Share Your Thoughts on Nature & Environmental Action in the UK Mountain Biking Community
Riders survey published to explore nature experiences and environmental action in the mountain biking community in the UK.
The survey is open until the end of May gathering responses to help understand how riders experience nature while riding, awareness of environmental threats in trail locations, and motivations to engage with nature pressures facing trail locations in the UK.
It’s widely recognised that appreciating and experiencing nature is a central motivation for mountain biking. The extent to which this riding experience deepens connections with trail locations and translates into motivations to protect nature in these places has not been researched.
Whether it’s reducing impacts or leading nature restoration projects in trail locations, or voting for environmental policy, riders can support action at all scales as guardians of trails for future generations. It’s time to understand how this can become a greater part of the riding experience.
Complete the survey and enter the prize draw to win a Patagonia Dirt Roamer Bike Pack and a Trail Matters photo book by Filip Zuan.
This research project has received the IMBA Europe 'Protect & Preserve' award, which focuses on conservation and restoration efforts and is supported by Patagonia and Specialized’s Soil Searching Programme.
Author Info:
Member since Jun 24, 2009
Could be change our way of thinking about our woodland timber industry, restore natural forests of broadleaf woodland and conifer where they grow naturally and then utilise selective logging management techniques such as they use in the tropics when logging primary or secondary forest? This would allow nature a place to thrive and generate timber. The rotation times would be reduced, but because they would be producing oak hardwood would the price increase offset the reduced yield? Anyone who works in forestry have an opinion?
Surely reducing the amount of meat we produce/consume would be one of the easiest and biggest ways to help. Less space is needed to feed people on fruit and veg, which frees up land for restoration, recreation, ecosystem services etc. I understand not all of the UK is arable but we wouldn't need all of it!
It may seem well meaning, but one can't help but think it's another way to limit access.
Anecdotally, this would appear to be the same case in many other parts of Wales. If you want to develop trails, it must be done in partnership with private landowners.
How does the impact of my 2.4" wide tyres tracing a line over a 2' wide path cut between the trees even begin to equate to hectares of formerly managed woodland recently being ripped up to build new housing?
You've not even suggested a way the survey could be better, just had a moan instead.
1) The questions are obviously leading, in favour of pushing personal responsibility. A concept I'm not opposed to if it hadn't universally been used as a scapegoat for the owners/operators to absolve themselves of responsibility. (Think Shell and carbon footprint)
2) It's not a well publicised mode of engagement. I'll grant that it going up on a PB article is a positive step, but there is little other information about the survey, it's authors, sponsors, affiliations, or the alternate avenues of the stakeholder management plan.
3) Suggested completion time 7 mins; only if you don't have anything to actually say. I'm not a fast typer especially on my phone, but I was at 15 mins for about 80% of the way through before an accidental swipe put me back at the start which leads to..
4) If I want to give a comprehensive response I want to be able to save, step away, research my response and return to it at my leisure which this Typeform survey doesn't allow.
I love my bike riding, it is my way of escaping towns and cities and getting to a space I can breathe and relax. It is something I feel passionately about and want to do what I can to protect it. I don't want a glorified Google survey to be the last line of defence in protecting all that
1) The survey has a range of answers covering all bases, but the survey is part of a research project focusing on community led restoration and conservation in the MTB community so of course it will want to gauge what level of personal responsibility trail users feel towards the environmental impact on their local trails.
2) Agreed there isn't enough info in this article. For a communications specialist the author hasn't communicated it very well!
3 & 4) Took me 10 mins on the PC. If it is something you are passionate about then that isn't a lot of time. Normally one would set aside time to fill out a survey for something one feels passionate about no? A fair few in this comment section bemoaning the time to complete...obviously not a subject Pinkbikers feel that passionately about!
Within 10 years you will be stuck in your 15 minute city eating a packet of bugs whilst subscribing to watch mtb on TV thinking "I wish I rode more when I was allowed to."
SOAC is absolutely brilliant, but it doesn't help develop trails if you are somewhere that has none (or what is available are farm tracks/fireroads for a good few miles - 15+ - to get to a bit of preferred riding) - the answer for that seems to be just jump in a car and drive elsewhere to go ride rather than getting a bit organised and trying to push for development locally.
Tourism seems to be based on how long a person has to travel to get to a destination - any travel of up to 1 hour and the person is considered 'local', so that needs factored in if you are looking to put a sales pitch together - anyone up to 1 hour is a 'local' and would therefore benefit from Health and Wellbeing rather than tourism potential.