Category: Uncategorized

Vote for It’s Up to Us to win EOCA funding

Workers busy repairing the path on An Teallach

We are excited to announce that It’s Up to Us has been shortlisted for the autumn round of funding from the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) and we need your votes to secure 60,000 Euros that will be a huge boost to our fundraising for the path repairs on An Teallach.

The award will be decided by public vote, which is open until midday Wednesday 1 November, so please head over to the EOCA website now to cast your vote for It’s Up to Us and share with your friends, family, club members and colleagues to ensure we have the best chance of being chosen.

Workers busy repairing the path on An Teallach

How to vote

To vote, you will need to REGISTER – this is quick and easy and can be done here

  1. To REGISTER, you will be asked to input a username and valid email account, then click the ‘Register’ button. 
  2. A pop-up box will appear, asking you for a four digit verification code. This code will be sent in an email to the address you have used to register. 
  3. Input the four digit verification code in the ‘pop up’ box, click on the ‘Verify Code’ button.
  4. You will be taken to ‘My Account’ page, where there is a link you can click to the ‘voting page’, and you are now ready to vote!

You can vote for one project from each category – It’s Up to Us is in the Wild Places category.


More about EOCA

The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) is a charity organisation, set up in 2006 by the European Outdoor Group (EOG) to enable companies from the outdoor sector to work collectively together.  EOCA, with its members, supports and funds a growing number of much needed grassroots conservation, protection and regeneration projects around the world, protecting the wild places and wildlife everyone cares so much about.

Funded by membership and other fundraising activities, with over 150 members, EOCA is unique as it provides companies from an entire industry the opportunity to work together, making a difference to threatened wild places, species and habitats, multiplying the effect and positive impact on nature.

Funded projects tackle the loss of biodiversity and mitigate against climate change, whilst also having a link to the outdoor enthusiast, being beneficial to local communities and leave a lasting, positive legacy.

Work starts on An Teallach path

Workers busy repairing the path on An Teallach

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

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.