Hunting for glass eels and aquatic mini-beasts are just two of the activities taking place during Scottish Biodiversity Week, starting today (Saturday 21 May).
Organised by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and partners, the week is being celebrated by parks across Glasgow, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, as well as nature reserves and country parks across Scotland.
Events include 40 hour-long tours in 11 parks across Glasgow; guided walks, fungi quizzes and wildlife-related craft activities at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh; a search for aquatic mini-beasts at Scotstown Moor local nature reserve near Aberdeen; a ranger-led hunt for glass eels at Monikie Country Park near Dundee; a competition to spot the most birds at Bowhill Country Estate near Selkirk; a wild food-finding expedition at Beecraigs Country Park near Linthligow; a meet a newt night at Plean Country Park near Stirling; and a one-day festival celebrating the forests of the Cairngorms in Aviemore.
Scottish Biodiversity Week organiser, Zeshan Akhter, said: “We live in an extraordinary country where people can enjoy nature easily – whether it’s at a city park or on a remote western isle. So this week is a great chance to get out and enjoy the brilliant nature on our doorsteps.”
Scottish Biodiversity Week has been held every year since 2001, starting as a local initiative in Fife in 2000 and growing into a national event. Many organisations put on events, including park ranger services, councils, environmental charities, botanic gardens, businesses, schools and community organisations. For more information and event listings, see the SNH website.
The theme for Scottish Biodiversity Week in 2011 is “Biodiversity is Life – Biodiversity is Our Life”, emphasizing the critical links between humans and our amazing, complex world. Biodiversity, the variety of life on earth, is crucial to sustaining our lives. It produces air for us to breathe, food to eat, water to drink and even medicines to cure our ills. It also provides value to us through activities such as walking or bird-watching and inspiration for art. We need it for our overall health, wealth and wellbeing.