It’s Volunteer’s week!  This Volunteer’s week VANL are looking into the benefits to wellbeing of what we like to call ‘Green Health’ projects, these are projects that connect us to nature and get us into the great outdoors. These projects range from biodiversity projects, planting wildflowers etc, such as the Cumbernauld Community Parks: https://cumbernauldlivinglandscape.org.uk/project/cumbernauld-community-park/   to community gardens growing fruit and veg, like this one at the Healthy Living Centre Shotts: https://shottshealthyliving.com/our-services-community-garden.php   to health walks and sponsored walks.

We interviewed our very own Sharon Bissett, a community development worker at VANL, to find out more about her experience doing her first KiltWalk.

The Kiltwalk | The Glasgow Kiltwalk

How long have you taken voluntary action, and what kind of things do you do?

This was my first time, to train for this I did lots of walking beforehand.

What inspired you to take this on?

I wanted to raise money for a charity close to my heart, Alzheimer’s Scotland. I also wanted to give myself a fitness goal.  I loved the challenge!

 Any other reasons you got involved?

I love walking so this was a good challenge to give myself and I also used this as part of my training for another big walking challenge, The Glencoe Challenge which is 26 miles in one day.

How did you enjoy the experience?

I loved it, I walked with a few friends as well and we had a great laugh along the way, as well as moaning about our feet, knees and hips!  The weather was very kind to us also, which really helped. It was great celebrating at the end too.

Did you experience any benefits to your wellbeing from your experience?

I burned a lot of calories and I felt much fitter afterwards.

What would you say to anyone who was thinking of doing something similar but who wasn’t sure?

I would highly recommend this challenge to anyone, there were three different lengths of walks so you don’t have to do the 23 mile one, there were also other volunteering opportunities with the Kiltwalk for those not wanting to walk.

If you are interested in volunteering to help the Kiltwalk. take a look here – https://thekiltwalk.co.uk/volunteer Or if you fancy doing a charity walk there are a range of options across Scotland. Find out more here: https://www.timeoutdoors.com/events/walks/charity-walks/scotland

If you just want to get outdoors more and do some walking and connect with nature, there are lots of opportunities and ideas here: Green Health | Get Outdoors Lanarkshire