Tesco’s Great Wee Scottish Walk comes to Allseasons in Galston

TESCO, Scotland’s leading supermarket has been named as the main sponsor of the Great Wee Scottish Walk.

The series of eight walks aimed at children from 2-16 years take place at parks and prime locations across Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Dumfries, Dundee, Perth and Galston in Ayrshire) on selected dates from April to August 2008.


This will be the first time that a Ayrshire Wee Walk has taken place and this will take place at Allseasons at the Meadows www.allseasonsscotland.com on Sunday 3 August 2008.

It will be the second successive year that Tesco has supported the Wee Walk series of family orientated outdoor events. Participants can either choose to walk or complete a fun run over a distance of two miles for charity or a schools or community project of their choice. For young children there is a toddlers romp and teddy bears picnic. Charity Mascots normally start off the walks and lead the fun. Entrants completing the course will receive a goody bag and a certificate and medal to thank them for participating. The Ayrshire event will also include a bouncy castle, local produce stalls, Chaplin’s Disco Bus, Children’s bungee run, egg and spoon race, youngsters paint ball, live music and inter-community tug of war event.


Tesco marketing manager in Scotland Angus Bell commented: “We are delighted once again to be supporting the Great Wee Scottish Walks – the walks are a fantastic way of encouraging Scottish children of all ages to get active while having fun along the way. The Great Wee Scottish Walks compliment well our Sports for Schools scheme which has seen nearly £2million of sport equipment and coaching given out in Scotland over the past two years.”

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon MSP has endorsed the Wee Walks and said: “In a Scotland where too few children are reaching the recommended healthy levels of physical activity and we are seeing rising levels of childhood obesity, it is hugely encouraging to see organisations like the Great Scottish Walks organise events such as the eight Wee Walks across the country. These walks will introduce children to the fun of taking part in physical activity while at the same time raising funds to benefit individuals and communities across Scotland.”

Great Scottish Walk organiser Priscilla Turner added: “We are delighted that Tesco has renewed their sponsorship of this popular event for 2008. The Wee Walks were first introduced in 2004 and designed to engage children of all ages and to encourage the youngsters to get outdoors and get fitter whilst also participating in an event which enables them to raise funds for charity and community projects in their area and across Scotland. Due to the success of the event in 2007 we have expanded the entry age for 2008 from 11 years up to 16 years inclusive and have also added a new Wee Walk location at Galston, East Ayrshire.”

Entry to a wee walk or fun run is £5 per child (3 to 16 years) and parent / guardians and infants under 3 years walk free. The Toddler romp is a distance of 100 yards – entry to the event is free – please register online.

For full details on the event and visit www.greatscottishwalk.com

Tesco is proud to support initiatives at both a national and local level, which encourage people of all ages and abilities to lead active and healthy lifestyles. In 2008 Tesco are supporting The Great Wee Scottish Walks, Falkirk School of Football, Farmhouse Breakfast Week, Royal Highland Educational Trust – taking the classroom into the Countryside and have teamed up with Kevin Keegan’s Soccer Circus and Glasgow City Council to offer over 850 school children the opportunity to take part in interactive sessions and learn about making healthy food choices. Tesco are also supporting Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life for the seventh year running and our Sports for Schools & Clubs scheme has seen nearly £2million of sports equipment and coaching given out in Scotland over the past two years’.

Great Wee Scottish Walks is part of the Great Scottish Walk series of walking events.

The Great Scottish Walk was first held in Edinburgh in 1998, with over 2,000 walkers taking part in aid of two charities. Now over 6,000 walkers of all ages, fitness and physical ability participate raising in excess of £1 million for over 100 charities. The Walks are promoted to all sections of the community, particularly encouraging groups, teams and families to walk. Inclusivity is one of the keys to the Great Scottish Walk’s success. Participants may choose from one of three distances; the 12, six or one mile course, after which walkers will be presented with a medal, certificate and a product bag.

The Great Scottish Walk is held in Edinburgh (22 June) and Glasgow (25 May). Sponsors of the Great Scottish Walk include - Scottish Slimmers, Highland Spring, Paths to Health, NHS Scotland, Young Scot and the event is also part of the Governments Healthy Living campaign.

Ayrshire children's playcentre wins
award for its healthy food menu

A CHILDREN’S play centre in Ayrshire is the first of its kind to be recognised by thehealthyliving award.

Juniper Jungle in Galston has picked up the major award for its efforts to make it easier for parents and children visiting the establishment’s coffee shop to choose healthier food.


[Picture shows: Juniper Jungle proprietor Colin Logan (right) receiving the award from George McIvor, chairman of Masterchefs of Great Britain.]

Proprietors Colin and Janice Logan from Mauchline decided to apply after reading about the award in their local newspaper. Juniper Jungle has been interested in providing fresh, healthy food in a clean environment since the business opened four years ago, and the healthyliving award provided a way to be formally recognised for offering healthier food choices.

The national award, recently launched by the Scottish Consumer Council, gives national recognition to caterers and the food service sector which take a range of steps to provide healthier options.

It is open to most food serving outlets in Scotland, but specifically places where people go to buy food regularly, such as workplace restaurants, cafes, sandwich shops, further education sites, hospital canteens, and restaurants.

More than 410 eating establishments across Scotland have already signed up to the award, which organisers hope will become a prestigious accreditation and the sign of healthier eating out.

Juniper Jungle is delighted to be the first establishment of its type to achieve the award for adopting a range of healthier practices, including reducing levels of fat, salt and sugar in food and by making fruit and vegetables more easily available.

Colin Logan said: “From the outset of the business we have always been interested in providing healthier food. When we first opened the business we were told that if we offered ‘healthier food’ we would only last 6 months. Three years on we are delighted to achieve the healthyliving award. For us it reinforces the importance of healthier eating and that it is achievable within a business setting.”

Colin added “At first it seemed daunting and like a lot of hard work, but once we read through the guidance we realised we were doing much of it already.

“We are a family-orientated business and it is important that as well as providing a soft play area for the kids, that the coffee shop is a relaxing and attractive area for adults to be. It is also important that the food on offer complements the activity that the children are taking part in.”

Customers visiting Juniper Jungle can select healthier options when they see an item on the menu or at a service area highlighted with the apple logo.

A recent national survey revealed that 81% believe food establishments in Scotland could to do more to provide healthier choices.

The survey, commissioned by the Scottish Consumer Council, also found 94% agreed it was important healthier options were available to people who eat out and 42% said they would buy food from an eating establishment more often if healthier choices were available.

Claire Brown, project manager of the healthyliving award, said: “We are delighted with the response we have received from eating establishments keen to get behind this award.

“Consumers are increasingly on the look out for healthier options when they eat out. It is encouraging that a family-orientated business has achieved the award. Often children’s options on a menu are overlooked, and the provision of healthier food choices on children’s menus is an
important aspect of the award.”

She added: “Juniper Jungle has gone to great efforts to achieve this award and I’m pleased we are able to give them the recognition that they deserve.”

The healthyliving award takes a wide ranging approach to encourage caterers to adopt healthier practices across the board, and will be actively promoted to consumers to help them access healthier options.

To qualify for the award, caterers need to meet a set of key criteria, which includes a commitment to providing and supporting healthier eating, as demonstrated on the menu selection, the way they prepare food, marketing and promotional activities and the way in which food is presented and sold. At least half of the food they serve will need to be a healthyliving choice, prepared using both healthier ingredients and healthier cooking methods, and healthy and nutritious food is required to be available for children in places where they are served.

For further information on the healthyliving award contact 0141 226 5261.

Contact: Juniper Jungle
Newmilns Road
Galston
Ayrshire
KA4 8PA
Scotland

Tel: 01563 829414
Fax: 01563 829415
Web: www.juniperjungle.co.uk

First zero carbon homes in Scotland to be built in Ayrshire

PLANS to build the first Scottish sustainable homes to zero carbon standard have been unveiled.

A consortium of EcoPlus Homes, Sustainable Homes Scotland (SHS), Formworks UK and SIPS Industries can now confirm that they have a site in Ayrshire where they are ready to begin building as soon as Spring 2008 the first zero carbon homes to a design prototype they have been testing.

The development involves an investment of £50 million, and will create 150 new jobs in East Ayrshire.


[CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW FULL-SIZE VERSION]

The homes will be built in Galston, East Ayrshire, at a site (pictured above) owned by Allseasons at the Meadows, an ecological tourism development.

Stephen Huber commercial director of SHS, a networking platform who organised the first Scottish Zero Carbon Housing Conference in Edinburgh, said: “We are excited to see this sustainable project coming together. We want to take all aspects of sustainability into account, and utilise the experience in highly energy-efficient buildings that has been gained over the last 15 years in Europe. The sustainable dimension of the project is unprecedented in its scale and dimension in this country, and will serve as a showcase for zero carbon housing in the UK and the whole world. We want to bring Scotland to the forefront of sustainable housing, as many other countries in Europe are many years of experience ahead.


[Artist's impression of the new development. CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW FULL-SIZE VERSION]

Attended by members of the Scottish Government, prominent housebuilding bodies and industry professionals across Scotland, the Scottish Zero Carbon Housing Conference was well received and shed light on the various aspects of sustainable and zero carbon housing.

One approach that has been tested for years in Austria, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland is the Passive House concept. It is a voluntary building standard that exceeds the present regulations. Built according to this standard, the need for heating will be reduced by 90%. Compared to conventional build, which has an average heating demand of 150kWh/m2a, these homes need only 15kWh/m2a.The remaining heating and hot water demand can be covered almost completely by renewable energies. Zero Carbon Housing will be achieved by additionally reducing the electricity demand and alternative means of supply.

Eco Plus Homes are based in Edinburgh and specialise in highly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly housing. Thomas Froehlich, technical director of EcoPlus Homes comments: “The site, beautifully situated around a lake, is the ideal place for us to commence such a development. With the commercial application of highly energy-efficient housing, we want to show that ecology and economy can go together.”


Allseasons at the Meadows is an ecological tourism development based at Galston, East Ayrshire. The site has been created as a nature reserve by the owners of the company Andrew (pictured above) and Jennifer Malcolm, and the land and 25 acre loch are home to many types of wildlife and endemic and migratory birdlife.

www.allseasonsscotland.com/