Easter Breich Wood - The Future of our Local Woodlands

The area of woodland and green space in West Lothian called Easter Breich Wood has long been an important and much valued asset for the communities of West Calder and Seafield, perhaps even more so during the lockdowns of the recent pandemic. It is currently owned by a charity, the Green Action Trust who are planning to sell it. When it went up for sale in Summer 2020, a group of local residents came together to notify the seller of an interest from the community in owning the woodland - and the Easter Breich Woodland Steering Group was formed (https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community-Organization/Easter-Breich-Wood-104656418081939/). GAT are willing to see this happen and have taken the site off the market to allow the group time to gauge community support, conduct a feasibility study and raise the necessary funds to purchase the wood. We will only be able to secure funds for purchase of the site if the community supports it, if it will make a difference locally and if it will be financially viable. To ensure that this is the case, we want to ask your views and get your ideas to hep us develop a future for the site. Please take a few minutes to fill in this short survey.

This research is being delivered independently by Community Enterprise (an organisation with experience of community based research) with support from Upland Forestry Ltd (forestry ad rural development specialists, see www.uplandforestry.co.uk).

All information gathered will be kept confidential. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus issue, paper copies of the survey are not available but if you feel you are not able to complete the digital version, or want to discuss the project further and have your views recorded, please call Douglas on 07989 306374 or email douglas@communityenterprise.co.uk

Note: All survey responses are recorded on Survey Monkey whose privacy policy can be viewed here. Community Enterprise's privacy policy can be viewed here.

The survey will be initially open for one month, though this may be extended and additional research will be undertaken so please keep an eye on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Easter-Breich-Wood-104656418081939/) for updates.

Question Title

* 1. Please tell us which area you live in.

West Calder

Seafield

Elsewhere in the area

Further afield

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. Are you:

	0-16	17-25	26-45	46-65	65+
Male	Male 0-16	Male 17-25	Male 26-45	Male 46-65	Male 65+
Female	Female 0-16	Female 17-25	Female 26-45	Female 46-65	Female 65+
Prefer not to say	Prefer not to say 0-16	Prefer not to say 17-25	Prefer not to say 26-45	Prefer not to say 46-65	Prefer not to say 65+

Question Title

* 3. How often do you visit Easter Breich Wood?

Every day

Several times a week

Once a week

Once or twice a month

Once every 2-3 months

Once or twice a year

Less than once a year

Never

Didn't know it existed

Question Title

* 4. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements relating to the site?

	Agree strongly	Agree slightly	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree slightly	Disagree strongly
It's somewhere I can relax and unwind	It's somewhere I can relax and unwind Agree strongly	It's somewhere I can relax and unwind Agree slightly	It's somewhere I can relax and unwind Neither agree nor disagree	It's somewhere I can relax and unwind Disagree slightly	It's somewhere I can relax and unwind Disagree strongly
It's a safe place for physical activity such as walking	It's a safe place for physical activity such as walking Agree strongly	It's a safe place for physical activity such as walking Agree slightly	It's a safe place for physical activity such as walking Neither agree nor disagree	It's a safe place for physical activity such as walking Disagree slightly	It's a safe place for physical activity such as walking Disagree strongly
It's an attractive place	It's an attractive place Agree strongly	It's an attractive place Agree slightly	It's an attractive place Neither agree nor disagree	It's an attractive place Disagree slightly	It's an attractive place Disagree strongly
It's a good place for children to play	It's a good place for children to play Agree strongly	It's a good place for children to play Agree slightly	It's a good place for children to play Neither agree nor disagree	It's a good place for children to play Disagree slightly	It's a good place for children to play Disagree strongly
It's an important part of our heritage	It's an important part of our heritage Agree strongly	It's an important part of our heritage Agree slightly	It's an important part of our heritage Neither agree nor disagree	It's an important part of our heritage Disagree slightly	It's an important part of our heritage Disagree strongly
It is a good place to learn about nature	It is a good place to learn about nature Agree strongly	It is a good place to learn about nature Agree slightly	It is a good place to learn about nature Neither agree nor disagree	It is a good place to learn about nature Disagree slightly	It is a good place to learn about nature Disagree strongly

Other things I like/don't like about the woods

Question Title

* 5. What difficulties do you have accessing the site (if any)?

Lack of car parking

Poor condition of paths

Poor public transport links

Lack of signage

It's not wheelchair/buggy friendly

Other (please specify)