The Scottish Government is to invest £300k in developing specialised outdoor 'Green Gyms'. This is an effort to encourage exercise and improve local environments in the process. In the scheme which will be run by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) using Scottish funding, over fifty projects are going to be developed over the next three years. Volunteers are going to get the chance to exercise in the open air by participating in organised gardening, tree planting and vegetable growing. There will also be instructors on-hand to provide advice on warming-up, using the various gardening implements correctly and cooling down after a period of activity.
Public Health and Sport Minister Shona Robison told the Scotland on Sunday:
"It only takes 30 minutes a day of physical activity, at least five days a week, to gain enormous health benefits and help prevent many serious diseases like heart disease, cancer and stroke.
"This weekend the clocks go forward and with the days getting brighter it's a great time to make the most of the outdoors,"
"Green Gyms are free for everyone to use and, for people who won't set foot in a regular gym, they offer a way to improve your fitness while meeting new people, learning something new and benefiting your local area."
We have to applaud the Scottish Government for again attempting to tackle the health problems of the nation with a pioneering initiative - hopefully the scheme will be a success. The benefits to the enviroments from more allotment space could be invaluable. However, with the weather in Scotland being as it is - we wonder how many will be tempted into the great outdoors on one of the many wet and windy days that Scotland delivers (even during the summer months) - better look out the waterproofs!
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