ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the evolution of the professional countryside manager and the countryside ranger is explained along with development of training and educational courses. The Countryside Commission guidance, in 1979, explained how the countryside rangers were the basis of countryside services. The Countryside Commission guidance in 1979 addressed issues of salaries and conditions of service. Countryside management remains invisible in literature on planning, housing, and regeneration in Britain, and yet these services were often at the heart of delivery. The initial recruitment of countryside officers, managers, and rangers was based on a wide range of rather eclectic skills, backgrounds, and professional experiences. Especially considering the limited relevant courses in the 1970s and early 1980s, it was suggested that in-service training was particularly important. The chapter concludes with a look at the current professional organisation involved in countryside-related professions and the institutions, mostly former forestry and agricultural colleges, which still provide training.