Countryside volunteers receive awards for long-term service

Countryside volunteers, some of which have been volunteering with Shropshire Council’s outdoor recreation service for over 20 years, were recognised for their hard work and dedication at a recent award ceremony in Ellesmere.

The annual ‘thank you’ event for volunteers was held on 9 May 2013 and saw several long-standing volunteers acknowledged for their dedication to Shropshire life.

The event saw three volunteers – Ron Bond, Carl Stanton MBE and Roy Arnold – from the Parish Path Partnership (P3) rewarded for their long service to the partnership.

The P3 scheme helps maintain and improve public rights of way in local parishes.  Their activities include: surveying paths, planning and leading guided and promoted walks, clearing overgrown paths, and repairing and installing new stiles and gates.  Several other members of the P3 were rewarded for their long-standing service, but were unable to attend the event.  They were: Bill Hodges, Peter West, Colin Brown, Barrie Davies, Chris King-Davies and Charles Kenchington.

Don Bannister, who has been volunteering at Severn Valley County Park since it was opened in 1992, was also presented with an award at the event for his various activities throughout the years to improve and maintain the site.  Another person rewarded for their service was Nesscliffe Country Park volunteer Dawn Offen.

The awards were presented by Shropshire Councillor Steve Charmley who said:

“Last year alone our volunteers contributed 31,000 hours to supporting this work in Shropshire.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank these volunteers on the invaluable and hard work they undertake in the county.  Our volunteers are vital in helping keeping our rights of way open, promoting short walks in their communities, helping keeping our parks and sites well-maintained and welcoming places for everyone, and helping keeping people active through the short health walks they provide in their local communities.

“Long may this continue.  I know the council is fully committed to supporting our local volunteers to help keep our beautiful countryside accessible for all our residents and visitors.”

Shropshire Council’s outdoor recreation service offers opportunities for volunteers to help manage the 5,500 kms of public rights of way within the county.

The wide range of volunteer opportunities offered by the service means that there is something for everybody to get involved with – no matter what skills they have to offer or how much time they can commit.  Volunteering is a great way to get out into the Shropshire countryside and enjoy the county’s famous green spaces.

Whatever your age, ability and background, there are lots of opportunities to get involved as a volunteer.  To find out how to become a volunteer call Shropshire Council’s outdoor recreation service on 01743 255058 or email us at outdoor.recreation@shropshire.gov.uk.

Photo

(left to right) Councillor Steve Charmley, Don Bannister (Severn Valley County Park vols) Ron Bond (Oswestry P3 Group), Roy Arnold (Shifnal P3 Group), Deb Hughes – Service Manager for Outdoor Recreation, Carl Stanton MBE (Montford P3 Group).