It has been welcoming Fife children and young people for 50 years and has led to more than 100,000 memorable experiences.
Staff at Ardroy Outdoor Education Centre are now looking forward to the next five decades by unveiling a major new fundraising project which will help celebrate the facility’s birthday.
Plans are in place to replace an existing accommodation block which was built for the centre opening in 1969 and has seen better days.
A new two-storey building will replace the Heron Block, with dormitories which can be adapted into family units, bathroom facilities, meeting rooms, a classroom and staff room.
A fundraising campaign will be launched in Dunfermline’s Pittencrieff Park on March 28.
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David Thorpe, Ardroy’s centre manager, said: “This is a significant milestone for Ardroy.
“The current team are incredibly proud to be continuing to deliver life changing experiences through residential learning in the outdoors, 50 years on from when the centre opened.
“To continue to sustain and improve what we do for future generations however, we need to replace ‘Heron Block’.”
Ardroy was opened in Lochgoilhead, Argyll, in 1969 by Fife Council and ran successfully for many years until 2011 when its closure was announced due to financial pressures.
It reopened a few months later as a charitable trust and social enterprise, following a campaign.
Over the past eight years, Ardroy has expanded its operation to offer outdoor residential experiences to not only Fife schools, but also the National Citizen Service, National Deaf Children’s Society and a wide variety of youth groups.
In future, the centre is also planning to enter into partnership with children’s charities to work with family units who require support in bringing them closer together.
An open invitation has been extended to the official launch at the Glasshouse at 11am on March 28.
