Unit 3: Outdoor and Adventurous Activities(A3)

The environmental impact on hill walking can be caused by many aspects which may have been done by humans but also from natural meanings. In that case I will be looking specifically at Long Mynd as it is a great example how human can live in harmony with nature, but there will be also some visible places where people left their track after them. Long Mynd has an area of over 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi), most of which takes the form of a heathland plateau and has a long history that stretches to bronze age. Erosion play a significant role at Long Mynd as we can see that in the past, many houses and other structures have been build by stones that were present there and over history, if the place wouldn’t be touched by human hand, it may could look differently shaped and formulate naturally, but it didn’t. Today’s modern houses that are built on those lands are made from different resources and aren’t necessarily taken from the land itself but from somewhere else; like quarries. Long Mynd doesn’t consists of many types of rocks and today the steep and narrow valleys are covered in a thin layer of soil, with a low pH, able to support only strong grasses, rushes, and heathers. Beneath the soil the evidence of the ancient and chequered past can be seen, and the rocky outcrops and scree slopes are excellent places to view the different layers of ancient rock. Wildlife at Long Mynd doesn’t have as much variety as Yellowstone park and doesn’t thrives with breath taking beautiful animals, but some life is present there and the only animals that live there are ponies, sheep, bats and wild birds including the rare Ring Ouzel. Wildlife there have been carefully catered for by local farmers and National Trust but, because outsiders(hill walkers) that are having a peaceful journey through the lands, sometimes forget how or doesn’t know, how to care for the local wildlife and do a lot of unnecessary disturbance in every day animal living. Tourists tend to throw trash away without disposing it by humanitarian meanings and leave it there to decompose or get eaten by local wildlife. Noise also leave psychical impact on animals and they may tend to get more aggressive in future if it won’t stop; also people should leave them in peace to avoid future accidents with local wildlife. Pollution at Long Mynd is slim, but because of the built roads that are present in most areas, cars with tourists tend to come deep inside Long Mynd and pollute the local environment, it is also cause by local farmers in which they use their machines to get their job done quicker on their farm lands. Water seems clear because of the thinned layered but richly consisted soils, the mountains have; but it changed over history, as there is human activity and contamination from human side, the water will get more and more dirty and hazardous. I could see loads (at least 6-9) dead sheeps near lake that have been probably poisoned by present water because they didn’t had any other signs present from which they could die from. Plants in the area doesn’t thrive in variety and are very strong to withstand pollutions because slim to none plants can live on low pH level soils. Human constructions which mostly have been made by local farmers have been largely compressed, to not waste lands and land sight so it won’t look like an unorganised and wasteful land disproportion and give more space for natural vegetation and wildlife. Small villages also have been compressed to not waste lands that wildlife is living on. Local people respect the wild life and tries their best to not disturb it. Midland Gliding Club that has been step up since 1934 is very eco-friendly and tries to not pollute and disturb the local wildlife and environment. The paragliding community also knows the risks of their activities and there is a chance, they may cause some trouble with local birds: birds getting killed and harmed in process. The land could also have been overtaken from the wildlife that used to live on it and caused the animals to move somewhere else or get killed because they had nowhere to settle and shelter – this also includes human settlements. The environmental impact caused by climbing in Llanymynech quarry have visible scars and wounds caused by human activity. The ever changing shape of the rocks and slopes have diverted to an un-natural deformation. The facilities that are resting on the rock grounds have deformed and the continuous human activity, done by hanging from them also have changed them. < Pretty much same things applies here as it has been previously written and stated on hill walking>

How to reduce the overall impact caused by human activity
We can reduce the environmental impact in many ways and are very easy to execute, First things first – * At your starting point, park considerately by not blocking gates and farm tracks or making it difficult for vehicles to pass. Avoid damaging soft verges. * Zigzag paths ease the strain of ascent and descent and should be followed. Cutting corners or heading straight up or down creates new lines for water run-off and increases the risk of erosion. * Scree running looks like fun but should be avoided as rocks accumulate at the bottom of the slope changing the landscape. * Use stiles where available rather than clambering over walls or fences. * Biodegradable items such as banana skins and orange peel take years to disappear and are alien objects in the environment so take all litter home. * If you are on an eroded section of a route, stay on the centre of the path to avoid spreading the damage; if that is not possible, try to walk several metres away from the track. * Do not start or add to cairns and other trail marking. * Respect path diversions and access restrictions. * Do not pick flowers or other vegetation. * Do not disturb livestock and ground nesting birds. * Do not deface or paint on the rocks.

* For many walkers and hikers, building a fire is often the perfect way to end the day as it provides fuel for cooking and to keep warm as well as making a nice way to spend time with friends and family at the end of a successful day's walking. However, have people stopped to think about where they are gathering their wood from? It may well be that they are stripping an area of valuable nutrients for wildlife and other vegetation as well as removing what might be a living creature's home. People may find that by using a conventional stove or bringing in wood from other sources outside, they are helping to conserve a particular wood or forest. Furthermore, many areas of ecological importance have been destroyed by fires which have got out of control so people need to be extremely vigilant and take care whichever type of fire they intend to use, also everybody has to be cautious when using portable gas refiller to not spill any poisonous substances on the ground, as it may corrupt the visible vegetation and microorganisms. * Human waste incorrectly dumped is one of the biggest causes of environmental damage. Both human faeces and urine can contaminate natural water supplies so people should take great care where they go to the toilet when hiking and walking. Digging a hole between, say, 4 and 10 inches deep is best solution and they should do that away from water sources and trails. * One of the attractions when hiking or walking is to spot certain species of wildlife as they go about their business. However, for many species, unwanted intrusion or getting too close to wildlife can result in adult species abandoning their young or you may be interrupting the mating season which can have an extremely negative impact on the wildlife ecology, especially if they’re disturbing any area in which there are endangered wildlife species present. Therefore, people should try to understand the patterns of behaviour of the species they are trying observe and to make sure to follow the expert's guidelines in how best to observe them without causing any disturbance as well as following any guidance or signs humans might come across which tell to avoid an area at any given tim; binoculars are designed for a purpose - that of seeing wildlife close up without having to be too close. That environment their home too after all and we need to respect that. * Whilst people might be tempted to veer away from a trail when hiking to take a look at something interesting, it should be refrain from doing so as although people might think they are doing no harm, trails are maintained for a reason and walking off them causes soil erosion, damages vegetation and, over time, many people who disregard this will cause damage to the ecology of the area. Even when it's muddy, it's important to stay on the trail. We can always get cleaned up later but going around a muddy trail to avoid it will simply widen the trail and destroy the environment it's designed to protect over time. * There is a lot of truth behind an often quoted phrase, "Take only photographs, leave only footprints". In other words, we have to make sure that we wont leave any rubbish behind when in groups we go out hiking and dispose of anything we do take with in the proper manner or else take it out and dispose of it later. And never take out things from the environment like flowers, rocks or plant cuttings etc. They are there for a reason and are part of the rich ecological tapestry of the region serving either as food sources or providing a home or shelter to wildlife. * If people are hiking as part of a group expedition, they could break up the group into a few smaller groups as this minimises the impact of human activity on the environment of a trail. * If people are going to camp at the end of a day's hiking, the have to make sure to dispose rubbish correctly or take it out with them when they depart the next day and leave the campsite in such a good condition that no one will have ever known any humans were camping there - that's the Country Code, and good sense for the environment. Also, if there are designated camp sites in the area, use them. Don't be tempted to camp anywhere other than the designated sites as this can cause damage to the local ecology too. * In many cases, rock climbers use pitons, pounding them into crevices and cracks. Not only to they damage the rock, speeding the erosion process, they are often left in place, rusting out and making it dangerous for following climbers.