Nature

More National Parks would boost Scotland’s rural economy

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Helen Webster

Creating more National Parks could be a cost-effective way to provide a major economic boost to a number of fragile rural areas in Scotland, according to the latest joint research report published by two charities, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP) and The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS). They claim that designating more National Parks in areas such as southern Scotland (eg the Cheviots or Galloway) or north-west Scotland (eg Harris or Wester Ross) could generate millions of pounds in extra revenue annually from tourism and other rural industries. They point to the success of rural…

Posted in Access issues, Nature, News

Mountaineers challenge party leaders ahead of election

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Paul Webster

As the General Election draws closer, party leaders at Westminster and Holyrood have been challenged to say where they stand on the protection of Scotland’s mountains and wild land. Thousands of people have already signed a petition calling for protection for these nationally important assets to be strengthened. Now the Mountaineering Council of Scotland is asking party leaders to state their position and help people to decide which way to vote. A month ago the MCofS, which represents mountaineers, climbers and hill walkers, published and sent to MPs for Scottish seats and MSPs its vision for the future of mountains…

Posted in Nature

Our pick: 16 of Scotland’s finest native forests

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Paul Webster

The Great Caledonian Forest once covered much of Scotland, below the high tops; Caledonia – the Roman name for Scotland – means wooded heights. The forest declined over thousands of years, due to both a slow change to a wetter, windier climate and to being felled by man and overgrazed by sheep and most especially deer. In the twentieth century huge areas of Scotland were planted commercially with sitka spruce, lodgepole pine and larch. Nonetheless we’re still lucky to still have some spectacular remnants of the ancient forest – including Scots pine, birch, rowan, aspen and – towards the west…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature, Our picks

Cairngorms Nature Festival

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Helen Webster

The dates and programme for this year’s Cairngorms Nature Festival have been announced. The Cairngorms Nature Festival will be held over the weekend of Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 May and will focus on events within a 20 minute drive of four centres: Aviemore, Ballater, Blair Atholl and Tomintoul. Planned activities include a family night camping out with a ranger to experience the sights and sounds of night time wildlife, guided walks to lesser visited spots in the Cairngorms, a sunset photography session, and a dawn black grouse lek safari. Whilst there are plenty of family events and sessions aimed…

Posted in Nature, News

JMT urges Energy Minister to reject giant Highland wind farms

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Helen Webster

The John Muir Trust has written to Energy Minister Fergus Ewing asking him to refuse consent to three huge wind farms in official Scottish Government Wild Land Areas. Glencassley and Sallachy wind farms would both be sited on the west side of Loch Shin, within Wild Land Area 34. The two developments would involve 45 turbines, each three times the height of the Skye Bridge, along with over 30km of new access tracks, and other infrastructure. A third development, Allt Duine, would consist of a further 31 turbines, all located within Wild Area 20, which covers the Monadhliath Mountains. The…

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Hillwalkers asked to report mountain hare culls

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Helen Webster

Hillwalkers in Scotland are being asked to keep an eye out for evidence of culling of mountain hares and report back to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). Mountain hares can be shot for sport and they are also culled as part of the management of grouse moors. However SNH has called for estates to excercise “voluntary restraint” because of concerns that the number of hares is declining. SNH would now like to collect evidence from walkers who may come across large numbers of hare bodies or other indications of large-scale culling. The mountain hare, also known as the blue hare, is…

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Wild Land and why it should have proper protection

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Cameron McNeish

WILD land. We all love it and want to defend it, but what exactly is it in a political and planning sense? How can it be defined? For years I celebrated ‘wilderness’, and I habitually used the term in a rather loose fashion before I came to realise that I was using the word as an adjective rather than a noun, an adjective that described a quality which produced a particular mood or emotion in me whenever I came face to face with a particular kind of landscape. Since time immemorial the word ‘wilderness’ has been symbolic of a landscape…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

New vision offers a positive future for Scotland’s mountains

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Paul Webster

Scotland’s decision makers have been challenged to support a new vision for the future of the country’s mountains and wild land – a major resource increasingly under threat. And the public are being asked to add their weight to the call, by signing an online petition demanding that designated areas of wild land are protected from large scale development. Scotland’s decision makers have been challenged to support a new vision for the future of the country’s mountains and wild land – a major resource increasingly under threat. And the public are being asked to add their weight to the call,…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

Mountaineers urge councillors to reject wind farm near Glen Affric

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Paul Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is urging elected members of the Highland Council South Planning Applications Committee to refuse consent for the Beinn Mhor wind farm on the edge of the world-famous landscape of Glen Affric. Mountaineers objected to the proposals to build the wind farm – which would consist of six turbines each almost 400 feet high – on the slopes of Beinn Mhor, near Tomich, just south of the iconic glen. Elected members of the South Planning Applications Committee and officials from Highland Council will visit the site of the proposed wind farm on Monday 23 February,…

Posted in Nature

Music on the Bogland Rock: Creag Meagaidh

Posted on February 18, 2015 by David Lintern

David Lintern discovers the woody magic of Creag Meagaidh, a conservation success story. Mooching around in the gloaming, seeking a good pitch. I crossed the burn, up to my shins, surprisingly cold, fast and flowing hard. Widely spaced birch and thigh high grasses looked enticing from a distance, but the earth was sodden. Reluctantly, I turned around and crossed back. Reaching the bank, something made me freeze and look up from placing my poles carefully as I exited the riverbed. Climbing a steep hummock into the undergrowth and therefore seen from above, an animal the size and shape of a…

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