Shaun the Sheep champions our green and blue spaces

Shaun the Sheep is a champion for the Countryside Code and is now helping Paddle UK to promote our Paddlers’ Code this spring.

The Countryside Code, developed by Natural England and Natural Resources Wales, encourages people to be responsible when enjoying the outdoors, focusing on respecting others, protecting the environment, and enjoying the natural world.

Shaun and his friends are featured in educational materials and campaigns highlighting the importance of following the Countryside Code.

The Paddlers’ Code was launched in 2022 by Paddle UK in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including Natural England. It sets out the principles for paddlers to help protect our blue environment.

It mirrors the ideals of respecting, protecting, and enjoying the countryside outlined in the Countryside Code and applies these to water use.

Ben Seal, Head of Access and Environment at Paddle UK, said, “In 2022, following the sharp growth in new people taking up paddling, we felt it was a great opportunity to set out the sorts of things we as paddlers do to protect our environment, respect other users and safely enjoy being on the water.

“Happily, the Paddlers’ Code has been fully embraced by the community. We worked alongside Natural England, reflecting their work with the Countryside Code, and we created a simple set of good practice guidelines that people have been sharing and using every time they go out paddling.

“Paddle UK is thrilled to have the support of Shaun the Sheep this spring to showcase how to enjoy and look after our green and blue spaces.”

Sandy Drummond, Marketing Manager at Paddle UK, said, “Working with Shaun the Sheep is a baa-rilliant way to raise awareness and encourage paddlers of all ages to help look after our blue and green spaces.

“We hope this will help more people become aware of the environmental work we do and get involved in events such as the Big Paddle Cleanup.”

What are the codes?
The Paddlers’ Code mirrors the Countryside Code with three key messages:
Respect – Protect – Enjoy

Within each of these, there are key actions that everyone can support. For many paddlers and countryside users, these actions will be ‘what we do’ already, but for others, these might be new considerations and are excellent reminders of how we can look after our green and blue spaces.

Look out for Shaun the Sheep across our social media channels! More details about the codes can be found here:

The Paddlers’ Code:
https://paddlerscode.info

The Countryside Code
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/countrysidecode/