Adventure Oban takes on Active Travel!

The team at Adventure Oban are very excited to introduce our new project: Active Routes to Schools. This latest project aims to encourage young people in and around Oban to commute to school more actively, as well as make the area a safer, more enjoyable place to walk and wheel. We recognise the wide range of benefits that active travel can bring to individuals and communities, as well as the need to reduce our carbon footprint through changing the way we travel.

Context

In 2022, we delivered an Active Travel Plan for Oban, as part of the Sustaining Choices programme with Planning Aid Scotland, supported by the Argyll and Bute Council and Argyll and Bute Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT). Through conversations with hundreds of people in our community, and discussions with other organisations, we identified that ‘safer routes to school’ was a top priority for improving active travel in our town. Our engagement showed that less than four kids regularly cycle to high school and confidence was low amongst both young people and parents. 

Aims

Through this consultation, it became clear that change must occur at all levels, from our culture and attitudes to transport to the physical infrastructure that influences our choices. To achieve this, we need to be able to support individuals to feel confident walking and wheeling in our community and encourage local government as well as Transport Scotland to make changes to our infrastructure. Ultimately, we want this project to inspire kids and parents alike to feel empowered to not travel by car where possible. 

We will be campaigning for active travel to schools across Oban & Lorn by engaging with young people and families through events and activities. There are a wide range of initiatives that schools and communities are using to great effect across Scotland and we hope that offering our support to schools will help lower barriers to participation. 

Bikeability is just one of these initiatives that the LiveArgyll Active Schools staff are working to roll out in schools across Argyll. Bikeability is what many of us will have been taught in school as ‘Cycling Proficiency’: in-school cycling training which aims to give children the skills to become confident and independent cyclists on the road. As this programme relies on the hard work of volunteers, we would like to see more parents and keen cyclists coming forward to complete their training to support schools in the delivery of this vital resource. 

To complement the work directly with schools, we will be delivering a community mapping project, to identify safe active routes to schools in Oban. Through this, the community will come together to recognise and share their routes through our town, as well as collect evidence about areas where the most improvement can be made.

The project as whole will produce a body of evidence which will help support broader decision making around our town’s infrastructure. This will be presented to the community, Argyll and Bute Council, Transport Scotland as well as developers, to support them to make the changes we need to make active travel attractive and accessible for all.

Adventure Oban’s new Active Travel Coordinator, Philip de Iongh. Photo: Hannah Shaw

Who?

Through this project, we are excited to announce that we have appointed Philip de Iongh as our Active Travel Coordinator! Phil’s varied background has seen him working in a wide range of contexts to support young people to be active and engaged in their local communities. This has included creating an Outdoor Education program for a primary school, working in youth work with The Prince’s Trust and volunteering with accessible sports charities. Locally, you might recognise him from his time working at Stramash, guiding sea kayaking along our shores and being part of the Oban Mountain Rescue Team. Phil will be leading the project alongside our Community Project Coordinator, Hannah Shaw, and the Adventure Oban board to engage with children, schools, parents and the wider community. 

Supporters

This project has been made possible by collaboration with Paths4All and funding from the National Lottery, Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA), Drax and the Argyll & Bute Council. We are extremely grateful for their support in helping us progress this project.

If you’d like to hear more or chat to Phil about your thoughts on Active Travel, you can reach him at activetravel@adventureoban.org.