Woodland - A Community Resource?
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11833)
February 8, 2011 11:24am CST
In the UK just now there is great controversy as the government has started to sell off lots of state owned woodland. Members of the public are justifiably concerned that woodland in private hands will be at risk of being degraded and that the public will no longer have access to it. Already gates and fences have started to be erected around lots that have passed into private ownership, excluding people who have previously enjoyed access to the woods and have not done any harm there.
It's got me thinking about the issue of access to woodland. In the UK it is fairly short supply, and it's pretty unlikely that most people will ever own any of their own. So public woodland plays an important part in the leisure of those lucky enough to live close to it. People walk their dogs there, stroll there, picnic there, cycle away from the traffic there, and generally just enjoy being in a natural environment.
Are you lucky enough to live close to woodland or forest? Would you like to? What part does it play in the life of your community?
What do you think of the UK government's plans to transfer it to private hands?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
9 Feb 11
Hello GreenMoo,
I live in a small town which is surrounded by woods. This is one of the reasons which determined me to choose this town. I love the fact that I can be in the middle of the nature in less than 10 minutes after leaving my home.
I can't go to the woods during the weekdays, as the night falls early in winter but I can't wait the weekend to spend a few hours in the middle of the forest. There are not too many people to enjoy this benefit we have. I usually meet a few old people who walk there daily, and a few teenagers with their mountain bikes (I forgot to tell you that the region is one with hills and small mountains). Sometimes I meet people walking dogs like me, and then we enjoys our walks even more, as our dogs can also play with each other while we are walking.
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
9 Feb 11
You are lucky, as I am, to have woods so close to home to enjoy.
Who owns the woods near your home? Are they privately owned or owned by the state? One of the reasons people are so upset by the sale of UK woodlands is because they believe that private owners may well restrict public access.
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
10 Feb 11
Indeed, they have the right to do what they want (within the boundaries of the covenants set out with the sale) with the land they buy. Which is exactly why many people feel that the land should stay in the hands of the Forestry Commission. Woodland is in fairly short supply in the UK, so it's a precious thing which needs preserving and careful management, and deserves to be enjoyed.
@inu1711 (5285)
• Romania
9 Feb 11
Most of the woods around our town are owned by the state. Some of them are owned by the church, but they would never forbid anybody to enter their woods.
I can understand why people are upset in the UK, but we must think to the woods' owners, too. They have the right to do whatever they like with their property. If they don't want tourists in their forests any more, I think their will must be respected.
@urbandekay (18278)
•
10 Feb 11
No, I do not think our beautiful and glorious woodlands are safe in private hands, sadly the national trust also cannot be trusted.
all the best urban
@urbandekay (18278)
•
10 Feb 11
Well, not continue to use the woodland, not acknowledge the right of private ownership.
Under the paving-stones lies the woods
all the best urban
@dragon54u (31633)
• United States
8 Feb 11
It's a shame that they are selling that land. They should sell public buildings first, things like that.
I don't live close to a forest but they are all over the place here. We have huge state and county parks full of trees, bike and hiking paths, streams and ponds, etc. There are millions of acres of woodland here in the U.S. I used to spend hours in the forest a long time ago when I was younger. 
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
10 Feb 11
hi greenmoo here in southern california I live not very far from Newport Beach a popular spot for californians and tourists too. well a lot of snooty wealthy people bought up land where we ordinary people used paths down to the beach and of course fenced it off and cut off miles of access to the beach. the beach is of course open to all of us, even us peons so to speak. the silly part is any rain storm some of the snootiest of snooty people have their billion dollar homes slide right down to the beach of course it does not do those homes any good either as they fill with mud and sand and tear apart.We have very few areas anymore where you can park your car and walk down a nice path to the beach. it used to be there were a lot of public paths all open to anyone. I cannot see why people want to build on the edge of unstable cliffs in the first place as its asking for trouble. come heavy rains the unstable soil will move and slide and slide fast taking anything in its path with it.
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
10 Feb 11
It's sad when ordinary people lose access to land.
In the UK there is a piece of legislation which allows the public to flag up any path or route which they can prove has been in use for years and years and make it a Public Right of Way. Unfortunately there is little support for this process and the window of opportunity is limited. I don't think many people know it even exists.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
10 Feb 11
We have many state parks and such type things, and unfortunately over the last couple years the state has been closing down many of these parks because they don't have the budget to keep them open. It is a real shame. They are so beautiful and it's a great way to have an inexpensive outing as most of the state parks around here charge around $5 admission per carload (so $5 for my whole family instead of admission per person.. so helpful for us). Most of them are just walking trails, though some are lakes that offer swimming, fishing, camping, etc. We don't fish or camp, but we do enjoy walking trails and love to find new places to walk that we've never been before.
So I can completely understand your feelings here. Hopefully many of your parks and woodlands will stay accessible to the public.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
10 Feb 11
Right now they're just closed to the public, which is stupid. If they ever decide to reopen them it's going to cost more money to make repairs on things that haven't been maintained during the time they were closed. Plus I think keeping them open would be more beneficial to their budget because they'd be getting income from visitors. They should find ways to just cut down on staff or something instead of closing it down completely.. but hey, nobody ever said politicians were smart!
