2002: Recruitment
The Steering group meeting of organisers from Groundwork, Greenwood, the Countryside Agency, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the Primary Care Trust, and volunteers, was held in the Cattlemarket Tavern, HQ of Groundwork, chaired by Brendan Anderson who was on a gap year before going to university (he had hoped to spend it working for needy people in Africa!)
Volunteers agreed to establish 5 walks of one hour on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. These were Manor Park, Carr Bank Park, Vicar Water Country Park, The Carrs and Pleasley Trail. Funds were used for advertising and administration, training, first aid and other equipment and high visibility clothing. The aim was to provide a safe exercise experience for those with poor fitness, those on GP referral schemes and those who lacked the confidence and motivation to walk independently. All walks were to be free, a register taken and a brief health questionnaire to be completed.
Under the guidance of Groundwork, the first routes were gradually devised, and risk was assessed by the newly trained leaders. (Barbara Ripley on 11th December 2002, Andy Parks and Phil Proffitt on 9th April 2003; other leaders were gradually recruited as the group grew.) An administrative structure was developed to deal with finance, record keeping, publicity, etc. and a constitution was written. More routes were developed to include all the wards of Mansfield, and the number of walkers increased thanks to the hard work, both practical and social, of the growing leader team.
Volunteers agreed to establish 5 walks of one hour on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. These were Manor Park, Carr Bank Park, Vicar Water Country Park, The Carrs and Pleasley Trail. Funds were used for advertising and administration, training, first aid and other equipment and high visibility clothing. The aim was to provide a safe exercise experience for those with poor fitness, those on GP referral schemes and those who lacked the confidence and motivation to walk independently. All walks were to be free, a register taken and a brief health questionnaire to be completed.
Under the guidance of Groundwork, the first routes were gradually devised, and risk was assessed by the newly trained leaders. (Barbara Ripley on 11th December 2002, Andy Parks and Phil Proffitt on 9th April 2003; other leaders were gradually recruited as the group grew.) An administrative structure was developed to deal with finance, record keeping, publicity, etc. and a constitution was written. More routes were developed to include all the wards of Mansfield, and the number of walkers increased thanks to the hard work, both practical and social, of the growing leader team.
Advert for first volunteer walk leaders
2003: November
InStep became independent though links with Greenwood were maintained under the Friends scheme. A committee of leaders was formed under the chairmanship of Brian Whittingham with Barbara Ripley as secretary. Andy became treasurer and Phil walks coordinator, a role he still holds.
First News Letter
2005
Governmemt funding ceased but the committee rose to the challenge and was successful in applying for grants from Mansfield District Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottinghamshire Community Foundation. In 2006 David Bird was elected as the new chairman, spearheading the search for new funding sources. Derek Myton stepped in as secretary for a year despite not being a walk leader. Christine Johnson then assumed the mantle in 2009.
2008
Natural England took over the national scheme as Walking for Health (WfH). A national data base was set up using the Outdoor Health Questionnaire (OHQ) and register records entered after each walk. By the end of 2008 the number of walkers had increased to 115.
2009
Jane Kockum became secretary and InStep received accredited status from Natural England, and later featured on the national website as walking group of the month. The first website was launched under the guidance of Neil Mudford. Funding from the local authorities decreased and it became necessary to seek alternative sources in the local community, gratefully acknowledged on each programme of walks.
2010
Jane inaugurated Wednesday one hour walks, much appreciated by those enjoying less strenuous routes. Sheelagh Holland was elected to the chair and in 2011 Pam Breedon as secretary.
Social Events
The positive and inclusive approach of the leaders has also enabled the group to develop a programme of other activities, beginning with longer walks in the Peak District, dances, Christmas meals and even holidays. Initiated by Barbara Ripley and Hazel Buckley a Social Committee was formed, soon joined by Sharon Day and Marion Tate. The ethos of Walking for Health thus extended beyond merely the physical to include also mental and social support. In 2009 Brenda Berresford joined the committee and introduced the first annual programme of events, for 2010. Its success ensured another in the following year. Sadly other commitments of committee members led to its demise at the end of that year. However the programme of activities has continued mainly thanks to the efforts of Marlene Mee, Pam Breedon, and Jaci Sanders. As funding is now so difficult to procure any profits help to ensure all walks remain free.
2012
InStep adopted a new constitution at the Annual General Meeting as the group had grown and matured to its present structure in its tenth anniversary year. To celebrate this Sheelagh held a picnic in her garden and later in the year co-ordinated the planting of 100 trees at Oakham Nature Reserve.
Membership of registered walkers reached 253. Another milestone too as on 1st April Natural England handed over WfH to Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support. Sadly we said goodbye to Rob Gornall from Natural England, who had always been helpful and supportive to us. Reregistration of walkers showed the number of active walkers was 222 with numbers per walk varying from six to sixty according to the weather! 20 leaders continued to work with the enthusiasm and commitment established by founder members.
2013
Jane created our new website in conjunction with MyWebsiteHost (Formely IslandHost). 32 walks were now offered on a rolling basis. Day trips took place to Liverpool, York, and Manchester Christmas markets, and Marlene arranged a holiday to Torbay in May. A tabletop sale in June helped to boost our funds. In September, Pam was awarded Greenwood's Volunteer of the Year in the WfH category. In time for Christmas, Pam and Jaci chose photos from our walks, and InStep's first calendar was published. Proud of our accreditation with WfH, we realised, along with many other groups, that we would have difficulty meeting the new criteria of providing walks of less than 3 miles or 90 minutes.
2014
Jaci took on the role of secretary and Pam of vice President. Work continued throughout the year to try to ensure that we should be able to stay with WfH. 15 leaders were retrained in March and 6 new leaders were trained and joined the team in the autumn. However it proved impossible for our longer walks to satisfy the new criteria for accreditation so we began work to become an independent group. In 2014 we walked on 147 days, with an average attendance of about 30. We did not receive any external funding but thanks to the generosity of walkers and hard work of leaders we have kept solvent by organising events and raffles. Day trips visited Whitby, Chester, Hull and Stratford on Avon, these events being organised by or shared with Sherwood Foragers.
There were also two holidays: the Isle of Wight in August and Gilsland Spa in October.
Winter entertainments were a Barn Dance in November and a splendid Christmas lunch in December.
Our first walk in March as an independent group
2015
In March Mansfield InStep became an independent health walking group with responsibility for its own governance and insurance. We remain committed to providing 3 walks a week, and our aim is to maintain or improve the physical and mental health of our walkers. It was necessary to re-enrol our walkers who, by the end of the year reached a splendid 250. A holiday to Bideford in June and Coach trips to Cambridge, Harrogate and Birmingham Christmas markets kept us amused, as did the autumn Barn Dance and Christmas Lunch.
We were delighted in July when Sheelagh received a special recognition award at the Greenwood annual BBQ. Pam and Jaci produced an InStep calendar of our favourite walks, with a popular quiz as to who could name the places.
2016
Pam became our chairman following Sheelagh's amazing stint of 6 years and Alec Seels vice. Pam was instrumental in beginning InStep's Facebook page, which seems to have been appreciated by our walkers, who post excellent photos there. A holiday was arranged to Worthing in April. Sadly, there have been no more InStep holidays to date, so recognition to Marlene, who took on the responsibility for the last couple of years' holidays. Three-day trips were organised: the beautiful Rudyard Lake and Leek, Scarborough, and Leeds Christmas Market. Due to popular demand, the calendar was again produced.
The leader team was increased by four. Phil Proffitt's amusing summary to his walks report at the AGM:
"Kirkby Parks showed up, Maun Valley dried up, Brierley Park dried out, Poulter Park branched out, Warsop sank with no trace, and Scarcliffe had no place."
2017
Walk numbers were consistently high, with 400 people having registered on our books since independence. The number of walkers for the year totalled 4,173, an average of 30 per walk! No income from grants this year meant belts were tightened, and we were only able to continue printing the programme and other sundry expenses due to the generosity of our members contributing to raffles. Two exceptional outings were a visit to Bempton Cliffs and York and its Christmas market.
During the year, the maps page was updated with a 2017 tracing of all our walks.
Our Christmas lunch at South Forest was enjoyed with a tinge of regret as this was the last year of many that it was organised by Marlene
