The Nature of Scotland - Scottish Natural Heritage

Transcription

www.snh.gov.uk
Scottish Natural Heritage
Spring / Summer 2012
The Nature of Scotland
Simple pleasures
A new challenge
Hen harriers
Orkney success story
Corrieshalloch
Bridge with a view
Contents
Features
10 Corrie high spot
Spanning Scotland’s most
impressive gorge
4
14 Try the ‘Take time out with
nature challenge’
A new challenge for 2012
32
22 Scotland’s Great Trails
A trio of new trails join the list
13
50
16
60
28
26 Wild Plant Horizons
Halting the loss of plant and fungi
biodiversity in Scotland
Regulars
32 Walking back to health
Walking back to happiness and
good health in the Cairngorms
2
Where we are
SNH contact details
3
Welcome
50 Orkney hen harriers
bounce back
How habitat restoration helped
harrier numbers recover
4
Wild calendar
Where to go and what to see this
spring and summer
56 Heroes of Scottish conservation
The first RSPB awards for
environmental heroes
18 News
24 Inspired by nature
Show and tell – what’s inspired you?
30 Dualchas coitcheann
/Common heritage
Linking language and environment
58 Time to bring John Muir home
Plans to extend the John Muir Way for 2014
60 Flower power
Slovenia’s wonderful Wild Flower Festival
36 Reserve focus
Discover Beinn Eighe NNR
42 Area news
Reports from round the country
64 Mailing list
Make sure you always receive a copy
www.snh.gov.uk
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Credits
The Magazine of Scottish Natural Heritage
Issue Number 15 — Spring / Summer 2012
Published twice per year
© SNH 2012
ISSN 1350 309X
Where we are…
Area offices
You can contact SNH by
letter, telephone or email.
The following details
should enable you to find
your nearest main office,
but bear in mind that we
also have a number of
offices smaller than those
listed.
Forth
The Beta Centre,
Innovation Park,
University of Stirling,
Stirling FK9 4NF
Tel. 01786 450 362
Editor: Jim Jeffrey
Tel. 01738 458528
A full list of our offices
appears on the SNH
website: www.snh.gov.uk
Cover photo: Red squirrel.
Photographer: Neil McIntyre
Corporate
headquarters
Inside cover photo: Detail of pine wood.
Photographer: Niall Benvie/SNH
Welcome page: Wild cherry blossom against a grey sky.
Photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH
Photography – all images by Lorne Gill/SNH other than: Sue Scott/SNH
(main) 5, Laurie Campbell 5 (images 2 and 5 in strip), 7, 9 (images 3 and 5
in strip), 39 (r), 50/51, 54, 55; Laurie Campbell/SNH 40; David Whitaker
(main) 9; Becky Duncan/SNH 14, 15, 16 (bottom), 17, 23, 43 (r); Frank
Greenaway 18; Dave Genney/SNH 19, 45 (l); Michelle Melville/Highland
Council 20; David Pickett/SNH 21; Plantlife 27; Lighthouse Photographs
29 (t); toothandclaw.org.uk 42; Trevor Godden/SNH 44 (l); Galloway
Fisheries Trust 44(m); Carol Jones/SNH 44 (r), Robin Reid North Harris
Trust 45 (m); Christine Skene/SNH 46 (r), P & A Macdonald/SNH 48 (l and
r), 58; Marek Malecki 48(m); Charlie Phillips 57: Turizem Bohinj 60, 61 (b),
62; Joze A Mihelic 61 (t), 63
Map, 37 – © Fitzpatrick Woolmer.
Based on Ordnance Survey mapping. © Crown copyright
and database right 2011. All rights reserved.
Ordnance Survey Licence number SNH 100017908.
To share your views about The Nature of Scotland or suggest articles for
future issues please contact the editor:
SNH Magazine
Battleby, Redgorton,
Perth PH1 3EW
Email: [email protected]
The views expressed in this magazine do not
necessarily reflect those of SNH.
Printed by: J Thomson Colour Printers, Glasgow
JTCP31k0512
When you’ve finished with this magazine, please recycle it. Pass it to
another reader or dispose of it at your local waste-collection point.
Great Glen House,
Leachkin Road,
Inverness IV3 8NW
Tel. 01463 725 000
Email: [email protected]
Other main offices
Perth PH1 3EW
Tel. 01738 444 177
Silvan House,
3rd Floor East,
231 Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh EH12 7AT
Tel. 0131 316 2600
Caspian House,
Mariner Court,
Clydebank Business Park,
Clydebank G81 2NR
Tel. 0141 951 4488
Forth
Silvan House,
3rd Floor East,
231 Corstorphine Road,
Edinburgh EH12 7AT
Tel. 0131 316 2600
Southern Scotland
Carmont House,
The Crichton,
Bankend Road,
Dumfries DG1 4ZF
Tel. 01387 247 010
Northern Isles
& North Highland
Ground Floor,
Stewart Building,
Alexandra Wharf,
Lerwick,
Shetland ZE1 0LL
Tel. 01595 693 345
Northern Isles
& North Highland
The Links,
Golspie Business Park,
Golspie,
Sutherland KW10 6UB
Tel. 01408 634 063
South Highland
Fodderty Way,
Dingwall Business Park,
Dingwall IV15 9XB
Tel. 01349 865 333
South Highland
The Governor’s House,
The Parade, Fort William,
Inverness-shire PH33 6BA
Tel. 01397 704 716
Tayside & Grampian
Perth PH1 3EW
Tel. 01738 444 177
Tayside & Grampian
Inverdee House,
Baxter Street,
Torry,
Aberdeen AB11 9QA
Tel. 01224 266 500
Argyll & Outer Hebrides
32 Francis Street,
Stornoway,
Isle of Lewis HS1 2ND
Tel. 01851 705 258
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Welcome
Ian Jardine
Chief Executive
A very warm welcome to the Spring/Summer edition of our magazine – The
Nature of Scotland. The sunny spring days at the end of March were followed by
snow-covered fields as we moved into April, an example of the varied conditions
experienced by Scotland’s wildlife (and its human population!).
For many of us spring and summer are the best months to get out and enjoy
our nature and landscapes and I hope this magazine inspires you to do so.
This edition gives an insight into a series of ‘health walks’ in the towns and
villages around the Cairngorms National Park area and the benefits they offer
people. There are also features on new long-distance routes, equally enjoyable
when tackled in bite-sized chunks, and our ongoing ‘Simple Pleasures’ campaign,
encouraging all of us to explore the nature around us.
Also in this edition, articles on two of Scotland’s oldest National Nature
Reserves showcase some of the best of our natural heritage. Beinn Eighe was
Britain’s first ever National Nature Reserve, and remains a very special place
where visitors are rewarded with fantastic woodland walks through ancient
pinewoods and the opportunity to catch sight of the secretive crossbill or even
a golden eagle. We spotlight Corrieshalloch Gorge and the repair work to the
famous suspension bridge ensuring continued access for visitors to this truly
impressive natural feature. An interesting link between Corrieshalloch and the
Forth Rail Bridge is revealed in passing.
We reflect on the remarkable breeding success of the Orkney hen harriers last
year. This upturn in the harrier’s fortunes was based largely on habitat restoration
and the enthusiasm of local people. Looking to our neighbours in Europe and
beyond, we carry a report from Slovenia showing how one of our staff members
has helped to establish a wild flower festival that is now being used as a template
elsewhere in Europe.
The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that I introduced our magazine
as a joint Spring/Summer issue. We are now moving to two issues a year to
reduce costs and our environmental impact. Over the coming months, we will
be introducing other ways to keep everyone up to date with news from SNH,
including a new e-bulletin to be launched later this year.
In the meantime I hope this issue of our magazine will encourage you to make
the most of our natural heritage in the months ahead.
Wild calendar
Kenny Taylor gives
some seasonal
tips for savouring
Scottish wildlife
and landscapes
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Each day of spring can bring natural changes to appreciate. Those
could be as small as a couple of flowers opening beside a path or
hedge, perhaps adding the pastel of primroses or the sunny yellow
of daffodils to the scene. At other times, they could be as large
as flocks of geese swirling across the sky, on their way back to
Iceland. Add birdsong, swelling and shifting, and there are plenty of
surprises this season can spring on you.
Ponder a pond
Leaves are remarkable structures.
Look closely, and you’ll see a network
of veins, branches among the many
small cells that fill the leaf surface. You
don’t need a microscope to do it – just
a handy patch of sun to backlight the
leaves and an eye for homing in on fine
detail.
Spring is a great time to appreciate
the finer points of leaves, including
those of the many kinds of broadleaved
trees and bushes. Cherries and
hawthorn are two that usually come in
to leaf quite early, while birches, oaks
and ash stay in bud for longer.
Once opened, leaves tend gradually
to get more opaque. This is said by
some to act as a kind of sunscreen.
What is more certain is that the
reduction of leafy see-through is linked
to resisting leaf-eating insects and their
larvae. Toughening up in this way can
make oak and birch leaves, for example,
less tempting for moth caterpillars to
eat.
So, for the full stained-glass window
leaf effect in woodland, take a good
look before spring is over.
Among the amphibians that breed in late winter and early
spring, frogs and toads tend to attract most attention. That’s
not too surprising. A pond-load of frogs in full croak is an
interesting spectacle, and amorous toads crossing roads
can be a noticeable hazard (not least to themselves).
Add spawn and tadpoles, fascinating to children and (go
on – be honest) equally to most adults, and the frog and
toad show could seem like the only amphibian action around.
But there can sometimes be more subtle, related creatures
in the same waters.
Newts, which look like small, water-loving lizards, are good
at hiding among pondweed and quick to spot sudden shadow
overhead, such as from a passing human. But move slowly
and quietly to the edge of a pond and you might see one.
Scotland’s commonest is the palmate newt, which is midbrown and has webbing between its ‘fingers’. Much scarcer
is the great crested newt. In full breeding finery, males can
look like little, multi-coloured dragons.
Surprisingly fiery, some of these shy, cold-blooded water
dwellers.
Spring
Green resistance
Web tip: www.snh.gov.uk/about-scotlands-nature/
species/amphibians-and-reptiles/amphibians/
Web tip: www.esajournals.org/doi/
abs/10.2307/1934037
Some other things to look for in spring:
Skylarks singing over fields; the first young rabbits; woodland flowers;
fresh needles on larch trees; bats on the wing at dusk
www.snh.gov.uk
5
Summer
6
Summer
Sunshine or rain, calm or gale – Scotland’s weather in summer is as unpredictable as
at any season. But go prepared to meet the changes, and the wildlife and landscapes
are sure to reward the effort. Birdsong, green woods, bright shores and broad rivers
could all be in the picture. Activity – of everything from ants to eagles – is part of it,
refreshing the senses as you explore. Just remember to pack a waterproof.
Peek at a puffin
Perhaps it’s the bright beakware and the tangerine-coloured feet that do it. Maybe it’s the rounded
features and the serious look in the forward-facing eyes. Whatever the reasons, one thing is certain:
people like puffins.
But although many are familiar with the name and the image, far fewer have managed to see a
puffin on its home ground (or water). In summer, that could be on one of the many Scottish islands
where puffins breed, or at a few mainland sites.
Puffinries are often tricky to reach (think of St Kilda and you’ll get the picture), but some have easier
access. Those include Lunga, on the Treshnish Islands, off Mull, and the National Nature Reserves at
Hermaness and Noss on Shetland – all places where the local puffins are fairly relaxed about people.
On the Isle of May NNR – another major, much-visited colony – the puffins are often more wary.
A golden rule of puffin watching is not to spend too long beside one group. Look, enjoy, then move
on, and you’ll help to keep the colony healthy.
Web tip: visit.shetland.org/bird-watching
www.snh.gov.uk
7
Sea of flowers
‘Machair’. The Gaelic word has a throat-clearing sound in the
core of it. But the real thing, where a grassy plain stretches
inland from an Atlantic-facing beach, can be soft as a
summer breeze.
Quite simply, there’s nowhere finer in the whole of Britain
and Ireland to enjoy flower-rich pastures and the birds and
insects linked to them. Generations of low-intensity farming
on the machair along parts of the Scottish west coast and
in the Hebrides have produced land that is a boon for plants
and wildlife.
Machair’s fertility comes from windblown shell sand. Its
enduring quality comes from traditional grazing by crofters’
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livestock in autumn and winter, which allows many plants to
bloom and set seed in spring and summer.
The result can be blends of daisies, buttercups,
cranesbills, meadow rue, eyebrights, orchids and more that
stretch for hundreds of metres. Bees – including the scarce
great yellow bumblebee – love machair – as do wading birds
such as dunlin, redshank and oystercatcher.
See it, hear it, inhale it: machair could be another word
for ‘magnificent’.
Web tip: www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/
livinglandscapes/machair.pdf
Chocolate and cream can be tempting for many of
us. See them fluttering up from a path through a
summer woodland, and you might feel you’re in a
waking dream.
Or you could forget the food links and think
about butterflies: the speckled wood, to be
precise. This medium-sized butterfly with the
tasty-looking colour scheme has a wingspan
about the width of a smartphone. Females are
slightly larger than males, and spend much of their
time in the tree canopy.
Males can often be seen at or near the ground,
where more than half of them defend a space they
use as a vantage point to look out for near-flying
females. That space is often in a sunspot (weather
permitting).
Any male coming into the sunspot is
challenged in a contest of upward-spiralling flight.
Speckled wood males that are warmer (which may
often apply to the sunspot’s resident) are better
able to sustain their flight and win the contest.
By winning, the male can stay in his chosen
spot and hope to boost his mating chances. Hot
stuff, this chocolate and cream.
Summer
Spot the winner
Web tip: www.sciencedirect.com/science/
article/pii/0003347278900131
Some other things to look for in summer:
Pink-flowered thrift on coastal rocks; many kinds of hoverflies in gardens;
swallows on the wing; pine cones flowering; roe deer barking in woods
www.snh.gov.uk
9
1
The famous old
suspension bridge at
Corrieshalloch was
taken back to a near
skeleton stage as part
of a major overhaul.
The natural and built environments come together
with real impact at Corrieshalloch Gorge, and a
challenging restoration project is ensuring that link
continues for years to come
Corrie high spot
Ask people to name a built structure that they instantly link with
Scotland and the chances are that many would opt for the Forth
Rail Bridge. What’s perhaps not well known is that the man who
co-designed that Scottish icon also built the suspension bridge at
Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve.
For over a century, the suspension bridge has allowed visitors to experience the
drama of walking over a 60 metre deep ravine. At almost 1.5 km long the gorge is
arguably the most impressive in Britain.
Corrieshalloch is one of Scotland’s most spectacular natural sights and has
been looked after by the National Trust for Scotland since 1945. The Trust have
recently completed a major project to restore the bridge, which was designed by
Sir John Fowler of Forth Rail Bridge fame.
Fowler lived near to Corrieshalloch on Braemore Estate, and his 25 metre
span bridge was designed so that visitors could appreciate the grandeur of the
Falls of Measach tumbling into the void below. However, the ravages of time
have been relentless and some of the bridge parts had been in place since the
structure was built.
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1
www.snh.gov.uk
11
“The restoration work included replacing some of the
cross frame members and bolts on the bridge, together
with routine annual maintenance,” explained the Trust’s lead
surveyor Angus Jack. “These parts had been there since the
bridge was built in 1874 and they were simply being worn
away with age, combined with the inevitable movement of
the suspension bridge. We also carried out some bolting
of the rock below the bridge abutments to secure the main
supporting structure.”
This was one of the biggest overhauls of the bridge since
1977 when cracks in the natural stone anchorage saw a
switch to concrete anchoring. The only other major overhauls
in the period in-between have concentrated on deck
planking and mesh safety panels.
Major tourist attraction
Corrieshalloch has long been a major tourist attraction for
the area, so the bridge revamp will be much appreciated
locally. For all the bridge is deeply impressive, the site was
designated for its natural features. So special is the natural
heritage here that in 1984 it was declared a Site of Special
Scientific Interest.
As well as the dramatic suspension bridge, the reserve is
home to an impressive range of ferns, mosses and grasses.
These have been protected from the ravages of grazing
or burning because they’ve survived in the deep ravine.
Recent years have also seen ongoing work to restore native
woodland and clear invasive rhododendron.
A National Nature Reserve since 1967, Corrieshalloch
Gorge is managed under an agreement between the Trust
and SNH, who also part-funded the project.
“The suspension bridge may not quite match the scale
of the mighty Forth Rail Bridge,” commented Angus, “but for
many visitors to Corrieshalloch it delivers the same feelings
of awe and excitement.”
2
Did you know?
Corrieshalloch Gorge was created by
glacial meltwater over 10,000 years
ago.
The Gaelic translation of the word
Corrieshalloch is roughly – the filthy
hollow.
Sir John Fowler tested many of his
engineering ideas around Braemore
Estate. Examples were the tunnelsection byre near Braemore Lodge,
which helped him with plans for the
London Underground, and the iron
bridge at Auchindrean, downstream
from Corrieshalloch Gorge.
Fowler invested huge resources
in improving the grounds of his
Braemore Estate which ran to well
over 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres).
The gorge is a classic of its kind,
incredibly narrow, steep sided, and
difficult to precisely measure. An
iconic part of the Wester Ross
landscape, it has fascinated visitors
since Victorian times.
Amongst the trees present in the
gorge are birch, hazel, and wych elm.
The gorge is famed for its ferns,
mosses and liverworts – including
Britain’s smallest fern – Wilson’s
filmy fern.
Occasionally visitors ask about Lady
Fowler’s fern walk. This circular walk
used to run from Braemore Lodge
along Corrieshalloch Gorge, and the
Cuileig River Gorge, into Braemore
Square and back up to the lodge.
2
The scale of the
wonderful Falls of
Measach as seen from
the ever popular
viewing platform.
3
Corrieshalloch Gorge
is both steep and
narrow; a classic
box-canyon.
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www.snh.gov.uk
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Try the ‘Take time out
with nature challenge’
Spring and summer are traditionally peak seasons for outdoor activity. SNH’s ‘Take time
out with nature challenge’ invites everyone to head outdoors … no matter where you live!
Scottish Natural Heritage’s ‘Simple pleasures,
easily found’ campaign is now in its third year. The aim remains firmly focused on getting more
adults into the outdoors at least once a week.
Spring of this year saw a new twist added to this
popular campaign.
2
Theresa Kewell, a communications officer in the Clydebank
office, explained. “Our ‘Take time out with nature challenge’
is a very easy concept as it’s simply asking people to do just that. It doesn’t matter how or where or at what time of
day.
“The real challenge is whether we can inspire people to
get involved and go outdoors once a week on a regular basis
for a whole year! We are hoping everyone will go from their
own doorsteps to discover what’s close to where they live,
and we’re also encouraging people to take a friend or member
of their family along – the more the merrier as they say!
Great fun in any season
“Being outside can be great fun whatever the weather, but
particularly if you go with a sense of inquisitiveness and
curiosity. Alternatively, a brisk walk to get your blood moving
or finding a quiet spot to enjoy some peace and tranquillity
can be a good stress buster.”
The new promotion burst into life in the six weeks running
up to Scottish Biodiversity Week in May. Posters and
advertising appeared at busy outdoor locations (including
subway and railway stations) and in the Evening Times and
Daily Record. A special 12 page supplement was produced
as well as a free colourful wall planner for every Evening
Times reader. The airwaves weren’t ignored either, with a
series of adverts running on local radio stations.
The campaign still has a national message though and
is relevant Scotland wide. “We were very aware of research
continuing to show that many of us aren’t getting into the
outdoors often enough,” remarked Theresa. “In fact more
than half of Scots are accessing the outdoors less than once
a week. Our aim is to try and change this.
“We’ve been working with Glasgow City Council’s
countryside rangers too who are also helping lead the effort.
They are instrumental in running events and taster sessions
www.snh.gov.uk
1
Getting outside can be
a great family activity.
2
Simple pleasures in
the great outdoors –
fun at any age.
15
encouraging people to get involved.
Their Wild About Glasgow Countryside
Events Programme lists events up until
February next year!
“One quirky promotional item is
being widely used to really try and
inspire people to get behind the
campaign and make the most of being
outside,” enthused Theresa. “It’s a small
bag dangle book – which as the name
suggests can dangle from your bag or
rucksack.
“The main reason for the books is to
help give people a purpose to go out. If you’re stuck indoors, it would be really
good if people thought – I know, I’ll go
and try an activity from the bag dangle
book today. Each page has a tantalising
fact or two followed by a suggested
activity. The new edition for 2012 also
includes a tick off calendar chart to
motivate people to record their outdoor
visits.”
3
A sense of purpose
Theresa was keen to explain the logic
behind the calendar. “Evidence shows
that people who write things down,
such as keeping food and exercise
diaries when trying to lose weight
or training for an event, have more
success than those who don’t. This
explains why this year we’re trying the
tick-off chart in our dangle books … to
see if people find it motivational.
“Every month you aim to add at
least four ticks as you try to reach a
grand total of 52 or more for the whole
year. It would be great if such a simple
idea caught on. We’ve done a lot of
promotion around Biodiversity Week
this year too,” said Theresa. “Once
people have sampled a fun event, we
hope they’ll be inspired to take on the
‘Take time out with nature challenge’
for the rest of the year using the bag
dangle book as inspiration.”
Getting outdoors really doesn’t
need to be a big adventure requiring
lots of planning or buying of serious
equipment. In fact, the hope is that
most people will absorb getting out and
about into their daily lives. If you’re just
heading out for a quick half-hour, take
your coat and your bag and go as you
are. It could be walking to work, visiting
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4
the park during a lunch break, strolling
to the shops or walking the children
home from school … the list of options
is endless.
You can take further inspiration from
one of our suite of leaflets designed
to help explore the nature on your
doorstep. There are route leaflets
focusing on Aberdeen, Cumbernauld,
Dumfries, Stirling, and Inverness,
as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow
amongst others and three ‘Out and
About’ guides that each list nearly 60
outdoor places to visit. For a full list of
leaflets and resources, and to try out
the brand new search feature to find a
place to visit near you, go to www.snh.
gov.uk/simplepleasures.
So with long summer days
beckoning there has never been a
better time to get out and about and
see what nature is up to on your
doorstep.
To take on the ‘Take time out with
nature challenge’, order your own
challenge bag dangle book by emailing
[email protected]
or phoning 01738 458530. Please
quote reference ‘Nature of Scotland’.
Find us on facebook: Search for
‘Nature on your Doorstep’.
3
The dangle books are
intended to provide
inspiration and a raft of
ideas.
4
Spring and summer
bring a host of natural
new experiences to
inspire young and old.
5
Getting outdoors
doesn’t need to involve
expensive equipment
or planning … and it
can be really good fun.
www.snh.gov.uk
5
17
NEWS
Northern sights
A stretch of woods in the Highlands contains what is likely to be the UK’s most
northerly population of the scarce Natterer’s bat.
A survey by Lyn Wells, part-funded by SNH, took in the 93-hectare oak wood
at Ledmore Wood on the Dornoch Firth in Sutherland last year and found soprano
pipistrelle, common pipistrelle, Daubenton’s bat and the scarce Natterer’s bat.
The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of
Conservation for its impressive mature oak woodland habitat.
It is considered to be high-value habitat for bats due to the gnarled nature of the oak trees which provide nooks and crevices used by roosting bats. The mature woodland canopy and the woodland plants support an abundance of moths and spiders which also supplies excellent foraging potential for bats.
Lyn confirmed: “This constitutes the first record for Natterer’s bat in Sutherland
and it is currently the most northerly UK location by around four kilometres. This makes it an exciting discovery and further voluntary survey work this summer
may help us to gauge how this scarce bat species is using this terrific old oak
woodland site.”
A special digital bat detector was used at Ledmore oak wood to clinch the
identification of the Natterer’s bat, as its quiet high-frequency ultrasonic calls are
often difficult to detect.
Lesley Cranna, SNH’s Northern Isles and North Highland area manager,
added: “This work shows that the area is important for bats. Further survey effort
will give us more information on how they are using Ledmore Wood and if they
are breeding.
“Furthermore this project provides us with information which allows us to
monitor future changes to bat populations. Factors such as climate change may
affect their distribution.”
Meanwhile, a bat survey carried out by the same surveyors and also funded by
SNH suggests that Daubenton’s bats – a species typically associated with water
– may roost at ‘Silver Rock’ near Golspie, Sutherland.
18
A liverwort known as the ‘northern prongwort’ has been discovered to be unique
to Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve and captured headlines across the
scientific and botanical world.
“This population of northern prongwort is of global importance as this is the
only location it’s known on Earth,” explained David Bell, a researcher with the
Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. “Its closest relatives are in Asia and further
research is needed to determine whether the northern prongwort has its origins in
the Himalayas.
“We’re fortunate that this population is so well protected on the reserve
because the community as a whole is extremely sensitive to burning. We now
think that the plant’s conservation status needs to be reviewed due to its rarity.”
SNH’s specialist on mosses and liverworts, Dr David Genney, confirmed that
Scotland has an amazing wealth of mosses and liverworts, with some of them
found nowhere else in the world. “Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross is the only location
on Earth for Herbertus borealis – the plant’s botanical name – where luckily it
grows in profusion on the mountain side,” he added. “It’s a special example of
the Scottish liverwort heath, a miniature forest of liverworts that grows among the
heather of hills in the west Highlands.”
Beinn Eighe has been a National Nature Reserve since 1951 and was also in
the news when SNH discovered that wooden posts on fences, erected to protect
young trees on Britain’s oldest NNR, were found to harbour rare lichen species.
Under a five-year plan for the site, it was expected that deer fences would
eventually become unnecessary to protect woodland. SNH said the fence posts
would now be left, after the wire was taken down, to act as ‘lichen reservoirs’,
which would encourage the spread of fragile species.
www.snh.gov.uk
NEWS
World first for Beinn Eighe
19
NEWS
Caught on camera
Motion-sensitive cameras are being used in Glen
Nevis, near Fort William, to try and discover more
about the wildlife that lives there.
Staff from the John Muir Trust and Highland
Council are using the cameras in a bid to regularly
capture images of some of the glen’s more elusive
creatures such as pine marten, otter and golden
eagle.
Glen Nevis is a popular spot with the public
and already the local junior ranger group is
benefitting, with youngsters capturing images
of the bird life around the Glen Nevis visitor
centre.
“The cameras should give us a better idea of
the species present in the Steall Gorge in the glen
and the meadows above,” explained Sarah
Lewis of the John Muir Trust. “We hope to get
photos of badgers, foxes and pine martens, as
well as the resident birds of prey such as golden
eagle.”
The project is being funded by CARE, a
humanitarian charity fighting poverty, which has
organised fundraising events in the Lochaber area
in the past, including the Three Peaks Challenge.
They’re keen to put something back into the area,
so they helped fund the remote cameras.
A notable success to date has centred on
an inquisitive pine marten. “Having freed a pine
marten from one of the garages near the visitor
centre, we set up a baited feeding station to
try and film it,” explained Michelle Melville from
the Highland Council’s ranger service. “Thanks
to some peanuts we got our images! Our next
challenge is to try and get photos of the otters in
the River Nevis.”
The most sought-after image, however, would
probably be one showing that a Scottish wildcat is
present in Glen Nevis. There have been reported
sightings, but so far there’s been no hard evidence
to back up these accounts.
Làrach-lìn Ùr do Dhualchas
Nàdair na h-Alba
An robh fios agad gun tàinig an ainm Beurla
ptarmigan bhon Ghàidhlig tàrmachan? Tha
an dlùth-cheangal eadar a’ Ghàidhlig agus ar
dualchas nàdarra air a thaisbeanadh anns an
làrach-lìn ùr seo bho Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba.
A bharrachd air na ‘Faclan Nàdair’, an stòr-dàta
de dh’fhaclan Gàidhlig ceangailte ri nàdair, tha tòrr
ri ionnsachadh mu dheidhinn gnèithean, àrainnean
agus cruthan-tìre agus meal na dealbhan alainn
ri fhaighinn air an làrach. Rannsaich àiteachan
diofraichte far am faodar tadhail gus am blàr
a-muigh a mhealtainn – is dh’fhaodadh gu bheil
cuid de na h-àiteachan mìorbhailteach seo air do
stairsnich fhèin!
Tha foillsichidhean agus goireasan foghlaim
Gàidhlig agus dà-chànanach ri fhaighinn air
loidhne no faodaidh tu òrdugh a chur a-staigh.
Ma tha thu nad fhileantach no ma tha thu ag
ionnsachadh Gàidhlig agus ùidh agad ann an
dualchas nàdarra – carson nach tadhal thu air
ar làrach-lìn Ghàidhlig ùr aig www.snh.gov.uk/
gaelic
20
Did you know that the name Ptarmigan comes
from the Gaelic name tàrmachan? The close
connection between the Gaelic language and our
natural heritage is highlighted in the unique new
Gaelic website from Scottish Natural Heritage.
Alongside the ‘Faclan Nàdair’ database of
Gaelic nature words, find out about Scotland’s
outstanding species, habitats and landscapes and
enjoy the stunning imagery available on the site.
You can also discover new places to visit to enjoy
Scotland’s natural heritage – some of which might
be right on your doorstep!
Bilingual and Gaelic publications and
educational resources are available to download
or to order so whether you are a fluent speaker,
learning Gaelic or simply have an interest in
Gaelic and Scotland’s natural heritage why not
visit our new Gaelic website at www.snh.gov.uk/
gaelic
BBC’s Landward programme and a group of volunteers from the British Trust for Conservation
Volunteers (BTCV) were among the first visitors as the 2012 season got underway at Isle of May,
National Nature Reserve.
Landward’s Dougie Vipond visited the island to help out the BTCV volunteers for a segment
screened in late April. Dougie and the volunteers were hard at work building tern nesting platforms, re-building a boardwalk, cleaning the beach, and painting the visitor centre.
In spring and summer, the island’s cliffs are covered with kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots and
shags. Thousands of burrow-nesting puffins can be seen inland, and over 250 bird species have been
recorded on the island.
David Pickett, SNH’s Isle of May reserve manager, said: “The island is such a magical place and
visitors love it; I think the island is one of the most amazing wildlife spots in Scotland. I’m lucky enough
to live here for a good part of the year, and I love welcoming people out here. We’re so grateful to
the BTCV volunteers. They had a jam-packed weekend and, as a result, the island was in ship-shape
condition for visitors.”
Anna Dennis, Volunteer Development Officer at BTCV, added: “Our volunteers look forward to
helping out in such a fabulous location and making sure visitors get to see it at its very best.
“BTCV works tirelessly, and often very quietly, improving green space right across the UK so we
were really pleased to able to show Landward’s viewers the difference our volunteers make.”
SNH welcomes boat trips to the island from April until the end of September. We do not charge for
visiting, although there is a charge for the boat trip out to the island. The island has a visitor centre and
marked paths which help guide people round this fabulous nature reserve.
You can find out how to visit the Isle of May NNR by going to www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/
isle-of-may/visiting
www.snh.gov.uk
NEWS
Isle of May screen success
21
Yet more to discover
1
Where will Scotland’s Great Trails take you this spring and summer? With
three new additions to the family of routes you've got plenty to choose from!
22
You can now paddle your way from coast to
coast along the Great Glen Canoe Trail, stopping
overnight at tiny, secluded campsites on the way.
Or sense the history as you reconnoitre the Rob
Roy Way in the heart of Scotland and find out
about the notorious outlaw after which the route
is named! The most southerly of three new routes
to join the suite is the Berwickshire Coastal Path,
which takes in some dramatic clifftop scenery and
several sandy beaches between Berwick-uponTweed and Cockburnspath.
historical trails, and trails closely aligned to old transport
lines, such as canals and railways, and it is clear that all
tastes are catered for.
Those who want something a bit more demanding are
not ignored either. You could don your walking boots to
experience the scenic grandeur offered by the Great Glen
Way, Southern Upland Way, Three Lochs Way and West
Highland Way, all of which have earned an international
reputation.
Clearly, whatever your preference, Scotland’s Great
Trails offer a chance for you to see Scotland your way
and at your pace. For details at a glance on all our
fabulous long distance trails simply visit our website at
www.snh.gov.uk/enjoying-the-outdoors/where-to-go/
With these three new trails, there are now 23 different routes routes-to-explore/scotlands-great-trails/
in the Scotland’s Great Trails network, providing over 1500
Scotland’s Great Trails are nationally promoted trails for
miles of well-managed branded paths from the Borders
people-powered journeys. Each is distinctively way-marked,
to the Highlands. Each one offers great opportunities to
largely off-road and has a range of visitor services. At least
explore the best of Scotland’s nature and landscapes and to 25 miles in length, they are suitable for multi-day outings as
experience our amazing history and culture.
well as day trips.
It’s a popular myth that great trails equal great distances.
You don’t have to complete an entire route to get the most
Scotland’s Great Trails … at a glance
out of these fascinating trails. There are many shorter walks
you can take, and each trail can be broken up into bite-sized
Annandale Way — Ayrshire Coastal Path — Berwickshire
chunks.
Coastal Path — Borders Abbeys Way — Cateran Trail
The range of scenery and adventure is almost endless.
— Clyde Walkway — Dava Way — Fife Coastal Path —
Some of our Great Trails are ‘source to sea’ routes which
Formartine and Buchan Way — Forth-Clyde Union Canal
track the course of impressive rivers right to the coastline.
Towpath — Great Glen Way — Great Glen Canoe Trail
The Annandale Way, Clyde Walkway, River Ayr Way and
— John Muir Way — Kintyre Way — Moray Coast Trail —
Speyside Way all offer walks along river banks with the
River Ayr Way — Rob Roy Way — Southern Upland Way
opportunity to dip those hot, weary toes in the sea!
— Speyside Way — St Cuthbert’s Way — Three Lochs
There are already six other coastal trails if sand, salty-air
Way — West Highland Way — West Island Way
and seabirds are your thing. Add to this the chance to enjoy
2
1
The Great Glen Canoe
Trail offers a unique
trail experience linking
east and west coasts.
2
Enjoying the view of
Bonnington Linn on the
Clyde Walkway.
www.snh.gov.uk
23
Inspired by nature
Thanks for another great response to our request for images and stories of wild
encounters. We received some fine submissions again, and below are some of the
entries that we’ve selected. Please keep them coming.
1
2
3
24
1 Common crossbill
4
This Common crossbill was drinking water
from a hole worn in a large stone that had
once formed part of the wall of a ruined
cottage. Crossbills are very confiding birds
but unless they come to ground to drink it
is unusual to get so close to these treetop
cone-feeding specialists.
Mark Hope, Glengarnock, Ayrshire
2 Scale and texture
In September last year I had one of those
photographic experiences where the light
and subject matter came nicely together.
In the morning I climbed the Old Man with
a local guide. There is no better way to
feel the scale and texture of Scotland’s
amazing landscape than to be crawling up
a splinter of rock in the Atlantic Ocean. The
photo captures just how vast and blue both
the sky and ocean were on that Sunday
morning.
Mark Kitson, Tring, Hertfordshire
3 Weasel
I took this picture at Eskrigg Nature
Reserve near Lockerbie. I was in the
reserve hide trying to capture some images
of a sparrowhawk and a treecreeper that
were around the area that morning. I was
rewarded not by a great image of the birds
but by a foraging weasel that appeared
purely by chance on the scene. The weasel
was hunting through some old tree roots
where there is a known presence of
some bank voles and I was lucky enough
to attract its attention with a series of
squeaks.
George Trudt, Lockerbie
4 Branching out
I love to get out and about with my digitial
camera. I took this atmospheric shot of a
tree last year in Vogrie Country Park. I had
to turn around and look up to the tree and
through the branches, but it was amazing,
the light was just right.
Yvonne Rollert, Newtongrange
Give us your best!
If you’d like to send in your images and stories of wild encounters, please email them to [email protected]
Remember to include your name, where you live and some background information on any pictures submitted. Please restrict yourself
to only three entries per person per issue. If you’re sending in photos that have children in them, then we need written permission from a
parent or guardian of each child in the picture.
In contributing to The Nature of Scotland you agree to grant us royalty-free, non-exclusive use of your material in any way we want
and in any media. However, you’ll still own the copyright to everything you contribute, and we’ll aim to publish your name alongside
anything published. SNH cannot guarantee that all pictures will be used, and we reserve the right to edit any material provided.
www.snh.gov.uk
25
1
Wild Plant
Horizons
Scotland aims to provide a better
future for our native plants and
fungi, and there are signs that
actions being taken now might
reap long-term benefits.
26
1
The striking lesser
butterfly orchid
(Platanthera bifolia)
growing in a meadow
near Kirriemuir.
2
Ali Murfitt – Natural
Talent Apprentice out
‘in the field’ surveying
grassland.
Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden was the
venue for a recent Wild Plant Horizon conference
which brought botanists, conservationists, land
managers, business leaders, educationalists and
artists together. By any standards it was a diverse
range of individuals and organisations, but they
were united by a shared desire to help Scotland’s
plants and fungi.
As Dr. Deborah Long, conservation manager at Plantlife
(co-hosts of the event) remarked afterwards “The timing
of the ‘Wild Plant Horizon’ conference was actually quite
significant. A new report from Plantlife in Spring 2012 is
expected to show continuing losses in plant diversity across
the UK, with a particularly gloomy picture for Scotland.”
The issues affecting Scotland’s plants are mirrored in
many locations across the globe and will require concerted
action. With minds firmly focussed, the Wild Plant Horizon
meeting identified areas for action and enthused those
present to do more to help deliver the Global Strategy for
Plant Conservation (GSPC). Scotland is now gearing up to
deliver the key aims of this strategy to provide a better future
for our native plants and fungi.
The Edinburgh conference came out of a refreshed
international GSPC. This had been endorsed by many of
the world’s governments in October 2010 and the challenge
now is to deliver on a range of GSPC targets by 2020.
2
www.snh.gov.uk
27
Those present on the day agreed some fundamental
goals to work towards between now and 2020, including:
“Plantlife,” she went on to explain, “has campaigned
for over 20 years now to protect and conserve wild plants.
We call for plant-friendly management practices to be
– ensuring that plant diversity is urgently and effectively
adopted across the board, and not just on designated sites.
conserved;
By providing practical advice on managing habitats, so
– increasing education and awareness of plant diversity;
that the needs of wild plants and fungi are met, Plantlife is
– promoting the role of plants in sustainable livelihoods;
striving to help land managers to meet their own business
and
needs as well as those of plants.”
– recognising the central role plants have in ensuring
And around the country there are other shining examples
sustainable ecosystems.
of positive action.
Plantlife were particularly keen to impress upon their
Surprisingly for some perhaps there is clearly a role for
audience in Scotland’s capital that plants and fungi must
art to play in plant conservation. This has been superbly
be used in a sustainable fashion. They called for increased
illustrated by the work of Siobhan Healy, a Glasgow glass
recognition that plants and fungi have a central value to our
artist. In 2011, Siobhan created an artwork inspired by the
ecosystems and economy.
rare wild flower – the Ghost Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum),
There are, however, some encouraging signs across the
the symbol of Plantlife’s Ghost Orchid Declaration. The work
country on which to build and some of the GSCP targets
has toured Glasgow Botanic Gardens, The Royal Botanic
look within reach even at this stage. Dr. Long is able to
Gardens in Edinburgh, and has even been as far afield as
illustrate a number of successful case studies showing that
the USA in Harvard’s Natural History Museum, thereby
there is room for cautious optimism.
helping create an international platform for discussion on
“Take the case of Scotia Seeds,” said Dr. Long,
plant conservation.
“Improvement of seed quality is recognised as a key element
Living Classrooms on the other hand uses education
in improving the long-term health and outlook for our plants.
and learning to invest in the future. Their work focuses on
An essential part of the work of this particular small business
the importance of connecting children with nature from a
is ensuring that sowing wildflower seeds is sustainable and
very young age. In particular they highlight that a child can
successful. They carry out research and development work
become actively involved in conserving and learning about
funded by the Scottish Government and this partnership is
plants in the local environment on a daily basis … if they are
enabling the company to make a significant contribution to the supported in an appropriate way and given regular access to
improvement of seed quality in the UK.”
nature.
3
28
Proof of the value of learning is clear amongst newly
qualified groups too. Ali Murfitt is a Natural Talent Apprentice
specialising in grassland fungi and wild flowers. “The BTCV
(British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) apprenticeship
has equipped me with the expertise required to directly
contribute to plant and fungi conservation,” she explained. “I feel honoured to have been part of this important
programme which enables the transfer of knowledge from
expert to apprentice. I am now able to survey and record
wild plants and fungi; and teach what I have learnt.”
The Convention on Biological Diversity, which met in the
Japanese city of Nagoya in 2010, suggested that “Without
plants there is no life. The functioning of the planet and our
survival depends on plants.” This succinct summary of the
international issue has demonstrated the compelling need for
organisations and individuals across the globe to act now.
It is refreshing to know that for 2020 Scotland is, in an
Olympic year, already out of the blocks in using this strategy
to provide a better future for our native plants and fungi.
4
To find out more about Scotland’s plants and fungi, and
about the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, visit www.plantlife.org.uk
Find out more about the featured case studies:
www.scotiaseeds.co.uk
www.plantlife.org.uk/scotland
www.nattyglass.co.uk
www.livingclassrooms.org.uk
www2.btcv.org.uk/display/naturaltalent
3
Scentless mayweed,
growing in a field
margin near Wolfhill,
Perthshire.
4
Siobhan Healy, a
Glasgow glass artist,
produced this Ghost
Orchid in order to raise
the profile of plant
conservation.
“Without plants there is no life … our survival depends
on plants.”
www.snh.gov.uk
29
Dualchas coitcheann
Common heritage
Tha brisgean cumanta
air a’ mhachair anns na
h-Eileanan Siar.
Silverweed is a familiar
plant on the machair of
the Western Isles.
30
The familiar and distinctive silverweed (Potentilla anserina) was
for a very long time a plant of enormous significance to Scots.
In fact it became a life-saver in the dark days of famine and the
Highland Clearances, as Ruairidh MacIlleathain explains
Seachdamh aran a’ Ghàidheil
Lorgar am brisgean ann am mòran cheàrnaidhean de dh’Alba, air cluaintean is lòintean, air
machraichean is ri taobh rathaidean, agus tha e furasta aithneachadh le a chuid duilleagan airgid. Tha ainm a’ dèanamh tuairisgeul air fhreumh brisg a bha na bhiadh cudromach do na Gàidheil thar
linntean (a dh’aindeoin ’s gun robhar ag ràdh gur e ‘biadh shìthichean’ a bh’ ann.)
Mus do nochd am buntàta ann an Alba, bhiodh cuid a’ fàs a’ bhrisgein a dh’aona-ghnothach, mar
a bhiodh treubhan air cladach an iar Ameireagaidh a Tuath le lus eile a tha dlùth-chàirdeach dha.
Thathar an dùil gur dòcha gun robh am brisgean air a chleachdadh, gun stad, gach bliadhna bho linn
meadhanach na cloiche gu ruige an naoidheamh linn deug nuair a mhair cuid beò air, às dèidh gun
deach am fuadachadh bhon dachannan. Goirid às dèidh Blàr Chùil Lodair, bha droch bhliadhna ann
an Tiriodh a bh’ air a cuimhneachadh mar ‘Bliadhna nam Brisgeanan’. Air sgàth a’ chogaidh, cha do
chuireadh sìol mar bu chòir agus chùm na daoine iad fhèin beò air a’ bhrisgean a bha a’ fàs far am bu
chòir bàrr a bhith.
Gu math tric, bhiodh an lus seo cudromach as t-Earrach nuair a bha biadh eile a’ fàs gann. Bha e
air a chomharrachadh, mar sin, mar ‘Brisgean beannaichte an Earraich, seachdamh aran a’ Ghàidheil’.
Thathar a’ smaoineachadh gum b’ iad na sia arain eile aran-coirce, aran-eòrna, aran-seagail, aranpeasrach, aran-cruithneachd agus aran-milis. ’S e am freumh a-mhàin a bhìte ag ithe – air a bhleith
airson aran no brochan a dhèanamh, no air a ghoil (uaireannan le siùcar) no a ròstadh, ach bhathar a’
cleachdadh nan duilleagan airson tì a dhèanamh, airson brògan a lìnigeadh no airson clò a dhathadh
buidhe. Thathar dhen bheachd gu bheil am blas car ‘cnòthach’ no coltach ris a’ churran-gheal. Ann
an Tiriodh, tha aithris ann bhon fhicheadamh linn gum biodh cuid de na bodaich a’ fùdarachadh an
fhreumh’ is ga smocadh nan cuid phìoban, ged nach eilear ag innse an robh e cho math ris a’ Bhogey
Roll no Black Twist!
A life-saver
The silverweed is known as brisgean (‘BREESH-kun’, ‘brittle one’) in Gaelic, referring to its roots
which were widely used as a foodstuff in Scotland over a very long time (it might well have been in use
continuously from Mesolithic times into the modern age). Despite being viewed as a ‘fairy food’, it was
indispensable to humans at times of food shortage. Victims of clearance, particularly in the islands of
the west – where it’s one of the common machair plants – sometimes survived near the shore for a
period on silverweed and shellfish.
It‘s remembered in Gaelic tradition as ‘Blessed silverweed of the spring, the seventh bread of the
Gael’, as it was regularly eaten in spring when food supplies were running low. The root was powdered
to make bread (the other six ‘breads’ probably being oat, barley, rye, pease, wheat and gingerbread) or
porridge. The root was also boiled (sometimes with sugar), roasted or singed above peat embers.
Some people liken the flavour to nuts, others to parsnip. Like some of the tribes of the Pacific North
West of North America, the Gaels sometimes, in the days before the introduction of the potato, grew
silverweed like a crop. Under these circumstances, the plant grows larger than normal, both above and
below the ground.
www.snh.gov.uk
31
1
Walking back
to health
Five years ago the Cairngorms
Outdoor Access Trust expanded the
‘Walking to Health’ programme to cover
the Cairngorms National Park and
surrounding area. The results have been
spectacular.
32
“These health walks are a better tonic than any
doctor can provide.” That was the view of one
happy participant after a Walking to Health outing.
And that kind of comment is by no means rare.
The Cairngorms Walking to Health Programme is a shining
example of the positive impact local initiatives can make.
Run by the Cairngorms Outdoor Access Trust (COAT) the
health walks provide short, safe, local walks targeted at
people who could benefit from being more physically active.
Trained volunteers from the local community lead the walks,
which last on average between 30 and 60 minutes.
In one sense the walks can focus on a specific range of
known health issues – such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes,
low levels of physical activity and smoking. But the project
also makes the most of local community greenspaces and
they are a relatively inexpensive way to address a range of
local priorities, including tackling increased social isolation
and improving general mental health and well-being.
Alan Melrose is the Health Walks project co-ordinator for
COAT and explains how the programme works and why it
has been a great success.
“There are now 32 groups operating in the towns and
villages around the Cairngorms National Park area. The
Ballater group, which has been running for six years now,
is a good example of the model. Once a week they set off
from the church hall with a group leader who has assessed
their walk for gradient and suitability in advance. Most of
1
Getting out and about
in the sunshine with
the Ballater Walking to
Health group on their
weekly outing this
spring.
2
For many in the group
having others to enjoy
the outdoors with is a
huge bonus.
2
www.snh.gov.uk
33
3
these walks are in the immediate vicinity of Ballater, but as confidence has grown
they now occasionally spread their wings a little farther, for example to nearby
Dinnet. The walks always end with a cup of tea and a chat; it’s a social as well as
a physical experience.
“There is huge value in the social network the groups create. The walks
become a shared experience and so many of our walkers say that it is easier to
both start off walking in a group and keep attending if they remain in a group.
Often they feel that they make strong friendships this way and there is a
sense of shared purpose and enjoyment.
“We keep statistics on the numbers coming along to all of our walks and
recently evaluated our programme. We ran over 1,000 health walks between
April 2011 and March 2012 and each week we reckon we had an average
of 230 walkers join in.
“One of the lasting benefits is that we have trained 60 Walk Leaders since
2006 and this has helped us greatly in expanding the reach of the project.”
The project provides the formal training, support meetings and walk equipment
to support the recruitment and development of the volunteer leaders.
Patsy and Martin Reynolds are two of the volunteer walk leaders and they
enthuse about the programme and want to see it thrive. “What I see is a group
of people walking together in beautiful surroundings, enjoying their walk, the
company, and their ability now to walk farther than when they joined,” said Patsy
“… and all we have to do as leaders is make that possible.”
Cairngorms Walking to Health project started life in 2004 as a community
health and learning initiative. It is a low-cost scheme at just £30,000 to deliver
annually, which equals a spend of approximately £140 per walker.
34
“I joined the ‘Walking
to Health’ group to
get fit, and felt much
better for it.”
4
The project now sits under Cairngorms Outdoor Access Trust leadership,
which seeks to maintain and develop the suite of health walks whilst supporting
the upgrade and development of local paths between communities for the benefit
of locals and visitors alike.
There is no doubt that the scheme can increase participants’ physical fitness
and therefore their general health. What is now becoming increasingly evident
are the social benefits of walking as part of group. As well as the valuable social
company there is a growing belief that being in a group motivates many to keep
attending.
Recently Alan has noted comments such as “When I am walking on my own
I am just walking. With the group you’ve got the company there and you have a
laugh. You talk about various different things and share experiences. It makes it more interesting.”
Another enthusiastic walker explained “It’s good to have a regular walking date each week, because if there’s a set day and time it makes me go on the walk.
I might otherwise find other things to do.”
Scotland has on occasion been referred to as ‘the sick man of Europe’. It was
a title nobody could be anything but disappointed with. The COAT initiative is
a good example of how national issues are being tackled at a local level for the
benefit of individuals and communities.
Funded by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Scottish Natural Heritage,
Paths for All Partnership and both the Cairngorms and Rural Aberdeenshire
LEADER Programmes, this project looks set to deliver lasting benefits for some
time to come.
www.cairngormsoutdooraccess.org.uk
www.snh.gov.uk
3
The walks enable
locals to forge lasting
friendships whilst
finding a shared
purpose and
enjoyment.
4
Beyond the walks
themselves, the
project works to
promote access
awareness and interest
through production of
path leaflets,
information boards,
the local press and
websites.
35
Reserve focus
Britain’s oldest National
Nature Reserve, Beinn
Eighe covers a great
swathe of remote and
rugged ground in Wester
Ross. Here you can
explore an extensive
trails network offering
something for everyone.
36
1
The view of the
quartzite peaks of
Beinn Eighe from the
pine woods near
Kinlochewe.
Prime pine location
Beinn Eighe (pronounced ben-ay) is the name given to the whole of the steep and
imposing mountain range that lies at the heart of this reserve. The scree-covered
mountains stand in stark contrast to the evergreen pinewoods on the northern slopes,
which represent the largest fragment of ancient Caledonian pine forest remaining in
Wester Ross. Some of the ancient trees here are more than 350 years old – often
referred to as ‘granny pines’ – but their ancestral roots go back more than 9,000 years.
Chemical markers in the Beinn Eighe trees show that they’re rather different from pine trees elsewhere
in Scotland, but similar to those in the south of France. Scientists think that, at the end of the last Ice
Age, the west coast of Scotland was the first to become ice free, and tree seeds from farther south
arrived to colonise the newly opened ground. When the rest of Scotland eventually lost its ice, pines
from northern Europe colonised the ground. This adds to the importance of Beinn Eighe as a refuge
for Scots pine.
There are plenty of walking options around Beinn Eighe. Choose a woodland walk with a chance
of spotting some local wildlife or a more arduous mountain trail of just over six kilometres, which
takes three or four hours and demands sturdy footwear. There are also three short all-abilities trails,
with interpretation about the reserve, which leave from the visitor centre just outside the village of
Kinlochewe. In addition, there are trails from the village to the visitor centre and onto the mountain, as
well as upland paths to the high ground of Beinn Eighe.
The walk that we suggest here is the 1.5 km Woodland
Trail, which is a waymarked route that climbs to 100 metres
and offers fine views over Loch Maree and the surrounding
area. The trail starts from a car park 3 km north-west of
Kinlochewe on the A832 Inverness to Gairloch road. Look
out for the road signs saying ‘Glas Leitir Trails’. Use the
numbered map and directions in the text to guide you round.
Coille na Glas-Leitir
4
5
3
Key
6
2
Limited parking
1
Picnic area
32
Woodland trail
A8
Loch Maree
www.snh.gov.uk
0
0
kilometres
miles
1
1
37
2
1
As you follow the footpath up through
the wood, pause at stopping point 2.
Now you’re close to the first of the tall
pines along the trail. Scots pine is the
world’s most widespread cone-bearing
tree, as familiar to someone in Siberia
as it is to someone in Scotland. But
the Scots pines here in their namesake
country are special. They’ve developed
in a climate that is much more moist,
thanks to ocean-driven rain, than that
on the continent.
38
2
You can pause at stopping point 4 and
rest at the bench. The trees near here
are young, but as you look around there
are also many older, broad-crowned
Scots pines. Some of these grew as
seedlings when the ground was bared
after severe fires that destroyed many
trees more than 300 years ago. More
recently, in pine lifetime terms, many
trees in this part of the wood were
felled in the 1940s. Royal Pioneer
Corps lumberjacks from Newfoundland
(then still linked to Britain, later part of
Canada) did the felling towards the end
of the Second World War. The pine
timber was used to make ammunition
boxes.
2
Looking towards Loch
Maree from the
woodland trail, visitors
can see a range of
pines of different ages.
3
Many visitors take the
opportunity to pause
for a rest by the cairn at
the woodland trail high
point.
4
Rowan berries provide
a source of food for a
range of birds and the
elusive pine marten.
5
The dazzling great
spotted woodpecker
takes advantage of the
standing deadwood
seen along the trail.
6
The scarce northern
emerald is one of the
dragonflies visitors
might spot.
3
3
4
4
5
5
As the trail descends, the view up and
Look out for the dead pine at point 8.
You reach the high point of the trail at
along the slope becomes more open,
It gives a sense of the woody energy
point 6. If you follow the path you can
and takes in cliffs and burn gulleys
of this place. Living trees are crucial to
take a short spur, past a beautifully
high above (point 7). This can be a
the forest, of course. But dead trees
time-smoothed fallen pine, to the
also play their part. Birds such as great
viewpoint plinth. There’s a great outlook good area, especially in autumn, to
appreciate the rowan trees that grow
spotted woodpeckers and tits can use
from here, but it’s also worth looking
here. Rowan leaves can be strongly
a dead trunk for nest holes. Plants can
at the rocks used to build the plinth.
tinted by early frosts. Their berries are
sprout from it and insects feed inside it.
They’re arranged like a simple model
popular with birds, especially migrant
Scots pines can live for more than 700
of how rocks are most commonly
thrushes, and with pine martens. Beinn years, stand dead and then lie in slow
layered in the mountains here. Oldest,
Eighe’s
mix of trees and wildlife is ideal decay for centuries more. So some
at the base, are grey-banded stones
for
this
nocturnal
predator. It can turn a young pines growing here today could
of Lewisian gneiss. Much altered by
paw
to
many
things
for food, but has a still be here, in some form, a thousand
heat and pressure over vast sweeps
soft
spot
for
berries.
You probably won’t years from now.
of planetary change, they’re up to
see
a
pine
marten
here,
but you might
2.5 billion years old. Next come redfind
one
of
its
berry-laden
droppings on
coloured Torridonian sandstones, laid
the
trail.
down as sandy outwash from huge
rivers some 800 million years ago. And
on top sit stones of Cambrian quartzite,
compressed from sands deposited in
warm tropical seas around 540 million
years ago.
www.snh.gov.uk
39
6
40
6
Look carefully at the bog at
point 11 and you could see
several different kinds of
sphagnum moss. Each has a
keynote colour, whether winered, buff or green. Pressed
together over centuries and
more, these mosses are the
raw material for peat. They
form a living skin at the bog
surface and hold tiny life forms
within their cells. More obvious
creatures are the dragonflies
(some scarce, such as the
northern emerald) that patrol
Beinn Eighe’s bogs. Our high
rainfall on the west coast helps
these bogs thrive, and it also
makes the west coast native
woods different to the drier
forests of the east. Those in the
west have many more moistureloving plants, such as mosses,
to soften their tree shapes.
Essential information
Beinn Eighe NNR lies at the southern end of Loch Maree in Wester Ross, near
the village of Kinlochewe. You can reach it from both the A832 and A896 roads.
The visitor centre is open from April to October, but the toilets and trails are open
all year round. Three all-abilities trails leave from the centre. The self-guided
woodland and mountain trails leave from the side of the A832.
OS maps
Nearby natural attractions
Explorer 433 (Torridon – Beinn Eighe &
Liathach)
Landranger 19 (Gairloch & Ullapool)
More than 60 scattered islands in
Loch Maree form a National Nature
Reserve and display the nearest thing
to natural woodland left in Britain. You
can admire the beauty of this fragment
of the original Caledonian pinewood
from various viewing points around the
loch. Look and listen out too for blackthroated divers in summer – they
breed on the islands and their eerie
cries echo around the shores. With a
bit of luck, you may even spot a sea
eagle soaring over the islands.
Trail length
Beginning at the lochside car park, the
Woodland Trail runs for roughly 1.5 km
upslope and back.
Terrain
The trail surface is rough and can be
muddy in places after rain. The trail
climbs to 100 metres and includes
some steep sections with rocky steps,
but it’s fairly easy to walk. There are
several benches along the route where
you can pause, rest and enjoy the view.
Dogs
Please follow the Scottish Outdoor
Access Code and local guidance at
the reserve. Keep dog(s) under close
control or on a short lead at sensitive
times and comply with any notices
you see. A short lead is taken to be
two metres, and ‘under close control’
means the dog responds to your
commands and is kept close at heel.
Torridon Estate is managed by the
National Trust for Scotland (NTS) and
boasts some of the most spectacular
mountain scenery in Scotland. The
estate includes the famous mountains
of Liathach (1,054m / 3,456ft) – with
its seven tops – and Beinn Alligin
(985m / 3,230ft), making it a major
attraction for walkers, geologists
and naturalists. An NTS countryside
centre at Torridon features an audiovisual presentation and there’s a deer
museum, as well as nearby herds of
red deer and Highland cattle.
Further information
You can contact SNH on 01445
760 254. You can also download a
leaflet about the reserve at www.nnrscotland.org.uk/beinn-eighe/
Beinn Eighe is
one of 47 NNRs in
Scotland. Find out
more at www.nnrscotland.org.uk
www.snh.gov.uk
41
SNH Area News
South Highland
Correspondents: Kenny Nelson, Cathy Mayne
Going wild in the west
Helping the Highland tiger Making space for dolphins
Enjoy the stunning beauty of the west
Highlands this summer by taking part in
two wildlife festivals supported by SNH.
The ‘Wild Lochaber Festival’
celebrates the land of the highest
mountain, deepest loch and longest
glen. Developed by the Outdoor Capital
of the UK (OCUK), the festival kicks
off with a weekend fair in Fort William
between 1-3 June, followed by a week
of guided walks, talks and childrens
activities. Frazer Coupland, project
officer with OCUK explains:
“We see the Festival being of great
interest to locals, who may be unaware
of what there is on their doorstep, and
a major boost to tourism. Lochaber has
some fantastic wildlife, from whales,
dolphins and basking sharks on the
coast, to rare butterflies, orchids and
alpine plants inland. There’s a whole
range of events taking place, and
people stand a good chance of seeing
iconic Highland wildlife, whilst enjoying
the great outdoors of Lochaber.”
Farther north, in Wester Ross, ‘Wild about Gairloch’ is running for a
second year. The main festival runs from
20-28 June. Several events will take
place on Beinn Eighe National Nature
Reserve, including deer stalking with a
camera, photography workshops, and
wild food events.
For more information go to www.outdoorcapital.co.uk and
www.wildaboutgairloch.com
A recent survey of gamekeepers as
part of the Cairngorms Wildcat Project
has shown how important they can
be in helping to conserve the Scottish
wildcat.
The major threat to wildcats is interbreeding with domestic cats, and the
project has been expanding the neutering
of pet and feral cats to conserve wildcats
(see Nature of Scotland winter 2010).
Many gamekeepers in the Highlands
routinely control feral cats to protect
gamebirds and other wildlife. There is
a risk, however, of wildcats being shot
through cases of “mistaken identity”
and the project has been training
gamekeepers in wildcat identification and
encouraging them to report sightings.
David Hetherington, wildcat project
manager, was pleased with the survey
responses: “Although it’s a small
sample, these results suggest that
keepers in the Cairngorms National
Park now feel more confident in their
wildcat identification and are less
likely to shoot a wildcat inadvertently.
We’ve had a lot of records supplied
by what is a small number of keepers,
so it really goes to show the value
of using gamekeepers’ experience
in helping monitor and conserve this
elusive and endangered species. It’s
been very useful having the Scottish
Gamekeepers Association as a partner
on this project.”
Click on www.highlandtiger.com
42
A wildlife project promoting sustainable
and educational dolphin-watching
opportunities in the Moray Firth has
won a top conservation prize. Dolphin
Space Programme was named the
winner of the Marine Award at the
RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards.
The project was recognised for
its good partnership working and its
ability to deliver a sustainable wildlifewatching tourism experience. The
190 Moray Firth dolphins are the last
remaining resident population in the
North Sea and are under pressure
from increased tourism activity, new
developments in oil and gas exploration
and planned offshore windfarm
developments.
Kathryn Logan, Manager of the
Moray Firth Partnership said:
“This recognises the achievements
of Moray Firth dolphin tour boat
operators, environmental, regulatory,
tourism and other bodies over
many years to promote exciting
and sustainable wildlife-watching
experiences while helping to protect the
iconic bottlenose dolphin population.
“We’ve developed voluntary
codes of conduct among tourist boat
operators, and since 2004/2005 all
wildlife watching boats in the Moray
Firth have been members of the
Programme.”
See www.dolphinspace.org
for more information.
SNH Area News
Tayside and Grampian
Correspondents: Annabel Drysdale, Ewen Cameron
Plan success at Forvie
Citizen Science
Community travel grant
The Reserve Plan for Forvie National
Nature Reserve 2006 to 2012 is
nearing completion and the last six
years have led to some great projects
and achievements for the site. Forvie’s
visitors and members of the local
community contributed many of the
suggestions for the plan, such as
an improved path network and easy
access trail, more information about
the historical sites on the reserve and
continued support for educational visits.
One of the highlights included
improving opportunities for volunteering
on the NNR, which led to 4000 hours
of work by voluntary individuals and
groups. Staff met nearly 2000 children
and students on educational trips, while
visitor numbers increased.
The wildlife of the site also benefited
from the management plan and 2011
saw record numbers of Arctic terns
nesting in the dunes. Although many
seabird species have suffered declines
in recent years, Forvie offers safe
places to nest and advice to people to
help reduce inadvertent disturbance.
Assistance from the Forvie Panel,
which comprises representatives of
local interests, has been invaluable in
helping to raise the profile of the NNR.
Comments and suggestions for the
next plan are welcomed, please email:
[email protected] or
telephone 01358 751330
A new phrase is appearing, ‘Citizen
Science’. Put simply, it’s about the
contribution anyone and everyone can
make by gathering information which
provides a better understanding of
our modern world. You don’t need to
be a professional scientist – you just
observe, record and share your records.
Most mobile phones have a built in
camera; so many people already have a
way of recording.
We depend on nature and natural
processes for food, clean water and
much more. We need to understand
relationships between thousands of
species, their environment and, of
course, people. Changes in nature
can give early warning of potential
new hazards — just like the traditional
coalminer’s canary.
In the face of the big environmental
challenges Scotland faces, many
people feel powerless to do anything.
Citizen Science provides a way in
which many small contributions can be
brought together to have a big benefit.
Wildlife recording is valuable,
can make a big difference, and just
as importantly — it’s fun!!
Local Biodiversity Partnerships
in Tayside and Grampian can help
you get started. Go to their websites
and find out how to get involved at
www.taysidebiodiversity.co.uk and
www.nesbiodiversity.org.uk
Children First in Fraserburgh recently
enjoyed a trip to the marine aquarium
in Macduff using our Community Travel
Grant. Tracey Duthie of Children First
said:
“We had a fantastic time; it was well
worth it. I can’t thank you enough.”
The grant aims to help community
and voluntary groups travel to a local
site where there are facilities and/or
opportunities for enjoying the natural
heritage. Having enjoyed this ‘taster’ of
what the outdoors can offer, they can
then go on to explore and enjoy the
outdoors from home.
This grant is explicitly targeted at
groups which support people with
special needs or groups which are
frequently excluded from enjoying the
natural heritage and the outdoors
that most of us take for granted.
The grant is operated for SNH by
the Buchan Countryside Group –
www.outdoors4all.org.uk/ctg.html
and it can fund up to half the travel
costs (e.g. bus hire).
Community groups in Moray,
Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen, and the
Cairngorm National Park are eligible to
apply.
www.snh.gov.uk
43
SNH Area News
Southern Scotland
Correspondents: Trevor Godden, Andrew Panter
Keep bees buzzin’
River volunteers
Whitlaw trap set
Bees are having a hard time at the
moment; it’s a complex problem that’s
been linked to environmental changes,
pests and diseases. This is not only
bad news for bees, but also for us.
One in three mouthfuls of the food
we eat is dependent on bees and
other pollinating insects. So unless
we start to do something to safeguard
our bees, many of our favourite fruits
and vegetables could disappear from
supermarket shelves.
This was the theme of SNH’s
colourful stand at this year’s Dumfries
and Galloway Environment Fair. Our
aim was to encourage people to
take simple, practical steps to make
their gardens more bee-friendly. For
example, the greater the number of
suitable flowering plants in your garden
from March to September, the better
it will please the bees. Plenty of single
flowers, like daisies and asters, are
good, and so are lavenders, buddleias
and heathers. Creating a wildflower
garden or bed will add to the pollen and
nectar supply throughout the summer
months. And by cutting the lawn less
often, nectar-rich daisies, buttercups
and clover have more time to flower.
By providing a haven for bees in our
gardens, we can all help safeguard their
future and our food security.
A three year project run by Galloway
Fisheries Trust to get volunteers
involved in work to improve freshwater
habitats is proving to be a success.
With the help of an SNH grant, the
Galloway Fisheries Volunteer Scheme
was set up in early summer 2011.
The scheme now has 31 regular
volunteers who’ve carried out over
1,000 work-hours to date.
Their work covers a variety of tasks
from hand pulling invasive Himalayan
balsam on the banks of the River Cree
to removing riverbed obstructions to
assist the passage of migratory fish.
But most of the ongoing work so
far is aimed at managing river bank
vegetation and trees.
Beside the Water of Fleet near
Gatehouse of Fleet, dense trees and
shrubs have shaded out much of the
low-level bank-side vegetation; this
is important because it reduces soil
erosion in the winter and provides a
habitat for wildlife. The volunteers are
carrying out selective coppicing and
thinning to increase light levels. This
will also improve the in-stream habitats
for young salmon and sea trout, and
benefit other species, such as water
voles, which depend on the vegetation
as a food source.
Projects like this are making a big
difference to local wildlife, and the
scheme is hoping to encourage more
volunteers in the future.
A newly constructed ‘silt trap’ at
Whitlaw Mosses NNR in the Borders
will help to conserve the amazing
variety of plants and animals that live
there. The intricate mosaic of mosses
and sedges supports such rarities as
holy grass, coralroot orchid, alpine rush,
and several unusual fly and water beetle
species. They’re all able to flourish
because of the mineral-rich springs
that flow in from the surrounding area.
But the water quality can be affected
by nutrient-rich fertilisers entering
the system from past and present
applications on many of the surrounding
fields.
Silt high in nutrients is often washed
into the burns and spreads across
the mosses. It encourages the spread
of reeds at the expense of the more
sensitive species-rich fen vegetation.
Luckily the main offender, phosphate,
binds itself to silt particles; so the
plan is to stop the silt, and stop the
phosphate. The silt trap slows down
inflowing water round a series of
baffles, causing the silt to fall out of
suspension and build up within the
trap. The silt is then cleaned out of the
trap annually and removed, taking the
phosphate with it.
This is just one tool we use for
protecting these vulnerable wetland
habitats, but it is one that operates
quietly by itself, until clean-out time!
44
SNH Area News
Argyll and Outer Hebrides
Correspondents: Marina Pugh, Johanne Ferguson, Roddy MacMinn
Researching the Celtic
Rainforest
Golden eagle observatory The Outer Hebrides Way –
opens on Harris
a step closer?
Together with the Atlantic Hazel Action
Group (AHAG) SNH is funding a 3 year
project to improve our understanding
of the ecology and distribution of hazel
gloves fungus across the region.
Hazel gloves fungus is a very rare
species confined to only the best
examples of undisturbed, ancient
woodlands. Atlantic hazelwoods are on
par with the machair as being a unique
Scottish habitat.
Using previous data gathered on
hazelwood indicator species we will
identify sites with good potential for
survey across the Mid Argyll region.
These sites will be monitored in the
longer term and will incorporate data
describing habitat attributes and
characteristics. The data will be used
to build up a clearer picture of the
distribution of the hazel gloves fungus
in Mid Argyll.
The project aims to address the
dearth of local recorders by providing
training workshops to train up local
volunteers to survey woodlands and
raise the profile of this fungus and
the undisturbed, ancient woodlands
for which Mid Argyll represents an
important stronghold.
The project will seek to use this data
in steering the management of these
sites through schemes such as the
SRDP to promote positive management
such as beneficial grazing levels or
control of invasive rhododendron.
Hosting one of the highest densities
of breeding golden eagles in Europe,
the North Harris hills are arguably the
best place to watch eagles in Scotland.
The North Harris Eagle Observatory,
recently opened, was designed and
built by the local community trust as
one of several recent projects aimed at
raising the profile of the unique natural
history and landscape of the area.
Situated in a spectacular location
a short walk up Glen Miavaig, which
is seven miles to the north-west of
Tarbert, the observatory will be open
to the public at all times, all year
round. Inside the building are a series
of interpretation panels giving an
insight into eagles, their identification
and ecology as well as an excellent
overview of the other wildlife you might
find in the glen. On locally advertised
days the North Harris Ranger will be on
hand to help you locate the eagles and
answer any questions you might have.
Glen Miavaig is home to a resident pair
of golden eagles but is also frequented
by sea eagles and immature golden
eagles so the chances of seeing an
eagle are good.
The North Harris Trust manage the
25,000 hectare community-owned
estate and delivered this project with
funding from SNH, LEADER and the
Brown & Forbes Memorial Trust.
www.snh.gov.uk
Funding from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
and SNH has recently been secured
for the Outer Hebrides Way. This long
distance route will run from Vatersay in
the south to the Butt of Lewis, taking in
some spectacular scenery and wildlife
on the way, from the machairs of the
Uists, through the Harris hills to the
peatlands and the rugged coastline
of Lewis. The walking route (mostly
offroad) will link up some existing
paths/routes with a few entirely new
sections and there will also be a cycling
route (mostly on road). A Project
Manager and a Project Assistant will be
employed to deliver the project with the
support of a steering group.
This exciting project has been an
aspiration of both the Community
Planning Partnership and the Area
Tourism Partnership for some time and
the volunteering and health sectors are now also showing a keen interest. A long distance route has the potential
to attract more visitors to the Outer
Hebrides and to deliver significant
economic benefits not just to existing
tourism services but also to provide
new opportunities.
There are still some challenges to
overcome before the project starts
– most importantly, confirmation of
European match funding…
45
SNH Area News
Northern Isles and North Highland
Correspondents: Ann Johnson, Ian Mitchell, Christine Skene
Shetland Nature Festival
Rockin’ at Knockan
Dragon hunting in Orkney!
Now in its fifth year, the annual
Shetland Nature Festival will take place
from 7th – 15th July 2012. The Festival
has grown over the past half decade
into a Shetland-wide celebration of the
islands’ diverse wildlife and landscape.
Wildlife filmmaker Simon King has
had a long involvement with the event
and in 2012 he took on the role of the
Festival’s patron.
This year events will focus on a
different region of Shetland each
day, including Noss National Nature
Reserve, Northmavine, South Shetland
and the most northerly island of Unst.
A range of events including guided
walks, family activities, talks and
workshops will ensure that there is
something for everyone.
The Festival is organised by a
partnership that includes Scottish
Natural Heritage, the RSPB, Shetland
Amenity Trust, and Shetland Islands
Council. The event is run in association
with Geopark Shetland and European
Geoparks Week – a Europe-wide
festival that celebrates geo-heritage
and highlights the importance of
conservation.
Festival membership details can
be found via Facebook and at
www.shetlandnaturefestival.co.uk
The far north-west of Scotland is one
of the oldest landscapes in Europe.
The rocks here tell of ancient oceans,
vast deserts and ice sheets. Knockan
Crag National Nature Reserve
(NNR), located thirteen miles north of
Ullapool, is renowned internationally
as one of the most important sites for
understanding how the landscape of
northern Britain formed.
In 2001 Scottish Natural Heritage
opened a series of trails on the NNR,
a novel visitor area called The
Rock Room and a trail of roadside
interpretation panels called the Rock
Route. The site will be transformed
over the next few months, as part of a
major refurbishment programme funded
by SNH and the Highland LEADER
Programme, with new interpretation,
including life-sized sculptural models of
the famous Victorian geologists, Peach
and Horne.
Touch-screen computers with
interactive programmes will augment
the information available in the Rock
Room and a new panorama display
made of stone and glass will identify
the mountains of Assynt and Coigach
and give visitors a chance to hear
their names spoken in Gaelic. The
Rock Route will also be completely
refurbished. All the new interpretative
materials will be bilingual in English
and Gaelic.
Would you like to visit Orkney to see
the North Hoy Dragons? Exploring
pools and burns on Hoy looking for
dragonflies is one of many activities
to be promoted on the new ‘Outdoor
Orkney’ website.
Getting people outdoors to enjoy
Orkney’s natural world is a priority
for the ‘Outdoor Orkney’ partnership.
SNH has an ongoing involvement with
this group, which is led by Orkney’s
Rangers and other local organisations
keen to promote Orkney’s natural and
cultural heritage.
This year we are funding the group
to develop an ‘Outdoor Orkney’
website. With a fun section for kids,
resources for teachers, information
about walks and an online events
calendar the website will be full of
exciting and useful information.
The online calendar will include
events run by Orkney’s Rangers – here
is a flavour of their activities. The World
Heritage Site Rangers invite teenagers
to try ‘Digging up the Past’ at the Ness
of Brodgar, taking part in one of the
most exciting ongoing excavations in
the world. Or join the Sanday Ranger
on a ‘Periwinkles and Orchids’ coastal
walk, and the Scapa Flow Ranger for a
boat trip around the Flow, discovering
its marine wildlife and its role in two
world wars.
46
SNH Area News
Strathclyde and Ayrshire
Correspondents: Deborah Sandals, Dave Long, Arthur Kellar
Making connections
Quality grassland
Stalled Spaces
Some species are able to move through
suitably managed land between habitat
areas. So, for example, a playing field
might provide a connection between
nearby areas of woodland habitat
for a red admiral butterfly, whereas
larger areas of open ground, or a
more difficult terrain, would present a
barrier. So this playing field provides
the connection that is part of a habitat
network.
Working with partners we’ve
mapped habitat networks for the whole
of Central Scotland. The network maps,
used along with local knowledge,
show us where to protect and manage
networks and where we could work
to re-establish connections. We can
also use the maps to see where we
can change land management to
help species dispersal. For example
by changing mown grass areas to
wildflower margins or meadow, to
increase biodiversity.
The maps have been used in the
Gartloch Gartcosh Seven Lochs
Wetland Park Masterplan in the north
east of Glasgow. The masterplan
strategy, for the creation of the park, will
protect and enhance existing habitats
on the site and create new water
bodies, wetlands and other habitats to
expand existing habitat networks.
You can find the mapping at www.
snh.gov.uk/land-and-sea/managingthe-land/spatial-ecology/habitatnetworks-and-csgn/map-viewer
A wildflower meadow at Whinnerston,
Renfrewshire has been recognised as
one of the country’s most important
through its confirmation as a new Site
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Grasslands of this kind which have
not been made subject to agricultural
improvement are increasingly rare in
Scotland, with up to two-thirds of the
habitat estimated to have been lost
since the late 1980s. The Whinnerston
site supports one of our largest and
best remaining examples.
The site is great for wildlife today
because its owner has always managed
it for its biodiversity. The land is grazed
by a small herd of Highland cattle with
no artificial fertilisers or herbicides
applied. The cattle are generally taken
off site in summer to allow the wide
variety of flowers to set seed. Unusually,
the grassland appears to have been
almost entirely protected from typical
20th century levels of agricultural
intensification.
SSSIs are protected from damaging
operations and their owners can
apply for funding to help ensure that
appropriate management is maintained.
Keeping the right grazing in place at
this site will be essential and SNH
is looking forward to working with
Whinnerston’s owner to ensure that this
can be secured into the future.
The Stalled Spaces initiative aims to
improve vacant areas of Glasgow which
are currently neglected, run-down or
just unattractive by giving communities
the chance to develop their own
environmental projects.
With funding organised by Glasgow
City Council, the Central Scotland
Green Network Development Fund
made the difference to get six projects
underway.
Citizens’ Rose Garden, Laurieston,
is being used as a community garden.
Greyfriars Garden in the city centre
has an area for community growing
using raised beds. Beechwood Nursery
School, Easterhouse, has adopted part
of a natural woodland area to educate
pupils through the use of natural
materials and improving habitats for a
variety of animals and insects. Royston
Youth Action is preparing a community
garden to provide a safe place for
children and young people to socialise
and receive informal education in social,
recreational, physical and sporting
activities. The Bothy Project brings
natural heritage and the arts together
in a creative space for community
projects. An area near the Broomielaw
is being developed by residents from
multi-storey flats into a usable, peaceful
area. Some of the projects will be
allocated bee hives and special training
will be given to improve understanding
about the relationship between bees,
humans and the environment.
www.snh.gov.uk
47
SNH Area News
Forth
Correspondents: Zoe Kemp, Tom Cunningham
More to enjoy
at Loch Lomond
Red squirrels at
Tentsmuir
Planning around
the Firth of Forth
The beautiful Loch Lomond National
Nature Reserve (NNR) will soon be
even more of a treat for visitors, under a
pioneering partnership between RSPB
Scotland, SNH, and Loch Lomond &
The Trossachs National Park Authority
(LLTNPA).
With the help of SNH and LLTNPA,
RSPB has purchased land at Wards
Estate, which makes up a large part of
the NNR, with the aim of managing it
as a flagship RSPB reserve within the
National Park. Working in partnership
with SNH and LLTNPA, RSPB will
improve the visitor experience and
manage the 563-acre reserve.
Near Gartocharn at the southeast
shore of Loch Lomond, the estate
is home to a rich variety of wildlife,
inhabiting the woodlands, grasslands
and floodplain of the River Endrick,
making this one of the most designated
wildlife sites in the UK.
The area boasts many wintering
wildfowl, including Greenland whitefronted, greylag and pink-footed
geese, along with whooper swans.
Other wildlife includes osprey, Atlantic
salmon, river lamprey and otters.
The reserve also supports 400
species of plants, which is about
quarter of all the species that have been
found in Britain. The Scottish dock, only
discovered in 1936, grows only at the
Loch Lomond reserve.
Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve
in Fife has a strong population of red
squirrels. There have been more regular
sightings recently which may indicate
that numbers are increasing.
In 2005/6 the local Fife Squirrel
Group developed a Red Squirrel Action
Plan and the Forestry Commission
Scotland (FCS) declared Tentsmuir
Forest as a Red Squirrel Zone. This
spurred SNH & FCS into action to
control grey squirrels in this area.
Local man, Jim Allan, has been
contracted to trap the greys. Since
2007, he has trapped 92 greys. In the
first year Jim trapped 39 and in 2011
only 9, indicating declining numbers.
As well as managing the grey
squirrels it is important to monitor the
squirrel population throughout the
NNR and wider forest area. We collate
numbers of both species, giving data
on the success of this management.
Elmwood College in Cupar has a
highly successful conservation and
environment management course. The
students carry out monitoring in four
transects and no grey squirrels have
been observed for three years and red
squirrel numbers are increasing. This
backs up casual observations.
Tentsmuir is a great place to visit,
chances are that you may catch a
glimpse of a red squirrel.
The Firth of Forth is vitally important
to Scotland’s economy, with
port, transport, energy and urban
developments along its shoreline. Much
of that shoreline is designated as a
Special Protection Area (SPA) for its
populations of estuarine birds.
Planning for development around
the Firth is complex because seven
local authorities have part of the
coastline within their boundaries.
Each is producing a Local Development
Plan to guide future development in
their area. Developments can only be
included in those Plans if it can be
shown that they won't impact on the
SPA birds. It is important when doing
this assessment that each authority
takes into account what is being
planned by other authorities around
the firth.
To help this to happen, SNH and
Scottish Government are piloting a
new approach to make it easier for the
authorities to share information and to
collaborate together. We are trialling
a common template for recording
and assessing pressures which could
impact upon the birds. As Plans are
prepared, this ‘database’ will build
into a comprehensive picture of what
development is being planned right
around the Forth. If successful, this
approach could be used for other large
sites with multiple local authorities.
48
Raptors
The latest title in our Naturally
Scottish series has just been
published. The subject –
Raptors – includes some of the
most iconic species to be found
in Scotland.
Golden eagle, osprey,
red kite and a host of other
impressive birds of prey are
featured in a booklet that gives
a marvellous insight into the
behaviour and appeal of these
wonderful birds.
Superbly illustrated by some
of Scotland’s leading natural
history photographers, this 64
page publication is a welcome
addition to a series renowned
for its production values and the
clear, stimulating text.
Wildcats
Red squirrels
This lavishly illustrated booklet
focuses on the only native
member of the cat family still
living in the UK today. It is
believed to be a descendant of
continental European wildcat
ancestors, colonising Britain
following the last ice age
(7,000-9,000 years ago).
The book uses a rich mix of
photography and illustration to
tell the story of one of our rarest
mammals and the conservation
measures being taken to ensure
its continued existence.
The red squirrel is one of the
most popular mammals in
Britain. Although timid creatures,
they are easily recognisable in
their woodland home and we
are fortunate in Scotland to have
many places where we can enjoy
seeing them.
Red squirrels is crammed
with stunning images and
explores their life cycle,
behaviour and habitats. It
also considers issues facing
the species and conservation
measures aimed at protecting
a Scottish favourite.
Print out
Naturally Scottish
Whales, Dolphins
and Porpoises
Nearly a quarter of the world’s
cetacean species are found in
Scotland’s coastal waters. Rarely
seen, and poorly understood,
they’re among the most exciting
species that are ‘naturally
Scottish’.
Discover more about the
‘big four’ cetacean species
– killer whale, minke whale,
bottlenose dolphin and porpoise
– and the best places to watch
cetaceans around Scotland’s
coasts.
Special summer promotion
With the exception of the Naturally Scottish titles listed above, all of our priced publications
are available whilst stocks last until August 1st at a 25% discount by quoting the following
reference TNOSUM2012. You can order copies of all SNH publications via the SNH website
or by calling our Battleby office: 01738 458530.
www.snh.gov.uk
49
Orkney hen harriers
bounce back
A successful breeding season in 2011 has seen numbers of
this charismatic bird soar to a 20 year high. SNH’s Gail Churchill
reflects on a long-term project that is reaping rewards.
50
1
www.snh.gov.uk
51
1
Juvenile hen harrier.
2
The hen harrier is a
ground-nesting bird;
these youngsters were
photographed in a
moorland nest.
Detailed records of hen harrier numbers on
Orkney’s islands stretch back to 1953. By the late
1980s and early 1990s numbers were worryingly
low. This prompted a study, funded by RSPB
Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the
University of Aberdeen, to explore the underlying
reasons for the decline.
The study revealed that loss of foraging habitat lay at
the heart of the issue. Heavy grazing and loss of rough
grasslands, a favoured hunting ground of this beautiful
harrier, were leading to a significant shortage of suitable
prey, particularly Orkney voles.
This sparked a concerted move to influence agricultural
practices, and the number of grazing sheep within hen
harrier breeding areas was reduced by around 20% in
the decade following 1998. This key change allowed the
regeneration of foraging habitat and as a consequence hen
harrier numbers were able to recover.
Gail Churchill, SNH’s operations manager for Orkney,
picks up the story. “The Orkney Hen Harrier scheme started
in 2003 and was one of the first new voluntary initiatives
proposed as part of SNH’s Natural Care programme.
We are delighted that the ideas sown back then have
contributed to the resurgence of the species, which is an
important element of our local biodiversity.
“The hen harrier scheme – which ran until 2008 – allowed
many farmers to manage the moorland and adjacent rough
grassland areas, thereby increasing the feeding areas
available for hen harriers. Now, management options are
available through Rural Development Contracts which help
provide the platform for these magnificent birds to continue
to prosper.
“It is wonderful to see that the Orkney hen harrier
population is once again thriving and we welcome the efforts
that have gone in to making this such a success story.”
52
2
www.snh.gov.uk
53
3
Good habitat… the key
Eric Meek, Orkney Area Manager for RSPB Scotland, said: “Although nearly all
hen harrier breeding sites in Orkney are protected SSSIs, SPAs or are RSPB
reserves, the males range widely outside these areas while hunting, leaving them
vulnerable to grazing regimes and habitat destruction.”
“It is fantastic to see the Orkney population thriving after so many years of
decline and demonstrates their ability to bounce back if given the opportunity. The story here, in effect, is that if the habitat is in good condition and the weather
is not too awful and there is no illegal persecution, then hen harriers will thrive.”
The term charismatic could have been coined with the hen harrier in mind. The male is a stunning pale grey with black wing tips, and whilst the female is
primarily a less exotic brown she has a wonderful distinctive white ring around her
tail – earning her the nickname ‘ringtail’.
But the males raise eyebrows when you learn that in some instances they
have been known to operate a harem. Some males have been recorded as
supporting three nests, with one particularly energetic individual associated with
no fewer than seven partners! Mind you their hunting prowess is well-known, and
a highlight is the ‘food pass’ where the males drop prey in mid-air for the passing
female to catch and carry back to the nest.
When raptor numbers plummet there is always cause for concern. The birds
are predators at the top of the food chain and as such they are superb indicators
of the health of our countryside.
Overcoming a loss of habitat takes real commitment and energy. It is a
wonderful achievement on the part of many devoted Orcadians to have so
spectacularly arrested this decline.
54
3
The main prey for
Orkney hen harriers
like this stunning male
are Orkney voles,
skylarks, meadowpipits and rabbits.
4
The female hen harrier
is larger than the male
and predominantly
brown. It was known as
a ‘ringtail’ because of
the distinctive white
ring around the tail
feathers.
“It’s wonderful to see the Orkney
hen harrier
population thriving”
4
www.snh.gov.uk
55
Dolphin-watching is
one of the most
engaging wildlife
spectacles in Scotland.
“The standard of applicants for these awards has been tremendously
high. We applaud all our entrants for their efforts to conserve and
protect species and habitats throughout Scotland.”
Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland
Heroes of Scottish conservation
Recognising significant contributions to nature
conservation was on the agenda at the Balmoral
Hotel in Edinburgh recently. The first ever RSPB
Nature of Scotland Awards saw people from
all walks of life rewarded for their fantastic
contribution to Scotland’s natural heritage.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment,
Richard Lochhead MSP picked up the first prize for Politician
of the Year. His efforts to make the Common Fisheries Policy
more sustainable, and his support for Scotland’s first land
use strategy caught the eye of the judges.
It was the unique partnership between conservation and
the health service that impressed the judges when it came to
the winner of the Innovation Award.
Forestry Commission Scotland’s Branching Out initiative
Hosted by comedian and presenter Fred MacAulay, the
event brought together a range of businesses, public sector provides opportunities for people attending mental health
organisations, community groups, politicians and individuals, services to take part in conservation and greenspace
all of whom have an interest in safeguarding and conserving activities on referral. The beneficial health rewards from
involving people in green space and local action for wildlife
Scotland’s greatest asset – its natural heritage.
won over judges.
The judging panel comprised RSPB Scotland Director,
Renowned mycologist Professor Roy Watling MBE took
Stuart Housden, Ian Jardine, Chief Executive of Scottish
home the Outstanding Contribution to Nature Award for a
Natural Heritage, respected naturalist and author Sir John
lifetime of inspiring and educating the public, conservation
Lister-Kaye OBE and BBC TV and radio presenter Euan
organisations and policy-makers about the importance of
McIlwraith. They had a tough job picking just six category
fungi. Roy has an international scientific reputation yet he
winners from around 90 entries.
retains the ability to communicate with people from all walks
First of the night was the Marine Award won by the
of life on his passion for fungi.
Dolphin Space Programme, an innovative wildlife project
Stirlingshire farmer Alastair Robb was named Species
offering sustainable and educational dolphin-watching
Champion for the management work he has undertaken on
opportunities in the Moray Firth. You can read more about
his Townhead Farm to help breeding lapwings.
this programme in our Area News section under the South
Finally, the judges decided a special honour, a Lifetime
Highland entry.
Achievement Award, should be presented to 81 year old
There was local success for a celebrated Lochwinnoch
project in the Sustainable Development Category. The Local Rosalie ‘Roley’ Walton for her contribution to outdoor
Energy Action Plan (LEAP) aims to reduce domestic energy learning and longstanding dedication to conservation near
her home in Livingston.
consumption in the 1200 households of Lochwinnoch, and
For more details and to find out more about the winning
deliver a positive impact on climate change by saving energy
projects visit www.rspb.org.uk/natureofscotland
and raising awareness of energy conservation measures.
56
4
www.snh.gov.uk
57
Time to bring
John Muir home
John Muir’s name and legacy looms large over the environmental landscape.
In a couple of years time it will be a century since one of Scotland’s most
influential voices fell silent and Keith Geddes, chair of Central Scotland Green
Network, explains what plans are afoot to mark the occasion.
58
importance. The excellent John Muir
Birthplace Trust Museum in Dunbar has
just welcomed its 100,000th visitor and
the John Muir Country Park established
in 1976 continues to attract large
numbers of visitors.
Plans are now being developed
to ensure that the opportunity of the
centenary of his death is maximised.
East Lothian Council and their partners
are developing proposals that include
establishing a John Muir Day to take
place on his birthday April 21st;
California already celebrates their own
The New York Times described John
Muir as “one of the greatest thinkers of John Muir Day on that date.
And the Central Scotland Green
America” and added “Some inkling of
the man’s greatness and versatility can Network, supported by Scottish Natural
be gleaned from a glance at the names Heritage, is developing proposals to
extend the existing John Muir Way
of the lasting friends he made among
the great men of the country. The most which currently runs from Dunbar to
Fisherrow in Musselburgh through to
intimate of these included several
Presidents, among them Taft, Roosevelt Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National
Park – Scotland’s first national park –
and Woodrow Wilson.”
and over to Helensburgh.
Muir was noted for writings which
Studies have shown that such a
became a personal guide into nature
route would prove attractive not only
for countless individuals. He was also
a mountaineer, a geologist, a naturalist, to native Scots but to many abroad, in
the United States and around the globe
an explorer, an inventor, a glaciologist
where Muir’s name resonates loudly.
and of course a conservationist but he
said of himself, “I could have become a Economic benefit studies have shown
millionaire but chose instead to become that with appropriate marketing some
700 jobs could be created over the first
a tramp.”
five years of the route’s existence with
His activism helped save the
Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park an estimated extra 9,000 end to end
and other wilderness areas. In 1892 he walkers in the first year.
His legacy lives on in his adopted
founded the Sierra Club and became
land in many forms; Muir Woods, Muir
its first President, a position he held
Beach, Muir Glacier, Mount Muir, John
until his death. The Sierra Club now
enjoys a membership of some 750,000 Muir Wilderness, some 30 schools
named after him and no less than three
and has spawned similar bodies such
John Muir Trails including the 211 mile
as Friends of the Earth.
trail that winds its way through the
His death coincided with the early
Sierras from Yosemite Valley to the
months of the First World War and for
summit of Mount Whitney.
obvious reasons his passing largely
In the century since Muir’s death
went unnoticed in his native country.
Scotland has been slow to recognise a
As a result Scotland was slow to
recognise his achievements; indeed as Scot who was feted by US Presidents
and who became known as the father
late as 1978 the National Library had
of the United States National Park
none of his books nor any of Muir’s
system. 2014 provides us with an
biographies on its shelves.
Thankfully due to the efforts of East opportunity to right that wrong and
develop the growing recognition of
Lothian Council, the John Muir Trust
Muir in his homeland whilst reminding
and a handful of dedicated individuals
ourselves that his inspirational work is
who understood Muir’s legacy, his
as relevant today as it was during his
name and works have been kept alive
lifetime.
and more Scots now understand his
What with the constitutional
referendum, Commonwealth
Games and the Ryder Cup,
2014 promises to be a busy year
indeed for Scotland. 2014 is
also the centenary of John Muir’s
death, and Scotland is already
gearing up to mark the passing
of one the nation’s most revered
environmentalists.
1
An aerial view of the
coast between
Belhaven and Dunbar.
John Muir was born in
Dunbar.
www.snh.gov.uk
59
Ian Mitchell, ‘Father of the Festival’ explains why a small region of Slovenia is using wild flowers to
become an internationally known tourist destination.
Flower power…
Slovenian style
1
60
2
Wildlife tourism is not a new phenomenon in
Bohinj, the small alpine municipality in Slovenia
which nestles in an impressive arc of the Julian
Alps. Nor have its botanical riches been a
particularly well-kept secret for the last two or
three hundred years, well not if you are a keen
mountaineer or botanist that is.
One of the first well-known visitors to the area was Balthazar
Hacquet (1740-1815), a renowned naturalist, traveller and
explorer from Brittany. Hacquet wrote very passionately
about the botanical riches of Bohinj’s mountains. “Oh, how
many times I wanted to live my life here as a shepherd so
that I could explore this landscape full of beautiful flowers…”
he enthused, “How many rare flowers, which I would not be
able to see otherwise, can I find there!”
Many other explorers and admirers of Bohinj’s mountains
and wild flowers followed him and the coming of the railway
to the area just over 100 years ago opened up this part of
the Julian Alps to more visitors. Tourism, like the wild flowers,
flourished. Then in the early 1990’s the booming tourist
industry suffered a rapid decline, mostly as a result of the
unrest in other parts of the former Yugoslavia.
However, life in the Bohinj countryside went on much as
it had done for hundreds of years previously. Obviously many
things have changed with time but a traveller in Hacquet’s
time would still recognise much in present day Bohinj
and, in particular, the farming and forestry practices which
presented him with a landscape full of beautiful flowers still
produces a show that never ceases to enthral the modern
visitor.
The people of the Bohinj area are rightly proud of their
long alpine farming heritage and the high quality of their
www.snh.gov.uk
environment. Wild flowers continue to this day to play an
important part in their local culture and way of life. There
is also a strong desire amongst the local community to
promote and raise awareness of their unique natural and
cultural heritage.
Outstanding destination
Realising from past experience that mass tourism
development was not for them, the search was on for ways
to extend the tourist season into the quieter periods of the
year. Since it was the wild flowers, stunning mountains and
unique culture of the area which really made Bohinj stand
out as an Alpine holiday destination, the people of Bohinj
held their first ever ‘Bohinj International Wild Flower Festival’
in May 2007.
3
61
In the five years since the first Wild Flower Festival, this
event has indeed demonstrated that such events can extend
the viable tourism season. It has been so successful in fact,
that there is now an autumn Hiking Festival in Bohinj in late
September. This too is growing in popularity and becoming
known across Europe.
The main objective of the Wild Flower Festival has always
been “To build a sustainable future for both people and
nature”. Each year there is a different range of activities and
events which take place over a two week period during
the last week of May and first week of June. The Festival is
designed for both local people and visitors with activities
dispersed throughout the area to different villages and
venues.
The events are all designed to be entertaining and fun but
they also raise awareness of the natural riches of the region,
promoting a feeling of pride in the long alpine farming
heritage and the high quality of the countryside that this has
developed over thousands of years.
The events typically include folklore and traditional
activities like selling local produce and crafts, traditional
folk dancing, demonstrations of haymaking by hand,
making traditional wildflower bouquets and embroidery.
There are painting and photography exhibitions, musical
concerts, many activities especially for children and families,
culinary workshops and wild flower foods, illustrated
talks, workshops, seminars and a major annual Festival
Conference attracting international speakers and Slovene
Government Ministers.
A major achievement of the Festival is the range of
guided walks on offer. These have been so successful that
they now extend into the main tourism season. By working
in partnership with The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia
for Nature Conservation (the Slovene equivalent of SNH)
and utilising funding from the Principality of Monaco, the
Festival has developed its own programme of training for
local guides. Now there is not only a wide range of walks
covering an equally wide range of subjects but you can also
do botanical tours by bicycle or horseback!
In five years the Bohinj Wild Flower Festival has
blossomed. From a small local affair in 2007, it is now
regarded as Slovenia’s premier environmental event
supported directly by both the Slovene Government and the
Triglav National Park which covers much of the Bohinj area.
Its patron is no less than the President of the Republic of
Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, and it has forged links with Plantlife
International, VisitScotland and the North Highland Initiative
in Scotland together with a number of countries in south
east Europe all eager to develop their own festivals based
on the Bohinj model.
The Bohinj International Wild Flower Festival is being
recognised more and more around the world. In October
2011, Dr Bob Gibbons, a noted botanist and author,
published a book in the UK and America called Wild Flower
Wonders of the World. In it he lists the top 50 wild flower
sites in the world. It was good news to read that the Julian
Alps are in there with the Bohinj International Wild Flower
Festival cited as one of the reasons to visit Slovenia.
4
62
5
1
Meadow flowers
during the Festival in
Bohinj.
2
Mountain avens (Dryas
octopetala).
3
Festival Workshop on
edible wild flowers.
4
Scree slopes above
Bohinj with Potentilla
nitida, known locally as
the Triglav rose.
5
Julian poppy (Papaver
alpinum subsp.
ernesti-mayeri) and
the mountains around
Bohinj.
www.snh.gov.uk
Like all community-led initiatives the Bohinj International Wild Flower
Festival would not work without partnerships. It is the close involvement of local
people which particularly adds colour and vitality to the wide range of activities
held under the festival banner. Turizem Bohinj, the local tourism development
organisation and group responsible for managing the festivals, makes a huge
effort to make sure no local people or group is excluded and the range of
partnerships extends from local bee-keepers to arts and theatre groups, village
women’s groups, schools and kindergartens, children’s activity groups, local
tourism business associations, local village associations, farmers, and of course,
local residents. None of this would be possible without a range of funding
partners including Slovene Government Ministries, Bohinj Municipality, The Triglav
National Park and a number of tourism businesses all of whom recognise the
benefits the Festival can deliver.
And let’s not forget the occasional Scottish visitors to Bohinj! Your author will be celebrating 30 years of visiting Slovenia in September 2012 and has no intention of missing the annual celebrations of Bohinj’s wild flower wonders.
I would highly recommend that you all visit the Bohinj International Wild Flower
Festival but have to declare a huge bias here. In Bohinj I am referred to as ‘Oce
za festivala’ (Father of the Festival) and it is natural to be very proud of your
children. Mind you I am more often called ‘Nori Skot’ (The crazy Scotsman) which
I think is a much more deserved title!
For information on the Bohinj International Wild Flower Festival and the 2012
programme visit www.bohinj.si/alpskocvetje
63
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64
www.snh.gov.uk
Spring / Summer 2012
Simple pleasures
A new challenge
Hen harriers
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