It’s 5 months since It’s Up to Us launched and we are delighted to announce that work has now started on our project to repair 3.2km of badly eroded path on An Teallach.
Thanks to donations by Mountaineering Scotland members and clubs, and contributions from our other public donors and sponsors, we have raised nearly £50,000 in public donations towards the path repairs. This, in addition to the £100,000 Diamond Grant awarded by the Scottish Mountaineering Trust, means we are almost halfway in our campaign to raise the £300,000 required for the An Teallach project.
The team from Cairngorm Wilderness Contracts (pictured above) began work on the An Teallach path at Dundonnell on 29 September, starting at the bottom of the hill and making their way uphill as work progresses.
The contractors are a specialist company dedicated to the design, build and maintenance of upland and mountain footpaths who have worked on many other path projects with OATS including The Fairy Pools and Ben More. Path work often commences in the autumn and throughout the winter, as this is a time when there is less footfall on the mountains, meaning the team are out working in some very harsh weather conditions!
Volunteer parties, organised by OATS, will support the path work and are another great way to get involved in a more practical way. If you’d like to find out more about volunteering with OATS please contact the OATS Activity Project Officer.
Other ways to support It’s Up to Us
- Become a regular donor – if you haven’t already done so, one of the best ways to support It’s Up to Us is to set up a regular donation
- Spread the word – talk to friends, club members, family and colleagues about the campaign, why paths are important and why we need more funding for mountain paths
- Employee volunteering – Employer-supported volunteering (ESV), also known as Corporate Volunteering, is where an organisation’s employees take paid time off to volunteer during work hours
- Adopt a Path – become a champion for one of the paths maintained by OATS through the Adopt a Path scheme
We’ll be sharing further updates on progress on the It’s Up to Us website and through the Mountaineering Scotland and OATS social media channels, as well as regular email updates to supporters.