DIRTT Project- The path to sustainable mountain bike trails in Europe

Mark Torsius

International Mountain Bicycling Association

VSG WORKSHOP – 3 DECEMBER 2019Managing Informal Mountain Bike Trails - Tollymore National Outdoor Centre (NI) Mark Torsius – IMBA Europe

ERASMUS + PROGRAMMEKA2 - COOPERATION FOR INNOVATION AND THE EXCHANGE OF GOOD PRACTICES

CALL FOR PROPOSALSTRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

PROJECT IDEA:DEVELOPMENT OF AN EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK IN THE DOMAIN OF TRAIL BUILDING

PROJECT PERIOD:36 MONTHS (SEP 2019 – AUG 2022)

WHAT IS THE PROJECT ABOUT?

• To establish a more nuanced understanding of the future

situation of trail construction and management among the

participants at the partnering institution and participants

from the involved stakeholders

• To identify & bridge skill gaps in the sector

• To develop and implement new educational programmes/

activities in the partnering countries to better address the

challenges deriving from trail construction and management

• To provide a ‘toolbox’ for educators in the sector

• Continuous professional development

EXPECTED RESULTS

• The project aims to deliver a mountain bike trail development Educational

Framework. This framework includes a comprehensive training program placed

on level 5 in the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) which are

modularized into standardized training courses in the field of trail building and

management, with expert CPD modules in planning and design.

• IO1: Training Concept for Educators in the field of MTB trail development

• IO2: Final Educational Framework

• As part of this project, proposed EU trail guidelines for mountain bike trails will

be developed / updated and validated.

WHY NOW?

• Young, growing sector + more interest in trail based recreation, tourism, sport, health

• Trail preference is changing, new trends & new trail management challenges

– E-MTB, Enduro, unauthorized trails, carrying capacity etc.

• Not many training programs and no official education

• Standards & classficiation needed to mitigate risks (and liability) for land managers

• (Many) existing trail development resources lack EU good practices and context

• Quality management & controle needed for sustainability of the sector

• Push for more structural knowledge building and dissemination is needed

• Recognition and transparency of skills (increased employability)

WHAT DO TRAIL BUILDERS AND FORESTRY MANAGERS SAY?OUTCOMES LABOUR MARKET & TRAINING NEEDS SURVEY

• More than 50% of the employers in the trail building sector have difficulties to fill in

vacancies because of:

• low number of applicants with the required skills

• lack of specific competences needed for the job

• Main barriers to arrange training for existing staff: lack of appropriate training,

courses not available and staff too busy to follow training during building season

• 3 out of 4 employers agree or strongly agree new training courses are required to

meet the training needs of their organisation

• Most employers agree or strongly agree their staff would benefit from learning

experiences in other countries

DO YOU THINK THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEFINITION OF EU TRAIL STANDARDS & TRAIL CLASSIFICATION IN MOUNTAIN BIKING WILL BE VALUABE IN TERMS OF QUALITY ASSURANCE?

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOUR ORGANISATION TO WORK TOWARDS CERTIFICATION LEVELS FOR THE DIFFERENT JOBS / ROLES IN THE FIELD OF TRAIL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAIL BUILDING?

NEXT STEPS

• Establish a foundation for developing the Educational Framework through analyzing the needs & requirements of the MTB sector (trail builders, educational institutions, land managers, end-consumers)

• Set up of (national) reference groups to give the MTB sector and other relevant stakeholders a stronger voice in the development of future educational activities and programs

• Development of the first version of the Educational Framework (content, learning outcomes)

• Train the participants from the partnering institutions allowing them to participate in design and execution of the pilot based on the Educational Framework

• Execute pilot

• Update the Educational Framework and Training Concept based on the experiences obtained through the pilots

• Implement educational programmes in the partnering countries

• Review and refine the Educational Framework (continuous)

HOW TO GET INVOLVED? REFERENCE GROUPS

• The main task of the reference groups is to act as a (national) advisory board for each of the partnering institutions, informally ensuring the relevance and quality of the activities in the project, following the development of the project and the progress made, giving feedback.

• The reference groups will also be used for gathering data when analyzing the needs from national stakeholders at the early stages of the project. The reference groups will, e.g., support the identification of relevant stakeholders that can be used for collecting relevant data to the initial analysis.

• EU reference groups for non-partner countries + annual meeting at the IMBA Europe Summit

FROM STOKED KIDS TO SKILLED VOLUNTEERS TO PROFESSIONALS

Safety

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Environment(protected...

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• no specific train ing needed • train ing programs aready avai labein our country

• specific training desirab le - no exist ing offer through Vocational Educational & Train

specific training is non-existing but a high priority

Macro and

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Assessment

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Teaching &

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Sustainable

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Spatial

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Sustainable

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Trail

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• no specific training needed • training programs aready availabe in our country

• specific train ing desirable - no existing offer through Vocational Educational & Train

• specific train ing is non-existing but a high priority