Better Places Fund 2023 (BPF4) - Evaluation Report - February 2024

Published 2024

1. Executive Summary

The fourth round of the Better Places Fund (BPF) was launched in March 2023, with the essential criterion of visitor management focused staff posts are in place and operational at visitor “hot spot” locations for the peak summer months in 2023 and the primary outcome sought of improved visitor experience, improved visitor behaviours and reduced impact on communities, land managers and the natural and cultural heritage.

A total of 53 applications were received from 40 organisations, requesting c. £2.5 million.      

A total of £942,773 was awarded to 18 organisations for 24 projects to employ 62 seasonal rangers and visitor operations posts (60.2 FTE) to promote responsible access, support greater care of the environment and reduce the impacts on local communities.

Two applications were ineligible due to applying for building-based posts and two applications were ineligible due to not paying the national living wage.  Twenty five applications were not successful in being awarded funding because they were not in the listed priority hotspot areas.

All of the projects awarded funding were in the listed “hot spot” areas: 14 in North and West Highland, islands and NC500; 3 in Highland Perthshire; 2 in Cairngorms National Park; 3 in Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park; 2 in East Lothian coast and the Pentland Hills.  BPF4 projects were located in eight of the 32 local authorities and in both National Park Authority areas. 

A total of 63 staff (59.7 FTE) were recruited, comprising 61 (57.7 FTE) ranger posts and 2 (2.0 FTE) visitor operations posts.  A total of £867,502 was paid in grant claims. 

The final reports demonstrated numerous examples of the positive impact of the additional staff in dealing with issues on the ground and in preventing issues from occurring or escalating.  Several projects noted year-on-year improvements due to the extra ‘boots on the ground’. Many projects testified that the seasonal staff presence was well received by the local community.  There were numerous examples of collaboration and co-ordination between different organisations to deal with issues, often building on partnership approaches developed in previous years.

Most visitors were receptive to the discussions with seasonal staff, with positive responses particularly from those who had been less aware of their access responsibilities, though there were a small but significant number of confrontational, irresponsible and antisocial behaviours encountered.  As well as direct engagement with visitors, many projects used on-site signage, posters, leaflets, events, community newsletters and social media to communicate key messages to visitors.  Several projects sought to influence third party websites, apps and social media sites to ensure that pre-visit information was consistent and appropriate. 

While visitor pressures were generally manageable in 2023, there were times and locations where the volume of visitors, and the cumulative impacts over the season, were more than the area could sustain.  Fires, littering (including toileting waste) and parking issues were the other main issues that the seasonal staff dealt with.  Commercial events, wildlife disturbance and livestock worrying were significant challenges on some sites.  Improving understanding of responsible access, and addressing irresponsible visitor behaviours, will need ongoing effort and resources.

There were a wide range of additional activities and benefits reported. The Better Places funding has been beneficial in increasing rangering and visitor management skills across Scotland, providing job opportunities in rural areas, empowering community groups, informing management planning, improving sites, connecting people with nature and demonstrating good practice. 

2. Introduction

To support implementation of Scotland’s Visitor Management Strategic Framework, Scottish Ministers asked NatureScot to run a fourth round of the Better Places Fund (BPF4) in 2023 with a focus on the ‘boots on the ground’ provision that made such a big difference for many communities and land managers in 2021 and 2022.

BPF4 was to provide support for the employment of seasonal rangers and visitor operations posts, over and above any already budgeted for or in place, to engage with the public and help manage visitor numbers, pressures and behaviours during the 2023 season. £900,000 was allocated by Scottish Ministers for this round of funding, to be used to support seasonal posts that could be in place by end June 2023.  

This evaluation report provides an overview of the operation of BPF4, and its successes and challenges, using information provided by the grant recipients in their monthly updates and final reports.   Details of the BPF4 awards, the specific purpose of each grant, example media coverage and visitor monitoring data collected are provided in the Appendices. There is also a comparison with 2021 and 2022.

The BPF4-funded staff supplemented the extra seasonal staff employed by the National Park Authorities, local authorities, Forestry and Land Scotland, NatureScot and Scottish Water, as part of the Scottish Government’s support for sustainable and responsible rural tourism. Along with staff from Police Scotland, these additional staff took a co-ordinated approach to visitor management.

3. Background

3.1 Aims of the Fund in 2023

Projects must meet the essential criterion:

• Visitor management focused staff posts are in place and operational at visitor “hot spot” locations (listed in 4.2 and derived from the Visitor Management Strategic Framework), for the peak summer months in 2023.

Projects must also contribute to the primary outcome

• Improved visitor experience, improved visitor behaviours and reduced impact on communities, land managers and the natural and cultural heritage.

and contribute to at least three supporting outcomes:

• Communities and interested parties see, or are involved in, positive action to address issues and visitor impacts leading to improvements to local places and visitor experiences.

• Raise public awareness and encourage action to address the impacts that visitors can have on the environment, including climate-related, other visitors’ enjoyment and resident communities.

• Communities, including landowners, land managers, businesses and visitors, are motivated or empowered to help deliver plans and activities in a collaborative way.

• Places under pressure and suffering negative impacts from increased visitation are managed in a sustainable way that supports low impact responsible enjoyment.

• Under-represented and less confident visitors are particularly welcomed and positively supported by the seasonal staff posts.

• Activity aligns with strategic plans for the area or location and helps deliver priority actions.

• Activity that supports the agreed national communications messages for visitor management, including the Scottish Outdoor Access Code key messages.

• Data and evidence that informs NatureScot and its strategic partner agencies, including Scottish Government, about visitor management activity and action applied in 2023.

Full details are available on our website at Better Places Fund 4 - Information for Applicants

3.2 Timeline for the Fund in 2023

24 February to 24 March:             BPF4 open for applications

17 - 21 April:                                 Application decisions

24 April – 19 May:                         Funding offers issued

1 May to 30 September:               BPF4 project delivery, monthly updates and interim claims

By 31 October:                              Final reports and claims

4. Operation of the Better Places Green Recovery Fund in 2023

4.1 Seasonal staff

BPF4 funding was awarded to employ 62 seasonal staff (60.2 FTE) dedicated to visitor management, comprising 60 seasonal rangers and 2 visitor operations staff. Further details in Appendix 1.

A total of 63 staff (59.7 FTE) were recruited, comprising 61 (57.7 FTE) ranger posts and 2 (2.0 FTE) visitor operations posts. 

The Fund timeline indicated that projects could start between 24 April 2023 and 30 June 2023, and run through to 31 October 2023.  However, due to budget constraints the Funding Offers were restricted to 30 September 2023. 

Table 1. Seasonal staff start dates

No. staff in post on 1 May	No. staff in post by 1 June	No. staff in post by 1 July	No. staff in post by 1 Aug
17	47	60	63

The BPF4 Funding Offers provided funding for 1,166 weeks’ staffing for visitor management activities.  The actual number of weeks that the seasonal staff were in post was 1,100, which is 6% less than planned due mainly to delays in recruitment and when staff could start.

4.2 Financial summary

BPF3 received 53 applications from 40 organisations requesting c. £2.5 million.

A total of £942,773 was awarded to 18 organisations for 24 projects. 

The successful projects were awarded less than requested (£1,516,396) due to the end date being brought forward to 30 September 2023 and awarding funding for fewer seasonal posts.  This helped maximise the number and geographical spread of projects supported within the budget available.

A total of £867,502 was paid in claims.  The under-spend was primarily due to fewer seasonal staff being recruited than planned, and the seasonal staff starting later than planned, arising from staff recruitment and retention issues.

4.3 Geographic Coverage

Applications were prioritised in the national “hot spot” areas:

• North and West Highland, islands and North Coast 500 (NC500)
• Highland Perthshire
• Cairngorms National Park area
• Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park area
• East Lothian coast and the Pentland Hills

All 24 projects awarded funding were in the listed “hot spot” areas.  

Table 2. Number of projects and posts awarded funding in hotspot areas

Hotspot area	NW Highland, islands and NC500	Highland Perthshire	Cairngorms National Park	Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park	E. Lothian & Pentland Hills
No. (%) projects awarded funding	14 (58%)	3 (13%)	2 (8%)	3 (13%)	2 (8%)
No. (%) posts awarded funding	33 (53%)	7 (11%)	4 (6%)	6 (10%)	12 (19%)

BPF4 projects were located in 8 of the 32 local authorities and both National Parks. 

Table 3. Number of projects and posts awarded funding by local or national park authority area

Local or National Park Authority area	No. projects	No. posts	No. FTE
Argyll & Bute	3	3	2.6
Cairngorms	2	4	4
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	2	3	3
East Lothian	1	6	6
City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian	1	6	6
Highland	7	24	24
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs	3	6	5.1
North Ayrshire	1	2	1.7
Perth & Kinross	3	7	7
Shetland	1	1	0.8
Total	24	62	60.2

Twenty five applications were not successful in being awarded funding because they were not in the listed priority hotspot areas, while two applications were ineligible due to applying for building-based posts and two applications were ineligible due to not paying the national living wage. 

4.4 Type of Applicant

The Fund was open to a wide range of applicants including community groups, registered charities and local authorities. Land owners / land managers could apply where significant public benefit and collaboration with the community was demonstrated.

A total of 40 organisations submitted BPF4 applications and 18 organisations were awarded funding.  The majority (87%) of organisations that were awarded BPF4 funding in 2023 had received BPF3 funding in 2022, reflecting the ongoing need for seasonal staff to manage visitor pressures in hot spot locations.  There were eight new applicants in 2023, of which three were awarded funding: Mull & Iona Community Trust, ANGUSalive Leisure Trust, Community Land Outer Hebrides.  National Trust for Scotland (NTS) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) applied, and were awarded funding, for some posts in new locations. 

The table below gives the breakdown by type of applicant awarded funding. Some applicants made multiple applications for different land holdings e.g. National Trust for Scotland, RSPB.  The Highland Council’s application covered the whole of the local authority area.    

Table 4. Type of applicant awarded funding

Applicant type	Local authorities	Community  groups & trusts	Voluntary sector bodies & recreational user groups	Countryside Trusts	Private estates
No. organisations awarded funding	4	8	5	0	1

4.5 Visitor monitoring data

BPF4 grant recipients were asked to include any relevant visitor monitoring data collected in their end of project report. 

Five projects contributed core metrics as part of the national visitor monitoring fortnightly RAG reporting during the 2023 season: East Lothian Council, Highland Council, Nevis Landscape Partnership, Pentland Hills Regional Park and Perth & Kinross Council.

The core visitor monitoring metrics were:

• No. people engaged with resulting in a positive outcome
• No. people engaged with resulting in a negative outcome
• No. tents
• No. parked vehicles
• No. campervans / motorhomes
• No. new fire rings / ground-based fire site / BBQ scorch marks
• No. bin bags litter collected
• No. incidents escalated to police, fire & rescue or other support services

NatureScot provided this list of core monitoring metrics to all BPF4 projects and, while there was no requirement to use these, a further eight projects recorded some core metrics as part of their project reporting. Several other projects reported other data gathered by the seasonal staff.

East Lothian Council and Pentland Hills Regional Park rangers recorded their interactions with visitors using the 1,2,3 Survey app. The app assists understanding of visitors’ activities and issues, helps plan visitor management and impact mitigation, and facilitates sharing of information with partner organisations.

The data reported by BPF4 projects have been collated and the cumulative numbers, along with the number of projects and full-time equivalent (FTE) seasonal staff that the cumulative figures relate to, are provided in Appendix 5.

It should be borne in mind that the robustness of the monitoring systems, and thus the accuracy of the data, is likely to vary between projects. For some projects there may be significant under recording and thus the figures reported should be regarded as minimum numbers.

Nevertheless, the data provides a useful indication of the scale of the visitor pressures and issues dealt with by the BPF4-funded staff at visitor hotspots during the 2023 season, including:

• 52,589 visitor engagements by 48 FTE
• 8,264 toileting sites cleared up by 35 FTE
• 9,944 bin bags of litter collected by 44 FTE
• 7,224 new fire rings / ground-based fire site / BBQ scorch marks recorded by 45 FTE
• 1,689 vehicles parked inappropriately recorded by 25.5 FTE
• 953 dogs not under control recorded by 30.5 FTE
• 381 fires were put out by 17 FTE
• 177 abandoned campsites cleared by 34 FTE
• 79 incidents were escalated to police, fire & rescue or other support service by 32 FTE

5. Successes & Challenges

5.1 Successes

5.1.1 Improved visitor management and behaviours

There were numerous examples of the positive impact of the additional staff presence in dealing with issues on the ground, empowering visitors to make informed decisions on their behaviour and in preventing issues from occurring or escalating. 

• “Daily ranger presence supports positive interactions with visitors. An average of 60 positive interactions were recorded on good weather days and an average of 40 on rainy days in July. A large percentage of international visitors have been recorded. Cashel rangers have been able to speak with many of these visitors in their own language, thus enhancing their experience of being at Cashel and their perception of Cashel, the National Park and Scotland as a welcoming and diverse place to visit.” (Cashel Forest Trust – July update)

• “On-site ranger presence results in the majority of dog walkers being approached regarding safe dog walking practices, with particular emphasis on the adder population and ground-nesting birds. Dog owners are mostly very positive about these interactions. There have only been 2 incidents of dog litter having to be picked up by a ranger this month and visitors are making use of both the regular and compost dog litter bins.” (Cashel Forest Trust – July update)

• “Ranger engagement continues to have a positive impact on incidents of dog poo being left on site. In August only one incident was recorded!” (Cashel Forest Trust – August update)

• “Cashel continues to embed in our community, and make a positive impact on East Loch Lomondside.” (Cashel Forest Trust – August update)

• “Overall, engagement with the public have been very positive and most happy to participate in responding to the survey.” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – July update)

• “Following initial interactions with wardens, some visitors were observed consistently displaying more responsible behaviours over the duration of their stay (for example, by opting to park their vehicles on a suitable area of hard standing rather than on the machair). This demonstrates that visitor engagement was effective at positively modifying visitor behaviour to be more responsible and sustainable, consequently reducing impact on the environment and local communities. Importantly, wardens always listened to visitors’ experiences and viewpoints during every interaction. Following the dissemination of key information and dynamic discussion with visitors, wardens thanked visitors for their time and wished them an enjoyable stay. Ending engagements on an uplifting note seemed to have a positive impact on visitor experience as well as visitor behaviour.” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “The introduction of the Visit East Lothian app gave visitors an up-to-date overview of coastal sites, and how busy they were, which gave them an informed view to be able to better plan their visit to East Lothian’s coastal site.” (East Lothian Council – final report)

• “Although 85% were not deemed to be camping completely in line with all elements of SOAC, Rangers have noted a general improvement in camping behaviours on previous years.” (East Lothian Council – final report)

• “litter has not been huge issue across ELC sites, which was also confirmed independently by this year’s Beach Award Assessors from Keep Scotland Beautiful in their comments. It is felt that the combination of visible staff and face to face interaction, litter picking by staff when out on patrol, and having well maintained and managed sites also encourages responsible behaviour. Recognition and thanks should also go to volunteers both community and corporate who also carry out beach cleans and assist in keeping the sites clean.” (East Lothian Council – final report)

• “Due to the popularity of this glen, the area received a large volume of people from all over the world who would otherwise be unfamiliar with the SOAC. Dirty campers, toilet sites, vandalism, cars blocking access and improper fire pits are some of the negative consequences that the ranger team successfully contended with and mitigated this season. Over the summer, several dog owners were engaged with.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “Several critical Ranger interventions meant that there were no major wildfires at Glenshero in the 2023 season.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “The rangers support, ahead of any events taking place, is really key to future events being undertaken successfully and with as little damage to the environment as possible. By having our rangers engaging with event organisers, we can set very high expectations of how commercial events should be delivered. The rangers are then in an informed position to help monitor the actual events on the ground, provide pre and post event damage reports and suggestions for mitigation and generally help event organisers to run better events. September and October are key event delivery periods and the rangers support in the preparation phase cannot be understated.” (Jahama Highland Estates – August update)

• “There were only 2 instances of abandoned tents, with wild campers seemingly following Leave No Trace principles well.” (JMT Nevis – final report)

• “The presence of the Access Rangers has had a significant impact in reducing the irresponsible or inconsiderate behaviour of many visitors and potential causes of distress to Highland communities and other visitors. With Access Rangers patrolling countryside sites, their presence increased compliance within Invitation to Pay car parks, increased responsible behaviour and the work that they carry out in removing litter and immediate repairs ensures ongoing visitor enjoyment of our countryside, increasing the likelihood of repeat visits and positive reviews to increase the economic benefit gained from tourism.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “One positive trend observed was a larger number of fires being placed on fire bowls or pop-up stands, which lessens the long-term impact on the ground in which they are placed.” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive – final report)

• “As discussions of responsible wildlife watching covered advice that benefited both viewer and animal (a comfortable animal is likely to remain in the same place for longer), visitors were generally grateful for the engagement and, if required, changed their behaviour immediately.” “Negative responses were extremely rare, but still always resulted in behaviour change.” (Mull & Iona Community Trust – final report)

• “Many occasions this summer after asking visitors to put dogs on leads I felt we received positive feedback such as “we had no idea there was anything up here, thank you for making us aware”; “Thanks for taking the time to speak to me on your patrol, we didn’t know there were birds around here” (RSPB Abernethy – final report)

• “Both the RSPB Scotland Inversnaid and Loch Lomond Site Managers noticed the benefits of a Ranger regularly patrolling both sites. The areas were kept cleaner and anti-social behaviour was able to be curtailed before things escalated out of control. We also believe that the mere presence of a Ranger prevented further irresponsible and anti-social behaviour – such as littering, irresponsible camping behaviour and environmental damage.” (RSPB Loch Lomond & Inversnaid – final report)

• “We are very appreciative of this funding as it is helping minimise disturbance in a way that signs, trails, leaflets etc simply cannot do. The ranger is having meaningful conversations each day, and whilst we cannot measure the long-term impacts on human behaviour, we can assume that people will value wildlife more and behave more pro-environmentally.” (RSPB Shetland - August update)

• “Several people mentioned their appreciation for having an RSPB representative based on Mousa – noting that this was much more involvement with visitors than in previous seasons. Many visitors were simply unaware of restrictions on Mousa and gained better understanding of the important wildlife on the island and how they can be negatively impacted by disturbance. After having that conversation and explaining why we ask people to remain on the paths, there was a clear improvement in visitor behaviour. Only a few instances of wildlife disturbance occurred over the course of this project, but this was limited to only one or two persons per visit. Most days no incidents of disturbance were noted.” (RSPB Shetland – final report)

• “The introduction of the gold panning permits have been very successful, and our rangers are working well with panners. The provision of more information and monitoring has meant that gold panning outside permit areas has dropped substantially, and a burn to the north of the village, which is a SSSI and popular with panners, has had no people panning for the past two weeks - allowing impacted areas to recover.” (Strathfillan Community Development Trust - June update)

Many projects reported that the seasonal staff presence was well received by the local community:

• “The Ranger has been instrumental in lowering tensions between visitors and members of the local community, especially farmers whose work would otherwise have been impeded by inappropriate visitor activities.” (Appin Community Development Trust – final report)

• “A community led approach to visitor management works well, creating a sense of local ownership and benefitting from local knowledge. It is also cost effective, giving good oversight of the area with minimal non-productive travel.” (Appin Community Development Trust – final report)

• “the Ranger presence on the ground is crucial for maintaining community relations” (JMT Sandwood Bay – final report)

• “Rory was able to address issues of concern to the community such as illegal fires, excess litter and human waste, and dirty camping from visitors.  These issues have caused tensions between locals and tourists in the past so being able to address these challenges quickly was important in maintaining good relationships.” (NTS Torridon – final report)

• “As most of our sites are unmanned having additional staff presence to address concerns during busy periods enhanced our relationship with local communities and landowners. Informal feedback showed that visitors, landowners, and stakeholders alike appreciated having a person to talk to.” (NTS North Perthshire – final report)

• “As usual the service of the wider partnership as well as the rangers was very well received by residents of the most affected areas. Thanks to prompt responses to any issues and flexibility in ranger scheduling no community complaints had to be escalated to senior management, elected members or media. The service received plenty of verbal praise from both visitors and residents, especially at community meetings and during patrols.” (Perth & Kinross Council – final report)

• “The community and local volunteers were kept updated on the work of the Rangers and voiced their support for the increased Ranger presence in the mountains and the positive responsible access messages being communicated.” (RSPB Abernethy – final report)

• “The Rangers informed the community and kept up to date and assisted with access issues through two WhatsApp groups, the wider community fire group was instrumental in fighting a wildfire on the south side of Loch Garten and the wider support of the Mountain Rangers was appreciated during the prolonged dry period experienced in June.” (RSPB Abernethy – final report)

5.1.2 Collaborative partnership working

There were numerous examples of sharing of expertise and co-ordination between different organisations to deal with issues, often building on partnership approaches developed in previous years.

• “We have a well-established and close relationship with each of the landowners [Arran Estates, Dougarie Estate, Forestry & Land Scotland, National Trust for Scotland] and ongoing collaboration with each of them continues to be positive. Each of the nine village committees has been engaged with and relationships have now been established that can be built upon as we go forward. As a result of these improved relations, several issues where the Ranger Service can assist individual villages have now been identified, such as new wild camping “hot spots’ that were previously not known by the Ranger Service.  Joint SOAC Patrols were undertaken with the Police to provide greater presence on the ground. These were undertaken at key times of weekend evenings. Collaborative beach cleaning with COAST and Bakkafrost Scotland. Staff from Auchrannie Resort joined the Seasonal Rangers on a path maintenance day, carrying out “bracken bashing” on an overgrown path. This was enjoyed by all involved and has paved the way for further volunteer activity days with Auchrannie staff in the future.” (Arran Access Trust – final report)

• “Cashel ranger service liaises with National Park rangers to offer an alternative to local hot-spots Milarrochy Bay and Balmaha. On the busiest weekends, circa 30% of visitors report choosing to visit Cashel after being turned away from busier locations.” (Cashel Forest Trust – July update)

• “One major benefit of creating a collaborative project between six community-owned Trusts was the resulting connectedness between communities, as well as increased awareness of visitor experience/behaviour spanning an expansive geographical area. Wardens networked with other relevant bodies and established connections with external organisations, such as Outer Hebrides Tourism and Clean Coast Outer Hebrides.” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “Lochaber Rangers Network Meeting. Hosted by NTS, Glencoe and attended by representatives from THC, NTS & FLS. The objective of this meeting was to both introduce rangers from the varying organisations working in the area and agree a common working protocol.” (Highland Council – July update)

• “During the season the Access Rangers worked hard to co-ordinate their patrols with other organisation’s Rangers and to inform Services and Police about any relevant incidents. They contacted most of the community councils or trusts in their areas (approx. 62), gaining information and building trust. Some volunteer workdays were arranged with these groups including path works on Skye and Caithness, vegetation clearance in Foyers and Dingwall and beach cleans at Dores, Ullapool and Durness.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Many land managers were contacted and discussions were had regarding managing visitors on their sites to co-ordinate any actions and provide assistance. The Access Rangers created Whats App groups with Forestry & Land Scotland, NatureScot and National Trust for Scotland rangers in specific areas. This greatly improved co-operation and co-ordinated their patrols.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “We have attended several marine litter meetings through Scottish Islands Federation but also strategy meeting with Marine Scotland.” (Islay Development Initiative – June update)

• “A major feature this year was collaboration with NLP, JMT, CNPA, FLS and THC ranger teams. This proved very positive.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “Shared induction with Nevis Landscape Partnership rangers to include introduction to local landowners, campsite facilities and key visitor pressure points.” (JMT Ben Nevis – May update)

• “Working in collaboration with local NGO’s and community groups including Skye Beach Cleans, Portree High School, Otters after-school club, Broadford and Strath Community Company. Met with the Highland Council Ranger once a fortnight to discuss concerns.” (JMT Skye - July update)

• “Met with Dave Sexton, RSPB Officer, to discuss an irresponsible wildlife viewing incident at a known white tailed eagle nest.” (Mull & Iona Community Trust – July update) 

• “We have managed to get consensus with Government Organisations, tour operators, Police Scotland and the local Community Trust to produce 5 key messages on responsible wildlife watching but in particular otters, this will then used in promotional material.” (Mull & Iona Community Trust – August update) 

• “The seasonal ranger kept in regular contact with varied island stakeholders during his employment including island residents/business owners, to discuss SOAC-related issues that had occurred in their area of the island, or to ask about the general interests of visitors they had encountered to better inform ranger work. This included café owners, accommodation employees, VisitScotland Information Centre workers, landowners, estate workers, farm workers and people who live in remoter areas of the island.” (Mull & Iona Community Trust – final report)

• “We are maintaining strong communication and co-operation with our neighbours and other local groups to ensure a joined up approach to visitor management, which has been very positive.” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive - July update)

• “The Ranger team participate in a range of collaborative activity across the region through participation in groups such as Visit Wester Ross, Ullapool Community Trust and Wester Ross UNESCO Biosphere.  This enables the team at Corrieshalloch to respond to wider community concerns around impacts of tourism on the NC500.” (NTS Corrieshalloch – final report)

• “As well as Jenny from the John Muir Trust, Nevis Conservation Officer Rob has joined us on conservation and volunteering days. Angus, Mark, and Emma from Jahama Highland Estates have been a great help on path and infrastructure maintenance days. Michael and Gordon from the Highland Council have helped us with litter picking and sharing important info and updates from the Glen. Lisette from Glen Nevis Holidays came along to help out on a lovely sunny butterfly survey. And Friends of Nevis have hosted lots of training and volunteer days.” (Nevis Partnership – September Ranger Update on website)

• “The joint patrols helped to reinforce the new signage and guidance on fire and water safety that were promoted in the park during the season. Each week discussions would be had by Natural Heritage Officers and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to determine what messaging was to be promoted. The signage and guidance were altered depending on the weather forecast; no fires due to extreme fire risk, fires allowed in raised fire bowls only due to fire risk and please have fires responsibly. Signage was installed at key locations, messaging put out on social media via PHRP Facebook and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Facebook and as many as possible campers were spoken to over the two hotspots by Rangers during day shift and evening shifts. Early shift would then interact with the campers to encourage them to leave no trace and during the periods of extreme fire risk, they reminded visitors to not have fires and when needed asked for fires to be extinguished.” (Pentland Hills Regional Park – final report)

• “Two Rangers assisted the Friends of the Pentlands with refurbishing a set of steps” (Pentland Hills Regional Park – July update)

• “Data collected by the Mountain Rangers was communicated to the wider Abernethy team at regular weekly meetings and all data was fed back to CNPA fortnightly. The Rangers worked with partner organisations such as OATS [Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland] and Cairngorms Connect. They also attended the Cairngorms Connect conference giving them the opportunity to engage with wider conservation work happening in the area and feed into discussions around access and the future of the project bringing with them the valuable knowledge and experience they have.” (RSPB Abernethy – final report)

• “Our rangers have developed good relations with National Park Rangers that are allocated to the north of the Park, and have created their own WhatsApp to keep in touch, provide information, notify of issues and request support as needed. This is working well so far. They are also in good relations with Stirling Council's waste disposal team, and they are supporting each other.” (Strathfillan Community Development Trust - May update)

• “arranged [beach] cleans with local groups, such as the surf community, the NHS care staff and users at the art project and this week I have a skiff row out to clean a remoter beach” (Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay - August update)

5.1.3 Communication with visitors

The majority of visitor engagements by the seasonal staff were positive.  Many organisations used ‘leave no trace’ principles to explain how visitors should behave with respect to camping, fires, etc.  

The Highland Council Access Rangers found leaflets were extremely well received and a good conversation starter. This year they used a removable magnetic sign on their vans when a High Fire Risk Warning was issued for the area.

Community Land Outer Hebrides promoted the Special PLACE (Parking, Litter, Animals, Camping & Engagement) campaign using signage and leaflets. They also distributed leaflets produced by Outer Hebrides Tourism and NatureScot, promoting responsible camping, motorhome and dog walking behaviours, directly to visitors and via local businesses. Appin Community Development Trust produced an A5 leaflet setting out key elements of the SOAC and explaining visitors’ responsibilities, which the Ranger handed out to every group they engaged with. Organisations with a visitor centre, such as Cashel Forest Trust, made SOAC leaflets available there.

Community Land Outer Hebrides and John Muir Trust found that visitor surveys were a useful tool for engaging visitors.  Community Land Outer Hebrides included a question on visitors’ familiarity with the SOAC, which provided an effective method of engaging visitors in conversation about their rights and responsibilities under the SOAC in relation to parking, camping, dog walking, general access and historic monuments. The survey tended to diffuse initial defensiveness under circumstances where visitors were conscious of their behaviour being out of alignment with the Access Code prior to being approached.

The Mull & Iona seasonal ranger engaged with visitors about responsible access and wildlife watching via fortnightly visitor drop-in sessions at Loch Torr and Fishnish wildlife hides and attending Salen Agricultural Show, as well more opportunistic conversations with visitors while out and about. Arran Access Trust engaged with the public at Arran Show, while the JMT Sandwood Bay seasonal ranger attended Durness and Assynt Games.  Pentland Hills Regional Park seasonal rangers used pop-up stalls to promote dog fouling and human faeces awareness, and they found that the ‘Bobby the Jobby’ dog mascot, a giant poo cushion and poo games really helped engage people in a positive way.

The Visit East Lothian app provided an up-to-date overview of coastal sites and how busy they were, enabling visitors to better plan their visit and thus help reduce the negative impacts of visits to East Lothian's coastal sites.

As well as direct engagement with visitors, many projects used on-site signage, posters, community newsletters, press releases and social media (particularly Facebook) to communicate key messages to visitors. Specific examples of media coverage are provided in Appendix 4.

5.1.4 Protecting and enhancing nature

The seasonal staff significantly helped reduce negative visitor impacts on nature.  Many of the project areas are designated for their natural heritage interests as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and/or Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), and several are also National Nature Reserves (Abernethy, Ben Lawers, Corrie Fee, Corrieshalloch Gorge, Glencoe, Loch Lomond).  

Some specific examples of the nature protection issues and actions are included in 5.1.1 Improved visitor management and behaviours and in 5.2.2 Visitor pressures and behaviours, especially in relation to fires, parking and wildlife disturbance, and summarised below.

• Protecting machair and other coastal grassland habitats from damage from vehicles and campers (Community Land Outer Hebrides; East Lothian Council; Highland Council)

• Protecting sensitive upland habitats from damage by large-scale running events (Jahama Highland Estates) and visitor footfall (NTS Ben Lawers)

• Protecting woodland habitats from damage from visitors cutting down live trees, removing dead wood and/or hammering coins into trees (NTS North Perthshire, Perth & Kinross Council, Highland Council)

• Protecting upland breeding birds such as dotterel and ptarmigan from disturbance by dogs (RSPB Abernethy)

• Protecting wetland breeding birds from disturbance by dogs, campers and fishermen (RSPB Loch Lomond & Inversnaid)

• Protecting breeding storm petrels and terns from disturbance from visitors (RSPB Mousa)

• Protecting otters, seals, sea eagles and other Schedule 1 species from disturbance from wildlife watchers and photographers (Mull & Iona Community Trust)

• Protecting wildlife from ingestion or entanglement with litter (all projects)

5.2 Challenges

5.2.1 Seasonal ranger recruitment

A key challenge was the short timescales for the recruitment of the seasonal posts. Although the BPF4 requirement was to have staff in post by 30 June, most organisations planned to have staff in post in May as tourist numbers increase significantly over the Bank Holiday weekends.  This was achieved in many cases thanks to the quick turnaround by employing organisations and the availability of new recruits to start at short notice, though put pressure on many organisations especially volunteer-led community groups. 

• “The short lead time on confirmation of funding availability for rangers does not allow for positive planning ahead, in particular for smaller organisations like ourselves, who do not have large scale resources. In both 2022 and 2023 there were continuing doubtful and inconsistent messages as to whether BPF or equivalent would be forthcoming.” (Nevis Partnership – August update)

• “The biggest challenge was completing the recruitment phase within the limited time available to have a member of staff in post to meet the funding conditions.” (NTS Ben Lawers – final report)

The temporary nature of the role made recruiting more difficult in the Highlands and islands.

• “Temporary accommodation in much of the Highlands is extremely difficult to find, two appointed candidates had to withdraw as local accommodation could not be found.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Recruitment was a challenge, particularly in the remote areas of Sandwood Bay and Skye where it is difficult to find seasonal accommodation accessible to those on a seasonal ranger salary.” (JMT – May update)

Nevertheless, recruitment was not as challenging as previous years.

• “We are pleased to find that the challenges around recruitment that we experienced in the last two years appear to be easing and we were able to recruit the role with far less difficulty than last year.” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive – final report)

Several projects reported on the impact of the reduced staffing levels and project duration funded by BPF4 compared to BPF3.

• “The wider team of 3 Nevis rangers this year struggled to keep on top of this, not able to patrol in all locations and needing to lone work quite often to cover ground where sometimes working together can benefit the full effectiveness of a patrol. Additionally, working together on bigger tasks removed our ability to be present elsewhere in the Nevis area for engagement. It was clear with the work completed in October that visitor pressures are still significant and there are always more impacts to be managed.” (JMT Nevis – final report)
   

“The reduction in posts from eight to six Rangers had a large impact on the Service.

• The shift pattern from 2022 could not be implemented with a reduction in staff. In 2022, there were four Rangers (in pairs) working late shift (busiest time for dealing with visitors camping). This year there were two Rangers working late shift. This meant the Rangers were unable to engage with as many people as they would have liked as they were unable to cover all the four hotspots which may have been one of the reasons for an increase in bags of litter being collected compared to 2022.
• Annual leave requests resulted in Rangers working frequently on their own at weekends. This was not ideal for the health and safety and mental wellbeing of staff.
• There was an increase in sickness levels compared to 2022. One Ranger was signed off with heat exhaustion for a week.
• One Ranger was on paternity leave for a month.

The reduction in staffing meant at times the Service was short staffed and alternative measures put in place to keep them safe. All staff were given SOS devices to wear while at work. This device connected to a 24hr contact centre, that were at hand to help if Rangers found themselves injured or in distress. This added extra costs to the Service.

We had planned to hold pop up stalls on topics covering water safety and camping during the school holidays but a reduction in Rangers numbers compared to 2022, meant staff only had enough time to carry out daily reactive duties.” (Pentland Hills Regional Park – final report)

5.2.2 Visitor pressures and behaviours

While visitor pressures were generally manageable in 2023 there were times and locations where the volume of visitors was more than the area could sustain. 

• “August has been particularly busy on the Isle of Skye with huge numbers of visitors. The new Sligachan people counter recorded 5,000 people entering the John Muir Trust managed footpath path in a 5-day period. This has meant the requirement for additional camping patrols.” (JMT Skye – August update)

• “Ongoing issues with visitor pressure on road infrastructure preventing access. Patrol time spent marshalling traffic. Traffic count & report put together to highlight this issue.” (JMT Nevis – August update)

• “We have experienced a return of very high international visitor numbers which currently shows no sign of abating, and the Rangers are doing lots of work promoting the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and engaging visitors with the particular significance of the local ecology and environment.” (NTS Corrieshalloch - July update)

• “Obstructive parking ..has become a huge issue across Glencoe” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive – final report)

• “The level of litter has been high this season. In comparison to last year 70 more bags of rubbish were collected, 257 more sites of toileting were cleared, and 7 more abandoned camp sites discovered and cleared.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

The size of the area covered by the seasonal rangers made managing visitor pressures difficult.

• “One of the main challenges faced was the sheer size of the island with limited resources with which to cover the area when it comes to SOAC engagement with visitors. As such, and despite an increase in patrols from last year, we often found ourselves reacting to problems such as abandoned tents and associated mess when we had not been able to engage with those visitors in the first place.” (Arran Access Trust – final report)

• “It should be noted that due to the geography of the island, many of these ‘hotspots’ cover large areas. For example, the south shore of Loch na Keal - popular with wild campers - is 4 miles in length. The shoreline of Loch Spelve, where many otter disturbance incidents have occurred, extends for 7.5 miles.” (Mull & Iona Community Trust – final report)

One project reported that the low level of support from Police Scotland made dealing with anti-social behaviour difficult.

• “On a few occasions rangers and other partners refrained from calling the Police as they knew they will have to spend a long time waiting on the phone and there is very little chance of someone attending anyway. We received similar feedback from residents, who preferred to contact Visitor Management service rather than Police despite our obviously smaller competencies in dealing with instances of anti-social behaviour. We have tried to mitigate this [by] propagating the link to an online reporting form for Police Scotland”. (Perth & Kinross Council – final report)

Camping issues were encountered on a regular basis.

• “Different perceptions of the meaning of wild camping were apparent throughout the season.  Whilst the SOAC clearly states what wild camping is, we routinely encountered numerous car campers, caravans, and large tents that you would expect to find on a campsite.” (Arran Access Trust – final report)

• “There were several instances of visitors pitching tents at inappropriate locations (in view of residential accommodation) and staying for longer than 2 nights.” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “Camping was noted to be continuing to put pressure on the protected habitats of the area and create access problems on site.” (East Lothian Council – final report)

• “There are many examples of inappropriate informal camping, that is not compliant with SOAC, in the wrong location, the wrong equipment or with lack of consideration for the environment or others.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Cumulative camping is a particular problem in some popular locations even when some individuals are following Scottish Outdoor Access Code guidance. As soon as one group leaves the space is occupied by another group. The vegetation has no time to recover, degrades and eventually bare earth or sand appears. This is particularly a concern in areas of rare or fragile habitat such as ‘machair’. Following last year’s trial, we continued with creating small camping exclusion areas or ‘Habitat restoration area on two beaches near Arisaig (Traigh & Tougal) and Ceannabeinne at Durness. The number of areas was increased, and one larger area was trialled at Tougal.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “During drought conditions in June/July, the ranger team patrolled Loch Treig to ensure responsible access. Several dirty campsites set up by fishermen were cleared along the loch shore before water levels rose again.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “The team also dealt with the aftermath of busy weekends and the impact it had had on the landscape, removing obvious human waste sites, litter picking, dismantling fire circles, repairing fences and gates damaged for firewood and repairing verges damaged by off-roading.” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive – final report)

• “Abandoned camp sites have increased almost twofold this year. Most campers Rangers engaged with were positive and keen to follow SOAC however, and on leaving removed their general litter and camping equipment. A minority sadly spoil it for the majority.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “At RSPB Scotland Inversnaid nature reserve the main problems encountered were dirty camping and fires taking both dead and live wood from the area. Although not a new problem, dirty camping is a growing issue. This summer Loch Lomond nature reserve did have more camping and fires than had been recorded in previous years. One example reported by neighbours involved one large group that were camping in a field of cows, with a fire and fishing in a no angling zone. The Rangers were able to respond to this call straight away resulting in the group packing up and putting the fire out before things escalated.” (RSPB Loch Lomond & Inversnaid – final report)

Fires was a key issue, particularly during the warm and dry weather early in the season. 

• “When it was explained to them [campers] about the impacts of having a fire on the grass as opposed to the shingle beach 20m away, they duly moved the fire. It is thought that signage would further discourage fires from being lit on sensitive areas of ground, however this requires further liaison with landowners.” (Arran Access Trust – final report)

• “evidence of the machair being scorched/damaged by manmade fires at many of the hotspot locations” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “713 fires were recorded on sites. 551 were deemed to be irresponsible with 215 resulting in ground reinstatement repairs. Trees were damaged on 26 occasions with damage to SSSI sites logged on 52 occasions. Attempts were made for ground re-instatement, but this did not always discourage fires being lit with some having to be fully extinguished by staff, although such effort in combination with signage has proved effective in some areas. The public were guided to responsible fire management by using the beach areas only. However, this has resulted in beaches with significant amounts of charcoal. Disposable BBQs remain an issue where we have scorch marks on the ground.” (East Lothian Council – final report)

• “Access Rangers placed advisory No Fires signs, endorsed by The Highland Fire & Rescue Service, which were successful in reducing fires in some locations, but not in others, where signs were removed or even burnt. The numbers of fire marks seen this year is greater than last year.” (Highland Council – final report)

•  “There was a notable rise in the use of wild camping fires, and this subject led to a great deal of engagement with rangers encouraging a more responsible approach to the use of fires. A large amount of disused and abandoned fire sites were doused and had to be dug out by rangers to mitigate wildfires occurring in the peat below ground.” (Jahama Highland Estates – August update)

• “JMT brought in a no-fire rule this year due to hot temperatures which resulted in less fire pits. On top of this the closing of the gates restricting vehicular access on to the beach and machair at Sheigra, to allow the SSSI machair site to regenerate, has resulted in less footfall and wild campers, therefore less fire pits.  Two of the nine fire pits contained hundreds of nails, left behind from burning firewood – the nails have resurfaced in the sand the entire season, which Ranger constantly checks and removes.  37 pieces of unburned fencing with nails were left behind on beach, which Ranger collected and removed. One fire pit contained broken glass which visitors had tried to hide under rocks. Glass is continually resurfacing which Ranger has collected over the season.” (JMT Sandwood – final report)

• “As well as assisting the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to extinguish six large fires, the Rangers carried out weekly patrols alongside a Community Action Team Crew Manager.” (Pentlands Hills Regional Park – final report)

• “High Fire risk weekends were challenging. Despite support from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and extensive social media information campaign visitors were not willing to comply with “no fires” advice. Even when they extinguished the fire while rangers where at their campsite, in most cases it would be re-lit after the patrol left. On one occasion rangers managed to put out a large (20 square metres) grass fire before it spread out and before SFRS got to the site. (Perth & Kinross Council – final report)

• “One of our main issues is people starting open fires and not bringing their own fire pits. Therefore, after consulting the National Park's Ranger Team, we are piloting a scheme where we pass out small fire pits to those without them for a small donation to the Trust. This is working well and proving quite popular. We hope it might help reduce fire risk and the impact on the environment.” (Strathfillan Community Development Trust - June update)

Littering continued to be a widespread issue, with fly tipping occasionally mentioned.

• “Littering continues to be one of the most pervasive problems across the area and its management very time consuming and unpleasant for the Ranger. Litter management has been identified as a key issue with overflowing bins a particular cause for concern.  The evidence is that overflowing bins attract more dumping and we are keen to find a workable solution.” (Appin Community Development Trust – final report)

• “A number of fly tipping incidents have been recorded at various locations.  Given the nature of this rubbish it is likely that this is more of a community problem than one particularly associated with visitors. Items have included an old refrigerator, abandoned caravan, damaged boat (on trailer) and wood pallet.” (Appin Community Development Trust – final report)

• “A change in refuse collections combined with increasing demand during the peak visitor season led to recurring issues across all six Trust Partner areas throughout the project. In many instances, this resulted in bins overflowing with waste (such as glass bottles and dog waste) being left next to or on top of bins at hotspot locations, posing a potential health and safety hazard.” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “Highland Gateway. Fly tipped garden waste cleared together with fly tipped gravel. The gravel was redistributed on site to fill pot holes that have formed in the car park area.” (Highland Council – July update)

• “This year had to issue the Access Rangers with a sharps safe box after syringes were found in a couple of locations.” (Highland Council – final report)

• Perth & Kinross Council trialled a ‘no bin’ approach at Loch of Clunie, with an increased presence and removal of bin bags left in places where bins were normally situated.

• “The most significant and visible impact from such high visitor numbers to the John Muir Trust Nevis property is litter.” “The most significant items collected were organic waste such as banana skins, orange peel and egg/nut shells. The majority of walkers do not appreciate that that the high mountain environment prevent the biodegrading of these items” “Sadly, there was a significant amount of deliberate littering with items including gym weight plates, bricks, shoes, clothing, glass bottles and plastic packaging being stashed in the emergency shelter, around the observatory ruins and across the summit plateau. Even with larger groups and volunteer assistance, time, conditions and resource limitations meant it was never possible to complete a ‘full’ litter pick of the summit on a visit.” “The Steall gorge and meadows area, as well as car park, generated large amounts of litter and was cleared at least twice weekly throughout the season. Again, organic waste was a significant problem here, with chewing gum, cigarette butts and tissues also very common. Around the car park were more instances of littering, with food packaging, bottles and cans often found.” (JMT Nevis – final report)

• So far this season, Trust staff and volunteers have carried out over 200 hours of litter-picking, collecting more than 200 bags of waste. (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive – story on website)

• “Cleaning the Ben can feel like a never-ending task at times, especially with the vast numbers of visitors making an impact up there, but this effort has definitely made a significant difference and the achy knees have been worthwhile.” (Nevis Partnership – July Ranger Update on website)

• “The quantities of litter on the Ben Nevis Mountain Path were far beyond that encountered on the patrols in the Glen and while the rangers were able to effectively manage the litter in the Lower Glen, the sheer quantity on Ben Nevis was challenging to deal with without a greater workforce. A clear example of this was a volunteer work party with John Muir Trust where almost 50kg of rubbish was removed shortly after a previous clear up. Rangers had to stop collecting due to the lack of manpower: this was one occasion where the reduced numbers of Nevis Rangers this year affected our ability to achieve the desired results. Three weeks later rangers headed up the Ben again and collected another 45kg. The rubbish issue on Ben Nevis is in the red RAG zone.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “While litter is certainly an issue within Glen Nevis with 120 bags collected (with additional 70 while joint working on JMT land), by completing frequent regular patrols and litter picks around the key visitor areas of Glen Nevis, during the period Rangers were employed the patrolled area was mostly kept litter free and safe for all visitors and ensured that everybody could have a positive experience of the beauty of the Glen Nevis area and the nature and habitats within.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “Due to rising cost of living and cost cutting changes in opening hours of local recycling centres we have seen an increase in fly tipping. Visitor rangers dealt with fly tips not only in visitor hot-spots but also in laybys and other roadside areas, predominantly in rural parts of the region.” (Perth & Kinross Council – final report)

Toileting waste was an ongoing and increasing problem in particular places.

• “Irresponsible toileting continues to be a growing problem with a large amount of human faeces found this season.  There have been incidents where local dog walkers have come across campers defecating next to paths, children digging up human faeces on the beach, and multiple locations where there has been no attempt to bury human waste and used toilet roll is left hanging unsightly in gorse bushes”. (Arran Access Trust – final report)

• “Another recurring issue at several hotspot sites was irresponsible toileting behaviour due to a lack of public toilets” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “This [outdoor toileting] is often found in association with campsites but also on roadsides, in laybys. This is also a problem that appears to be increasing each year in many areas, with Lochaber having it worst. The Rangers did their best to discourage this by placing signs notifying the nearest public toilets. This year’s signs were printed and thus more ‘official’ and included a QR code of a public toilet map.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Incidents of motorhome black waste dumping were increased this year, and it is still a problem that causes great concern. Being a mixture of chemicals and human waste, it can cause great harm in water courses and to vegetation, and distress to anyone, or their pet, that steps in it. Currently the Council do not have an effective method of clearing these spills. The number of disposal points is slowly increasing but it appears to still be a long way from sufficient. Even where sites exist the signage appears to be inadequate with many drivers saying, they were unaware of existing facilities.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Human waste has been a significant element of litter picking throughout this season.  Rangers would remove synthetic items where possible but leave the actual human waste due to the obvious bio hazard risk. It was frustrating to see the same locations needing clearing day after day. This was particularly bad around the Steall car park and areas just off the main gorge path, although was also seen near other wild camping spots and at various locations on the Ben mountain path including once in the middle of the main path itself!  It is clear that toileting is the area of SOAC that is least understood, appreciated and followed by visitors to the Nevis area. Some toilet spots showed limited attempts at burial, however synthetic wipes and rolls were often still left behind, but the majority of incidents cleared had not shown any efforts at burying the waste.” (JMT Nevis – final report)

• “Campers at Sheigra continue to defecate in sandy trough at Sheigra – Ranger has removed a number of faeces and toilet paper deposits over the season.” (JMT Sandwood – final report)

• “We also bravely attempted clearing the dreaded poo rock by the Halfway Lochan, which could be described as an extreme multisensory experience to say the least… Leave No Trace folks!” (Nevis Partnership – July Ranger Update on website)

• “While litter was predominantly removed by campers and walkers alike, the quantity of human waste and excrement has increased to a worrying extent with 646 toileting sites cleared this season in comparison to 389 in the 2022 season. Toileting around popular picnic, walking and camping spots has been challenging this year with rangers clearing more than 40 sites in a single patrol around the Steall Falls area.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “The toileting issue is particularly bad higher on Ben Nevis and around the ‘Poo Rock’ area where the level of waste poses a potential health risk. JAHAMA Highland Estates have reported the site in the past to SEPA. This spot was cleared by rangers on multiple occasions, however the daily high volume visitor impact on the Ben means that the issue remains. It appears that many visitors understand the importance of removing rubbish however lack the knowledge on how to responsibly toilet in the outdoors, although the sheer number of visitors to the area means that even responsible toileting can still cause issues simply due to the large quantity. One or two guiding companies have started issuing WAG bags on large challenge events (dry crystal bags for removing human faeces) however the majority of people ascending the mountain do not carry the means ‘to go’ in the outdoors.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “The absence of toilet facilities on the property and high number of overnight visitors led to regular use of trees and bushes around overnighting hotspots being used as a toilet, requiring regular cleaning by staff” (NTS Ben Lawers – final report)

Parking issues were encountered in various locations.

• “The Ranger takes steps to move on groups that have set up camp in inappropriate places, for example where access is required by farmers (Appin and Port Appin roads), in passing places (Glen Creran), or where campers block use of public facilities by other visitors (Glasdrum NNR). If campers are present the Ranger will speak directly to them and suggest a more suitable camping location; otherwise a note will be left on the windscreen.” (Appin Community Development Trust – final report)

• “Visitors were observed accessing land in motorised vehicles on a regular basis. This behaviour primarily occurred at beach hotspot locations, with visitors driving on the machair and/or beach” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “Parking pressures due to the limits of existing infrastructure and high visitor numbers were frequently observed at many hotspot locations. Vehicles were frequently observed parking on verges and blocking access.” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “It is quite common to find cars parked in passing places and thus causing an obstruction.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Whilst some verge parking has attempted to be addressed at the Arisaig beaches and Glenfinnan with double yellow lines and bunding, it still regularly occurs. It is also a very common problem at Stac Pollidh, Fairy Glen and Fairy Pools, Duncansby Head and Skerray Harbour. There are car parks in these locations that soon fill and create overspill on to the surrounding verges. These verges, and many others around Highland, have become churned up with wheel ruts and vegetation damaged. Some verge parking occurs where there is no car park for a site that has become an internet hotspot such as Wailing Widow Falls and Drumhollister (Puffin Cove).” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Visitor pressure on road infrastructure, making access to site challenging due to inappropriate parking in passing places, and oversized vehicles ignoring the 3T limit road signage. Patrol time spent marshalling traffic.” (JMT Ben Nevis - July update)

• “Met with local police regarding issues with campervan parking.” (JMT Sandwood - July update)

• “Challenges this year have centred around conflicting information about parking for campervans and cars, especially overnight parking at Sheigra beach.  Closing the gates to vehicles on Sheigra created confusion as to whether wild campers could park at the cemetery if camping on the beach in tents (previous/old signs at the cemetery state no overnight parking)” (JMT Sandwood – final report)

• “Due to the single-track road network, passing place parking is common. Some visitors were unaware that SOAC did not apply to motorised vehicles.” (Mull & Iona Community Trust – final report)

• “Damage from vehicles going off road” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive - August update)

• “The main issue this year was around illegal parking up and down the Glen.  Whilst visitors seem to be receptive to messaging around SOAC when at Glencoe, this has been less effective when getting here. We are hopeful that our major infrastructure projects should address this to a degree, but we are also looking at ways to reach people before they arrive at the property, including exploring temporary signage options on the A82.” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive – final report)

• “Loch Lomond reserve often being over capacity and having to shut car park” (RSPB Loch Lomond – May update)

• “Dangerous parking and driving: this was specifically focused around the Falls of Falloch car park. Here are significant issues with congestion, especially with campervans and motorhomes, with dangerous parking along the roadside, and dangerous driving when entering and leaving the car park. There were at least two car crashes in the area over the summer.” (Strathfillan Community Development Trust – final report)

Dog issues were reported at some sites.

• “Dog waste (both bagged and unbagged) was another regularly encountered occurrence over the duration of the project, and particularly obvious during the two community beach cleans conducted by the wardens. As identified in the visitor survey, this issue of dog waste may be partly due to a lack of dog waste bags/bins at hotspot locations as well as the issue of overflowing bins.” (Community Land Outer Hebrides – final report)

• “Livestock worrying is a regular problem on the common grazing land. A total of eleven interactions were had between the ranger and visitors regarding dogs not being under control in areas with livestock.” (JMT Skye – final report)

• “Loch Lomond reserve has a high volume of dog walker which benefit from engagement of responsible dog walking” (RSPB Loch Lomond – May update)

• Pentland Hills Regional Park seasonal rangers spoke to dog owners about livestock worrying. 

• Mull & Iona Community Trust wildlife engagement ranger discussed responsible dog walking with visitors, especially around areas of ground-nesting birds and where livestock roams freely without stockproof fencing.

Vandalism was mentioned at a few locations.

• “A recurring challenge throughout the Glen was suspected vandalism and the need for urgent associated repair work. Gates, stiles, fencing, and bridges were all damaged and in need of repair over the course of this season.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

Wildlife disturbance was an issue at a range of sites.

• “Signs were erected at key ground nesting bird sites on the island, giving specific information to dog owners.” (Arran Access Trust – final report)

• “Glenshero hosted a suite of ground nesting birds throughout June covering a wide range of habitats from marshland to the Munro tops. We worked alongside the RSPB to conduct a wader survey, picking up skills for habitat monitoring and knowledge of key sites across the Glenshero catchment. A small number of visitors to the Glen were unaware of the presence of these birds and were prone to disturbing them via careless intrusion into nesting areas and/or letting dogs off leads. This was largely avoided by the JHE ranger team communicating and educating visitors on best practices around nesting birds.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “advised two climbers about the rules around disturbing breeding birds (they had already climbed the stack, and commented ‘fulmars just won’t move out the way’)” (JMT Sandwood – final report)

• “the most common issue identified is irresponsible wildlife-watching; the island having a history of otter and eagle harassment incidents, usually caused by visitor ignorance” (Mull & Iona Community Trust – final report)

• Mull & Iona Seasonal Visitor Engagement Ranger spoke to drone users who were flying near a known otter feeding site.

• “one guy asked and showed me a video he’d just taken (on the Lochan Buidhe path) of a dotterel dragging its wing!” (RSPB Abernethy – final report)

• “a big part of our role was making people aware that there are sensitive breeding birds up the hill even though they weren’t always spotted” (RSPB Abernethy – final report)

• “The impact of visitors and disturbance on upland wildlife is exacerbated due to climate change, species like Dotterel are more susceptible to disturbance due to food and breeding territories changing. These stories were communicated to visitors to support responsible access messaging and to raise awareness around the impact of the climate crisis on native wildlife..” (RSPB Abernethy – final report)

• “At RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond nature reserve the main challenges were off-lead, out of control dogs and their impact on ground nesting birds and other wildlife. Therefore, a significant amount of time was spent engaging with dog owners and communicating responsible behaviour messages.” (RSPB Loch Lomond & Inversnaid – final report)

• “The main challenges that the ranger faced involved people going off-path past the broch and up the hills to South Mousa, flushing (disturbing) birds. Another area where people stray from the path is near the Knowe houses where fulmars were being disturbed, nesting around stone walls. In response to this, the Ranger chatted with people who strayed from the path and informed them that these areas are sensitive to disturbance and they could be disturbing ground-nesting birds. Most people are very understanding and tended to be off the path completely accidentally. However, with locals, it becomes slightly more challenging to make them understand the benefits of remaining on the marked path as some feel entitled to walk wherever due to strong historical family ties to the island or historic visits. Other locals stray from the path, reasoning that they used to come here years ago (before Mousa was a nature reserve) and use to have access all over the island.” (RSPB Shetland – final report)

5.2.3 Negative visitor engagements

While the majority of engagements with visitors were positive, some projects reported verbal abuse when asked to not park in passing places, avoid disturbing wildlife, put out fires, stop chopping down trees and other irresponsible or antisocial behaviours.

• “Negative engagements with one group of dirty tent campers in two separate inappropriate locations with large fires on peaty ground and litter left. ‘Please no camping’ sign removed and damaged” (Highland Council – July update)

• “Large group with tents and rvs [recreational vehicles] occupied the ‘fain bothy’ with generator and loud music. Police attended” (Highland Council – July update)

• “A reasonable number of difficult interactions with people believing they knew the access code or legislation but in fact not.” (Highland Council – August update)

• “Some local people have been more challenging as they visited Mousa decades ago and roamed freely, including swimming in the pools, whereas now we ask people to follow the trail. Most understand why once it is explained to them (fewer visitors in the past, more knowledge of pressures on species now, designated seal haul out etc) but do not agree.” (RSPB – Shetland, August update)

5.2.4 Public safety

• Pentland Hills Regional Park seasonal rangers carried out joint patrols around Harlaw Reservoir with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to promote responsible water safety and fire safety.  They engaged with hundreds of visitors about water safety (286 in August).

• Perth & Kinross Council and Jahama Highland Estates seasonal rangers monitored and reported algal blooms on lochs and lochans.

• Community Land Outer Hebrides seasonal wardens ensured they had relevant first aid knowledge e.g. how to treat jellyfish stings, given that there has been an increased presence of jellyfish and they are often stationed at busy beaches where people swim.

• July was characterised by the increased number of avian influenza fatalities along the east coast of Scotland. East Lothian Council increased the number of patrols to monitor the situation and, where necessary, the subsequent uplift of carcasses by trained staff from the busy beaches.

• “Increased erosion and major damage to footpaths and water courses due to climate change was another important subject over the course of this season. Several heavy thunderstorms inundated the Ben Path and on one occasion triggered a rockfall from Meall an t-Suidhe onto the path. The JHE rangers were crucial in quickly liaising with the Alvance British Aluminium HSEQ team, taking them to the site and to respond to the damage and to identify any potential actions needed to ensure public safety. Furthermore, throughout the season the rangers advised and prevented walkers from taking a heavily eroded and potentially hazardous “short-cut” along the Ben Path, located at the red burn area.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “two rockfall and landslip events led to debris blocking the Ben Nevis Mountain Path and the Steall Gorge Path, which needed rapid response” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “talking to visitors and maintaining a presence in relation to supervising proper use of the bridge, especially when coach parties visits” (NTS Corrieshalloch – final report)

• “Storm events were a real issue this year as the visitor centre was forced to close on a number of occasions due to high winds bringing down trees, and excess water run off from the road posing a flood risk. We had a major issue early in the season where a section of the main path collapsed due to storms.  Daniel was a huge asset in engaging visitors, signposting different routes, and enabling contractors to make repairs whilst the reserve remained open to the public.” (NTS Corrieshalloch – final report)

5.3 Additional benefits

5.3.1 Visitor experience

There was a wide range of additional activities undertaken, which help build the public’s understanding, enjoyment and care of the environment, including:  

• Led guided walks
• Promoted SOAC at local schools and encouraged rangering as a career
• Hosted school and university visits for outdoor learning
• Organised and supported Junior Rangers sessions
• Organised and supported volunteer work parties, both community and corporate/business
• Trained Volunteer Rangers
• ‘Ranger for a Day’ events
• Provided information on local walks, places to visit and travel advice

The seasonal rangers were on hand to assist visitors with a variety of needs e.g. weather advice, route planning and navigation, providing suncream and insect repellent, first aid for tick bites, support for campers with flooded tents, assisting broken down vehicles and those stuck in the sand, giving a lift to an injured visitor, helping an injured camper to pack up and carry their equipment to their vehicle, reuniting visitors with lost property, rescuing and returning camping equipment following a major flood at a campsite, involved in search and rescue of lost dog, attending road traffic accidents.  There was also one project that supported two weddings and one funeral ash scattering.

Several projects provided examples of under-represented and less confident visitors there were particularly welcomed and positively supported by the seasonal staff posts:

• Cashel Forest Trust seasonal rangers facilitated 8 Camphill Blairdrummond members to complete their junior forester award, lead a health walk for 17 people from Partick Community Club (members this group are from lower income backgrounds and would struggle to access the National Park without participation in this scheme) and provided advice to visitors on the most appropriate paths for their physical abilities. They assisted a visitor who was very nervous of the countryside and terribly frightened of snakes and flying insects, by walking the Birch path in their company, which gave them the confidence to walk another path on their own.
• NTS Ben Lawers seasonal ranger proactively engaged with visitors with lower mobility, offering information about short waymarked routes and alternative parking facilities, and provided advice to less confident and less experienced walkers visiting the NNR.
• NTS North Perthshire seasonal ranger facilitated disabled access to Ossian's Hall at the Hermitage and engaged confidently with visitors with Additional Support Needs
• RSPB Abernethy seasonal rangers supported Cairngorms Connect staff to lead a group of young people into Loch A’an to learn about landscape scale restoration.
• RSPB Loch Lomond seasonal ranger assisted with a Red Cross young refugee visit.

5.3.2 Site management

Seasonal rangers also assisted with various site management tasks including:

• Survey and ecological data collection
• Species monitoring e.g. beaver, birds, bees, butterflies, moths, plants
• Removal of invasive species
• Meadow management
• Access inspections and improvements e.g. core path monitoring, path clearance, signage, monitoring footfall

The experience and knowledge gained from these tasks was valuable in explaining to visitors the importance of the site and discussing responsible access and land management issues.

5.3.3 Rangering and visitor management skills

The Better Places funding has been beneficial in increasing rangering and visitor management skills across Scotland.  Specific training and support provided to seasonal staff included:

• Induction training: site familiarisation, lone and remote working, risk assessment, mountain safety and awareness, safeguarding
• SOAC, Conflict Avoidance and Wildlife Crime webinar recordings provided by NatureScot
• Conflict avoidance and Waterside responder training provided by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority and SCRA on 19 May at Balloch
• Mediation skills for countryside rangers webinar provided by Scottish Mediation on 18 July
• Sessions with Police Scotland and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Military ordnance and explosive health and safety briefing by the Ministry of Defence
• Digital tools for rangers webinar provided by European Ranger Federation on 29 June
• Wildlife disturbance legislation provided by National Wildlife Crime Unit / Police Scotland
• Fly tipping investigations awareness
• Outdoor first aid training
• Handling sharps training
• Event delivery training
• Blue green algae identification training
• Safe handling and uplift of avian influenza fatalities
• Strimmer, brushcutter and scythe use
• Pathwork and maintenance
• Wildflower meadow training
• Biological monitoring
• Species identification – fungi, bryophytes
• Trail camera use
• Leave No Trace training
• E-cargo bike training with Sustrans (used to undertake patrols and collect litter at Harlaw reservoir)

The Highland Council developed a Ranger Handbook, which was given to all new Rangers, with information on procedures, other Services, equipment, communications and contacts (Council Access officers, Parking enforcement, Waste operatives, Dog Wardens, Roads and Amenity Services; also local Police, Fire Service, other organisation’s Ranger services, community representatives, land managers).

East Lothian Council and Pentland Hills Regional Park organised a three day ranger swap, and the NTS North Perthshire seasonal ranger undertook a ranger exchange trip to Mar Lodge, to broaden knowledge and experience. Pentland Hills Regional Park hosted the SCRA Lothian Ranger meeting focused on water safety, which was attended by over 25 Rangers.

Other benefits included:

Employment opportunities for ranger graduates and those new to rangering:

• “We were very happy to offer one of our posts to a graduate from the 2023 UHI North, West & Hebrides NQ in Countryside Skills and Ranger Training course that NLP helps deliver and pleased to note that two more students from the course gained positions as BPF4 Seasonal Rangers with The Highland Council, reflecting the success of this course.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “This role is my first paid role working in the Nature sector. Throughout this role, I have gained many new skills and further developed existing skills. Throughout my time in this position, I have further developed my public engagement and people management skills, largely by answering visitor questions (e.g. directions, questions relating to parking etc) or requesting action from visitors (e.g. re-routing them when an area is closed, asking to keep dogs on leads when appropriate, asking not to hammer coins into trees and explaining why).” (NTS North Perthshire – final report)

Raising awareness of rangering:

• “Ranger for a Day events give people the opportunity to work with the rangers and experience all aspects of a normal day for a Nevis ranger, the attractive (butterfly surveys and beautiful views) and the not so attractive but essential (litter etc). Joining the rangers for the day allows people to learn more about the local area, conservation land management and habitats as well as the hard work that goes into protecting these areas. They also help to get people interested in the Ranger job and conservation industry as a whole, and what it can offer as a future career. One volunteer was inspired to look at the Ranger college course run by UHI North, West and Hebrides after volunteering on Ranger for a Day.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “The rangers were also able to share stories and information about what it is like to be a ranger in the Nevis area [as part of the Junior Ranger course for the local high school]” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• The JMT Nevis Seasonal Ranger supported sessions for the local UHI NQ L5 Countryside Skills with Ranger Training course, including Herbivore Impact Assessments, Ben Nevis summit litter pick and Loch Arkaig community forest introduction visit.

Connecting people with nature:

• “Three self- led children’s activities have been created by Cashel Rangers and are now being regularly used by visitors. These resources are accessible to children of all ages and nationalities. Visitors have made verbal and written comments on how much they have been enjoyed. They are reusable in line with sustainability goals.” (Cashel Forest Trust – July update)

• “One visitor had come from Glasgow and was delighted to be able to identify 6 native trees by the end of the walk. ‘That was great. I didn’t even know a hazel came from a tree!’ He took a picture of the ID sheet used for the talk and went off keen to keep practising his new found ID skills. Experiences of this nature increase a sense of pride and ownership which supports SOAC goals.” (Cashel Forest Trust – July update)

• “We've learned how little people know about wildlife in general, so having a person in post has increased awareness and knowledge, and they are more informed about what the conservation issues are. The vast majority of conversations are positive, with people very appreciative of having a person there to guide them and respond to queries. As well as species on land, our ranger has been speaking about cetaceans and the marine ecosystem, promoting the Mousa SAC and also the MPA between Mousa and Boddam.” (RSPB Shetland - August update)

• “Our Ranger has also worked with ‘the species on the edge project’ looking at Irish ladies tresses and bumble bees, and has learnt techniques that will allow him to work with the local primary schools on projects and pass on information to crofters looking for more nature friendly ways to farm.” (Voluntary Action Barra & Vatersay – August update)

New partnerships and ideas to address visitor management issues

• “Our beach cleaning efforts also brought about engagement with the Arran Natural History Society, in particular the issues surrounding ground nesting birds. This has led to the idea of including information to dog owners being attached to ferry bookings for dogs, something which needs further work and discussion with Calmac.” (Arran Access Trust – final report)

5.3.4 NatureScot visits to BPF4 projects

NatureScot Fund Officers visited the following projects over the summer:

• AngusAlive
• Arran Access Trust
• National Trust for Scotland seasonal ranger at Glencoe & Glen Etive
• Nevis area: Jahama Highland Estates, John Muir Trust and Nevis Landscape Partnership, plus met one of The Highland Council seasonal rangers at the NLP office
• Pentland Hills Regional Park
• Perth & Kinross Council
• RSPB Abernethy
• Strathfillan Community Development Trust

This provided an opportunity to meet some of the seasonal rangers, see the work they are doing, hear first-hand about the successes and challenges, and give the rangers a chance to ask questions.  Topics that cropped up in conservation, and were followed up with email advice, included management of wild camping elsewhere in Scotland, upland path management and best practice access management e.g. non-slip surfaces on boardwalks and bridges.

• “it was great to see our NatureScot liaison person visit Rangers in the field which was much appreciated.” This gave .. an opportunity to see what the Nevis rangers do day to day and what local issues and concerns are faced, including the infamous ‘poo rock’ and the sheer volume of human waste and litter that is removed from Ben Nevis and the surrounding area. It was good to get out with the wider ranger team and share information in the field about how the season was going and what challenges were faced and discuss ways of working together.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

NatureScot greatly appreciated the time taken by the rangers to organise these visits.

6. Conclusions

6.1 Impact of the Better Places Fund

The necessity of the Better Places Fund in helping address visitor management issues was emphasised by a range of organisations. 

• “The difference that having dedicated rangers for the summer months is huge.” (Arran Access Trust – final report, quoting Councillor Timothy Billings)

• “We would 100% like to support your case to SG to continue the funding for Ranger posts. I don’t know how we would have ever managed for the past 3 summers without this extra resource for the Pentland Hills Regional Park.” (City of Edinburgh Council – email)

• “This year’s team of 18 Access Rangers have been able to continue to make a great difference to visitor management within the Highlands, only due to the financial support of the Better Places Fund offered through NatureScot by The Scottish Government.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “The Access Ranger team has received numerous compliments and messages of support from local residents and visitors. This has been directly by word of mouth, email and Facebook posts. This support has also been recognised by Highland Council Ward Members. The Ranger team was highly commended on the difference they were making to our local communities and countryside.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “There is a huge need for a ranger presence within the Nevis area due to there being such high pressure and impact from visitors. This enables the small year-round team of JMT and NLP to be able to keep their focus on the bigger picture and projects of the area without being distracted with day-to-day visitor management activities. This is even more significant given the amount of time taken for staff to access the JMT property to be able to carry out even relatively basic tasks. The wider team of 3 Nevis rangers this year struggled to keep on top of this, not able to patrol in all locations and needing to lone work quite often to cover ground where sometimes working together can benefit the full effectiveness of a patrol.  Additionally, working together on bigger tasks removed our ability to be present elsewhere in the Nevis area for engagement.” (JMT Nevis – final report)

• “With the support of the Better Places Fund, we were able to make great strides in engaging and managing visitors across Glencoe and Glen Etive this summer. Overall, there were less incidents in almost every category when compared to last year which suggests that the ongoing work of the team is having an impact and SOAC messaging is reaching the public.” (NTS Glencoe & Glen Etive – final report)

• “In the past 3 years the Better Places Fund delivered through NatureScot has been an essential factor in facilitating local organisations dealing with visitor impacts through the provision of Seasonal Ranger Teams, engaging and promoting the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Without such intervention Nevis would be in a much sorrier state.  2023 has been no exception.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “Despite lower visitor numbers in 2023, as compared to the previous two years, the need for seasonal rangers to help managed the impacts of visitors is still essential. We no longer receive regular visits from the National Park Rangers, except at the Fall of Falloch, and if our seasonal rangers had not been present, our community would be awash with litter and abandoned campsites and our environment badly damaged by unregulated open fires. This would lead to a very negative profile for our area, discouraging visitors from returning and even encouraging disrespectful behaviours – if the locals care so little why should visitors?” (Strathfillan Community Development Trust – final report)

6.2 Future of the Better Places Fund

Several BPF4 grantees raised the issue of future funding.

• “Appin community will seek the funding support to enable this project to be repeated in future years.” (Appin Community Development Trust – final report)

• “Many thanks to NatureScot for funding these invaluable posts which I hope will continue to future years.” (Arran Access Trust – final report, quoting Councillor Timothy Billings)

• “Our issue is always continuity of funding for our ranger service.” (Cashel Forest Trust – August update)

• “Unfortunately, at present there is no commitment of funding from The Highland Council or Scottish Government for the Access Ranger team for the 2024 summer season. It is being proposed that the Ranger Service could be funded from the Visitor Levy should it becomes established, however that may still be up to two years away. Until that time there may be no Access Ranger service within the Highland Council area.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “The evidence points to the absolute need for continued funding support for a boots on the ground Ranger Service in Nevis Area that is capable of operating from the valley floor to the summit of our National Mountain.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “Looking ahead it would be beneficial to know with some certainty, by January 2024, what funding will be available for the 2024 season, to allow for planning and recruitment.” (Nevis Partnership – August update)

Several projects noted lessons learnt and improvements that could be made in future years.

• “Earlier introduction of e-bike would have enabled more visitor interaction, more efficiency and more learning” (AngusALIVE – final report)

• “More regular interaction with landowners to update on access issues” (AngusALIVE – final report)

• “A community led approach to visitor management works well, creating a sense of local ownership and benefitting from local knowledge. It is also cost effective, giving good oversight of the area with minimal non-productive travel. Feedback from the Ranger can inform the development of environmental management work across the area.” (Appin Community Development Trust – final report)

• "Attempts were made to organise a visit to another Ranger service on the mainland to share working practices and identify areas where we can improve. Unfortunately, due to other commitments this did not materialise, but this will be prioritised next season - funding permitting.” (Arran Access Trust – final report)

• “Work with [motorhome] hire companies to ensure bookings, waste disposal and parking areas are understood. Provide clear information online as well as continue with leaflets. Check other online sites give correct information e.g. on SOAC, overnight parking laws etc.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Some areas need clearway orders and/or No Parking areas before next Easter especially if close to pay car parks. Some sites require increased car parks. Some ITP [Invitation to pay] car parks need improving, resurfacing or marking. Explore Park & Ride/Walk possibilities.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Better promotion of No Fire message nationwide. Target ‘bushcraft’ courses and popular imagery. Lobby local shops and/or supermarkets not to sell disposable BBQs. Permanent signs required in worst locations.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “Having to recruit the majority of the team every spring is time and resource consuming on the Access team, particularly the Outdoor Access Manager. It can mean a loss of continuity and experience after each season and having to equip, train and set-up new staff into the Council’s IT and payroll systems each year can lead to delays in operation.” (Highland Council – final report)

• “There is a need to have rangers in place earlier in the year due to the protection required by upland wading birds in early May. This is particularly the case at Glenshero where the Spey reservoir creates vitally important habitat for a range of wading birds that can be under threat from a range of issues such as uncontrolled dogs, irresponsible camping, and wildfire risks as well as the need to simply educate members of the public of the need for responsible access.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “Having two part time rangers to cover one FTE role worked well for us this year. It enabled us to access two people and thus have a range of different skills and experience from which to draw upon. It also meant that we had more interest from prospective ranger employees, as it appeared people were keener to work a part time role (17.5 hrs per week), given the short notice of the funding confirmation and the shortened funding ranger season this year. The challenge however is that our costs of employment are raised as we still must deliver the same standard as in house training and provision of external training and there is an increased line management commitment. However, these costs were outweighed by the increased quality of applicant, and the range of skills we could access via part time employment.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “There is still a lot more consideration and thought needed in how to best evidence the outputs and outcomes from the collective ranger activities. Simply recording the number of public engagements doesn’t really provide any useful management data. We would recommend that Naturescot hold a ranger conference for all the BPF recipient organisations and have this subject as a key part of the meeting for everyone to consider and to strive to an improved quantifiable outcomes programme. Also, in order to improve data quality and data entry we need to consider a better way to encourage rangers to input the required data, that could happen as they are underway in the role. There must be technical IT opportunities for some form of app that would allow for real time data collection.” (Jahama Highland Estates – final report)

• “Seasonal ranger contracts should be longer and should include at least the month of October.  Given the ongoing pressures of visitor numbers in the Nevis area, a year round ranger should be considered to attempt to keep on top of some tasks such as path/access maintenance when areas are quieter.  This would allow much better ranger availability for engagement opportunities with visitors in the busier seasons.” (JMT Nevis – final report)

• “Clearer branding and recognisable identification of ‘rangers’ so that people are more aware of the role and our presence.  Often business logos on outdoor kit are lost/too discrete, particularly in areas such as Nevis where everyone is wearing full outdoor kit.” (JMT Nevis – final report)

• “Opportunities for external and coordinated ranger training early in the season (beyond historical webinar viewings), possibly leading to recognised certification that rangers can take forward to show their training and experience built through the season.” (JMT Nevis – final report)

• “An early season introduction / meet up day where all of the local seasonal rangers’ teams get a tour of all the land so we could see who works where would be beneficial.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “A more unified system of highlighting wildfire risk, with common message and design would reinforce the vital no fires policy in times of high fire risk. In addition, the support of enforcement agencies to deal with individuals who ignore requests not to have fires.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “Outdoors toileting indicates a number of issues to be addressed: educating visitors, better toilet provision in key areas and access to means of carrying human waste off the hill (eg WAG bags) and disposing of it.” (Nevis Partnership – final report)

• “The implementation of a fire safety campaign over summer was a success and something we would want to replicate in the future.” (Pentland Hills Regional Park – final report)

• “For the future seasons we have sourced a wildfire awareness training session that will allow angers to decide the best course of action and safely tackle small fires if necessary.” (Perth & Kinross Council – final report)

• “Because of this our social media presence was not as good as we would like and for future, we would like to maintain our own ranger social media channels.” (Perth & Kinross Council – final report)

• “We will use our experience this year on Mousa to engage with the tourism sector. Helen would welcome any input from other projects, communities and organisations so to share best practice and find ways to successfully manage areas which are important for nature but under increasing people pressure. This is especially important for areas receiving increased tourism through cruise ships as passengers tend to be less aware of their environment and not well informed about access, nature etc.”   (RSPB Shetland - August update)

• “Specific actions to deal with toileting issues in our camping hotspots; providing more information and signs and offering small trowels to encourage people to toilet properly.” (Strathfillan Community Development Trust – final report)

7. Comparison with 2021 & 2022

The table below provides comparative statistics with BPF2 in 2021 and BPF3 in 2022.

Note - BPF2 funded temporary and permanent infrastructure as well as seasonal staff.

Previous Better Places Fund evaluation reports are available at useful links and resources.

Table 5. Comparison with 2021 and 2022

	2021 (BPF2)	2022 (BPF3)	2023 (BPF4)
APPLICATIONS
No. BPF applications received	162	59	53
No. projects awarded funding	87	48	24
No. projects completed	81	47	24
No. projects awarded funding for seasonal staff	59	48	24
APPLICANTS
Total no. organisations awarded funding for seasonal staff	43	35	18
No. local authorities awarded funding for seasonal staff	12	13	4
Funding awarded to local authorities for seasonal staff	£782,115	£785,877	£546,631
No. community groups & trusts awarded funding for seasonal staff	18	10	8
Funding awarded to community groups and trusts	£329,245	£221,798	£168,660
No. voluntary sector bodies awarded funding for seasonal staff	9	9	5
Funding awarded to voluntary sector bodies	£258,848	£336,890	£205,669
No. countryside trusts awarded funding for seasonal staff	3	2	0
Funding awarded to countryside trusts	£81,124	£51,381	-
No. private estates awarded funding for seasonal staff	1	1	1
Funding awarded to private estates	£29,000	£39,940	£21,813
No. (%) grants awarded to same applicant as previous round	-	27 (77%)	21 (87%)
No. (%) grants awarded to new applicant	-	8 (23%)	3 (13%)
FUNDING
Total funding awarded	£2.790 million	£1.435 million	£0.943 million
Funding awarded for seasonal staff	£1.915 million	£1.435 million	£0.943 million
Funding awarded for infrastructure	£0.875 million	-	-
Total funding paid	£2.067 million	£1.148 million	£0.867 million
Funding paid for seasonal staff	£1.247 million	£1.148 million	£0.867 million
Funding paid for infrastructure	£0.82 million	-	-
SEASONAL STAFF
Total no. seasonal posts awarded funding	126.5	109	62
No. seasonal FTE awarded funding	102.8	103.6	60.2
No. seasonal rangers awarded funding	78	94	60
No. seasonal visitor operations staff awarded funding	49	15	2
No. seasonal posts in national “hot spot” areas	86 (68%)	67 (61%)	62 (100%)
North & West Highland / NC500 and Islands	44	36	33
Highland Perthshire	16	5	7
LLTNP	5	7	6
Cairngorms	5	2	4
Pentland Hills and East Lothian coast	16	16	12
No. seasonal posts in other areas with visitor pressures	41 (32%)	43 (39%)	-

Appendices