National Accolade for Local Health Walk Scheme
15 February 2010
Feet First in Furness have renewed their accreditation through Walking for Health, a joint initiative between Natural England and the Department of Health.
Feet First in Furness were one of the first schemes to gain this accreditation when the scheme was launched in February 2008 and have just demonstrated that they continue to meet the required criteria in their annual review.
This includes offering led walks for beginners, meeting the “Walking for Health” safety and insurance standards for all walks and collecting basic monitoring information. As an accredited scheme, Feet First in Furness will benefit from being seen as part of a nationally evaluated scheme as well as being formally recognised by health professionals, prospective partners and funders.
William Bird, Strategic Health Advisor for Natural England said: “The accreditation scheme has been critical in ensuring high standards across the Walking for Health network and providing frontline health professionals with added confidence when referring their patients.”
Richard Scott, Scheme co-ordinator for Feet First in Furness said: “We are pleased that our Walking for Health scheme meets the standards set by Natural England and look forward to another year of encouraging people in the Furness area to enjoy walking. We will continue to offer the 7 weekly short walks, as well as the longer sunset walks on North Walney and special walks for the local festivals.”
Feet First in Furness welcomes new walkers throughout the year. Seven walks take place each week starting from a variety of locations around Barrow, Ulverston and Dalton.
If you’d like to walk with Feet First in Furness or train as a Walking for Health Volunteer Walk Leader please contact the Scheme Co-ordinator, Richard Scott, on 01229 823144 or richardsc@cumbriacvs.org.uk.
You can see other health walks in your area by logging onto the Walking for Health website
or by contacting your regional Walking for Health Adviser, Chris Pantechis on 07825 932900 or chris.pantechis@naturalengland.org.uk.
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Notes to Editors
Walking for Health
Walking for Health is the largest national body promoting and setting the standards for led health walks. It is a joint initiative between Natural England and the Department of Health.
Walking for Health aims to get more people walking in their own communities, especially those who take little exercise or live in areas of poor health. The initiative has helped to create over 590 local health walk schemes across England and has trained over 40,000 Volunteer Walk Leaders. We support schemes through training for walk leaders, advice on setting up a new scheme, insurance, evaluation and free leaflets to help promote walking.
Our health walks are free to participants and provide an easy way of getting regular exercise. There is compelling evidence of the benefits of moderate physical activity. Those who exercise enjoy greater life expectancy with reduced risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, colonic cancer and osteoporosis. Walking can also be a catalyst for connecting people with many other aspects of health, such as healthy eating, stopping smoking and relaxation.
Many health walk schemes have their own web page on the Walking for Health ‘Walk Finder’, displaying details of their walks and how to get involved. These can all be accessed by logging onto the Walking for Health website.
Natural England
Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings.
