Volunteering in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park reached an important milestone this month.

The project, which aims to involve people in the enhancement and protection of the area, saw volunteers complete their 1,000 day of helping out.

But they didn’t even stop to give themselves a pat on the back - instead heading up some hills in the rain to look for possible drainage problems.

Dubbed ‘Mountains and the People’, the project is a five-year conservation plan which sees volunteers head into the great outdoors and carry out tasks to protect mountain habitats from the impacts of erosion.

Launched in 2015, the unique plan is run in conjunction with the Cairngorms National Park.

Affectionately nicknamed ‘a walk with a spade’ the conservation volunteering days are the backbone of the project and include volunteers walking sections of mountain path whilst undertaking basic path maintenance, drain clearance and habitat repair as they go.

In celebration of achieving this amazing number of volunteer days, a team of volunteers took to the hills to complete a ‘drainage run’.

Read more: National Park hires litter prevention manager for Loch Lomond

It might have been a wet day, but that made perfect conditions for checking where any problems on the path had occurred.

John Miller, one of the regular volunteers, said: “Having been a user of the hills for many years, this work gives me a chance to give something back for all of the pleasure I have had. It is very satisfying working in a small team of enthusiastic people – and the views are stunning.”

Led by the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland, this partnership project brings together the two park authorities, alongside Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Tom Wallace, The Mountains and The People activity project manager, told the Reporter: “We are indebted to our volunteers who are always enthusiastic and hardworking.

“They do a fantastic job to help protect our Mountains.

“We are looking forward to the next 1000 volunteer days.

In addition to our regular volunteer days, there are also opportunities for corporate groups, schools and clubs to get involved, as well as our Adopt a Path scheme.

Visit themountainsandthepeople.org.uk/volunteering.