Giving a name and an identity to a site at an early stage helps to generate interest and support. It may also help change perceptions that an area is for example, a wildlife area, and not merely ‘neglected’. However, in some locations signs may not be appropriate as they may raise fears amongst local users that the site and their use of it is going to be greatly altered, even if the actual changes are going to be small. Effective consultation should avert this problem. In some situations, residents may prefer to keep their local sites unsigned, in order to avoid publicising them to people from outside their neighbourhood. It may also be better not to draw attention to new tree planting or ponds, until they are established, or to other features which need protection.
Signs and information boards on sites owned or managed by statutory agencies, local authorities or wildlife trusts may need to follow designs, sizes and methods of production that have been adopted by those organisations. These signs are usually commercially produced. On other sites, there is the opportunity to be innovative, and particularly to use the provision of signs and information as a project to involve local artists, craftsmen, school and college groups.
Signs, giving the name of the site, and signs giving directions within the site or basic information need to be eyecatching, robust and easy to read. Lettering chiselled into stone, routered in wood, moulded into concrete or formed out of wrought iron can be used, along with other creative techniques. On some urban sites there may be a desire to create a rural, natural feel to the site, in which case simple lettering on natural wood or stone may be appropriate. Other sites may not be limited by this desire, and bright colours or industrial materials may be chosen. Signs which include items linked to the local industrial heritage are effective. It all depends what you want your sign to convey about the site – countryside, industrial heritage, people, community, art or any other value.
Information or interpretation boards give details about the site, usually including a map highlighting various features and facilities, with notes on natural and local history. Again, there is no particular need for urban sites to follow the commercial techniques used for production of boards on rural recreation sites. These boards are expensive to produce and necessarily contain information which cannot be changed. They are useful for tourist sites where most visitors will be on first-time visits. On urban sites, used more often by locals on regular visits, or school groups, the need for permanent interpretive information on site may not be so great. Encouraging people to get to know the site through open days, guided walks and other events may be a better approach, which can involve members of the local community as providers of information, not only recipients. Research and production of information is ideal project work for schools, some of whom have the technology to produce leaflets, tapes and videos, as well as screen-printing and other artwork techniques. This is learning by doing, and site interpretation by and for the community rather than by professionals for the visitor.
Temporary information boards
Once the group or project is established enough to have a name, put at least one temporary blackboard or similar at the work site while you are there, so that passers-by can find out who you are and what you are doing.
Chalkboards, permanently fixed on site, are also useful for noting seasonal wildlife to be seen, or for featuring different aspects of the site through the year. They need to be fixed in a prominent location, shielded from the rain. Although the message may not last long, or unwanted ones may appear, such boards linked with frequent wardening and work on the site by staff or local residents may be of more value than permanent information boards.
Temporary signs for supervised nature trails or special events can be neatly and effectively done using labelling systems designed for garden centres. Particularly useful are the plastic or aluminium marker posts with stick-on waterproof labels (bed labels).
Semi-permanent information boards
Information boards are frequently a target for vandalism, so beware of spending time and money on something which may only last a short time. Cheap, A4 posters which can easily be replaced are one method. These also allow information to be updated as the project progresses, or to include seasonal information about wildlife to be seen on the site. A4 posters can be laminated in plastic by local printers. ‘Correx’ plastic corrugated board is a useful material for short-term outdoor signs, as it is lightweight, fairly rigid, and can be written on with waterproof felt markers. It’s available from signwriting suppliers. It’s also used for packaging so you may be able to find a free source.
An alternative is to build a robust stand, onto which an information board can be fitted when the site is supervised.
Consultation about the project with local residents will have enlisted some local support, and signs should be less prone to vandalism where they are publicising a project in which the local community is involved. Any information boards should be presented in a style and language which is appropriate to the area. Signboards produced by local children are likely to be eye catching and less of a target for vandals than professionally produced boards. For a really expert job harness the skills of local graffiti artists. Feelings of ‘local ownership’ should be greatly increased amongst any group who have helped make a sign or information board.
Permanent information boards
There are numerous commercial processes for producing permanent information boards which may include illustrations and text. Local Yellow Pages list firms under ‘Sign makers’.
Gateways and entrances
Gateways and entrances are important to help give an identity to a site, and can incorporate design features to exclude cars or motor-bikes. Support from local arts trusts or businesses may produce sponsorship to commission work by local craftsmen. Wrought-iron, stonework and sculptures in wood have all been used to make imaginative and individual gateways and entrances.
The access controls detailed on page 54 have been developed by Sustrans, for paths designed for use by walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users, but to exclude motorbikes and vehicles. The U shaped passage gives access for wheelchairs and buggies, but is too short for motorbikes to negotiate. The York chicane can be ridden through by a cyclist without dismounting, but can give access for scrambling or dirt motorbikes with high ground clearance. On areas which may attract dirt bikes, the full chicane must be used to exclude them, but these are less convenient for cyclists, who have to dismount. Sustrans recommend steel construction, which is durable and easy to install, and fits in well in most surroundings. The chicanes can be made by local metalworkers. Large boulders can also be used instead of the fence to either side of the chicane. Timber structures can also be used.
Kissing gates are a traditional form of access control, giving access to pedestrians but not to stock. More relevant for today’s urban use is a gate which permits access to pedestrians, pushchairs and wheelchairs, but excludes motor-bikes. It may also be useful to discourage bicycle use, although determined cyclists can lift their bikes over most barriers. Steel structures are recommended for many situations, as they are more difficult to vandalise than wood. Steel allows the use of a curved guard rail, which is a more effective shape for regulating access than the angular shapes to which you are limited by wood. The design shown below is supplied as a single unit, so it is easy and quick to install in a concrete foundation, and difficult to remove. See Footpaths – Specialist suppliers.
For further information on gates and stiles, see Footpaths – Gates and stiles.
