Outdoor recreation is under growing pressure. More people are seeking the benefits of time outdoors, while landscapes, habitats, land managers and local communities are increasingly having to respond to complex and sometimes competing demands.

For the outdoor recreation sector, the challenge is no longer simply to encourage responsible behaviour. It is to understand what is really happening in our places, why people behave as they do, where pressures are emerging, and how we design practical, inclusive and effective responses.

This two-day ORN Masterclass will move beyond responsible recreation as a concept and focus on what it looks like in practice.

Structured around a highly interactive “Bring Your Challenge” approach, the event will take participants through a practical journey from understanding environments, people and pressures, through to designing interventions, influencing behaviour and delivering action on the ground.

The Masterclass will include the soft launch of the new Responsible Recreation Toolkit, designed to help organisations move from audit and diagnosis through to action and evaluation. Delegates will explore how the toolkit can be applied in real landscapes, with real pressures and real organisational challenges.

Across the two days, participants will benefit from:

– practical examples of responsible recreation in action;

– expert speakers, panel discussions and participatory labs;

– breakout sessions focused on people, place, pressures and interventions;

– opportunities to test ideas against live challenges;

– networking with peers from across the outdoor recreation, conservation, access and land management sectors;

– optional site visits, including Stonehenge World Heritage Site and MOD land; and

– time to develop approaches that can be taken back into their own organisation or landscape.

The programme will explore themes including environmental impacts, visitor behaviour, user conflict, communications, stewardship, site design, sensitive habitats, recreation pressure, events, monitoring and evaluation.

Delegates will leave with practical tools, fresh insight, peer learning and a clearer plan for how to respond to responsible recreation challenges in their own context.

This will be a working Masterclass, designed for people who want to move from discussion to delivery.

Please keep an eye on the programme as it develops. There are a few remaining opportunities to take part, so if you would like to input please contact the Secretariat.

A big thank you to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation / Ministry of Defence for hosting this event.