Please click on the link below to confirm your signature on the petition 
    http://petitions.surreycc.gov.uk/Countryside/Ca6Dz4D6qR9YAHBSm2AAiPN

    The petition was created on behalf of the Lower Mole Project and reads:

   ‘We the undersigned petition Surrey County Council to not cease
    to host the 3 Countryside Management Projects without carrying
    out proper investigation to prove this move would not
    negatively impact on the valuable nature conservation work
    being carried out by the projects and local community
    volunteers.’

 This is why we believe it is good cause, and worth getting everyone to sign up:

As part of the Public Value Review paper presented to the Surrey Council Cabinet it has been proposed that, from April 2012, SCC should cease to host the 3 Countryside Management Projects, the Lower Mole Project, the Downlands Project and the Heathland Project. This means SCC would no longer employ project staff, provide HR and IT support, payroll services or insurance. An enormous amount of work is done throughout Surrey by volunteers of these projects and it will be a serious loss to Surrey residents and a drain on Partners’ budgets should these groups cease to exist. SCC is suggesting the projects are hosted by charitable trusts. These proposals were made without researching the viability of transferring the projects to trusts, identifying any trusts willing and able to host them or establishing a process whereby a new charitable trust might be set up. If a decision to go ahead with the proposal is made there will be no going back, even if it is not possible to find another host for the staff. There are grave concerns that this important decision will be taken by only 2 people, one an elected member and one an officer. 

The project is based in Surrey and brings together volunteers to carry out practical countryside work for the benefit of wildlife and the local community.  The project improves access to the countryside, increases public knowledge, encourages greater community involvement and manages habitat for wildlife.  Land within the Project’s area includes Green Belt and Green Flag sites, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Sites of Nature Conservation Importance, Strategic Open Spaces, Ancient Woodland and Metropolitan Open Land.

Empowering communities 

The area in which the Project operates is mainly urban fringe, constantly under threat from the spread of London but the Project and its volunteers have worked for 27 years to ensure that ancient woodlands, heathland, chalk grassland, meadows, river features, ponds and wood pasture are still available for the enjoyment of local communities and visitors alike.  In order to involve and educate local communities pond dipping platforms are built for schools’ use, interpretation panels are provided and work is always advertised to try to ensure the involvement of local residents in the work.

Access to the countryside is a way of escaping from everyday pressures.  The Project works on maintaining and signposting paths, keeping them clear of encroaching vegetation and their surfaces in good condition, so they are safe and pleasant to walk on.  They also design leaflets and lead walks providing the opportunities for family walks in woodland, exercising dogs, horse and bike riding and an opportunity for enjoyment away from the stresses of our increasingly busy and urban lives.

Within the Project area there are sites that have become neglected. Clearing back vegetation and improving sight lines in parks and open spaces engenders a feeling of safety and empowers local residents to ‘own’ their environment and make use of it.  The effect of this is that the sites become more used, less vandalised and a much valued asset to the community.  This is a high priority for the Project.

Staff members give talks to local communities and maintain ties with other organisations both locally and nationally to promote knowledge of the countryside, the opportunities for the leisure and fitness enhancement it provides, an understanding of local wildlife, and appreciation for the beautiful open spaces in our county. 

Volunteers with the Project gain valuable experience in a range of skills, ranging from wood working to hedge laying, clearing scrub to laying paths.  For young people there are useful opportunities in understanding the organisation of tasks, working safely and co-operatively with a range of people, and the pleasure of a challenging task completed as part of a team.

Promoting Social Action  

Volunteers are at the core of the project with over 10,000 volunteer hours worked every year and increasing. They are drawn from within the area in which work is carried out and are a disparate bunch; retired, unemployed, redundant, students and young people learning work skills, and people with health and mental health problems.  The staff of the project successfully provide the expertise, support and advice that binds the group together.  The tasks are managed with a friendly, inclusive atmosphere, ensuring that volunteers enjoy their days out, and gain socially from the experience, as well as working hard physically and learning practical skills. Through training the volunteers gain pride in their achievements while supplying a valuable service to local communities.  The project is sited as an exemplar by the local volunteer bureau and local colleges who refer volunteers and students, secure in the knowledge that they will benefit from the experience. 

Over the 27 years it has existed the project has brought ancient woodland back into productive use through the coppice cycle, thereby ensuring that sights such as woodlands full of bluebells are still available for the enjoyment of the public.  By supporting coppice workers they have increased the supply of wood fuel and charcoal that is environmentally friendly and meets climate change targets.

They offer support to other organisations including schools, allotment holders, mental health charities, residents associations and residents of sheltered accommodation.

Within the sites on which they work they ensure suitable habitat remains for rare and endangered species such as dormice, great crested newts, small blue butterflies, hazel pot beetles and nightingales to name but a few.    

The volunteer labour is harnessed and organised through the work of the Project, and its small number of trained staff.  Without this backbone of the core of the Project, the work of the volunteers would not be possible, as the expert guidance is needed in deciding which tasks need to be done, how they should be achieved, providing a detailed plan for work, and ensuring everything is carried out safely and professionally.  Volunteers working in the “Big Society” cannot work in a vacuum, without a small number of experts to guide and direct their efforts.

Organisations such as the Lower Mole Project are a shining example of the Big Society in action – making the best possible use of volunteer labour, well channelled, for the benefit of the individuals concerned and for their wider society.

The deadline for responses to Surrey County Council is 2 June 2011

Head your comments “Countryside Service PVR and SCC as Hosts” and email to  Linda.mcmahon@surreycc.gov.uk 

 or by post to:

 Linda McMahon,  Surrey County Council Countryside Service

Room 365 County Hall

Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames  KT1 2DN  

The letter or email could be along the lines of:

 Dear Linda McMahon

“Countryside Service PVR and SCC as Hosts”

I am disappointed to learn that Surrey County Council is consulting about ceasing to host the three countryside projects in  Surrey.

I believe this is a bad decision, will save very little money, but do a disproportionate amount of harm.

The Projects work in a range of habitats, to improve the access to sites, the biodiversity and habitat, and the appearance of the open spaces and countryside. Having countryside that is properly managed enables the public to experience the countryside using rights of way, public open spaces and nature reserves.  

The Countryside Management Projects harness the volunteer labour of hundreds of people each year, to get a great deal of work done, at minimal cost.  Losing this valuable, cheap,  work force would mean either that important countryside conservation was was not done, or that the cost of the equivalent work by contractors would be huge.  It is short sighted and self defeating to lose these projects, which give such good value financially.  Cutting the projects is not likely to save money.

 Volunteering is at the core of the government’s Big Society, and local communities benefit greatly from volunteering opportunities.  The projects take a very wide range of people, including those with disabilities, who benefit physically and mentally from the opportunities to work together as a team on shared tasks, learn new skills, and work in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.  Volunteering has beneficial effects on health and well being, and without the volunteering provided by the projects the lives of many of the volunteers would be diminished.

 The environment is often seen as an easy target for cuts but there are hidden financial implications from withdrawing essential services.  It is well to remember the uproar when England’s forests were put under threat.  Costs associated with loss of green amenities include a drop in the value of the housing stock, and increased budgets for litter removal and fly tipping

 Please do not “throw the baby out with the bathwater”  and do not allow the numerous benefits that the conservation projects provide be lost, in an ill-judged attempt to cut funds.  The conservation projects are a shining example of how the Big Society concept can work brilliantly, for the benefit of all.  Continuing to host the projects would be a wise decision, in both the short and the long term.

Yours sincerely