Access For All

[Siberianfury]

Myself and deardeath have been emailing people, landowners ect to see if we can get permission to use their land for meets ect, my proposal to them was to grant permits to shrafters' and campers ect to use their land, the permits would allow them to light fires, camp ect and numerous over things outlined in rules and regulations of having a permit. in return for a permit you would:



pay a small fee towards admin cost and/ or be able to do a few days work helping to manage the woodland,



woodlands trust have agreed to talks, they have tens of thousands of acres of woodland all around the country



we're currently in the proccess of negotiating what can and can't be done ect and what the general gist of things will be,



what is it you guys on the forums want to be able to go out and do...



any positive suggestions will be submitted to the trust and we will ask for the permits to include permission to do these things



this could help with land access rights and free up a massive portion of land for us to use and develop



i'm hoping this all goes well and everyone gets involved with the thread, its important to all of us!



regards SF

 

[vizsla]

sounds good mate, for me permision to spend a night or two, have a fire on the go but quite happy to use a stove, and then just a bit of carving, foraging.
hope it all goes to plan
cheers

 

[Siberianfury]

will be submitted, foraging is legal pretty much anywhere anyway, i beleive its classed as hunting, you can hunt in public places provided you do not use hunting tools, the paraphrase was included in the act to allow foragers to continue whereby there were no doubts surrounding this

the trust has declared all its land open to the public

fire is being asked for

and permission to stay would likely be on the basis of: no more than 3 nights in 7, no permanent camp.

 

[Front Room Woodlander]

the woods I have limited access to allow me a modest fire, or stove, collect standing dead wood, overnight stays.
I am very lucky that in the very limited time I have access I can take sapplings for sticks, and practice my shooting and take pigeon, rabbit, squirrel for food.
I am lucky.
On a more general basis if I could take my family, camp over night and have a stove or fire that would be enough.

 

[ex-member Raikey]

the nature of what we do dosent require much does it,...

a ground fire, and adeqatley wooded land.

how prepared are you for the meeting with the Woodland Trust?

have you asked for representation from some of the guys on here,..?

Possibly one of the Scout leaders?? ie a recognised identity

i,m not being patronising mate,..just ,..you opened up a good oppurtunity there with the Trust, and it needs looking after to a mutually agreed point.

hats off for getting to this point and no-one wants to steal your thunder, but it would be a shame to get that far and lose out....

when is it?...maybe do a thread calling out for some help with the proposal from a recognised body,...

they would want this for self protection for themselves and doubt they'd formulate and dish out permits based on anything else.

 

[Siberianfury]

the main basis would be to allow meets so taking the family would be included in this

standing dead wood is a must for fires

and hunting is something to talk over in more detail with the trust... because the land is open to the public, there may be some concerns over safety, will see what we can do though!

 

[Siberianfury]

the nature of what we do dosent require much does it,...

a ground fire, and adeqatley wooded land.

how prepared are you for the meeting with the Woodland Trust?

have you asked for representation from some of the guys on here,..?

Possibly one of the Scout leaders?? ie a recognised identity

i,m not being patronising mate,..just ,..you opened up a good oppurtunity there with the Trust, and it needs looking after to a mutually agreed point.

hats off for getting to this point and no-one wants to steal your thunder, but it would be a shame to get that far and lose out....

when is it?...maybe do a thread calling out for some help with the proposal from a recognised body,...

they would want this for self protection for themselves and doubt they'd formulate and dish out permits based on anything else.

exactly the basis of the thread anything anyone can do to sort this out for us all the better, currently emails are being exchanged regarding the possibility of all this... i'm essentially asking for all round help/advice and would hate for the community to lose out

more help the better

 

[JonathanD]

the main basis would be to allow meets so taking the family would be included in this

standing dead wood is a must for fires

and hunting is something to talk over in more detail with the trust... because the land is open to the public, there may be some concerns over safety, will see what we can do though!

Try to take your own wood and put forward that proposition. From an ecology point of view dead wood is one of the most important things in a woodland and if you put forward the intention of bringing your own wood onto the site, it will smooth the waters somewhat.

 

[ex-member Raikey]

my advice,..

dont move forward UNTIL you have this recognised representation.

i doubt they'd entertain constant non-structured "pestering" but a well presented proposal from the right group could sway things in "our" direction.



*not saying you are pestering btw,...couldnt think of a better phrase s'all

 

[Siberianfury]

Try to take your own wood and put forward that proposition. From an ecology point of view dead wood is one of the most important things in a woodland and if you put forward the intention of bringing your own wood onto the site, it will smooth the waters somewhat.

very good idea

 

[Nagual]

Good on you for attempting this. For ideas etc have you looked at the Land Reform (Scotland)Act or the Scottish Outdoor Code? These both contain good snippets of things that make us, responsible - and thats what many land owners will want, people to act responsible. One area you may want to think about is coastal access too, as much of the coast is privately owned, in as much as the fore shore or is it beach or whatever it's called, so for folks south of the border access to the water isn't as simple or legal as up here.?

Just a couple of thoughts, hope everything goes well for you!

 

[ex-member Raikey]

Try to take your own wood and put forward that proposition. From an ecology point of view dead wood is one of the most important things in a woodland and if you put forward the intention of bringing your own wood onto the site, it will smooth the waters somewhat.

what he said,..

put yourself in their shoes constantly,...there prime concern is the wood,...not us,.....

keep compounding the natural methods we use and the ecology, conservation angles...

dont pounce in there with your camo bandana on and a 8 inch blade strapped to your leg......hahaha dont even mention an axe!..

 

[Siberianfury]

my advice,..

dont move forward UNTIL you have this recognised representation.

i doubt they'd entertain constant non-structured "pestering" but a well presented proposal from the right group could sway things in "our" direction.



*not saying you are pestering btw,...couldnt think of a better phrase s'all

would you be able to point out a few of the guys here who could help scout leaders ect

it would be good to draft a proposal aswell outlineing what we were asking for and what we were to offer in return and just shoot it back and forth to look for improvements to it

 

[ex-member Raikey]

possibly make your main angle the teaching you do to the youth in the areas surrounding the allocated land...

the trust are all about involvment too, offer to organise charity events, and guide open days FOC with your exceptional knowledge of the outdoors..;-)

 

[ex-member Raikey]

would you be able to point out a few of the guys here who could help scout leaders ect

it would be good to draft a proposal aswell outlineing what we were asking for and what we were to offer in return and just shoot it back and forth to look for improvements to it

i,m quite new really and wouldnt want to push folk forward,..but i,m sure a thread with the word "scout" in the header would catch an eye or two,..

in fact ,...http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62985

 

[Siberianfury]

possibly make your main angle the teaching you do to the youth in the areas surrounding the allocated land...

the trust are all about involvment too, offer to organise charity events, and guide open days FOC with your exceptional knowledge of the outdoors..;-)

this has already been put in the ball park and is i think the reason we have got thus far, we are looking at involving the princes trust or heritage lottery fund to get some funding to get proper instructors in

 

[JonathanD]

Also take an active interest in the flora and fauna in the area. If they know that you know your stuff and have researched into it at such great lengths, they will see that there is more to you than someone looking for a secluded site for camping. It'll make them sit up and take you seriously. As the main representative you'll also have to take the responsibility that people don't abuse your trust too, so come up with proposals to minimise those actions, and what steps you would take if they did happen.

 

[Siberianfury]

Also take an active interest in the flora and fauna in the area. If they know that you know your stuff and have researched into it at such great lengths, they will see that there is more to you than someone looking for a secluded site for camping. It'll make them sit up and take you seriously. As the main representative you'll also have to take the responsibility that people don't abuse your trust too, so come up with proposals to minimise those actions, and what steps you would take if they did happen.

this would be where getting back by the scouts for example would come in?

 

[ex-member Raikey]

this would be where getting back by the scouts for example would come in?

no,..cos that shifting the responsibility to them....

Jonathans idea is that YOU are the rep, and potentially at risk of your agreements being abused by irresponsible campers,..(thats gonna be fired at you too, so have a good answer)

the easier the agreement is to keep , the less risk for you.

 

[JonathanD]

this would be where getting back by the scouts for example would come in?

That would be of great help, but go deeper. Go into the place and make notes of everything you can. First hand observations and knowledge will put the ball firmly in your court and you won't have to rely on third party information that may be incorrect. Always investigate any info you get, by going out and backing it up yourself. That impresses people like them and when you meet them, you'll be talking with first hand experience which always comes over better and will make you more confident in your pitch.