A GROUP calling itself the Friends of the Wilderness Centre is planning to launch a public appeal on February 16 to save the Plump Hill eductational site.

The Friends, who hope to canvass enough money to buy the centre which was axed by Gloucestershire County Council last May, want people to come along and show their support, with family events starting at 10.30am.

The Friends have a three phase Business Plan for a Charitable Trust to purchase and refurbish the two residential centres on Plump Hill and to run environmental education courses and residential programmes for children and community groups.

To do this they must raise at least £1 million in pledges before the end of March.

Group member Trevor Roach said there were really good reasons for saving outdoor educational facilities like the Wilderness Centre.

"Every young person should enter adulthood with a sense of optimism and self-belief. This should be a shared goal for our society, and facilitated by our politicians," he said.

"Our young people are discovering that humankind's fate is dependent upon our ability to live sustainably and share the Earth's resources justly and sensibly. They all deserve the opportunity to take part in this challenge which is to understand and shape the world for the better.

"And yet one in three local authority outdoor education centres is facing closure by 2015, which is why the Institute for Outdoor Learning is calling for a debate in the House of Commons."