2 December 2024

Do you run a community group in London or Manchester that supports vulnerable people, brings together people of faith or celebrates a shared culture in your community?

The Ramblers, Britian’s walking charity, wants to hear from community groups that would like to add walking to their current activities programmes but are not sure where to start.

• Would you like to lead regular walks to a local food market for your cookery group, so that you can exercise and source fresh ingredients for your dishes together?
• Do you want to help your community gardening group connect to nature or other community gardens? Could leading a regular walk help your group to get inspired?
• Do you run a group for vulnerable people who’d benefit from spending time together outdoors or getting used to a new area? Learning to lead a walk safely for your group could be the first step helping them build confidence.

Chair of Muslim women's group ‘An Nisa’, Farkhanda Khurshid, added walking activities into her social group’s programme.

Farkhanda said “I was already involved in supporting Muslim families to become active citizens through social connections, cultural engagement, and physical activities. Recognising the potential interest within our community, I initiated the 'Walk and Talk' Project, offering supported walks for ladies.  Since starting to lead walks last summer, we have seen a significant number of local ladies joining our walks. Some lacked the confidence to walk alone, while others needed guidance in navigating routes, even on their phones. These walks not only facilitated friendships among the participants but also encouraged them to form walking buddies outside our organised events.” 

Katie Phillips, Programme Lead at the Ramblers, added “The Ramblers organise thousands of group walks every year, and the health and wellness benefits of these are amazing. So now we want to offer help to other community groups to get more people out walking. Whether you run a faith, cultural or social support group, there’s usually a way you can spend some of the time you enjoy together while walking outside.”

Walking can help you live a longer and happier life. Walking can reduce the risks of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, dementia, stroke and cancers. It can even help treat these conditions. Walking in a group also means getting social, reducing isolation and improving mental health. ​The walking charity is particularly interested in working with faith groups, people from Global Majority backgrounds and groups supporting refugees and asylum seekers.

The Ramblers experienced walk leaders hope to collaborate with groups to design a toolkit and training programme which helps everyone to get out walking, co-designed with community groups ensuring it is tailored to their needs.

 

What will the training cover?

The Ramblers provide training and support to help people lead walks in a safe and enjoyable way. This training will help you identify how you could set up a walking programme, so you group can enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of walking, alongside your current activities.

We will work with your community members to understand and overcome any barriers or concerns that might mean people don’t currently feel walking is for them. 

You’ll also benefit from being paired with an experienced Ramblers walk leader, who can provide mentoring support to the group as needed.

 

What does the commitment involve?

• First, we’d work with you to arrange an introduction session with your community.
• Following this introductory session, we’d hope to identify at least five community members who would like walk leader training. You would work alongside The Ramblers in planning and delivering the training sessions, so they suit your community needs.
• You’ll also have the opportunity to feedback on the drafts of the new training tools, to help others lead walks.
• Finally, representatives of your group will be invited to attend a celebratory event at the end of the project!

The project is expected to be delivered over 12-18 months. For each group, this will involve attending a couple of in-person sessions throughout Spring/Summer 2025, and we will work with your group to agree suitable locations for these. The Ramblers have also set aside funds to cover session, travel and related subsistence expenses to enable community members to attend the training.

To chat to one of our friendly walking team about this opportunity, email us at volunteersupport@ramblers.zendesk.com

Images courtesy of the Centre for Ageing Better.