Week-long walking and wheeling event inspires Highlanders
A LOCAL charity has been recognised for its commitment in getting the community moving with a week-long festival of events.
Scotland’s national walking charity, Paths for All, has recognised Partnerships for Wellbeing for its Festival of Walking and Wheeling in Inverness as the Active Travel Group of the Year at the Volunteer Awards 2023.
The festival, which was held in May 2023, was the first of its kind in the capital of the Highlands and featured 22 events over a week-long celebration of walking and wheeling.
Set out to promote activities available in Inverness and surrounding areas, 30 local organisations collaborated to encourage people from all walks of life to get involved in active travel.
Jayne Preece, Health Walks and Events Manager at Partnerships for Wellbeing, and festival co-ordinator said: “It’s brilliant that the work and dedication of our volunteers has been recognised.
“Organising and facilitating the festival has been extremely rewarding. The fact that so many fantastic organisations came together just shows how passionate we are about getting more people active and outside.
“Walking and wheeling have so many benefits for your physical and mental health, it’s been incredible to see that since the festival we’ve seen a huge boost to the numbers joining our weekly Health Walks, and walking and wheeling activities across Inverness.
“This award from Paths for All is an incredible achievement, we’re so proud of the work we’re doing, and being recognised in this way is a huge boost for our work. We can’t wait for next year’s festival.”
The festival received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, and Paths for All’s Smarter Choices, Smarter Places fund. Partnerships for Wellbeing has been facilitating weekly Health Walk groups since 2004, with 14 groups from Tain to Nairn.
The Inverness Festival of Walking and Wheeling was commended at Paths for All’s 14th annual awards ceremony at the Scottish Parliament on 27 September.
Hosted by the BBC Scotland’s Fiona Stalker, the event recognised 10 groups and individuals throughout Scotland who have gone the extra mile to keep their communities active.
Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport said: “Supporting people in Scotland to walk and wheel is a key part of our vision of a country where more people are more active, more often.
“A huge number of highly motivated and skilled people are helping us deliver this vision, especially the passionate volunteers who do so much to help others overcome challenges to participation and facilitate activities across the country.
“They really are inspirational, the recognition from Paths for All in these Awards is very well deserved.”
Kevin Lafferty, Chief Executive Officer at Paths for All, said: “Every year I am blown away at the number of incredible groups and volunteers out there determined to make a difference. The work carried out by volunteers is directly improving the nation’s physical, mental and social health, reducing social isolation and loneliness and helping people make more environmentally friendly lifestyle choices.
“It’s been fantastic hosting the awards at the Scottish Parliament again this year, I always enjoy getting to socialise with our amazing volunteers and hear first-hand about the invaluable contributions they have been making.
“Thank you to everyone for their efforts and ongoing dedication.”
Paths for All works with the Scottish Government and 30 partners to support and deliver national policies, such as the National Walking Strategy and other ‘active travel’ initiative to improve the mental, social and physical health of the country.
The charity awards thousands of pounds worth of grants to worthwhile projects that improve health, promote walking and improve environments for people to be active in – making for a happier, healthier, greener Scotland.
To find out more about the Inverness Festival of Walking and Wheeling, please visit: https://www.wawfest.com/
A full list of Volunteer Award winners 2023 can be found on Paths for All’s website: http://www.pathsforall.org.uk/volunteerawards
