Burnham Beeches Management Plan 2010 - the City of London ...

2.5 Ensuring the enjoyment of visitors
and enhancing their links with the
nature reserve
Under the ownership of the City of London
Burnham Beeches has always been a popular place
to visit, and the beginning of the 21st century is no
exception. Open access on foot is appreciated by
regulars and occasional visitors alike.
Ensuring that visitors feel welcome, valued and
safe and have information readily available to
assist their visit is vital. Helping them to look
after Burnham Beeches is also important,
whether this is by actively volunteering or simply
not causing damage.
The iconic habitats for which the Beeches is well
known are however, not immune from damage.
Old trees are fragile and the compaction and
nutrient enrichment of soils changes the flora
and adversely affects tree health. The current
level of visits (over 500,000 each year) has
potential to cause immense damage if not
carefully managed.
Simple measures,
such as improving
paths and combining
all visitor facilities
on the Main
Common, enhance
visitor enjoyment
and help to reduce
damage to sensitive
areas.
What Do You Like Most? Dog walking is a
“Seeing friends, popular activity but
watching the dog play” there is the potential
2009 public consultation
for this to interfere
with other visitors’ enjoyment of the site and
even harm the reserve itself. Although the
majority of dogs are well behaved and kept
under control, in accordance with the bylaws,
20% of visitors, a significant proportion, report
that dogs have detracted from the enjoyment of
their visit.
Dogs (even on leads) also disturb wildlife and a
minority have injured livestock, with some stock
needing veterinary treatment. Dog faeces are
an additional problem: if not picked up by the
owner, they bring substantial quantities of
undesirable nutrients, other chemicals and
diseases onto the reserve. In a 2009 survey 46%
of respondents felt that dog mess was a
problem. Urine also adds unwanted nutrients
and cannot, of course, be collected.
Every dog will have an impact but this can be
minimised by ensuring that dog walkers are
aware of the issues and act responsibly.
The Burnham Beeches What Do You Like Most?
dog policy, drawn up “A great escape for
with help from regular all the family”
dog walkers, needs to
2009 public consultation
be regularly reviewed and activities and
information clearly available for visitors. The
aim is to achieve that the correct balance
between recreation (enjoyment by all visitors)
and the conservation objectives is achieved.
2 the need for Management - enjoyment by all visitors
Increasing numbers of people are likely to be
living within easy reach of Burnham Beeches in
forthcoming years. The challenge will be to
accommodate their needs for green space and
their love of the Beeches without destroying
those aspects that they come to see and causing
unavoidable and irreversible stress on the
species and habitats of European importance.
Bringing home to regular visitors the cumulative
effects of small impacts will be a challenge; one
of the ways to do this may be to strengthen their
understanding of the interdependence of people
and nature and make the Beeches integral to
their everyday living.
Burnham Beeches was once an essential
element in the lives of local people as it helped
to provide their everyday needs. In the future
production may once again be a part of the
community, helping to provide fuel and food.
Changes in climate will make shady places like
Burnham Beeches ever more important in our
lives and there are many ways in which the
reserve contributes to ecosystem services.
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