The South Devon AONB Unit has teamed up with the National Trust Countryside Rangers to run a series of walks as part of the ‘Connecting Actively to Nature’ project.

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about the scheme is invited to an open meeting at Kingsbridge library this Thursday, April 11 at 10am.

The walks will run for eight weeks around East Soar and Bolberry Down in Malborough commencing on Wednesday, April 17. 

The walks are particularly aimed at individuals age 55+ who would like to be more active and get involved with nature.

AONB communities officer, Nicky Bailey, said: “We have devised some short easy walks that will have a different theme each week including wildlife monitoring and checking feeding stations.

“They will be a great opportunity for people to enjoy the outdoors and build up their confidence”

The programme is a Devon Local Nature Partnership initiative. Devon’s Local Nature Partnership has been awarded £500,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport?England to deliver a five year programme that will support older people in Devon and Torbay to connect actively to nature. 

“The ‘Connecting Actively to Nature’ programme in Devon will help over 3,000 inactive people to discover the combined benefits of a more active lifestyle with the psychological benefits that being outdoors in nature brings,” said Hannah Colston, senior development manager at Active Devon who is managing the CAN programme on behalf of the Devon Local Nature partnership.  

The partnership will seek to improve and adapt existing opportunities so it is more welcoming to people who are taking their first steps into activity. 

Additionally, more than three hundred volunteer ambassadors will be recruited to help make people’s first steps easy and enjoyable.