Europarc

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Published on Thursday, 15 December 2011 12:12

Written by Walking-the-Talk Admin

EUROPARC represents 500 protected areas, governmental departments, NGO's and businesses in 39 countries, who themselves manage the green jewels of Europe's land, sea, mountains, forests, rivers and cultural heritage.

Read more: Europarc

International Rangers Federation

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Published on Thursday, 15 December 2011 12:06

Written by Walking-the-Talk Admin

SCRA was a founder member of the (International Rangers Federation) IRF on the Banks of Loch Lomond in 1992.

Read more: International Rangers Federation

Where to Find Rangers

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Published on Thursday, 15 December 2011 12:03

Written by Walking-the-Talk Admin

Below, you will find a selection of links to Ranger Services on the web - please feel free to explore their pages!

Alternatively, please download a copy of the leaflet;

Leaflet Outside Cover (PDF)

Leaflet Inside (PDF)

Aberdeenshire Council Ranger Service

Aigas Field Centre

Atholl Estates Ranger Service

Angus Council Ranger Service

Balmoral Estate Ranger Service

Buccluech Ranger Service

Cairngorm Mountain Ranger Service

Cairngorm National Park (partner Ranger Services)

City of Edinburgh Council Ranger Service

Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park Ranger Service

Clackmannanshire Council Ranger Service

Cream o'Galloway Ranger Service

Dalkeith Country Park

Dundee City Council Ranger Service

Dumfries and Galloway Council Ranger Service

Eday Ranger Service

East Lothian Council Ranger Service

East Aryshire Council Ranger Service

Explore Abernethy (Cairngorms National park)

Falkirk Council Ranger Service

Fife Ranger Service

Finlaystone Country Park Ranger Service

Forestry Commission Scotland

Foula Heritage

Glasgow City Council Ranger Service

Glen Tanar Ranger Service (Cairngorms National Park)

Glenlivet Estate Ranger Service

Great Glen Way Ranger Service

Highland Council Ranger Service

Historic Scotland

Hopetoun House Ranger Service

Isle of Bute Ranger Service

Invercauld Estate Ranger Service

Kelburn Castle Ranger Service

Knoydart Foundation Ranger Service

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Ranger Service

Midlothian Council Countryside Ranger Service

Morray Council Ranger Service

Mugdock Country Park (East Dunbartonshire Council)

National Trust for Scotland Ranger Service

North Lewis Ranger Service/Galson Trust

North harris Trust

North Lanarkshire Council Ranger Service

Pentland Hills Regional Park Ranger Service

Perth and Kinross Council Countryside Ranger Service

Renfrewshire Council Ranger Service

Rothiemurchus Estate Ranger Service

Sanday Development Trust

Scottish Borders Coucil Ranger Service

Shetland Amenity Trust

South Lanarkshire Countryside Ranger Service

Speyside Way Ranger Service

Stirling Council Ranger Service

West Dunbartonshire Council Ranger Service

West Lothian Council Ranger Service

Membership Categories

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Published on Thursday, 15 December 2011 11:58

Written by Walking-the-Talk Admin

New membership must be ratified by SCRA council. For the first year of membership only, a pro rata rate is available on membership fees, depending on how much of the current year remains.

All individual memberships cost £35 per calendar year. A discount is available pro rata for that joining part way through the year. A £5 discount is applicable each year to members that renew before the end of January. The following categories of membership are available, and you can apply online to become a member:

Full Membership

Holder is entitled to  full voting rights, discounted training, to receive SCRAmble and SCRibble, direct e-mail updates, full access to SCRA-Online including members only pages.  Open to anyone employed as a Countryside Ranger (or similar profession that is deemed to be closely allied to the Ranger profession).

Supporter

Membership available for anyone that would like to join but does not wish to become a full member. Supporters have the same benefits as full members but do not have voting rights.

Team Membership

This membership level is designed for Ranger Service employers – Local Authorities, National Trust for Scotland, FCS, private estates etc. Entitles an organisation to join and receive full individual membership (as per Full Membership) for all Rangers named on the application. Team membership therefore provides the same voting and access rights as full individual membership. Memberships are non-transferable if a Ranger leaves the post.

Teams of 1 – 3 = £110 
Teams of 3 – 6 = £180 
Teams of 6 – 15 = £300 
Teams of 15 or more = £500

When applying for a Team membership please select the appropriate category on the online registration form and SCRA will contact the employer for verification.

Affiliated Organisations (£85)

Like a Supporter, this membership is designed for Organisations who wish to support the work of SCRA, but not necessarily participate actively – may include FE and HE Colleges, other Educational Establishments or other Associations. Affiliated Organisations will receive a copy of SCRAmble to the registered email address.

Ranger Manager

It is anticipated that prospective mentors will fall into this category. Ranger Managers have the same voting and access rights as Full Members.

Honorary Membership

In the gift of council, for those who have contributed to the development of the profession over a period of time.

Non members - subscription to SCRAmble only

You may request copies of SCRAmble, which will be sent electronically to a registered email address. The cost is £4 per edition or £10 per annum (3 editions).

The history of Countryside Rangers

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Published on Thursday, 15 December 2011 11:52

Written by Walking-the-Talk Admin

The History of Rangers in Scotland

The history of conservation in Scotland is largely centred around the Highlands, in the north and west of the country. It is here that the relationship between the people and the land in strongest, based on the Gaelic-speaking culture with a tradition of a natural respect for the land.

The Scottish countryside has seen enormous changes in the last 200 years, a good example of the global conflicts of growth, employment and population needs; and aesthetics, recreation and conservation. In the 19th century the growing population of Edinburgh and Glasgow turned to the Highlands to find fresh air and open spaces. Professor Christopher Smout suggests that the Highlands have been viewed in different ways: * Three traditional uses of the land as a resource:

1. for the community in terms of farming, forestry and fishing;
2. for the private land-lord in terms of hunting, shooting and fishing;
3. for industry, in terms of mining, quarrying and hydro-electricity schemes.

* Set against this are three ideas relating to the "green" or "romantic" ideal of the countryside:

1. the land as an "invigorating obstacle course", for walkers, climbers, skiers and water-sports;
2. as a place of tranquility;
3. as a refuge for its wildlife.

These ideas led to conflict between the people who lived in the area and the "incomers". Sir Robert Cowan, once Chairman of the Highlands and Islands Development Board, said in 1990: "People in the Highlands and Islands do not want or need to be told what developments can, or cannot, take place on their land by those often many miles removed from the physical reality". This is reflected not only in how the Highlander views Edinburgh or Glasgow, but also how Scotland views the authority of the London-based Government.

English and American Ideas

Much of the inspiration for conservation in Scotland was influences by the National Parks Service in the USA. It is ironic that this Parks Service had itself been inspired by that great 19th century Scottish conservationist, John Muir, who until recently was relatively unknown in his own country. In the USA the Interpretation and Resource Management roles were kept separate from Surveillance and Policing work. In Scotland, in 1967, the CCS was looking for approaches for its new Ranger Service. John Foster, the first Director of the CCS, and Don Aldridge, Head of Interpretation, both had experience in the USA and the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England. At the same time, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) was creating Rangers. Its Director, Jamie Stormonth Darling, also had close connections with the USA Park system. The NTS and the CCS concluded that in both the USA and the Peak District, the separation of roles in those Ranger Services had led to poor Resource Management. They decided that in a new Scottish Ranger Service, each Ranger would be a "person of many parts", with a wide training.

The need for new Countryside Protection

The clash of interests in the countryside came to a head in the early 1960s with growing pressures on the countryside. 
The long established Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was the scientific based government organisation, responsible for looking after designated fragile areas and wildlife, backed up by biological recording and scientific research. The NCC was not designed to be primarily concerned with receiving and advising visitors to the countryside. Part of the solution was the passing of the Countryside (Scotland) Act of 1967 which created the Countryside Commission for Scotland (CCS) to look at the needs of public access. From this grew a new Ranger Service.

The Countryside Commission for Scotland 

In 1967 the CCS started with a clean sheet to develop responsible land management for public enjoyment, access, and recreation, and education in the countryside for conservation. The CCS was the "parent" of all Scottish Ranger Services, providing funding, policies, training and inspiration. Its headquarters are at the Battleby Centre, just north of Perth, which has become a home-from-home for Rangers. Battleby also houses a fine practical display of outdoor, interpretive techniques and countryside furniture designs, to create a high standard of design, equipment and maintenance for use in public access areas.

Who could have a Ranger Service? 

The Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 allowed for Ranger Services to be set up by local government and NGOs. They would be able to ask for grant-aid from CCS. The essential requirement for local authorities was that they should have power to make "byelaws" over the land where Rangers worked. In some places there were only byelaws for the publicly-run picnic sites and road-side lay-bys, so Rangers, in order to be "legal" had to use these areas as the base for their work. For the private sector, employers had to have ownership of, and provide access to, the land. In 1981 a new Act of Parliament allowed for the development "Regional Parks". This opened up new employment and career prospects for Rangers.

What is Countryside?

1967 the CCS could only work in "designated countryside". This was defined in geographical terms, giving the CCS a remit over the whole of Scotland including the urban fringe. Thus only the centres of major towns and cities were excluded from having a Ranger Service. In practice, the type of countryside that Rangers worked over varied from the "organised" Country Parks in central Scotland, to the wildest untouched hill-tops; from the woodland areas to wind-swept cliffs. Perhaps the most bizarre piece of "countryside" was that created out of the flames and smoke of the derelict coal mining areas of Fife. Lochore Meadows was completely landscaped and new countryside built over flattened coal tips. This was one of the most ambitious countryside reclamation schemes in Europe. The definition of "designated countryside" was removed in 1991, allowing Ranger Services to work in urban areas, of which the Wester Hailes project is one example.

The Ranger’s 10 major functions

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Published on Friday, 16 September 2011 18:25

Written by Walking-the-Talk Admin

Major Functions of Rangers Services

1. Information, Interpretation and Environmental Education
2. Natural resource protection and planning (including monitoring and advising on conservation issues)
3. Visitor monitoring and recreation management (Most of "Ranger time" to be spent on these three)
4. Emergency and safety planning
5. Instruction in recreation
6. Supervision of staff
7. Consultation with others: eg land-owners
8. Surveillance
9. Maintenance
10. Promotion and administration

Countryside Rangers

Countryside Rangers occupy a very special place in the public enjoyment and interpretation of Scotland's landscape. This document will try to explain this and gives examples. Two themes are apparent:

First is the central theme that Environmental Education is the heart of the Rangers work, but is only part of the story - the remit of Rangers covers an enormous variety of tasks.

The second theme is that Rangers in Scotland consider themselves to be part of a national service, although they work for a wide variety of employers, in many landscapes and with urban and rural communities.

Rangers have special skills and qualities

Set against the background of the conservation remit of the national and local government authorities in Scotland (which are soon to change), are the roles of non-governmental organisations and private landlords. Rangers are employed in the public and the private sector.