Funding Programme: LEADER 2014-2020 Programme
Total Project Cost: £87,241.96
Total LEADER Award: £87,241.96
Intervention Rate: 100%
Project: This project involved developing Community Environmental Volunteering in the Cairngorms National Park, as well as a Volunteer Ranger Service. As part of this project the applicant, the Cairngorms National Park Authority employed a part-time Volunteer Coordinator for a pilot period of 3 years. Their role involved recruiting, training and managing the Volunteer Rangers from various local communities across the park, who in turn managed volunteers recruited from further afield, and to people of all ages and abilities. A wide range of activities were offered as part of this project, including cultural heritage projects and environmental volunteering opportunities. Initially the project target was to recruit 2-3 rangers in each of the 3 geographical areas identified. These rangers were trained to a level where they could then lead local groups of up to 10 people in a variety of community based natural and cultural heritage projects.
Since the project started in November 2016, there are a total of 14 Volunteer Rangers with ongoing recruitment which will bring the total to 26, smashing the initial target of 10.
Comments from the Applicant: Volunteer Cairngorms has been awarded funding to deliver a pilot programme supporting and developing environmental volunteering across the Cairngorms National Park area. It does this in three ways:
- Developing a Cairngorms National Park Volunteer Ranger programme;
- Raising the profile of existing opportunities to get involved with partners across the National Park, and supporting the development of new opportunities;
- Supporting communities to form and run their own, local, environmental volunteering activities.
The project has successfully recruited 14 Volunteer Rangers to date, and is currently meeting our most recent applicants which will bring the team to a total of 26. We plan to continue to grow the programme, with a target of 38 recruits by the end of our recently extended funding period, much in excess of the 10 recruits which were our original target.
The Volunteer Rangers have given over 2,500 hours of their time to date, both through attending training and supporting the work of 8 Ranger Services across the Cairngorms National Park area. Activities are wide-ranging from engaging with visitors, monitoring wildlife, and supporting with group activity days, through to helping repair paths, manage invasive species and construct otter holts. We were particularly delighted that two of our team were winners of one of the National Parks UK Volunteering Awards in 2018.
The programme has raised awareness of over 100 individual volunteering opportunities with 14 different groups/organisations across the National Park, and have built a growing online presence through social media and regular newsletters to over 300 subscribers.
It has also supported the development of a new environmental volunteering group through coordination, publicity and administration and are working to develop two further groups. Through this, publicity and awareness events, and the provision of tools and equipment to groups we have exceeded our three year targets regarding the involvement of people in projects for the first time, in environment/heritage projects, and those who are identified as hard-to-reach in the Cairngorms Local Development Strategy.
We have evidence that the programme is making a positive impact both on partners and on volunteers involved, and also where the programme can be improved or changed to be more effective. As a pilot programme we look forward to continuing to learn from this and improve wherever possible.
