Members' News: May 2004

Members' News
May 2004

Message from the Chair

"You can play your part" National Council has continued to work hard on your behalf by attending Countryside Agency seminars on the Urban Fringe and Diversity, sitting on the Local Government Association Access Advisory Group, Country Parks Renaissance Group etc, attending the Scottish Countryside Rangers Assoc. (SCRA) AGM, liaising with the Countryside Recreation Network, Greenspace, Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers, Country Parks Network; Assoc. AONB’s etc and establishing a Senior Officer Liaison Group. We have also renegotiated our administration contract with Writtle College and begun to plan for the World Ranger Congress which we are jointly hosting with SCRA in 2006.

You can play your part by serving on your regional committee, joining the Marketing Group, writing for Ranger magazine or organising a networking or training event in your area. It is essential that these tasks are performed if CMA is to reach its full potential. Finally, please keep your diary free for our Annual Seminar "Haskins and You" on 4 November.

Andy Maginnis

LAW of the COUNTRYSIDE (Fifth Edition – 1994)

This is an invaluable reference book

CMA in co-operation with the author, Charlie Parkes, first published this book in 1983. This is the fully revised 1994 (fifth) edition. We are now clearing our old stock before discussing the commissioning of a new edition with Charlie.

This is an invaluable reference book, especially for students and new Rangers; Wardens or other countryside officers. Though published in 1994, many things have not changed and much is still relevant.

Originally sold at £10, we are offering this at a knockdown bargain price of £5 which includes postage & packing. Send your order with cheque (payable to C.M.A.) or a purchase order to CMA Admin. at Writtle College. Stock is limited so first come first served!

As previously reported in Members’ News, the 5th International Ranger Federation Congress will be held in Stirling Scotland from 14th to 21st June 2006.

CMA will be involved with SCRA (the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association) in co-hosting this event. To this end we need to start the ball rolling on a few matters which we have already offered to help with

1. Ranger work-shadowing
Tessa Jones of SCRA will be coordinating requests from overseas delegates for Ranger shadowing in Scotland, England or Northern Ireland. This may be either before or after the congress and can be for anything from a week to a month. If you are prepared to offer an overseas Ranger a work shadowing opportunity could you please let Tessa know indicating:

1. Location or venue
2. Name of authority and host ranger (if known)
3. Type of experience offered e.g. general Rangering; education; interp; urban fringe; coastal…etc
4. Timing viz. pre or post congress
5. Length of time (or flexible).
6. Can you provide some form of accommodation/digs or do they have to find their own.
7. Your contact details.

Tessa would be pleased to discuss this with you on 01540 673907 or via e mail at tessa.jones@highland.gov.uk

2. Translators needed
We would like to send registered overseas delegates further details of the congress in their preferred language (likely to be Spanish; Portuguese; French; German etc). Anyone who might be able to help in this respect or indeed as a translator at the conference itself should contact SCRA secretary Alison Wilson e mail - AliWilson@aol.com.

3. Early registration advised
In order to maintain the right international balance it is likely that places for delegates from some countries will have to be “rationed” (e.g. the host countries of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland; USA and some other European countries). However, options for attending as a day visitor or as a Congress volunteer are likely to be offered. Therefore you should start thinking now how you might wish to attend so that you can submit your provisional application once booking opens later this year. One thing is for sure however, registration as a full delegate from England or Wales will ONLY be open to paid-up CMA members.

4. Sponsor a Ranger
Within the IRF it is traditional for the richer western countries to help support Rangers from the poorer nations attend the Congress. CMA will therefore be planning a specific fund-raising event in order to provide funds for one (or possibly more) overseas delegate. Any of you with specific links with overseas Ranger services might also like to think about such support or sponsorship. CMA Regions might also like to think how they might get involved.

5. IUCN/IRF support fund – Rangers killed on duty.
As mentioned in the last edition of RANGER, (World Parks Congress article by David Zeller), IRF are looking to match the IUCN contribution of $4,000 for the support of the families of Rangers killed on duty. In this respect there may be a special CMA fund-raising event for this later this year – watch this space.

6. Pre and Post IRF Congress tours.
CMA will be helping to set-up pre and post congress tours for delegates to the next Congress. This will involve some touristy elements PLUS work related site visits with Ranger guides. Again – more on this later but we may well be looking for Rangers to accompany the tours throughout the UK and also those who might be happy to host a tour group in their Park for half a day. Contact: Roger Cole.

10:00 Regional Committee meeting.
11:00 AGM and Election of Officers.
13:00 Lunch – please bring your own!!
14:00 A tour around and look at the issues faced by the staff at the Tiverton Canal.

We are encouraging all regional members to attend and show their support for the CMA in the South West.

Richard Brooks – South West Chair

Scottish Countryside Ranger Association Training conference and AGM
April 2004

On 14/15 April 2004 Oatridge Agricultural College, Edinburgh, saw over 50 marauding Scottish Rangers descend to attend the 29th. SCRA Conference and AGM. I attended as the delegate from the Countryside Management Association, SCRA’s “sister” organisation south of the border; and though a Sassenach, I was given a very warm welcome by this friendly bunch of fellow Rangers.

The overall theme of the conference was “ACCESS” and the implications of the Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003. It soon became pretty evident that Rangers as the managers of both the land and the visitors are likely to be one of the essential “delivery mechanisms” of the Act (nothing new here then!).

I found it interesting to note that Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) part-fund most new Ranger posts in Scotland (up to 75% FTE). SNH also similarly fund the new Access Officers whose numbers have increased from 5 to 57 over the past few years (wow!). These Access Officers will be the coordinators and strategists for the new access initiatives and will need to work closely alongside the Rangers as the managers on the ground. Both Rangers and Access Officers will be active in promoting and informing the public of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) the three core principles of which are:

-to respect the interests of other users;
-to take care of the environment;
-to take responsibility for your own actions.

SNH also part-fund Access and Recreation officers in other partner bodies like the Scottish Canoe Association, the Ramblers and the British Horse Society all of whom will benefit from the new access initiatives. Representative of these three bodies also made stimulating and pragmatic presentations to the conference.

The first day was spent in hearing various speakers outline what they hoped to get from the Act. The second day was a Field Visit looking at some of the issues on the ground. In addition there was of course the usual “networking” opportunity particularly in the evening at the college bar and during the celidh. My respect for Scottish Rangers increased considerably when I witnessed their ability to extract money from fellow Scots purses and sporrans in aid of funding Rangers from developing countries to attend the next IRF Congress. Over £100 was raised from sliding pound coins at a bottle of whisky. Common decency and libel laws prevent me from going into detail on a second fundraising “scam” which seemed to be mainly involved with checking the presence; absence and colour of delegates various undergarments!

My overall impression was that Rangers in Scotland are both well respected and valued and on the whole seem to be a pretty motivated bunch. Could this be one of the reasons for the high (about 50%) attendance by SCRA members at the AGM? SNH have said that Ranger numbers are likely to increase over the next few years as the new Access regulations come into force. And though it’s going to be more work for the lads and lassies on the ground, there are clear opportunities for Rangers to make a major contribution. They have already made a big impression with a recent presentation to the Scottish Executive and MSP’s and are said to be “punching above their weight”. This is both good for them - and good for Rangers everywhere.

Roger Cole (CMA Vice-chair)

Buried underneath a pile of paper work? Too much work on and just forgot? Whatever the excuse now is the time to renew your membership with CMA and belong to an organisation that has your professional interests at heart. Membership fee levels are printed in the last edition of Members’ News and remember, a 20% discount applies if your ‘employer’ is a corporate member.

IMPORTANT - If you pay by Standing Order please revise the amount and note that date of payment is 1st April each year (not 1st January).

Also a reminder that these are regarded by Inland Revenue as ‘professional fees’ and are tax deductible. For those of you that are already members, why not RECRUIT-a-MEMBER and save money off your own membership fees this year, £5 per member you recruit. Also, if you are not one already, why not become an accredited member with the support of our mentors around the country. For more information about this scheme and any other information contact CMA.

Richard Brooks – CMA Treasurer

(March to May 04)

DEFRA: Use of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles on Rights of Way
CMA supported in principle all the proposals in the consultation paper. However, our main concerns were with regard to the resource burden that is likely to be placed upon already stretched countryside managers within local highway authorities. CMA would ask DEFRA to consider these impacts and how additional resources may be made available to ensure local authorities are able to fulfil their duties.

DEFRA: Regulations about “Public Places”
CMA is of the opinion that procedures for dealing with public places should be kept as straightforward as possible to ensure clarity and so as not to place unnecessary burden upon countryside and urban green-space managers and staff involved in managing access.

DEFRA: Fly Tipping Strategy
CMA is of the opinion that proposals for strengthening the powers under the Environmental Protection Act for dealing with fly tipping are to be welcomed. However, it should be recognised that such proposals are likely to result in a higher degree of risk to those in the “front-line”. Therefore, adequate resources should be devoted for both policing and training (especially Personal Safety Awareness training).

Members’ News, this quarterly newsletter, has now been running for three or four years and the time has come to evaluate its function and format. It was originally conceived to bring short and topical news items or CMA issues to the attention of members. In reality we have struggled to fill the space with truly topical news items but we still feel there is a need for a short regular newsletter. We are therefore considering the option of producing Members’ News in future as an “e” newsletter i.e. mailed to a PC of your choice!

So the first thing is to “consult” and gather your opinion on this idea. If you have any views, pro or con please send them to Members’ News editor Joanna Lang - or to Jo c/o CMA Admin; Writtle College; Chelmsford Essex CM1 3RR. We think that we will still be able to reach over 90% of our members via e mail, plus it will also save postage; packing and materials costs of over £1,000 pa.

So please take a moment of your busy time to drop Jo a comment about this proposal. All your responses will be considered by the Marketing Group and by National Council before any decisions are made.

The Countryside Agency is administering this new scheme in England as part of the implementation of the CRoW Act (2000) under which the public will have new rights of area-wide access on foot to certain areas of England and Wales.

A sum of £1 million has recently been announced by the Rural Affairs Minister (Alun Michael) for the period 2004/05 (covering CRoW areas 1 to 5). This is to provide both direct support, and to act as an incentive, for access authorities to implement the forthcoming new rights of open access at a local level.

CMA is represented on the Local Government Assoc. Access Advisory Group (LGA AAG). This latter body is encouraging local authorities to apply for the above grant money. It is strongly felt that further funding resources will be required in due course and that active application for the current grant scheme will indicate the demand for such resources (i.e. far better to be over-subscribed than under subscribed).

CMA would therefore encourage members to supply the relevant contact details for personnel in their employing authority responsible for access. This is so that the LGA AAG can liaise with them to encourage participation in the scheme.

Please send names of such personnel and their contact details to Ceri Daugherty- CMA’s Access Adviser.

After the emotional shock of the opening ceremony in Durban, with the prolonged standing ovation for Nelson Mandela, I started to wonder who were the noisy people halfway back on the other side. I had made sure I had a seat as close to the stage as possible. I didn’t want to miss a nuance from the great man - not a flicker of an eyelid. Surely the sounds weren’t protesters? Then I realised it was a happy supportive noise, cheering and clapping whenever the word Ranger was mentioned. Of course - it had to be the IRF contingent! I couldn’t see them, but I knew Gordon, Declan, Sean and Scott would be there. The British brigade. We didn’t meet up until the next day. That’s what it’s like at international conferences. Big halls, numerous seminar rooms, hideaway offices and media venues swallow up your colleagues for days on end. I was impressed with the ranger “uniform”. A distinctive bright-blue shirt with the engaging ying-yang logo/badge prominently displayed. "Those rangers who had died on active service wouldn’t be forgotten".

David Zeller [the IRF President] had block-booked the Blue Water Hotel on North Parade and I was invited up to the rangers’ special meeting suite one day. I was impressed with their professionalism and enthusiasm. It was a 6p.m. de-briefing of the day’s results. That’s what they were there for - to get a result, not to have a jolly. Of course they had to have fun on the way, but the real mission was to influence the Durban Accord which was to be the main World Parks Congress output. The agenda was to ensure that the Ranger got a fair deal in all the talk of capacity building, promoting understanding, junior ranger development, trans-boundary co-operation. If you look at the detail of the Durban Action Plan and the Workshop Stream Recommendations you will see they achieved their goal. I like to think our little gang (representing Training of Protected Area Staff [TOPAS] and European Training Task Force) helped them.

So congratulations to the group of dedicated workers who made sure Congress knew who were the lynch pin of protected areas. For too long taken for granted. Well, not any more. Those rangers who had died on active service wouldn’t be forgotten. And the new generation would be better trained and looked after. The emerging Youth/Junior Ranger programme was recognised and given a prominent section in the Action Plan.

And to reinforce everything the Rangers had been striving for, right at the end of the Congress, came another stirring and heartfelt speech from Ranger John Makombo of Uganda. He was thanking everyone for the Packard Award. He skilfully used the occasion to ram home the familiar message. I came away feeling as if I had been part of a family. A loving, caring, yet visionary group of people who were determined to see a better world and also see to it that protected areas played a part in achieving that goal. Naturally with Rangers leading the way.

Peter Townsend, Technical Director, TOPAS

Midlands Region - Phil Armshaw has taken over from Bern Gibney as chair of the region.