A website has been launched to find ‘Ardroy Ambassadors’ who will help keep the outdoor centre open.
Having been threatened with closure, the centre at Lochgoilhead, Argyll, was given a last-minute reprieve by a group of business people and sports instructors who have formed the Ardroy Outdoor Education Centre (AOEC) Trust.
Ardroy is now set to be run as a social enterprise after Fife Council stopped running it in July to save £290,000 a year amid budget pressures. The trust will rent Ardroy from the council.
Trust spokesman George Bruce said ardroyambassadors.org had been set up to keep Fifers in touch with developments at the centre and drum up much-needed support to keep it going.
Mr Bruce appealed for public help, whether it be cash donations or volunteering. He said Ardroy Ambassadors would be vital in keeping the centre open for Fifers to enjoy for generations to come.
“Something like 7,000 people joined a save Ardroy website,” he said. “People say they want to help, so this is a way of doing it.
“Maybe someone is a painter and decorator and wants to help us during a weekend. What people have to offer doesn’t have to be money it can just be support.”
He said: “Ardroy Ambassadors has been set up to allow past pupils of all ages, parents, teachers and all our supporters to be kept up to date on the progress with Ardroy, and to help us keep Ardroy open.
“Apart from reopening for the benefit of kids, we want to expand the availability to other social groups, for example 50-plus groups.
“Social enterprises may want to use it for team-building, or maybe parents and kids may want to use the facilities.
“One of the things that has been tried is hen and stag weekends not debauched drinking weekends, but breaks where people can get outdoors and try things like kayaking.”
Fife youngsters took part in outdoor pursuits at Ardroy for four decades before the council withdrew its funding. The news that Ardroy faced closure caused outrage, and an online campaign was launched to save it.
A petition gathered more than 1,200 signatures, and a Facebook page was supported by over 7,000 members.
Under the takeover plans the trust will have to ensure an agreed number of Fife youngsters use the centre each year or its lease could be terminated.
Councillor Brian Goodall, council housing and communities committee chairman, said: “I’d like to thank George Bruce and the other committed volunteers in his team for their tireless work with Fife Council to try to secure a viable future for the Ardroy Outdoor Education Centre.
“The launch of the Ardroy Ambassadors is a key part of that work and I’d like to wish this venture every success.”
The chairman of the education and children’s services committee, Councillor Douglas Chapman, said: “I wish Ardroy all the very best in this new venture.”