Forestry Commission changes should be halted until after the Independent Panel report (27/5/11)

When the Independent Panel on Forest and Woods Policy was set up, the Government made the right decision in announcing that no new Forestry Commission land sales would be pushed through until the Panel had finished its work.  Why was this sales moratorium the right decision?  Because to sell Forestry Commission land assets before the Panel had reported would be to pre-judge the work and conclusions of the Panel. 

In light of that very rational decision by the Government, I’m surprised to hear this week that around a quarter of Forestry Commission staff could be at risk in a major shake-up, which would also include a large-scale cut back in the advice the Forestry Commission gives to the public.

The moratorium should be extended to any major changes to the Forestry Commission, until after the Panel has reported.  The changes now being proposed should be halted.

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive

Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

New inland waterways charity (25/5/11)

I'm looking forward to getting down to work as a transition trustee
for the proposed new inland waterways charity, which will be taking
over the work of British Waterways probably next year.

Like our rights of way network, our network of inland waterways is a
piece of British history, but with a very modern purpose. Both were
developed primarily as transport networks - for getting people and
goods from A to B. When that purpose started to disappear, canals -
like rights of way - were in danger of disappearing through neglect.

And just like rights of way, canals were saved by people who saw they
were worth preserving, and campaigned and battled to change the views
and actions of those who took the decisions. Along the way, people
fell in love with canals as a way to relax and enjoy the natural world.

So the parallels with the rights of way network are strong. Of
course, although there are many different users of inland waterways
today, walkers are a major contingent. I remember walking part of the
Kennet and Avon Canal last year as part of the Ramblers 75th
anniversary celebrations, and it was astonishing how many people were
walking the tow-paths. Whether the canals go through the heart of the
countryside, or the heart of our cities, they're always a popular
choice for walkers.

Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:
www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Good luck to the Ramblers Rugby Team this weekend (20/5/11)

For the first time ever, the Ramblers rugby team is competing in a rugby 7’s tournament this weekend, in their red and black stripes bearing the Ramblers name.

Yes, the Ramblers staff actually has a rugby team! They’ll be heading to Somerset this evening to fly the flag for the Ramblers!

Best of luck to them all.

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Ramblers 999 success (19/5/11)

We’ve had a success in our campaign to ensure all ambulance trusts are able to pinpoint distressed walkers who phone 999 and give their Ordnance Survey grid reference location.  South West Ambulance Trust has agreed to update their computer software to accept grid reference locations alongside satnav and GPS locations.

The Ramblers is campaigning to persuade all ambulance trusts to ensure they can take grid reference locations, after learning of cases where search and rescue teams were hampered by a lack of understanding of grid references by ambulance control teams.

This is an important milestone in this campaign, but we’ve got much further to go.  Each ambulance trust works independently, so we need to persuade them all.  Thanks to the volunteers, members and staff helping with this campaign.

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Get Walking Day 2011 (15/5/11)

Best wishes to all the Ramblers volunteers organising the 150+ Get
Walking Day events this weekend.

I've been helping out with a Family Adventure Trail in Victoria Park
in East London, with the Ramblers volunteers and staff who run the
local Get Walking Keep Walking scheme.

Families have been hunting around the park for clues to a puzzle - and
along the way there's been bug hunts, face painting, mask making, and
the like. A great way to encourage families to get into the outdoors
and enjoy walking. Activities for the children are often the secret
ingredients to involving families.

Victoria Park was established on land donated by Queen Victoria, to
help improve the health and well-being of people in the East End. So
it's a fitting location for the adventure trail today.

I hope all the other events are going well.

Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:
www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Getting to work with the Forest Panel (12/5/11)

I’ve spent the day immersed in forest talk, at the second meeting of the Independent Panel on Forests and Woods.  We had two background presentations today to get things going: one from Tim Rollinson, the Director General of the Forestry Commission, who gave a presentation on the Forestry Commission and the Public Estate; and another from DEFRA officials on the Natural Environment White Paper.  We also discussed panel visits (the first wave will be announced soon) and putting out a public call for the submission of views on forests and woods (again, there’s likely to be an announcement soon on this).

The panel’s remit covers both the public and the private forest estate.  With 82% of England’s forests being in private ownership, it’s important that we look at policy including access for all forests and woods.

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

The Ramblers has a new Facebook page - please like us! http://www.facebook.com/ramblers

If you’re on Facebook, don’t forget to ‘like’ the Ramblers new Facebook page.  Follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/ramblers

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Forest Access User Group speaks up for Forest Access (10/5/11)

This Thursday I’ll be attending my second meeting of the Independent Panel on Forestry, set up by Secretary of State Caroline Spelman following the public outcry over the consultation on the future management of the Public Forest Estate.  In advance of this, the Forest Access User Group (made up of nine outdoor enthusiast organisations like the Ramblers, the Kennel Club, CTC, the British Horse Society, and the British Mountaineering Council) has issued a statement to the Chair of the Panel, Bishop of Liverpool James Jones, expressing its concerns and hopes for the future of public access to all our forests and woodland.

The Group is calling on the Independent Panel to ensure that ‘access is at the heart’ of its discussions concerning the future of our forests. The Group expects to meet all members of the Panel to express first-hand the value of our woods and forests for public enjoyment.

I’m really pleased that these different organisations have come together on this issue, to speak with a single voice.  They represent millions of regular users of woods and forests who care passionately about this public amenity.  The public make an astonishing 40 million visits a year to the Forestry Commission Estate, making the Commission the single largest provider of countryside recreation opportunities.  The remit of the panel is not just Forestry Commission land, of course, but overall forestry and woodland policy.  Just 18% of England’s woodland and forests are part of the Public Forest Estate, although that accounts for 44% of accessible woodland.  We’ll also need to consider access to the other 82% of woods and forests.

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive

Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Promoting Ramblers walks to more people (9/5/11)

Thank you to all volunteers who took part in the two ‘promoting walking’ workshops which were held at the weekend in Newcastle and London. A mix of people - some new to the Ramblers and others long serving volunteers - shared ideas about what makes a good walk and a good walk leader; how different Groups encourage new Leaders and promote their walks; and how to attract new members.

There was an overwhelming feeling that variety is key in attracting and keeping members. A number of people made the pledge to deliver regular short walks (including Simon Barnett - the Head of Walking Programmes and Promotion).

Participants learned about Ramblers Get Walking Keep Walking, and how it is attracting external funding for local staff to be employed. The future of the Walking for Health was considered too, at a local and national level.

If you'd like this workshop to visit your Area (and you can help bring in representatives from neighbouring Groups and Areas….we need about 20 volunteers to attend from different Areas and Groups to make it cost effective) please contact simon.barnett@ramblers.org.uk

Tom Franklin
Chief Executive
Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/RamblersTom
Follow my blog for Ramblers volunteers at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/chief+executives+blog

 

The Ramblers’ Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Dates for Ramblers Festival of Winter Walks announced (5/5/11)

We might not yet be in summer, but I know that some Ramblers groups
are already thinking about their walks programme for the autumn and
winter.

So here's some dates for your calendar: our Ramblers Festival of
Winter Walks 2011/12 will take place from Christmas Eve to the day
after New Year's Day - 24th December to 2nd January.

The Festival is one of the most important recruitment activities for
the Ramblers - with hundreds of new members each year.

Every Group will receive a hard copy pack, and resources will be made
available electronically on a new section of the website.

Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:
www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Wales group recruits the most (3/5/11)

Well done to Tiger Bay Ramblers for recruiting 12 new members during the March membership promotion.  Second place was taken by the Chiltern Weekend Walkers, and third place by the Edinbugh Walkers - so, one from each country!  A little surprise from our friends at Greene King brewers is on its way to them, to help them celebrate!

Altogether, 114 groups recruited almost 300 new members on direct debit during the March promotion - under which the first year's subs will go back to the group, to spend on promotion, campaigning, etc.

It's the second time that the Tiger Bay group - which is celebrating its tenth anniversary - has come out on top. Last year, it also recruited more members through the Get Walking Day £1 direct debit offer, than any other group.  

I would have liked to see more groups take part. We need more members, to help with campaigning, putting on walks, and ensuring a healthy future for the Ramblers. And groups like Tiger Bay, Chiltern Weekend Walkers, and Edinburgh Walkers, show it can be done. 

If your group didn't take part this time, it's never too late to organise recruitment initiatives. 

Tom Franklin

Sent from my iPhone

 

The Ramblers' Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at:

www.ramblers.org.uk
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales