Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

– Explore opportunities to stimulate peoples’ senses in different
ways to challenge their view of fens.
– Focus on the unique story for each site, and how individual sites
differ from each other.
– Set the fen in context with the surrounding landscape and other
habitats.
– Interpretation should inspire people and encourage them to
contribute to fen conservation, whether through funding, voluntary
action, or as advocates.
– Monitor response to interpretation.
Hickling Broad interpretation – Norfolk Wildlife Trust
The visitor centre, which is open six months of the year, houses
information panels, including some on fens. On the 3 km trail there are
two map information boards. Each of the three bird watching hides has
an A2 panel offering information on species identification, the grazing
regime, the wider landscape, and the bittern project. Visitors to the
centre are counted by staff using clicker counters, and there is also a
visitor’s book.
A panel explaining land use
to visitors to Hickling Broad
National Nature Reserve
(Nick Droy)
Local resources and trades-people can be used to create locally distinctive
interpretation and infrastructure. The oak tree sculptures used by the Little Ouse
Headwaters project, have 30cm plastic interpretation panels embedded in them.
Novel approaches such as this provoke visitors’ interest (and sometimes create
controversy), helping to establish local identity.
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