The Key Factors on the Development of Outdoor Adventure.

The key factors on the development of outdoor adventure. 1932 – The mass trespass On Sunday 24th April 1932 around five hundred ramblers trespassed in on Kinder Scout, this led to legislation in 1949 to establish the National Parks and to walkers' rights over open country and common land in 2000. The reason there was a mass trespass was because gamekeepers that owned the land that the ramblers wanted to walk on said they couldn’t, and because of the lack of progress that had been made by the official ramblers’ federations for the ‘Right to Roam’ the mass trespass was organised. The idea was to protest about the lack of access. The land was bad farming land and was used to graze sheep or to keep game birds and was only worked on around 12 days a year, the rest of the time it would have been deserted but walkers weren’t allowed on it. The mass trespassers demanded change, they wanted the land to be opened so when it wasn’t being worked on people could walk on it. Of the 150,000 acres of land in the Peak District only 1,200 acres, had public access and there were only 12 ‘legal' paths to choose from, this meant that with the growing popularity of walking the paths were often crowded. If any of the walkers wandered off the paths (which many did, to find somewhere quieter) it was trespassing and they were chased off the land. Many walkers believed it wasn’t right that people should have land as private and access should be available to everyone. So people set out on the mass trespass as a protest against land owners, nothing other than arrests happened immediately, but 17 years later the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 legislation came in. And if it wasn’t for the mass trespass we may not have had access to the countryside this would have made it hard for outdoor education to take place. As access would be restricted and wandering off paths wouldn’t be allowed, going to a crag to climb wouldn’t be allowed, setting up a tent wouldn’t be allowed, mountain biking wouldn’t be allowed (off paths), the list goes on, but if not for the 400 – 500 trespassers we may not have had as many opportunities as we do today. The main influence the mass trespass had on the outdoor education world was access which provides opportunities and gave people something cheap to do in their leisure time. It also increased media which increased knowledge. It reduced fear as with the legislation in place people can wander off paths and not be chased off the land. 1907 – Robert Baden started the scouts and 2009 – Bear Grylls becomes chief scout Robert Baden’s many experiences as a boy and as a soldier played a great part in him starting the scouting movement. When he was a boy he spent his holidays camping, hiking and sailing, Robert also used to sneak off into the woods during school and there he learned how to hide his tracks, climb trees and freeze to escape attention if any of the school teachers entered the woods. As a boy he also learnt skills such as how to pitch a tent, use a map and compass, and cook on a wood-fire. When Robert was in the British army, he taught his soldiers how to live in the wood. He taught them how to use maps and compasses, how to tell directions from the stars, and how to read tracks and trail signs. He called his soldiers Scouts. In 1900, Robert and his soldiers were defending a town during a war in South Africa. Robert taught the boys of the town to do important jobs the soldiers usually did. He learned that boys could be taught to do important things and do their best at it. All this led to him taking 20 teenage boys on 1st – 9th August 1907 to Brownsea Island to camp, he taught them scouting. This then led to him writing a book in 1908, a book called Scouting for boys, from this he only intended to provide a method of training boys which existing organisations could use, but to his surprise many boys grouped together and created their own ‘scouts’ groups. And by 1909, there were 11,000 Boy Scouts. Scouting spread from Britain America, and all over the world. Thanks to Lord Robert Baden-Powell, there are now millions of people joined together in the worldwide community of Scouting. The war in 1914 could have caused the collapse of the scouts, but the training provided proved its worth. When adult leaders volunteered for active service patrol leaders took over. Scouts contributed to the war effort in many ways including the Sea Scouts who took the place of regular coast-guardsmen, which freed them for service afloat. On 17th May 2009 Bear Grylls became chief scout becoming the youngest ever chief scout Bear says â€Å"this is his proudest post, standing up for young people from so many different cultures and countries, helping them realize their dreams, explore the world, help in crisis countries, and benefit from being part of a worldwide family. It is all about encouraging life values, outdoor skills and a sense of pride, belonging and camaraderie through adventure. † His website states â€Å"Bear Grylls is a worldwide icon for the great outdoors and the ultimate in adventure. † And â€Å"Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. † Because he is in the media and on TV a lot he is a celebrity role model that can impact people on wanting to join the scouts and gain knowledge. If Robert hadn’t set up the scouts then 1- Bear wouldn’t be scout leader and may not have had as much impact on people that he does, and 2- many people wouldn’t have joined and learned about the outdoors and many wouldn’t have an interest in outdoor adventure. 1990’s – The 7 Stanes set up The 7stanes are seven mountain biking sites in the south of Scotland. It is a partnership project which was started in 2001 and recently finished its third phase (2011). They are set on Forestry Commission land and they are seen as the way by which further trails in the UK should be developed. They are known as the 7stanes because each venue features a ‘stane' (Scottish name for stone) along each of the forest trails. The 7stanes are set in: * Forest of Ae * Dalbeattie * Glentrool * Kirroughtree, near Newton Stewart * Mabie * Newcastleton * Tweed Valley – Glentress and Innerleithen The trails on each site are different, and are set different difficulties by Trail Grades which are: * Green – Easy (relatively flat; suitable for beginners) Blue – Moderate (may be single-track and include minor obstacles; suitable for cyclists with basic off-road skills) * Red – Difficult (mostly single-track, many obstacles; suitable for proficient mountain bikers) * Black – Severe (similar to red routes, with more obstacles and large challenging area; suitable for expert riders only) * Bike Park (Orange)- Extreme (highly challen ging, includes downhill sections and unavoidable jumps; suitable for expert riders only) The Forestry Commission as established in 1919 and is responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is â€Å"to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment. † In October 2010, the Government introduced the Public Bodies Bill, which would have enabled the Secretary of State to sell or lease public forests in England. This could have ment that the land was sold and possibly changed but an online petition was set up opposing the sale and it received more than 537,000 people signed it. Then in February 2011, after a campaign of protest by groups like the Ramblers and Hands off our Forest, the government announced it had abandoned its plans and would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill. Also an independent panel was set up to advice on the future directions of forestry policies, and on the role of the Forestry Commission. If the 7 stains weren’t there many outdoor centers in the south Scotland would not have the opportunity to take their groups mountain biking, also many shops may not sell as much mountain bike equipment and this would effect the increase in new and better equipment. So because the 7 Stanes is there is an increased availability, and accessibility. Also the advertising has increased knowledge and interest in mountain biking. Bibliography http://www. beargrylls. com http://www. scout. org http://www. kindertrespass. com/ http://www. forestry. gov. uk http://7stanesmountainbiking. com