The Get Active in The Forest scheme, based at Rosliston Forestry Centre in South Derbyshire, has been judged to be one of the ten best sports activities in the country to have received funding from the National Lottery.

In the best heritage project category, The Armed Forces Memorial, which forms part of the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield, is competing against nine other short-listed entrants. The Memorial, which received £2.4m of Lottery money, commemorates the 16,000 service men and women who have been killed on duty or as a result of terrorism since the end of the Second World War.

Get Active in The Forest has made it to the semi-finals of the National Lottery Awards. It is the only semi-finalist from Derbyshire in all of the seven categories of the Award. Now you can ensure that Get Active in The Forest and The Armed Forces Memorial get through to the finals and a prestigeous special awards show which will be live on BBC1 in August.

Says Debbie Chesterman of the Get Active in The Forest Scheme, “The National Lottery has provided £480,000 of funding to help people living in and near The National Forest to be fitter and healthier.

“We are asking people to help us by voting in the National Lottery Awards. Although we are based in South Derbyshire the fun and healthy activities of Get Active in The Forest can be enjoyed by anyone visiting the Rosliston Forestry Centre as well as activity sessions across the district. We are asking everyone who can benefit from Get Active in The Forest to vote for us, particularly people living in the East Midlands and the West Midlands including Birmingham, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire.”

Through the unique Get Active in The Forest scheme, you get healthy without trying too hard.

Debbie Chesterman continues, “We have made exercising as easy and as enjoyable as possible. You can try the slow and stress-free movement of tai chi, exercise your pecs through archery, get on your bikes to enjoy the countryside or if you want some adrenalin-filled adventure take a shot at woodland laser combat. At Rosliston Forestry Centre we have six fully accessible timber cabins so that disabled visitors can stay and take part in the activities.”

The fun doesn’t stop at Rosliston Forestry Centre. Every week there are walks in villages and from doctors’ surgeries so that everyone can join in, get healthy and meet new friends.

“You don’t have to pay for expensive gym subscriptions or buy specialist gear to Get Active in The Forest. Based in the open countryside we offer local people and our visitors a chance to enjoy being healthy. The National Lottery Awards would be a wonderful national acknowledgement of what groups working in partnership have achieved and it would put us on the map so that even more people could Get Active in The Forest.”

“We are proud of Get Active in The Forest and we know that local people are too. We would like the whole of Britain to know about the good work done by Get Active in The Forest to help make everyone healthier and so happier. To vote for free for Get Active in The Forest please go to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards or you can vote by phone 0845 386 3453. Phone calls from a BT landline are charged at the BT lo-call landline rate.”

Says Sir Henry Every Bt spokesman for the National Memorial Arboretum, “It’s wonderful that two projects within such a short distance are receiving national recognition and we would encourage the public to support both of them with their votes. To vote for free for The Armed Forces Memorial please go to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards or phone 0845 386 4459.