Pathfinder Club

Eileen Chandler

Many legal footpaths throughout the country have become blocked, overgrown and difficult to walk (or even find). Often people turn back as they do not wish to trespass on farming property. So the paths often disappear completely and there is no real access to many beautiful parts of the country.

Yet there are many unemployed young people on Community Service who would be available to clear these paths and erect the necessary signposts. Maps are available from local authorities or sometimes other sources (local bookshops, ramblers clubs, local history societies, etc).

'The class would walk this path each month and keep records of the changes noted for each season'

Once the paths clearly exist, each school in the area should be asked to join the Pathfinder Club. This would mean that each class in the school would 'adopt' one particular local path. (The paths chosen would obviously depend on the age of the children and the distance, etc involved). The class would then walk this path each month (or as often as possible) and children would keep records of the changes noted for each season - budding of certain trees, different birds seen, crops planted, nests notes, and the different animal tracks in snow.

Children would be helped to understand the necessity for the Countryside Code and the need to conserve wildlife. Better access would create better understanding and treatment of plants and animals and hopefully less vandalism to trees.

I went ahead with the Institute for Social Inventions' suggestion and tested the reactions of all those people who might be affected if the Pathfinder Club were to go ahead in this district.

I wrote explaining the scheme to the local headmasters, heads of community education, heads of community service, National Farmers Union, Leicester Footpaths Association, Leicester Landowners Association, Ramblers Association, Uppingham Parish Council, Leicester Rural Community Council and the countryside and recreation officer for Leicester Council.

Mr Bob Gilson, the countryside and recreation officer and Miss Mills from the Manpower Services Commision did, in fact, come out from Leicester to meet me, and I was by then able to show them the very enthusiastic replies from the various organisations and local people I had contacted.

Leicester Council employed someone, using Community Programme funding, to take the Pathfinder Club into schools. Information packs were produced for teachers, and paths were cleared, initially by young people on government schemes.

The Uppingham parish councillors were very enthusiastic about the Pathfinder Club idea and a councillor volunteered

to check all land ownership of local footpaths so that the Pathfinder scheme could go ahead in Uppingham as well as Leicester.

'Leicester Council took the Pathfinder Club into schools in the area. Information packs were produced for teachers, and paths were cleared, initially by young people on government schemes'

Eileen Chandler, 67 Stockerston Crescent, Uppingham, Rutland, Leicestershire LE15 9UA. One of the Leicester Council officers responsible for helping launch the scheme was Rosemary Mills (tel 0533 323232), who says that it ran successfully for the duration of its Community Programme funding.

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