{"id":25248,"date":"2021-03-24T13:09:53","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T13:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=25248"},"modified":"2021-03-24T13:12:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T13:12:12","slug":"more-investment-in-nature-reserves-and-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/more-investment-in-nature-reserves-and-rangers\/","title":{"rendered":"More investment in nature reserves and rangers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Funding of \u00a3750,000 is being invested in NatureScot\u2019s National Nature Reserves (NNRs) in preparation for visitors this summer. Up to 20 additional rangers and other staff are also being recruited to welcome people back and help them to respect, protect and enjoy our great outdoors. This is in additional to the new rangers already announced by both the Cairngorms National Park and Highland Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than a million people are estimated to have visited one of the nature agency\u2019s&nbsp;29 National Nature Reserves&nbsp;in 2020, a record number that is expected to increase this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With coronavirus restrictions set to be eased at the end of April and a very busy spring and summer expected, preparations are in full swing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"513\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Slioch-from-Beinn-Eighe-National-Nature-Reserve-Wester-Ross-NatureScot-800x513.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Slioch-from-Beinn-Eighe-National-Nature-Reserve-Wester-Ross-NatureScot-800x513.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Slioch-from-Beinn-Eighe-National-Nature-Reserve-Wester-Ross-NatureScot-320x205.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Slioch-from-Beinn-Eighe-National-Nature-Reserve-Wester-Ross-NatureScot-200x128.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Slioch-from-Beinn-Eighe-National-Nature-Reserve-Wester-Ross-NatureScot.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption>Slioch, photo \u00a9 NatureScot<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Scottish Government funding will support visitor management on NNRs, including improving and maintaining paths, signs, toilets and visitor centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ben Ross, NatureScot\u2019s Head of Protected Areas and Nature Reserves, said: \u201cAfter what has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone, we\u2019re looking forward to being able to welcome people back to our beautiful nature reserves as soon as it is safe to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s great to see that more and more people are discovering the outdoors and the value of connecting with the wonderful landscapes and nature we are lucky to have here on the doorstep in Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe huge increase in numbers has inevitably led to some challenges however, particularly in \u201chot spot\u201d areas. This investment will help us to better meet those challenges to ensure that everyone can enjoy and get the best out of what we have to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ben\u2019s top tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Follow the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot\/\">Scottish Outdoor Access Code<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 you have rights but also responsibilities too.<\/li><li>Plan in advance for your trip. Some places might be busy so have a back-up plan ready.<\/li><li>\u2018Go\u2019 before you go as toilets might not be open. If you are on a longer trip, be prepared to take any waste home with you.<\/li><li>If you are camping use a camping stove to help us prevent wildfires.<\/li><li>Try not to disturb any wildlife you see. Lots of birds nest on or near to the ground so keep a good distance if you spot any.<\/li><li>Litter is dangerous for wildlife \u2013 make sure to take it all away with you.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Funding of \u00a3750,000 is being invested in NatureScot\u2019s National Nature Reserves (NNRs) in preparation for visitors this summer. Up to 20 additional rangers and other staff are also being recruited to welcome people back and help them to respect, protect and enjoy our great outdoors. This is in additional to the new rangers already announced by both the Cairngorms National Park and Highland Council. More than a million people are estimated to have visited one of the nature agency\u2019s&nbsp;29 National Nature Reserves&nbsp;in 2020, a record number that is expected to increase this year. With coronavirus restrictions set to be eased<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/more-investment-in-nature-reserves-and-rangers\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more &#8250;<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25249,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-access-issues","category-conservation","category-walking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25248"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25252,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25248\/revisions\/25252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}