Mend Our Mountains
It’s time to give back
BMC and Cotswold Outdoor call on public to help Mend Our Mountains amid fears of footpath decline
#mendourmountains
An enormous crowdfunding drive for Britain’s hills and mountains is already underway. It is part of Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million, a campaign partnership between the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and the UK’s family of fifteen National Parks, which seeks to repair the areas of our treasured landscapes that have been most seriously blighted by erosion.
The appeal is supported by celebrities like Sir Chris Bonington, Julia Bradbury and Steve Backshall and is a follow-up to the BMC’s original Mend Our Mountains campaign. This ran in 2016 and was hugely successful, raising over £100,000 from public donations and was eventually voted ‘Campaign of the Year’ by The Great Outdoors magazine.
This appeal is close to the heart of Cotswold Outdoor, and part of our DNA as an outdoor retailer is a passion for the outdoors and protecting Britain’s National Parks for generations to come.
As headline sponsor, Cotswold Outdoor and a coalition of outdoor organisations, businesses, charities and user groups have lined up to support Mend Our Mountains. Around £375,000 of the £1,000,000 target has already been raised, and this crowdfunding drive is the largest single effort of the campaign, aiming to add another £150,000 to the total.
The campaign will run until early November and will be a fundraising appeal with a difference. Powered by innovative and award-winning online platform Crowdfunder.co.uk, would-be supporters can choose to claim a reward in exchange for their donation. The rewards range from t-shirts to helicopter rides and have been predominantly donated by the plethora of organisations backing Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million. Cotswold Outdoor are offering a 15% discount and five kit bundles which include a Petzl Tikka 200L Headtorch, Rab Essential Bobble Beanie, Osprey Hikelite 18 Rucksack, Optimus Crux Lite Solo Cook Set, and a CamelBak Eddy Bottle 1L.
Want to get involved? Donate to the Crowdfunder campaign here
With ever-increasing numbers of people loving the outdoors, National Parks are a victim of their own success – booming visitor numbers mean more boots on paths, while tighter budgets in many places have limited capacity to keep up repairs. Even as they rise up the political agenda, with possible new parks on the horizon, the UK’s National Parks are struggling.
Everyone who makes a donation will have a choice of either giving their money to an individual project featured in the campaign or to an overall total which will be split between the 13 primary projects. Given the large totals being sought, many of the projects will not go ahead if they do not reach their Mend Our Mountains target. The money raised will be channelled to the different projects through the BMC’s charitable arm, the Access & Conservation Trust.
Greg Nieuwenhuys, our CEO said:
“We are delighted to cement our partnership with the BMC through the headline sponsorship of their Mend our Mountains: Make One Million campaign.
“This enables us to further engage with the British climbing and hill walking community, as well as supporting the fantastic work the BMC undertake to ensure continued access to the landscapes so many of us hold so dear.”
Dave Turnbull, BMC Chief Executive said:
“We are thrilled to be launching Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million. This is a flagship initiative for the BMC and the BMC Access and Conservation Trust, which shows our commitment to safeguard the outdoor and adventurous environment to the benefit of everyone.
“The campaign is a collaborative effort with a UK-wide coalition of organisations, businesses and campaigners, as well as the public. To reach our ambitious target we need everyone to do their bit. We all benefit from these wonderful places and we all have a role to play in looking after them.”
Mend Our Mountains Projects
The primary projects featured in Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million are:
- Lake District: Scafell Pike (Total sought: £100,000)
- Peak District: The Great Ridge (£140,000)
- Peak District: Cut Gate (£70,000)
- South Downs: South Downs Way (£100,000)
- Snowdonia: Cader Idris (£140,000)
- Loch Lomond & Trossachs: Ben Vane (£40,000)
- Cairngorms National Park: Beinn a' Ghlo (£60,000)
- Exmoor: The Chains (£20,000)
- Exmoor: Great Bradley Bridge (£20,000)
- Dartmoor: Nun's Cross Path (£40,000)
- Yorkshire Dales: Whernside (£46,000)
- New Forest: The Lepe Loop Trail (£25,000)
- Brecon Beacons: Bal Mawr (£20,000)
The National Parks of Northumberland, the North York Moors, the Norfolk Broads and the Pembrokeshire Coast will also receive funding from this appeal, but at a lower level than the projects above. By donating to the UK wide appeal through the Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million website donors will be benefitting these National Parks.
Read more about the impact of the last Mend Our Mountains campaign here.
BMC members benefit from a 15% discount that can be used in-store and online. Just present proof of BMC membership in-store or obtain the online code by logging into the BMC membership area. Full T&Cs apply.
Get involved and plan your own fundraising challenge or event here: http://mendmountains.thebmc.co.uk/fundraise/
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