2008 Fieldfare Kielder Challenge Finalists

The names of the finalists for the 2008 Fieldfare Kielder Challenge are now available.

Well done to all the teams that took part in the heats and we look forward to welcoming the finalists to the Calvert Trust Kielder in September.

Click here to see a map of the Finalists locations

A Challenge Well Met!

Rod Holmes joined the Trust over twenty years ago to help run the first ever Kielder Challenge.

Now as Fieldfare's longest serving full-time member of staff he retired on 21st April.

He was a volunteer on the Challenge for 2 years from its very first weekend in 1985 before becoming a member of staff in 1987. From that small beginning, with about 30 teams taking part in 6 heats across the North of England, to the present 300 teams and 50+ heats, Rod has been central to the Challenge's success. He is well known to teachers, volunteers and youngsters with and without disabilities right across the UK, all of whom regard him with affection and respect for the fun he has engendered through the Challenge activities. His gargantuan rope and timber structures at the finals will be remembered by all who saw them.

Rod also made significant contributions to other Fieldfare projects, playing key roles in the BT Countryside for All Grant and Awards Scheme. He worked on Fieldfare's advisory and training services. He could always be relied upon to provide a very practical and down-to -earth input.

Everyone at Fieldfare wishes Rod a long and happy retirement, well earned!!

Fieldfare welcomes new members

At its last meeting the Fieldfare Board of Trustees was pleased to welcome two new members.

Andrew Shipley
For a number of years Andrew Shipley worked alongside Fieldfare through his role as the Disability Rights Commission's representative on the Countryside for All Forum. He is President of the Buckinghamshire Society for the Blind and has a keen interest in countryside access. He is currently seconded from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to the Department of Communities and Local Government working on inclusion issues within the Sustainable Communities programme.

Ellie Bennett
Ellie Bennett has been associated with the Trust for at least twenty years and is a regular volunteer on the Fieldfare Kielder Challenge. Ellie knows Fieldfare well from the time when we were based on the Wicker in Sheffield where Ellie now manages the Wicker Mobility Shop. Ellie brings to the Trust a strong commitment to equality aligned with substantial business experience.

Countryside for All Good Practice Guide

You can now automatically download the Countryside for All Good Practice Guide for £49.95 -
Please note that after you have purchased the Guide you will receive an email with a link to a Zip file containing the Guide.

GIS auditing system up and running

During the Spring Fieldfare completed accessibility survey work on 50km of the Kennet and Avon Canal. This commission was our first opportunity to use the computerised survey and GIS system developed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of access auditing.

The survey was completed more quickly and more accurately than would have been the case using manual recording. In addition, our ability to analyse the data collected on the access issues facing disabled people along the tow path was enhanced through use of the mapping system.

Further refinement of the system is continuing with a view to achieving more powerful analysis of the complexities of access for disabled people in countryside environments. Even in its simplest form as a data collection system Fieldfare's new 'gismos' will improve the quality and efficiency of access audits. Certainly British Waterways felt this was the case on the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Endorsement from Oliver Giles, BW Project Officer

"The Kennet and Avon Canal Rural Transport Partnership employed the Fieldfare Trust to undertake an accessibility survey and audit on the Kennet and Avon Canal between January and March 2005.

The brief highlighted the need for a pragmatic, applicable study that showed awareness of the types of visitors British Waterways wishes to attract to the K & A. Throughout the survey and audit process the Fieldfare Trust demonstrated a high level of understanding of British Waterways' business and customer base.

The quality and thoroughness of the survey and audit were very high and backed up by the use of the mobile GIS, in addition to the report this gave us a comprehensive GIS dataset of all features, barriers and non compliant sections of towpath recorded. This will enable us to continually analyse and monitor progress towards Waterway Access for All.

Communication from the Fieldfare Trust was excellent throughout the audit and report writing process and although timescale slipped slightly, the partnership officer was kept informed of progress. The slight slip in timescales was more than compensated for by overall quality of the report which gave clear justification for making access improvements. Furthermore, the recommended improvements were easily extracted from the report and achievable."

Countryside for All Good Practice Guide

Extended CD is now available

Since its publication in 1997 nearly 3,000 copies of the BT Countryside for All Good Practice Guide have been distributed. The Accessibility Standards remain a bench mark for good practice in meeting the needs of disabled people seeking access to the countryside. There is new information on how to achieve the Least Restrictive Access where the standards cannot be achieved. The guidelines can support good practice in a wide range of other services for disabled countryside visitors.

The Fieldfare Trust has now produced a new Countryside for All Good Practice Guide CD-ROM, and Fieldfare have extended the scope of this CD by adding new sections:

• Accessibility Survey and Access Audit Guidelines
• Least Restrictive Access Guidelines
• Guidelines on the Implications of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 for Countryside Service Providers
• Countryside Path Network Guidelines
  
  

The added sections listed above are new and important information for countryside access managers.The new CD-ROM also has all the existing 6 Standards, Guidelines and Informations sheets which are on the original Countryside for All CD and in the original Guide.

The Fieldfare Trust is offering the new Countryside for All Good Practice Guide at a competitively priced package depending on the amount of CD's ordered.

There are also several Intranet License options and Training Packages available, please contact Ian Newman for further information.

You can place your order for the new Countryside for All Good Practice Guide here - Now also available to buy online!