What is a Great Place Guiding Volunteer?

Are you interested in getting out and about to explore the local heritage of the Falkirk area? Do you enjoy sharing your passion and meeting new people? Volunteer with the Great Place project to enrich guided outdoor activities with information about the local area, while developing your own knowledge and skills. We will work with existing walking and cycling programmes across the Falkirk area to include fun, informative heritage guiding in their programmes, as well as developing a number of set routes/ scripts for Great Place activities. The Great Place guiding programme offers the scope to explore and share areas of interest (for example – Romans in Scotland, or local wildlife) and well as learn and deliver a specific route, according to preference. The Great Place project is a district-wide 2-year programme of activities celebrating the places, people, traditions and industry of the Falkirk area with thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

What’s in it for you?

• Meet interesting people and share your interests
• Learn about local heritage
• Improve communication and presentation skills
• Get out and about to explore the area in a social setting
• Get outdoors and increase your physical activity

What’s involved?

• Participate in guiding training
• In small groups practice your route/ script
• Projects will take place across the Falkirk district, volunteers may choose to focus on their local area or get involved more widely
• Volunteers can choose to work on specific routes and scripts, or to develop their own areas of interest with support from Great Place staff

Skills, Attitude, and Experience Required

• This opportunity is best suited to individuals who are friendly and confident, with good verbal communication skills.
• You should have an interest in sharing local natural and/or historical heritage.
• We can accommodate varying levels of fitness, and participants can choose whether they would like to be involved in walking or cycling guiding, or may opt for both.
• A pre-existing knowledge of areas of local heritage is a bonus but is not required to participate.

Other important information

Location: The Great Place scheme will run programmes across the whole Falkirk council area.

Time Commitment: 2-3 days of guiding training plus some practice guiding sessions out and about in small volunteer teams. Delivery of guided activities will be flexible and we will work with your schedules and interests but would request that you be available for at least 1 activity per month during the Great Place project

Contact: Helen Rashad, Project Coordinator
01324 590984 greatplace@falkirkcommunitytrust.org

Training: Two-three days of guiding training will be provided, as well as ongoing support for practice sessions on routes.

Expenses: Reimbursement of travel expenses within the Falkirk area available for scheduled trainings and meetings..

How to apply

Please complete the online application form here.

If you require a hard copy, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at FCTvolunteering@falkirkcommunitytrust.org or phone 01324 503 614.

This role is purely voluntary and this arrangement is not meant to be a legally binding one or an employment contract.