Falkirk outdoor actvities

[frickletonh]

All, not sure if this is the right place to put this, but it look like Falkirk council are looking to shut down the outdoor activity programme. This is a fantastic service and I know quite a few WH members make use of it. Given all the furore around getting people into the outdoors it seems nuts that a service like this is being shutdown

Anyway onto the main event - there is a petition doing the rounds to try and retain this service - if you feel this is a service worth saving the please sign and forward to like minded friends and colleagues

Thanks

Harry

https://www.change.org/p/save-falkirk-o ... responsive

[BoyVertiginous]

Great idea, this is an amazing service, the envy of councils everywhere and, rather than cutting it, they should be expanding it across Scotland.

The range of outdoor activities they offer schoolkids, particularly less able or hard to reach kids, is unrivalled.

For over 20 years, the Council have invested in the service and in their team, some of the most experienced and qualified people out there.

Their adult programme is always full of interest. It's never been publicised or marketed by the Council in the way say the Arts have and now it's first in line for the chop. The council want to plug a £1.5M reduction in funding by erasing this great service but the cost of closing it down will mean it'll be a while before they see any "benefit". Meanwhile, all the clients, from school age to folk well into their 70's still bounding over the hills, from Munros to Marilyns, will instead be queueing up at the Forth Valley hospital in Larbert, placing further strain on an already creaking NHS.

Good to see names like Chris Townshend and David Lintern getting behind the petition. Please consider signing folks, the adult programmes are available to folk outside the Falkirk area.

[kgoodall]

I agree with everything you've both said, and just want to add that the fantastic team at Falkirk Outdoors don't just provide support for lifelong sports and fitness: they also teach adults how to travel the hills safely. How much does it cost (not just money but also risk to rescuers' lives) to find lost walkers in wild weather who mightn't have got into trouble if they'd had the benefit of a wee bit of affordable training?

So many accidents on the hill are the result of bad planning and poor navigation, taking people at the wrong time into places where they aren't able to cope. I thought it was all about just checking the weather and packing a map, till I went on a Falkirk Outdoors course.

I've only just found the service, and have learnt loads. I'll be gutted if they have to close.

Every testimonial WH members can add to the petition is worth it: if you've got a story about the service, add your two euro cents before it's too late.

[Coop]

Can't access this petition.
It's saying " this petition isn't available " ?

[Emmanuelle]

Can't access this petition.
It's saying " this petition isn't available " ?

Hello, the petition is still available here https://www.change.org/p/save-falkirk-o ... m=copylink

It's great that people want to sign it, so thanks in anticipation.
Emmanuelle

[Cairngormwanderer]

By all means sign the petition - I have - but this is a wider issue that really needes to be addressed - https://www.mountaineering.scot/news/co ... ities-cuts

[Emmanuelle]

Thanks Harry for drawing attention to this on this forum.. I do indeed hope it's OK to publicise what's going on. Im a regular client of the Falkirk Outdoors team and I've learnt a lot from them - ski touring and winter mountaineering. Thanks to them, I got the confidence to climb some of the Cuillin Munros on my own. However the loss will be felt most keenly by children who have access to their activities via their school or during the summer and easter holidays. There is also a 50+ ramblers group. So it's the whole population that stands to lose from the closure of this service. And of course the team are also facing redundancy, which is a big blow for such a dedicated team of professionals.

For those for whom the link to the petition didn't work, here it is again https://www.change.org/p/save-falkirk-o ... m=copylink

Copy and paste into your browser as you wont be able to access directly from this site.

[Emmanuelle]

Great idea, this is an amazing service, the envy of councils everywhere and, rather than cutting it, they should be expanding it across Scotland.

The range of outdoor activities they offer schoolkids, particularly less able or hard to reach kids, is unrivalled.

For over 20 years, the Council have invested in the service and in their team, some of the most experienced and qualified people out there.

Their adult programme is always full of interest. It's never been publicised or marketed by the Council in the way say the Arts have and now it's first in line for the chop. The council want to plug a £1.5M reduction in funding by erasing this great service but the cost of closing it down will mean it'll be a while before they see any "benefit". Meanwhile, all the clients, from school age to folk well into their 70's still bounding over the hills, from Munros to Marilyns, will instead be queueing up at the Forth Valley hospital in Larbert, placing further strain on an already creaking NHS.

Good to see names like Chris Townshend and David Lintern getting behind the petition. Please consider signing folks, the adult programmes are available to folk outside the Falkirk area.

Yes I've gone on trips with folk from Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, the Midlands and there's even a person who flies over from Belfast several times a year. So the team income generates! What's not to like??? And they provide Lowland leadership award training, one of the busiest providers.

Insane.

[Emmanuelle]

Can't access this petition.
It's saying " this petition isn't available " ?

Hello, the petition is still available here https://www.change.org/p/save-falkirk-o ... m=copylink
But you'll have to copy and paste into your browser.

It's great that people want to sign it, so thanks in anticipation.
Emmanuelle

[Coop]

Can't access this petition.
It's saying " this petition isn't available " ?

Hello, the petition is still available here https://www.change.org/p/save-falkirk-o ... m=copylink

It's great that people want to sign it, so thanks in anticipation.
Emmanuelle

No need for thanks.

Thank you for highlighting this

[frickletonh]

All, good news - Falkirk Outdoor team has been saved from cuts - some sanity in an increasingly strange world - thanks to all who supported via petition, direct contact, etc - we can make things happen!!

H

https://www.change.org/p/save-falkirk-o ... ithL7wb9Nx

[Dave Hewitt]

Falkirk Council is planning to close 3 large libraries. Arguably this would be as big a loss a ending their outdoor activities. All Scottish councils are facing financial problems. Unfortunately something has to give.

They're also intending to restrict the hours / reduce staff at the community centre in Grangemouth, which means that the long-established (and currently very strong) Grangemouth chess club is on the hunt for a new home (as are, presumably, all the other groups that use the building in the evenings).

Incidentally, during the time when I lived in the Gorbals in 1990s, two well-used and well-staffed libraries were closed. These seemed particularly poor decisions, especially as the nearest alternative branch, Stirling's Library in the city centre, also closed. Needless to say all the bookies and pubs stayed open.