Visiting safely during the Covid-19 outbreak

Updated 19 July 2021

The government has now lifted restrictions relating to Covid-19. We would like to still remind visitors to be considerate and responsible when visiting our green spaces. There is information for visitors to Earth Trust places on our Visit Us pages, as well as on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

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Exercise is important for people’s physical and mental well-being and the risk of coronavirus being passed on to others outdoors is considered to be very low. There are no longer any restrictions on numbers of people who can meet indoors or outside.

To stay safe, you should:

  • Take hygiene precautions when you are outside
  • Wash your hands as soon as you are back indoors
  • Consider keeping social distance from anyone outside your household or support bubble where possible, or at least one metre with precautions such as wearing a face mask
  • Take hand sanitiser with you in case there are no handwashing facilities

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Yes. We recognise our green spaces continue to be popular spots for those wanting to make the most of time outdoors. Please make sure you’re staying safe and enabling others to do the same by following these guidelines:

  • Keep your distance – make sure there are at least 2m between you and other households at all times, as demonstrated by our CEO Jayne and Head of Fundraising Lee Ann in the video below!
  • Look out for each other – be aware that we may not have staff on site when you visit, and that emergency services may also be slower to respond at the moment if you need help. And of course, if you’re unwell, please stay at home.
  • Think about common areas where you might share contact, such as going over stiles. Gates should be left as they are found, but if you need to touch them remember to wash your hands as soon as you can afterwards (or use hand sanitiser), and avoid touching your face in the meantime.
  • Don’t stay if it’s busy – At peak times it’s harder to keep a safe space between families especially on narrower footpaths, so if it looks busy when you arrive, please come back another time or try one of our other places.

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You can now travel freely outside of your locality. If you visit our spaces we encourage you to walk/cycle where possible. If you drive we ask that you park considerately – both to avoid local traffic issues and to allow for social distancing.

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Whilst we can provide overflow parking for specific events, our planning permissions and insurance do not enable us to open up further fields for parking. We are addressing access and parking within our Gateway Programme (currently under development), which will hope will provide a new access track and increased parking from 2022. Please park considerately to avoid blocking access for local residents and emergency vehicles, and to avoid damaging verges.

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Yes, but please keep dogs on leads and pick up after them, even in areas where livestock are not grazing. The government guidance states that you should walk your dog on a lead to ensure you can safely keep 2 metres away from others. You can find further government guidance for pet owners here and further guidance about visiting our spaces with dogs here [/toggle]

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Landowners have been encouraged to consider tying gates open if it is safe to do so, so that walkers do not need to touch the gate; unfortunately this is not possible at many of Earth Trust’s green spaces as they are grazed by cattle or sheep. In line with the Countryside Code please leave gates as you find them, and then remember to wash your hands or use hand sanitiser as soon as possible after touching a gate or stile.

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Thank you for working with us to keep everyone safe.

 

Earth Trust contact details:

  • General enquiries: [email protected]
  • Earth Trust Friend enquiries: [email protected]
  • Volunteering enquiries: [email protected]
  • Events and activities: [email protected]
  • The best way to get in touch is via email but you can also phone the office on 01865 407792 and leave a message for someone to call you back; to report urgent issues involving livestock or directly relating to our green spaces please see the emergency phone numbers on the contact page.

Photo by Gemma Warr