RICH Daniels and his fellow Dean by Definition team members on Monday delivered a superb account of the way we perceive 'The Forest'.
Around 1,200 personal interviews, hundreds of pictures and a variety of mixed media contributions including views collected on beer mats leave little doubt that feelings run deep – albeit in a variety of ways.
For, hardly very surprisingly in an area defined by district council boundaries rather than the Statutory Forest outline, the Dean is many things to many people confronted with the question "What do you think is special about the Forest of Dean?"
And even within the Statutory Forest the views are surprisingly mixed. Ultimately, the only true conclusion that can be drawn is that it is unique in as many ways as are the people who live there, although there are words which return again and again – solitude, tranquillity and wonderful landscape among them.
One interviewee said the area was "on a par with Scotland for natural beauty", another said the main attraction was "you can walk here, walk and walk", while another posted Coleford Music Festival the top attraction.
The Dean by Definition project was commissioned by the Countryside Agency as part of a three-year integrated rural development study to determine ways of protecting the Dean's landscape and heritage.
It has already been more or less mooted that the route should not be through creating an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a National Park but through an as-yet undefined 'special status'. Intimation that this could still be years away and that it remains as shapeless as ever came with the news that the Countryside Agency is seeking another two years' funding for survey and follow-up work in the Dean.
The early findings of the survey were revealed on Monday at a meeting at Forest Hills Golf Club where there were displays of many of the contributions, including a tapestry of animals and landscape created by English Bicknor school pupils that was as eloquent as thousands of words in describing the Forest's glories.
Val Kirby of the Countryside Agency, who helped to present the findings and a special CD recording much of the data, said it was hoped "to use this work to help the right people and the right agencies to deliver strategies for the Forest."
The end-use was not a consideration in conducting the survey – the brief was to find out our views and this is an aim it has achieved with triumph.
In seeking personal interviews rather than questionnaires to achieve its ends, the Dean by Definition team has managed to ensure its results are highly personal and not coloured by pressure groups.
It deserves to be respected for this integrity, says Rich Daniels, and for the fact that it reflects the genuine views of people who live and work in the area – although some visitor views are included for good measure.
While a few said they would change nothing if given a magic wand more than half looked forward to more regeneration – but in a variety of forms.
And while the beer mats delivered inevitable flippancies they helped to make a richly rounded survey which will give food for thought to movers and shakers for many years to come.
It is hoped some of the material will be accessible in libraries in the future and some may be used in exhibitions.