A path maintenance group at Eglinton Park has launched this week after years of planning – and it’s still looking for volunteers.

The Path Stewardship project was launched on Monday, November 14 as a collaborative effort between a variety of authorities and groups throughout Ayrshire such as North Ayrshire Council’s ranger service, The Trinity, and Eglinton Country Park.

Volunteers will patrol the park and help highlight any issues so that the park can be maintained and problems can be tackled in a timely manner.

Park ranger and group leader Stuart Bell said: "It’s a great way for people to contribute, to get outdoors – especially after the couple of years we had with Covid – there’s health and wellbeing, there’s the social aspect to it. You name it, there are so many pros to volunteering.

“If someone’s not that physically able then if they’re regular walkers and they’re using the park they’re welcome to monitor and just feedback to me but if they are up for getting out and getting their hands dirty a wee bit, fantastic!

“This is a great time of year to do it as well because the ground is soft and we can see the problems, so this is a great time of year to be out and doing it.

“A lot of people maybe think there’s not much going on during the winter but in actual fact it’s the opposite – there’s a lot that can be done.”

Currently, sessions are being held on Mondays with the next planned for November 21, but they are flexible as they can be held on most days of the week excluding Friday mornings.

Sessions can either run in full three-hour sessions or two shorter sessions depending on the feedback of volunteers.

During the sessions, there will be breaks where volunteers can enjoy a hot drink, snacks, and sweets.

Despite having just launched, interest is already high with around 20 people having registered for the group.

Another volunteer group that focuses on the maintenance of the grounds runs on Friday mornings and a volunteer group that maintains the community gardens runs throughout the week.

Anyone interested in joining the group should email Stuart at stuartbell@north-ayrshire.gov.uk.