International Year of Forests grants up for grabs

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Helen Webster

Forestry Commission Scotland is calling all community groups, events organisers, countryside rangers, furniture makers, artists and timber architects to apply for a new range of grants. If you are looking to run an event this year and it relates to forestry, forest products or the outdoors, you could be eligible to apply for a small grant under Forestry Commission Scotland’s International Year of Forests (IYF) grant scheme. The United Nations has declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests, to help raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests The Commission is leading on…

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Extra weapons in fight against wildlife crime

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Helen Webster

The fight against wildlife crime has been strengthened by a dedicated grant scheme which has seen a range of projects supported. Funding under the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Scotland have been used for new and innovative schemes based on prevention, intelligence, and enforcement to tackle wildlife crime throughout Scotland Three of the successful projects are set to be discussed at the Scottish police wildlife crime conference at the Scottish Police College, Tulliallan, Perthshire, today (Wed 23 February). Examples under the £169,924 committed so far include: ● The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland received £20,000 towards a wildlife…

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Lochaber woman to tackle 3 UK Mountain Rounds

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Helen Webster

Glencoe-based Keri Page is planning to undertake a solo walk of the UK’s 3 big mountain rounds in one go. The charity challenge which will raise funds for the John Muir Trust and WaterAid, will take in the Bob Graham Round (England), the Paddy Buckley Round (Wales) and the Ramsay Round (Scotland). Overall this amounts to 187 miles, 113 mountain summits and 83,000ft of ascent or roughtly 3 times the height of Everest. Keri, who up until 5 years ago had never climbed a mountain but is now a keen climber, fell runner and hill walker, says: “Each round in…

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Scotland's wild land disappearing fast

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Helen Webster

New figures released by Scottish Natural Heritage have added urgency to the John Muir Trust’s call for better protection of Scotland’s wild land. The ‘area without visual influence of built development’, one of Scottish Natural Heritage’s key indicators of the state of the Scottish environment, fell from 31 per cent in January 2008 to 28 per cent in December 2009. This drop represents an area around 14 times the size of Glasgow. Previous SNH figures showed the area without visual influence of built development had declined from 41 per cent to 31 per cent between 2002 and 2008. Helen McDade,…

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Darker Scottish mornings if clocks move

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Helen Webster

The UK Government is considering moving UK clocks forward an extra hour resulting in darker mornings for much of Scotland. However the plan would bring the clocks in line with most of Europe, making the evenings lighter for longer and potentially boosting tourism. The BBC reports that the proposals will be published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport next week (beginning Mon 21 February). Tourism experts say the number of overseas visitors would increase if summer evenings were lighter with an estimated boost to the tourism economy, including Scotland, of millions of pounds. Although safety campaigners have previously…

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Call for young Scottish climbers

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is calling on all young climbers across Scotland to sign up for the Youth Climbing Series 2011. This Series consists of six fun and friendly competitions for climbers aged between 7 and 16 years old. Three events are held in the North of Scotland region, with three events in the South of Scotland on the same days. The emphasis is very much on having fun at local competitions, but for those who choose to compete at all three regional events there is the prospect of gaining a place in the regional team and competing…

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JMT objects to Lewis wind farm extension

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Helen Webster

A proposed extension to a wind development on the Isle of Lewis will further spoil one of Scotland’s most remote areas of wild land, according to conservation charity, the John Muir Trust (JMT) Visualisations prepared by the developer show some of the impact the full development will have on one of Scotland’s wildest areas. However, a key viewpoint from the summit of Uisinis, which would show the impact of the six-turbine extension, has not been fully examined due to health and safety reasons, according to the developer Crionaig Power. The JMT is objecting to the extension of the Muaitheabhal scheme,…

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Hebridean island may be given to residents

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Helen Webster

Residents of Scalpay, in the Outer Hebrides, may be offered the island at no charge. The BBC reported that Fred Taylor, who owns Scalpay, has written to the island’s 300 residents offering to give them the island. A large part of neighbouring Harris, to which Scalpay is attached by a bridge, was part of a recent community buy out and is now owned by the North Harris Trust. In his letter, Mr Taylor suggests either setting up a similar community trust or joining with the North Harris Trust to manage the island. Island MSP Alasdair Allan, said it was a…

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Persecution stopping spread of Hen Harriers

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Helen Webster

A new report by the UK’s nature conservation co-ordinator on hen harriers in the UK says that persecution is a significant factor limiting growth of the hen harrier population. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) report, released today by Scottish Natural Heritage, considered scientific evidence on the distribution and nesting success of this bird of prey across all four home countries. Scientists writing the Hen Harrier Conservation Framework, to be published this Friday, looked at a range of factors affecting the distribution of hen harriers throughout the UK. The report’s authors looked at eight factors which could affect the hen…

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Rare fern unfurls at Grey Mare's Tail

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Helen Webster

When The National Trust for Scotland and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh took steps to re-introduce rare upland ferns at the Trust’s Grey Mares Tail Nature Reserve two years ago, they did all the right things. And today, all 59 of the original plants are still alive and very healthy, and growing strong. Property Manager and naturalist Richard Clarkson said: “We’re delighted with the progress of the rare and diminutive Oblong Woodsia. We set up the project in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, where they grew the endangered species of upland ferns from samples in its…

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