- Info
How to set up your walk - Your team
Your walk project will be far better and will mean less work for you if it involves a number of people. You can’t include everyone, but you do need to have the community on your side. Do involve as many people as possible though – you never know what skills they may bring to the project.
When setting up your group, remember the following points:- Recruit members with varied skills and from different parts of the community.
- Be sure that your group is united in its purpose and aims.
- Consult
the community: hold a meeting or devise a method by which people can
comment on proposals, e.g. a suggestions board with post-it notes, a
suggestions box or a door-to-door survey.
- Find out what skills people have that may be useful for your project.
- Make
links. There are plenty of people out there who can offer support such
as your Community Council, Local Access Forums, the National Park
Authority and communities who have successfully undertaken similar
projects.
- Identify partners with whom you can work.
- Plan
for the future. Are group members willing to assist with any
maintenance work that might need doing once the walk is in place?
- If
necessary, constitute your group. A properly constituted group will
help attract funding and will also mean that everyone is clear about
what is happening. The National Park Authority can offer advice on this
or check: www.charity-commission.gov.uk.
Alternatively, contact your local Community Council to see if you can become a sub-group of the Council.
Further
information on managing community groups is available from Community
Matters. This organisation publishes a range of leaflets on such
diverse topics as creating a business plan to disability discrimination
legislation. You could also contact your county’s Association for
Voluntary Organisations – for those in Powys, this is PAVO.
