The Executive Committee are extending an invitation to members from affiliated clubs to our Spring Meeting which will be held at the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, Oxford Island on Saturday 21st March. The meeting will start with tea and coffee at 9.30am and finish with a sandwich lunch.
The Spring Meeting will be similar to that held last year and once again there will be no charge to attend the event.
The theme of this year’s Spring Meeting is ‘Developing Club Capability’ and we have lined up three great speakers for the meeting who we are sure you will find interesting and stimulating.
While ramblers and hill walkers step out each week because they enjoy the physical activity of walking in good company, in my experience, they are also interested and concerned about:
- Ensuring their walk is safe and well organised, and
- Their surroundings and the care of the environment they walk through.
We have invited representatives of Mourne Mountain Rescue and Tollymore National Outdoor Centre to talk about safety in the hills and the importance of training for walkers and leaders and Helen Lawless, Mountaineering Ireland’s Access and Conservation Officer to tell us about the work she is doing and the conservation initiatives she is involved in. As always there will be an opportunity to engage in discussion with the speakers.
After lunch committee member and Armagh Rambler Declan Moane has offered to lead a walk around Oxford Island for those who are interested.
We would greatly value your attendance and our hope is that as many as possible of our affiliated clubs will be represented. A provisional agenda can be found below. To help with catering please RSVP to our administrator Duane Fitzsimons ().
ULSTER FEDERATION OF RAMBLING CLUBS
Spring Meeting – Saturday 21st March 2020
Lough Neagh Discovery Centre
Agenda
9.30am Arrival and tea/coffee
10.00am Welcome and introduction
Joe McKnight – Chair UFRC
10.15am Safety in the hills
Harry Teggarty – Mourne Mountain Rescue
10.45 am The importance of training for walkers and ramblers
Trevor Fisher – Tollymore NOC
11.15am Break and tea/coffee
11.30am Access and conservation in the hills and mountains
Helen Lawless – Access & Conservation Officer, Mountaineering Ireland
12.00pm Questions and discussion
12.15pm Lunch
1.15pm Optional walk around Oxford Island (approx 1.5hrs) or depart
