ADOPT-A-PATH

Dave Windle

Not surprisingly, given the time of year, things have been quiet on this front. Chris York held an evening discussion with volunteers on lessons learnt in early January in Aberdeen. Some key points to emerge are listed below-

• There was a lot of discussion on data format, best ways to geo-reference photos, etc. The overwhelming answer was to "do what you feel comfortable with". It's more important to get material coming in than to establish a set of rules which potentially put people off.
• Similarly, there was discussion about the best time of year to visit. Some people would advocate early spring to assess any damage caused during the winter. However, reflection suggests that the best time is the time convenient to you. Repair work is simply not prioritized quickly enough that an early survey as opposed to a summer survey makes a difference.
• The question of notifying the estate before surveying a path was raised and all agreed that best practice was to notify the estate ahead of a survey, although this should not stop people heading out on an unexpectedly good day.
• Photographs are very useful and, although they can't be easily used to generate numerical data, they are very useful for directing either repair work or further surveys - keep them coming.
• There is little point in counting numbers of cross drains, water bars, etc. However, comments to the effect that an additional cross drain would help here or an additional water bar would help there with an accompanying photograph are very useful.
• Chris promised to speak to COAT about duplication of effort - there is no point in one of us surveying a path if COAT blindly repeats the work.
• Throughout the evening, Chris emphasized how useful the survey results were. This is not a waste of time!

The power of these discussions is less about what Chris York says and more about the general discussion with other volunteers. I, for one, left feeling encouraged and definitely motivated to get back out onto my path once summer arrives.

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