A graphic novel based upon the life of pioneering conservationist John Muir, free copies of which were sent to every secondary school in Scotland last year, has created a statistically significant shift in pupil’s attitudes towards and connection to the natural world, according to a recent study. Muir, a Scottish born inventor, naturalist and writer, spent his life exploring wild places and was the founding father of national parks in America. The novel, entitled John Muir, Earth – Planet, Universe, combined environmental studies with literacy in an innovative way that hasn’t previously been implemented in Scotland, and was intended to…

A major peatland restoration project by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, which will help reduce the effects of climate change, create healthy habitats for wildlife as well as being used for recreation and providing employment – will be completed this month. The project is part of The National Park’s biodiversity action plan, ‘Wild Park 2020’. The £120,000 of repair work, funded by Scottish Natural Heritage’s Peatland Action, at Beinn Dubh above Glen Luss and Auchtertyre, near Strathfillan, has involved supplies being flown in by helicopter and conservation workers enduring two-hour hikes in high winds and snow to reach…