Promoting and protecting our environment whilst managing visitor pressures

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By Fiona Banks, Ranger Service Co-ordinator, Aberdeenshire Council Ranger Service

The primary role of a Ranger is to connect people with place, to build a connection with nature which grows into a life-long awareness and appreciation of our natural and cultural heritage.

There are many skills which a good Ranger needs to be able to do this, flora and fauna identification skills, conservation skills, first aid and interpretation skills are just a few. I’m often asked what the most important skill a Ranger should have, and I always reply it’s to be a considered and confident communicator. Without that we cannot share our key messages, including those around responsible access.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 provides a right of responsible access to most areas of land and inland water in Scotland so everyone can enjoy the benefits of accessing the outdoors.

Like many Scottish Local Authority Ranger Services, it is one of our duties to promote the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, or SOAC for short. SOAC provides explanations and reference points of what is and is not responsible access by countryside users and land managers. However, it is not an authoritative document and failure to comply with the code is not in itself an offence.

Whilst engagement and education on SOAC had been a feature of our work since 2003, the unprecedented influx of visitors to our countryside during the pandemic restrictions brought this area of our work to the forefront of our daily activities. Previously quiet sites witnessed a huge upsurge in the number of people visiting the site, impacting negatively on the local communities and natural environment. While some of these visitors were experienced countryside visitors it quickly became clear that many were new to our countryside and unaware of SOAC and the responsibilities which came with the right of responsible access.

We are all aware of the health and wellbeing benefits of nature connection and accessing the outdoors, so it’s essential that Rangers provide a warm welcome to everyone, both new and experienced visitors. However, at the same time we must ensure that our communities and natural environment are supported and protected. This brings our communication skills, particularly negotiation and mediation skills into focus.

A negative response to a conflict situation can be damaging for the visitor, community and the Ranger. To avoid this, it’s important that Rangers do not bring any negative bias to a situation, that they remain calm and rational whilst listening to what is being reported to them. Taking some deep breaths can help!

When approaching a potential conflict situation, a Ranger should undertake an ongoing risk assessment, including an initial assessment as to whether there are welfare issues which need to be considered. For example, when responding to reports of anti-social camping, Rangers should consider if there could there be children sleeping in the tent, or could the campers be intoxicated and therefore should not drive.

At all times, a Ranger should approach countryside visitors in a respectful, open and engaging manner. Rangers should be mindful not only of their verbal messages, including the tone, balance and timing of their voice, but also of their non-verbal communication, smiling, nodding, eye contact and other gestures which can impact on the successful message delivery; or otherwise!

We have found that approaching groups offering to help is a good ice breaker and opening to conversations about responsible behaviour. For example, carrying some bin bags, a spare dog lead and some poo bags and can be a friendly gesture into opening a conversation about responsible dog ownership and litter management. Likewise carrying some water containers can offer a simple solution to visitors who have not thought through how to extinguish their barbecue and open a conversation about responsible outdoor cooking.

Avoiding conflict is always better than dealing with upset or angry visitors or communities and we look to do this through education on SOAC. We do this face to face at our public, school and group sessions and on our social media channels, adjusting messages to the countryside calendar, for example lambing or ground nest bird season, weather warnings such as high fire risk, or emerging visitor trends.

We have also produced a series of responsible access posters which are available on our website for communities and land managers to download and print. To further support land managers and communities, we have a series of printed business cards carrying responsible access messages. The small size of these mean they are easy for Rangers, partner organisations and visitors to carry. Handing out cards to onsite visitors can be a good opener into conversations around the messages on the cards, litter, dog control, wild camping, outdoor cooking and fires. This helps both visitors and communities understand what is responsible countryside access and avoid access rights being denied or misleading information being shared with visitors.

Working in partnership has been important to ensure visitors to sites across our area receive consistent and easy to follow messages and we share information and messaging with other local Ranger Services.

A partnership approach to positive visitor management has been taken with Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, focussing on messaging around responsible wild camping. Undertaking public sessions and joint patrols in partnership has helped us to reach groups which on our own we found difficult to engage with, where the consequences of irresponsible behaviour were not understood or with a minority of visitors who were accessing countryside sites with a sense of impunity. This partnership approach has helped to educate such visitors about responsible countryside access, ensuring our countryside remains accessible for responsible visitors and our natural and cultural heritage is protected for others to enjoy, both now and in the future.

Find out more about the service here or by emailing ranger.service@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

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