Informing others

It's easy to get carried away with the fact that you're finally getting some work done on the ground and forget to keep everyone informed. But good relationships with landowners and the local community can be hard to forge and are easily lost. So it's really important to make sure you let people know what's going on – particularly if the place goes through a phase of looking like a bombsite whilst construction work takes place!

Once you know what you'll be doing and when you'll be doing it, make sure the landowner is aware. There's no surer way to upset a land owner than if they discover an unexpected digger doing work on their land. So make sure you keep them informed as things progress, to avoid nasty surprises.

It's also worth making sure that local people know what's going on – you could think about putting an article in the local press, write a notice for the local shop or community noticeboard, or maybe putting some signs up on the path itself. These only need to be A4 laminated sheets, but they can provide much needed information about what's going on, as well as giving a contact phone number for anyone who has questions.