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Photos and Stories from 2008.Training for New Bothy Venture Volunteers, Glen Etive, 25th - 27th Jan We tested new volunteers to the max on a rain-drenched but fun-filled weekend at Glen Etive! Many thanks for Chris Yule for helping to lead the training in fine style. View Volunteer Training Photogallery Bothy Ventures for Glasgow participants, Stanhope and Wiston, 8th - 10th Feb The Glasgow teams started the year with an adventure-filled time at Wiston and Stanhope incorporating extensive camping practice! Thanks go to Cath McCluskey, Donna Beattie, Alan Rooney, Kate Dix, Gillian McDiarmid & Breeze Harker for your energy and hard work over the weekend. View Bothy Venture Photogallery Working Weekend, Glen Etive, 8th - 10th Feb Venture Scotland's very own special wheelbarrow maintainance taskforce got busy barrowing sand for the great kitchen build. A big thank you to Scott Keiller, Iain Waugh, Michael Jefferies and Alom Uddin. Bothy Venture for Edinburgh participants, Stanhope Bothy, 15th - 17th Feb We kicked off the year with a very relaxed, enjoyable, winter sun-filled team-building soujourn at Stanhope followed by trying our luck on the high ropes at Wiston. Many thanks to Adrian Gibaut, Penny Watson, Tim Randall and Katie Paterson for their tireless enthusiasm and culinary delights contributing to the success of the weekend. View Bothy Venture Photogallery Bothy Venture for Edinburgh participants, Hope Bothy, 15th - 17th Feb The other half of the Edinburgh team was kept busy at Hope bothy before also taking on lofty challenges at Wiston Lodge. Well done to Davey Battle, Erica Burberry, Hanna Reichert and Adam Carter for your leadership, fun and games over the weekend. View Bothy Venture Photogallery Advanced Bothy Venture for Glasgow participants, Glen Etive, 22nd - 24th Feb The Glasgow participants enjoyed their first trip to the bothy. Team work was pushed to the limit through a series of challenges and testing conditions. Thank you to Gabe Wortman, Stephen Owen, Gillian McDiarmid, Kate Dix and Donna Beattie for your brilliant volunteering efforts. Advanced Bothy Venture (ABV), Edinburgh participants, Glen Etive, 29th Feb - 2nd MarchBig storms, lots of custard, and a huge amount of team effort made the Edinburgh teams discovery of Glen Etive bothy an eventful one. Salutations to Adrian Gibaut, David Battle, Claire Symonds, Tim Randall and Iain Waugh for your enthusiasm for Elves, Dwarves and Giants in the pouring rain and other associated tasks. Training for Volunteers: Planning, Building and Maintaining our Organic Garden, Glen Etive, Fri 7th - Sun 9th March The weekend was full of practical, transferable skills and advice for designing a productive low maintainance organic garden on the north facing slope of a Highland glen! Volunteers learned the basics of composting, soil fertilty and how to run sessions in building raised beds and paths as well as investigating the layout and planting plan for our forthcoming garden build. Thanks to Lou Evans of Redhall Walled Gardens and Caff MacCluskey for their stirling instruction and Mark Archibald, Iain Waugh, Penny Watson, Rhyddian Knight, David Wilson, Alan Rooney and Billy Ferguson for their ongoing commitment to the garden project. View wet gardening training weekend here! Working Weekend, Glen Etive, Fri 14th – Sun 16th March Not a lot of photos, but a whole lot of work. 2 1/2 tonnes sand barrowed in, a fixed owl box, cleaned gutters, turned compost, swept chimmneys to name some of the tasks completed. These pasta fuelled lackeys are unstoppable! Whoops and Hollers to Mark Archibald, Iain Waugh, Mick Hamilton, Rob Kyle and Sandra Canals for getting stuck in. See their dirty fingernails in the photogallery here COPE Programme Launch Weekend for Edinburgh and Glasgow participants, Auchengillan Outdoor Centre, Lanarkshire, 15th - 16th March The Edinburgh and Glasgow groups joined forces for a challenging overnight expedition involving shelter building and high ropes challenges! Cheers to Gillian McDiarmid, Donna Beattie, Hanna Reichert, Stew Deards, Alan Rooney, Emma Warwick, Eleanor Evans, Adam Carter and Chris Yule! See Glasgow COPE Launch Photogallery See Edinburgh COPE Launch Photogallery First Long Bothy Venture for Glasgow Participants, Glen Etive, 28th March - 1st April The Glasgow crew journeyed to the bothy for their first 5-day adventure involving canoeing, conservation and plenty of conversation... A hearty thanks to Rosaleen Sullivan, Stephen Owen, Gabe Wortman, Donna Beattie, Stewart Deards & Alan Rooney for leading the trip. Fri 28th - Sun 30th March, Storytelling Training (Part 1 of 2), Cae Mabon Retreat Centre, North Wales. As part of our 'Kith for Kinlochetive' Project, we began the training of Venture Scotland bards(!) to weave some tales during different parts of the trips. Many thanks to Mark Archibald, Scott Keiller, Iain Waugh, Chris Yule, Kate Dix, Chris James, Faye McLean, Gillz McDiarmid, Penny Watson for making the special effort to come and play in the woods. See the stunning pictures here! Working Weekend, 'The Mighty Push!', Glen Etive, 4th - 6th April A fantastic group of volunteers was involved in the 'mighty push' to get wood and materials in position for the upcoming cob build. Thanks to Iain Waugh, Julie Wilson, David Moore, Gail Wilson, Matt Bury, Breeze Harker, Michael Jeffries and Clare Symonds for your brilliant efforts! See the troops be put through their paces here! Working weekend, 'The Quiet busy one', Glen Etive, 11th - 13th April A Small band of working weekenders 'pulleyed' the timber across the river, followed by carrying firebricks and 24 square meters of larch across the river. Thanks to Iain Waugh, Alan Rooney, David Airlie and Michael Jefferies for their gentle giant efforts. First Long Bothy Venture for the Edinburgh Participants, Glen Etive, 11th - 15th April The Edinburgh participants enjoyed five days of adventure and challenges at the bothy including helping to build our new garden area and their first canoe outing on Loch Etive. A big hurrah for Chris Yule, Gillian McDiarmid, Hanna Reichert, Tim Randall & Erica Burberry for making the trip such a success. See Edinburgh LBV1 Photogallery Working Weekend, Glen Etive, 'The Final Push!' 18th - 20th April. The last big push to ready the site for the Cob pyromania workshop. Many Thanks to Mark Archibald, Scott Keiller, Iain Waugh, Michael Jeffries, David Airlie, Alan Rooney, Johnny Wells, Jen Hamilton, Matt Bury, Anna Simpson, David Moore & Sam Clarke! See the fruits of their labour here! Cob Pyromania Workshop! Building our Outdoor Kitchen, Glen Etive, 20th - 27th April A whole internship squeezed into one fun, productive and memorable week. Learning while building a resource for Venture Scotland from local materials turmed out to be a winning combination. Thanks to our brilliant trainers Annabel Fawcus and Alan Cameron-Duff of Earthed & Head Chefs Mike King and Sarah Smith and to the amazing volunteer team of Gerry Naughton, Chris James, Mark Archibald, Scott Keiller, Iain Waugh, Gillz McDiarmid, Michael Jeffries, David Airlie, Alan Rooney, Donna Beattie, Rob Kyle. See their cob, sweat, tears and tomfoolery here! Second Long Bothy Venture for Glasgow Participants, Glen Etive, 2nd May - 6th May This trip involved the legendary two-day canoe challenge up Loch Etive followed by conservation and group work sessions at the bothy. Thanks to volunteers Kate Dix, Gillian McDiarmid, Donna Beattie, Gerry Naughton for all their efforts on this super trip! Second Long Bothy Venture for Edinburgh Participants, Glen Etive, 9th - 13th May This was the Edinburgh group's turn to tackle the canoe journey up Loch Etive followed by a range of outdoor and conservation challenges to test their team work and problem-solving skills. The majority of the footage was taken in video format and will be available on DVD soon. Watch this space! Billions of praises to Tony Burley, Chris Yule, Clare Symonds & Sam Clarke for a satisfying, stormy and pizza free trip Working Weekend, Glen Etive, 16th - 18th May Timber framing and ditching... a lovely way to spend the weekend. Particularly if it includes lots of bothy cooked pizza, sunshine and a massive lot of cob related enthusiasm. The side beams and the first few rafters go up. Giant applause to Iain Waugh, Chris James, Caff McCluskey, David Airlie, Matt Bury, Adam Howard, David Wilson, Tim Randell, Alan Rooney, Michael Jefferies and Breeze Harker. See some mouth watering scenery and pizza in the photogallery here! Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Expedition, Glasgow and Edinburgh Groups, Loch Voil, Trossachs, 23rd - 25th May The Glasgow and Edinburgh teams faced their toughest test to date as they took on organising and running their own expedition on foot and by canoe. Well done everyone for completing the challenge! Huge thank you to volunteers Kate Dix, Gillian McDiarmid, Donna Beattie, Emma Warwick, Sam Clarke & Susan Nicol for their logistical genius! See Glasgow's pics from this fab trip here Working weekend, Glen Etive, 6th-8th June 2008 The group collected, delivered and notched more trees, fitted all but a few cup joints for the roof, set up an area for lime slaking, excavated for clay repaired the byre and tool sheds. Salubrious salutations to Breeze Harker, Gail Wilson, Katie Paterson, Caroline Hancox, David Moore, David Hancox, Anna Simpson, Scott Keillor, Iain Waugh and Donna Beattie Working Weekend, Glen Etive, 13th - 15th June A satisfying end to the first half of the years working parties. The group fitted 80% of the rafters, slaked some lime, fixed the owl box, weeded and planted trees in the nursery, and cut and composted fern, dry grass and seaweed. Appreciations to Breeze Harker, Jen Hamilton, Claire Symonds, Tim Randall, Cath McCluskey, David Wilson and Mark Archbold. More fantastic pictures of work in progress available here! Conservation Team Review, Eden Valley, Cumbria, Fri 18th - Sun 20th July The team leaders took some time out this weekend to reflect on the successes and trials of the year so far. We also plotted and planned our workload and roles. With generous helpings of food and training from our hosts, we also trialled a rather ingenious way of building a raised bed. Many thanks to Mark Archibold, Scott Keillor and Iain Waugh for their continued and generous support for the Kinlochetive concern! See them work, rest and play here Working Weekend, Glen Etive, 1st - 3rd Aug This weekend is dedicated to the scottish midge whose prolific appearance made for a memorable trip. We tidied the roof, carried in a ridiculous amount of carpet, hunted down some clay, meausured up the stone wall enclosure, ate large breakfasts and mixed a batch of cob. Hearty applause to Donna Beattie, Scott Lauder, Alan Rooney and Michael Jefferies for hammering in the morning. You can see some pictures of this weekend right here! Bothy Venture for Edinburgh participants, Stanhope Bothy, Borders, 8th - 10th Aug An intrepid group journeyed South for their first taste of bothy life at Stanhope bothy. Thank you to Hanna Reichert, Caff McCluskey, Breeze Harker & Tim Randall for all your hard work over a great weekend. See photos of this Bothy Venture Bothy Venture for Glasgow participants, Hope Bothy, Borders, 15th - 17th Aug The first weekend trip for the Glasgow participants. One group travelled South for fun and challenging team building activities at Hope bothy and Wiston Lodge. Sorry to all volunteers, who missed out on this occassion. Many thanks to Mags Cameron, Michelle Murdoch, Ray Coane & Toto Cox for your brilliant support on this trip! Advanced Bothy Venture for Edinburgh participants, Glen Etive, 22th Aug - 24st Aug The Edinburgh participants headed North for their first experience of 'The Bothy' at Glen Etive and a full-on programme of outdoor and conservation activities. With thanks to the top team of Clare Symonds, Brenna Nyznik, Hanna Reichert, Maria Kicinski & Eleanor Evans Advanced Bothy Venture for Glasgow participants, Glen Etive, 29th Aug - 31st Aug The Glasgow group had their first taste of 'The Bothy' at Glen Etive. Brilliant support came from Kate Dix , Donna Beattie, Caff McCluskey, Jill Stevenson & Dave Melotte Working weekend, Kinlochetive, 5th - 7th September This weekend the group finished the beams, rafters, flashing plate, edging boards, put down the membranes, raised the earth up atop the roof, barrowed gravel to the kitchen, carried stone to the enclosure, ate bramble pudding and met Sir Jimmy Saville. Quite busy really... Bodacious benidictions for turfers Iain Waugh, Donna Beattie, Breeze Harker, David Wilson, Carol Goodall, Chris James, Michael Jefferies, Clare Symonds, David Airlie, Gail Wilson, Tim Randall, Gerry Naughton, Rob Kyle and Alan Rooney. See their exploits 'out back' here. COPE Launch Weekend, Marthrown of Mabie, 13th - 14th Sept The Edinburgh and Glasgow groups joined forces for an adventure in Mabie Forest, involving high ropes and high jinks putting up the tipi! Thank you to the superb volunteer crew of Rachel Pinny, Tim Randall, Kate Dix, Penny Watson, Davey Battle, Jen Hamilton, Mags Cameron, Gillian McDiarmid, Gabe Wortman and Stephen Owen! COPE Launch Weekend, Edinburgh photos COPE Launch Weekend, Glasgow photos Advanced Volunteer Training, Loch Ard, the Trossachs, 20th - 21st Sept Vicky Reed and Jane Bruce piloted a new level of leadership training for nine experienced volunteers. The focus of the training was exploring a model for canoe coaching as well as the concept of 'situational leadership'. Our aim was to give volunteers the chance to experiment and then reflect on their own leadership style. We received some good feedback about the pilot and we aim to build in more opportunities for volunteers along these lines in 2009! See some stunning pictures here! Edinburgh Long Bothy Venture 1, Glen Etive, 26th - 30th Sept The Edinburgh group took on the challenge of 5 days at the bothy incorporating the 'Hidden Valley' hill walk, canoe rafting and conservation. Many thanks to Tim Randall, Chrissie Finnigan, Julia Black, Donna Beattie with very valuable back up from Michael Jeffries! See Edinburgh LBV1 photos here Glasgow Long Bothy Venture 1, Glen Etive, 3rd - 7th October The Glasgow group enjoyed a wild and woolly trip to the Highlands for their first 5 day challenge. Thank you to Ray Coane, Donna Beattie, Jen Hamilton & Ewan Thomson for all your help and for braving the elements. Dry Stone Wall Training, Glen Etive, 10th - 12th October A fine band of volunteers went to the bothy for dry stone walling training aimed at equipping them with the skills they need to build the wall of our new 'market garden'. Led by master waller, John Diment, they made fantastic progress in a short space of time. Well done to wallers Scott Keiller, Chrissie Finnigan, Clare McDonald, Caff McCluskey, Tim Randall, David Airlie, Jen Hamilton & Hanna Reichert Edinburgh Long Bothy Venture 2, Glen Etive, 17th - 21st October A small but select band of participants ventured back to the bothy for their next 5 day trip. On the way, they took in a fantastic two day trip down the River Spey - lucky devils! Thank you to Kate Dix, Clare Symonds, Jen Hamilton & Hanna Reichert for all your efforts. Working Party, Glen Etive, 24th - 26th October The intrepid working party gathered no moss this weekend what with shuttering the kitchen and moving a few tonnes of mountain from one end of the rock fan to, well, a few metres to the left. It was a mighty job in a mighty amount of wind and rain. Well done to all concerned. Shouts out to Iain Waugh, Donna Beattie, Michael Jeffries, David Hutchinson, Paul Campion, Breeze Harker, Simon Greig, Jason Harte, Andrew Thurston, James Watt and Gerry Naughton. Pictures are a coming soon! Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions, Kinlochard, 14th - 16th November You can see some pictures of this weekend right here! 21st Birthday Party Working Week, Glen Etive, 17th - 21th November You can see some pictures of this week right here! Drystone Wall Training , Glen Etive, 21st - 23rd November You can see some pictures of this weekend right here!
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