The challenge
This heathland conservation project seeks to reinvigorate a sense of connection between local communities and ‘their’ heaths.
Visitor and non-user research (carried out by others) identified two key target audiences. The first is very regular users, almost all of whom are dog walkers, who comprise 85% of visitors.
The other target group is local non-users who would be interested in visiting the heaths with support and say they could be interested in walking and wildlife.
This work was part of a Phase II submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Our response
Our audit of existing interpretation identified a lack of consistency of messaging, particularly around behaviour of people and dogs. We therefore recommended replacement of the fixed interpretation on all sites.
A key aspect of our recommendations was for changing panels and temporary interpretation to engage the interest of the very regular users. This was supported by web-based material.
These recommendations were complemented by a range of proposals for face to face interpretation.
