Leisure trust and social enterprise Tone has won a new contract to coordinate and promote the Walking for Health programme in the Mendip area of Somerset.

Tone successfully responded to a competitive invitation to tender from NHS Somerset for funding to support an existing health walks programme as well as help develop new schemes in the area.

Tone will provide a scheme co-ordinator who will recruit, train and support a team of volunteers to lead the walks and create new ones.

Walking for Health is currently co-ordinated at a national level by Natural England and is designed to increase the number of people who take part in health walks on a regular basis.

It is a volunteer-led scheme that provides regular organised walks within the community with the aim of improving the health and wellbeing of the participants.

Tone already has three team members who are qualified as cascade trainers, meaning they have been trained by Natural England and can now train their own volunteer walk leaders.

Tone currently operates two Walking for Health schemes in the Taunton Deane area and last year reported an increase in yearly participants in one of the schemes of over 3,000 between 2005 and 2010. The Mendip programme will operate from July 2011 until March 2012.

"We're very proud of our track record in Taunton Deane so it's fantastic to be able to take this experience into a new area of the region," commented Melissa McCarthy, Health Development Officer at Tone.

"As a social enterprise our remit extends beyond our portfolio of leisure centres, so programmes like this allow us to get into the community and engage with those that might choose not to visit the gym to get their physical activity," said Rob Gornall, Communications Manager, Walking for Health.

"Regular walking can help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, improve sleep and increase energy levels."