Newcastle University Fellwalking Society

Hi, I’m James — a Computer Science undergrad specialising in Cyber Security. I’m running for Secretary of the Fell Walking Club because I’d love the opportunity to help plan and organise our walks and events, and to contribute more to the club I’ve really enjoyed being a part of.

As an active and sociable member, I’m fully engaged in the club and always put its best interests first. I’m passionate about helping the society grow and continuing to welcome new members into our community.

I believe I’d be a great fit for the role because I’ve had hands-on experience managing groups and running events, including applying and securing £700 in funding for a club I previously led, which enabled us to purchase new equipment and licenses. I’m also well-versed in communicating with external organisations — a skill I know is essential in the society, particularly for booking bunkhouses and liaising with the Student Union on behalf of the club.

If elected, I’ll help maintain our website and keep everyone up to date with plans and events to ensure the society is run efficiently and smoothly. I’m also keen to make sure all members feel involved and heard, ensuring the club reflects what its members want from their experience while in our society.

Thanks for considering me as secretary, I’d love the chance to represent you and help take the society forward.

Hi I’m Rhiannon, I am running for welfare because I care about people having a good
time and feeling safe in NUFWS.

As welfare sec I will always be available to listen to any worries and issues that members may encounter. I understand how important it can be just to have someone that is willing to listen to you. I look forward to meeting and talking to lots of new members and helping them feel welcomed and included in the society.

I hope to be someone that everyone feels comfortable coming and talking to.

Hi I’m Rose, I’m in my first year of studying Civil Engineering. I would be grateful for the
opportunity to contribute to NUFWS as Welfare Secretary or Route Planner as I have
loved being united by a passion for the outdoors and belonging to our community this year.
As Welfare Sec I would like to ensure all members have the opportunity to grow in
confidence, develop essential skills to keep safe and can enjoy outdoor adventures,
both within and independent of the society. I will do this by bringing the following ideas:
* Continuing to offer Navigation and First Aid sessions.
* As Winter Skills places are limited, for those who are eager to bridge the gap between hiking and mountaineering, I would like to offer members the opportunity to build
competence in Scrambling through a session at an indoor wall and by looking into
collaborating with other likeminded societies such as NUCC.
* Welcome new, and less experienced members and encouraging them to initially build a foundational ability on the short walk to gain the skills needed to pursue other more
advanced routes, unless ability is evidenced otherwise.
* Suggestion that when medium walks are split, one should have more frequent breaks, and the other a higher stamina for those wanting to reach the pub quicker!
* I would like to continue fostering sense of belonging, further develop inclusion whilst retaining the welcoming, supportive and safe environment for all members by:
* Always being available to listen to any suggestions, feedback, concerns raised, or just
for a chat!
* If there is interest, set up a fun, inclusive and supportive community for women and
non-binary members within NUFWS; “Summit Sisters” to recognise, encourage, and
celebrate women in our society and the mountains.
* More welfare and sober socials. Ideas include a welfare breakfast/picnic,
boardgame/puzzle night, film social, ‘cafe crawl’, beach BBQ swim and rounders.
Casual walks during exam periods for a chat and stroll around the local area.
* Strava NUFWS Club challenges and competitions.
* Charity initiatives such as UK 3 Peaks Challenge.
Thank you for reading!

I’d love to be the next year’s fellwalking welfare officer for the same reasons I’ve loved coming back as a society member. The purpose of joining fell walking for me was to find an inclusive, non-competitive community with the combination of some outdoor therapy. The acknowledgement and acceptance of all abilities and personalities is such a strong hold for why I believe the society is as successful and enjoyable as it is. Being able to talk to so many different people whilst on a hike and get to know everyone has to be my favourite thing I’ve gained from being a member. This community feel is what I’d aim to encourage as a welfare officer. I’m always happy to chat to anyone and keep the society a friendly, welcoming environment. I’d be keen to work alongside other roles to ensure inclusivity across all events and take on suggestions from members.

Hi, I’m Mark, I’m a 2nd year Physics student and I would like to be the society’s treasurer next year. Having now spent a year as treasurer, I am used to the work and I’ve figured out a pretty efficient way to keep track of everything. I think I’m a good fit for the role as I like to believe that I contributed positively in the organising of the society this year, not only financially but also leading and helping plan walks. I loved doing the work and being part of principal committee, as I had the opportunity to experience almost all of what the society has to offer to the fullest. I would like to contribute even more next year, leading walks and help plan trips.

Hi, my name is J I’m the current social secretary and am going into my 3^rd  year as an urban planning student. you’ll have seen me a lot at the strawberry or the back of the walks, usually with some stupid food-related concoction in my backpack. As social sec, I would continue to expand upon this year, more joint socials, including a sports day social that’s been lurking at the back of my mind. This year we didn’t have many sober socials, and I will be changing this next year as I feel like the society has changed a lot since I first joined, and these kinds of socials are more welcomed. I’ve been a part of this society for 2 years now, and it’s played such a huge part in my uni experience and I hope that continues, hopefully next year is just as good if not better!

Hi, I’m George, and I’m putting myself forward for social sec as I want to ensure that this society continues to run exceptional and inclusive socials. I will be there to make sure any new members feel welcome in the society, and also to guarantee all socials are a welcoming, fun, and safe environment. I will also be open to any suggestions on socials people want to see run throughout the year, whilst collaborating closely with whoever joins me as social sec to guarantee these socials are executed to the finest degree.

I look forward to starting next year, meeting plenty of new faces, and creating new
memories with the society.

Hi, I’m Tom and I’m running to be next year’s Social media sec. I am keen on having the
opportunity to manage the society’s branding and advertising next year. If voted in, I plan to continue some of the current themes of the social media pages such as including humour in posts while also introducing my own new ideas. For example, I plan to create a society TikTok
page to show newer members what a day trip or weekend trip could look like while also making more humorous posts to present the society in a welcoming manner. This year there have been
issues with the Instagram page being taken down, if these issues are ever reencountered during
my time as social sec I will make it my number one priority to bring back the Instagram page as
well as see what actions can be taken to prevent it from happening in the future. Thank you

In the Fellwalking society, access to reliable gear is pivotal. Having someone who is organised, attentive and enjoys the outdoors would help ensure they every trip can run smoothly. With some experience handling equipment, I would love the chance to support the society from behind the scenes as well as in the moment. From keeping track of inventory to checking my emails regularly to ensure that no gear requests are missed and making sure that everything is ready for each and every trip. I would love the opportunity to take on the role of Gear Secretary and help the society continue to provide kit to members who need to borrow it.

Hey there!
My name is Isaac and I am a 3rd year geography student looking for a place as gear sec next year! I am currently studying abroad at Oslo University this year, but will be back next year for all the fellwalking someone could wish for. Some of you will know me as a familiar face from the last few years and others won’t but nonetheless I hope to become a memorable part of the society and to be able to give back to the association that helped make my first 3 years at university so good. I’d be a good asset to the team, having a significant amount of experience across England, Wales, Scotland, Norway and Greenland; being a keen hiker, wild camper and expeditioner, needing good knowledge of the gear required to stay safe and prepared on the mountains.
Can’t wait to meet everyone who will be here for next year!

I’d love to apply for the role of Gear Secretary. I’ve spent quite a lot of time out on the fells throughout my life, both with the society and on my own adventures, and I know how important good, reliable kit can be. Whether it’s a long day out in the Lakes or a windy weekend in Scotland, having the right gear really makes all the difference. I’m an organized person who’s happy keeping track of spreadsheets, managing repairs, and making sure everything’s ready when loaning out equipment. I’d also love to help make the gear more accessible to new members who are just starting out. I’m enthusiastic about supporting the society however I can, and would be excited to work with the rest of the committee to keep everything running smoothly. Thanks so much for considering me!

Hi, My name is Jake and I would like to be the next walk planner. I have been on a year abroad this year in the Netherlands so I haven’t done much with the society this year, however I am sick of this flat country so I am looking forward to getting back into it next year. This will technically be my 4th year in the society so I have quite a bit of experience on all sorts of different trips so I know what mountains and walks are the most fun. I look forward to planning fun walks that cater to everybodies skill levels and working together with the other members of the committee to make sure that all the trips, socials and other events are the best they possibly can be for next year.

I’m applying for the role of route planner.
I did Bronze DofE. If that doesn’t convince you: I’m agood candidate because of my extensive experiance, passion and determined attitude. Since hiking with my Dad in a storm up Blencathra at 7 when we didn’t check the weather, I have been hiking/ navigating through hugely varied landscapes in a wide range of normal to extreme conditionsthroughout my life. I have 100+ hours of experience planning and delivering group activities teaching sailing during the summer on scout courses giving me the confidence and ability to convey instruction and information in a friendly way to a large group. I want to keep the goals of the previous route plans while taking onboard criticism I have heard over the past 2 years.
I wish improve:
Walking pace (keeping time of breaks so they dontget too long, pacing the routes better so we have to stop less and reminding people – during our warm up- that “being cold at the bottom means you’ll be warm walking up” so they dont take off layers after 5 minutes into a steep scramble)
Actually warming up (important on cold daysparticularly but in general as I think many aches and pains are caused by walking straight after getting out of the mini bus)
Group selection (making sure we have a fast and slow group when staff allows so we can do some spicy scrambles)

Hi everyone, I’m Tom and I am a second year civil engineering student. I was drawn to the role of walk planner by my existing interest in cartography. My past experience of route planning for my friends and myself will come in handy for this role and hopefully make me qualified. In my past year and a half I have always taken the utmost interest in the routes, and this experience should allow for me to create interesting and varied routes for all members of the society. I also consider myself a competent navigator and have had experience in the past in leading walks I have planned myself.