Marketing

We try to like SWT and we badly want to believe in them but they do make it very hard for us. For several years we have said that the management of a space like Blacka needs a single on-site worker dedicated to getting to know the place properly, understanding the appeal of it for local people and doing what needs to be done before small jobs become a major problem. It is surely exactly what a wildlife organisation responsible for sites should be keen to do. But they categorically ruled this out. Their choice is to be a remote deskbound institution. The situation is not unlike the police where being on the beat is less favoured than filling in forms. SWT seem to have a preferred management model part like Tesco and part like the City Council.

I could happily support an organisation that was focused on a warden structure with people walking the paths and doing repairs, noting the wildlife and helping visitors. But not a place that has an official HQ 7 miles away and spends more time at desks than on site. The most important part of their job is the paperwork and the meetings. Now they are appointing a Marketing Manager. What do we need one of these for? If you have a role that entails looking after a place you should get ahead and do it. A job well done speaks for itself. Only a badly done job needs someone to present it in a favourable light.