great friends with great, like-minded people and together we share the aim of making our beautiful countryside accessible to all.”
Alan said: “You don’t get many volunteers better than David. He holds himself to such high standards and no job is too difficult.
“He motivates others in the group with his stories and by showing them techniques they can use to David McKeggie make a job easier.
“His can-do attitude is often the engine that keeps our volunteer work groups moving.
“Most recently he helped to improve Muthill path, which was simply not passable and required a great deal of attention.
“David transformed the space and it’s now back in use. The trust and the community are so grateful.”
The awards ceremony will take place at the Scottish Parliament on September 20, with the country’s top volunteers receiving a certificate, £250 towards their project and a £30 gift voucher.
Award entries are submitted in one of six categories: community path volunteer of the year, community path group of the year, health walk volunteer of the year, health walk volunteer group of the year, dementia friendly walking volunteer of the year and volunteer manager of the year.
Ian Findlay, chief officer at Paths for All, said: “The volunteer awards are always a very important event in Scotland’s community calendar as they highlight some of our country’s unsung heroes.
“Walking is a fantastic way of improving the nation’s physical, mental and social health so the work these volunteers are doing really is invaluable to Scotland.”
Paths for All works on national policies such as the National Walking Strategy.
The charity donates thousands of pounds of grants to projects that improve health, promote walking and improve environments for people to be active in.