Can archery clubs be a positive impact on the environment?

chrisgas

Supporter
Supporter
I assume that archery is in general a low impact sport on the environment, certainly traditional bows and kit "sticks and straw bosses" are low carbon footprint.

Plus "field archery" which seems a bit of a contradiction, ideally requires woodland and so perhaps sits better than target with the environment.

How many clubs, who own their own land actively encourage wildlife, birds etc?

After all there are more binoculars on a target line than in most RSPB bird hides.

Can archery clubs be seen as actively having a positive impact on wildlife on land used for the sport? If so could it be used to some advantage of acquiring land to use or people it attracts?
 
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dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
We rent our wood from Scottish Natural Heritage; it is a historic old wood that they want to protect.

We are allowed to keep our lanes clear but have to minimise our impact on the rest of the woodland.

Having a tenant on the woodland lets them claim that the wood is still in use by locals and not just an area that's arbitrarily off limits. As it's a dangerous activity it lets them post signs discouraging picnickers and the like. We also keep an eye on the area for trespassing, fly tipping and the like.
 
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offthearrowshelf

New member
At our old wood we worked with the landlord to set up corridors and gaps in fence lines to allow deer through. It worked amazingly well for us and the site.
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
At our old wood we worked with the landlord to set up corridors and gaps in fence lines to allow deer through. It worked amazingly well for us and the site.
That's ironic. At our club we worked with the local land owners to keep the deer out.

They'd just planted a load of native broadleaf trees and needed to protect the saplings from the ravages of deer and rabbits until they were established.
 

Rabid Hamster

Well-known member
Ironman
at our target field ... after the sunday BBQ's the crows are instantly down for any crumbs or dropped food. as we trundle up and down the field we churn up the soggy ground resulting in blackbirds getting worms. other than that its a full time job just keeping the club running.
 

Yew Selfbow

Active member
There is genuine cause for concern regatding the materials used in archery. The popularity of carbon fiber ought to be of huge concern. The carbon used in limbs, risers and arrows has a biodegradable life in the thousands of years. Carbon fragments and carbon splinters eaten by wildlife is nearly always fatal. Plus the energy requirement demanded by the manufacturing process of carbon fiber products is massive. ..... where will your broken carbon arrows and limbs be in 100 years time
 

Rabid Hamster

Well-known member
Ironman
tbh given the tiny number of archers and the small impact their kit has ..... I think Chinese power stations, Indian and Chinese population levels and the level of pollution generated creating all the "green" technologies results in archery having bugger all affect on anything.
 

chrisgas

Supporter
Supporter
Do any clubs plant anything on their land or build anything into their structures to attract or maintain wildlife? Nestboxes, wild flowers etc.
 

offthearrowshelf

New member
Do any clubs plant anything on their land or build anything into their structures to attract or maintain wildlife? Nestboxes, wild flowers etc.
At the old wood we planted hawthorn and blackthorn as hedging. We'd planned to put nest boxes up etc but Birmingham City Council closed the site so we had to move 😟
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
..... where will your broken carbon arrows and limbs be in 100 years time
I've kept every broken and worn carbon arrow in a box in the attic. It just seems wrong to take them to landfill. I do find engineering uses for carbon tube from time to time but it is a drop in the ocean. I wouldn't be unhappy if WA banned carbon arrows and we went back to aluminium.
 

inthemiddle

Active member
I've kept every broken and worn carbon arrow in a box in the attic. It just seems wrong to take them to landfill. I do find engineering uses for carbon tube from time to time but it is a drop in the ocean. I wouldn't be unhappy if WA banned carbon arrows and we went back to aluminium.
It would make the sport a whole lot cheaper too. Carbon arrows are eye watering in cost ( X10's etc) I'm limited what I can shoot at out club as pure carbons can't be used as we shoot on a rugby field.

Considering all international comps are shot at either 70M or 50m I feel the longer distance Fitas and York rounds are now redundant. Clubs would find it a lot easier to find smaller fields too.
 
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Gavin Eisler

Supporter
Supporter
Our club keeps its 20 acres of woodland and the associated car park litter free, broken nocks, fletches , target particles are all picked up. We get on well with Forestry Scotland, after identifying several Yew tree seedlings , they gave us tree tubes to prevent the Yews being nibbled by Roe Deer. The shooting lanes provide sunny glades for Speckled Brown butterflies, we see Woodcock overwintering, Jays all year round, Nut Hatches, Tree Creepers, Squirrels, Pine Marten ( spoor),Red Deer, Roe Deer, Long tailed Tits, and many others. I think we have a fairly positive effect. Paths are maintained and kept clear so the public can enjoy the woods when we are not shooting, the community benefits as well.
 

chrisgas

Supporter
Supporter
Our club keeps its 20 acres of woodland and the associated car park litter free, broken nocks, fletches , target particles are all picked up. We get on well with Forestry Scotland, after identifying several Yew tree seedlings , they gave us tree tubes to prevent the Yews being nibbled by Roe Deer. The shooting lanes provide sunny glades for Speckled Brown butterflies, we see Woodcock overwintering, Jays all year round, Nut Hatches, Tree Creepers, Squirrels, Pine Marten ( spoor),Red Deer, Roe Deer, Long tailed Tits, and many others. I think we have a fairly positive effect. Paths are maintained and kept clear so the public can enjoy the woods when we are not shooting, the community benefits as well.
It seems your club land is a delight to shoot at. I lived north of Inverness for 20 years and the woodlands are beautiful.
I wonder if AGB could put together (if not already done) a report on how archery can be a positive for landowners who may think of supporting archery on their land.
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
Do any clubs plant anything on their land or build anything into their structures to attract or maintain wildlife? Nestboxes, wild flowers etc.
I'd have thought that scope for that sort of thing would be limited due to so many clubs sharing their grounds with other activities.
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I've kept every broken and worn carbon arrow in a box in the attic. It just seems wrong to take them to landfill. I do find engineering uses for carbon tube from time to time but it is a drop in the ocean. I wouldn't be unhappy if WA banned carbon arrows and we went back to aluminium.
Yes, I've still got all my old arrows too and old arrow bits do come in useful occasionally but supply massively outstrips demand.

Plus, after my limb explosion the other day I've got a collection of carbon fibre composite shards that I have no idea what to do with. I'll strip the dovetails and dampers off it for spares but beyond that I've no better ideas than to burn it.
 
My club owns its grounds and we have started planting some wildlife friendly things. A lot of the borders have been neglected for decades and a lot of typical quick fix hedging like leyland cypress had been stuck in, which were left to grow tall and wide until they started becoming a problem. They're not particularly useful trees ecologically speaking, so a few years ago we took out a 40m strip of them which were in danger of toppling an old stone wall, and in its place I've put in a mixture of yew and hawthorn primarily, with a few hazels, dog roses, blackthorns and spindles in amongst them. All of which are easier to control and will do a lot of good for insects and birds. There's a lot more hedging to tidy up around the grounds, I'll start looking at them over the next few years.

We also have a couple of waste areas which have become too overgrown to easily deal with, so we just let the nettles and thorns do what they do in there, and if we've any scrap wood we've cut down I tend to dump it all in there for stuff to burrow into. There's also some sections of the field which are useless as far as archery goes, so I'm going to try to remove the grass and plant some wild flowers in there.
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
we haveplaneted a few trees to try and grow a bit of a windbreak but they are so slow growing I doubt I will see a benefit.
As for green credentials according to activity, not a lot to say if we start beating oyurselves up over the overall carbon footprint of our hobby the wort part is actually turning up as surely transport will be the biggest contributor to carbon in the atmosphere. My arrows have outlasted the tyres on my car and if someone will take them broken carbon arrows can be burnt to produce electricity.
We also have bird feeders up but I wont forgive the little thieves for nicking all of my blackberries and elderberries from the hedgerow. I need them for my jam and their relatives steal enough from my allotment
 

chrisgas

Supporter
Supporter
Just laughing at your last paragraph, I hope that your trees grow well and one day you sit in their shade. 👍
 
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