The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13

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Credits The Nature of Scotland The Magazine of Scottish Natural Heritage Issue Number 13 — Autumn 2011 Published quarterly © SNH 2011 ISSN 1350 309X Editor: John Walters Tel. 01463 725 222 Cover photo: Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park, near Perth. Photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH Inside cover photo: Decaying oak leaf. Photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH Welcome page: Autumn rain. Photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH Photography – all images by Lorne Gill/SNH other than: Niall Benvie/ imagesfromtheedge.com 4, 6; Laurie Campbell 7l, 18, 39t, 40; Malcolm Cochrane Photography 9, 13b; Richard Revels 19; Alex Mustard/naturepl. com 20; David Whitaker 21, 37m; Peter Cairns 22; Nick Garbatt/naturepl. com 23; Patricia and Angus Macdonald 31; Glyn Satterley 32, 34, 35; Glyn Tyler 42m; Becky Duncan 43r; Catriona Scriven 44r; Dougie Barnett/SNH 56; Allan Williams/naturepl.com 58; Mark Hamblin 60, 61t, 61b, 62, 63 Map, 36 – Visual Imprint Ltd. Based on Ordnance Survey mapping. © Crown copyright and database right 2011. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number SNH 100017908. To share your views about The Nature of Scotland or suggest articles for future issues please contact the editor: SNH Magazine Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness IV3 8NW Email: editor@snh.gov.uk The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of SNH. Where we are… You can contact SNH by letter, telephone or email. The following details should enable you to find your nearest main office, but bear in mind that we also have a number of offices smaller than those listed. A full list of our offices appears on the SNH website: www.snh.gov.uk Corporate headquarters Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness IV3 8NW Tel. 01463 725 000 Email: enquiries@snh.gov.uk Other main offices Battleby, Redgorton, Perth PH1 3EW Tel. 01738 444 177 Silvan House, 3rd Floor East, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 7AT Tel. 0131 316 2600 Caspian House, Mariner Court, Clydebank Business Park, Clydebank G81 2NR Tel. 0141 951 4488 Area offices Argyll & Outer Hebrides 32 Francis Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2ND Tel. 01851 705 258 Forth The Beta Centre, Innovation Park, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4NF Tel. 01786 450 362 Silvan House, 3rd Floor East, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 7AT Tel. 0131 316 2600 Northern Isles & North Highland Ground Floor, Stewart Building, Alexandra Wharf, Lerwick, Shetland ZE1 0LL Tel. 01595 693 345 The Links, Golspie Business Park, Golspie, Sutherland KW10 6UB Tel. 01408 634 063 Southern Scotland Carmont House, The Crichton, Bankend Road, Dumfries DG1 4ZF Tel. 01387 247 010 Printed by: J Thomson Colour Printers, Glasgow JTCP31k0911 When you’ve finished with this magazine, please recycle it. Pass it to another reader or dispose of it at your local waste-collection point. South Highland Fodderty Way, Dingwall Business Park, Dingwall IV15 9XB Tel. 01349 865 333 The Governor’s House, The Parade, Fort William, Inverness-shire PH33 6BA Tel. 01397 704 716 Strathclyde & Ayrshire Caspian House, Mariner Court, Clydebank Business Park, Clydebank G81 2NR Tel. 0141 951 4488 Tayside & Grampian Battleby, Redgorton, Perth PH1 3EW Tel. 01738 444 177 Inverdee House, Baxter Street, Torry, Aberdeen AB11 9QA Tel. 01224 266 500 2 The Nature of Scotland
Welcome Kristin Scott Communications Unit Manager Scottish Natural Heritage The next time you see the graceful glide of a red kite as it searches the ground for prey, spare a thought for the immense efforts that went into returning this bird to the Scottish countryside. Once regarded as vermin, this magnificent raptor was extinct in Scotland by 1870. However, just over a century later efforts got under way to reintroduce them, and now their unmistakable forked tail and reddishbrown body are once again a familiar sight across much of the country. In this issue of The Nature of Scotland, we take a look back at the project to reintroduce them and reflect on the crucial support that landowners, farmers, foresters and gamekeepers provided. Elsewhere in this edition, we visit the Clyde Valley and take a wander through one of the dramatic gorge woodlands that make up the impressive national nature reserve there. These are surviving remnants of the ancient woodlands that once covered most of central lowland Scotland. With over two million people living within 40 km (25 miles) of the reserve, it provides much of the Central Belt population with easy access to an outstanding nature experience. Autumn is a great time to visit, as this is when the leaves of the ash, oak and elm trees turn to red and gold. Using what nature has provided is also at the core of the ‘natural play’ approach that Grounds for Learning are pioneering in schools. The idea is that children get more ‘into’ nature when they’re simply playing and exploring in natural spaces and not being ‘taught about nature’. It’s an approach that’s popular in other parts of Europe, and our article explores how urban primary schools in Glasgow and North Lanarkshire have introduced a range of natural features for adventurous play. We take a look too at country sports in Scotland, which are thought to be worth some £400 million a year to the economy. Large numbers of residents and visitors alike are enthusiastic followers of Scotland’s country sports, and there are a wide range of conservation benefits gained from active land management directly related to shooting, stalking and angling. Indeed, it's worth bearing in mind that conservation and sporting interests share many of the same goals – both seek well managed habitats where wildlife can flourish. Our article provides some fresh insight into this special relationship. www.snh.gov.uk 3
Page 1: Scottish Natural Heritage Autumn 20
Page 6 and 7: Autumn 4 The Nature of Scotland
Page 8 and 9: 2 The art of love In autumn, it's n
Page 10 and 11: 1 The power of natural play 8 The N
Page 12 and 13: value of smaller scale, loose, natu
Page 14 and 15: 7 8 If you go down to the woods Nat
Page 16 and 17: People of all backgrounds and circu
Page 18 and 19: Personal stories On the edge of Dun
Page 20 and 21: NEWS Dolly scientist working on clo
Page 22 and 23: NEWS Greater protection for shark,
Page 24 and 25: NEWS Extra rangers help capercailli
Page 26 and 27: Inspired by nature 1 As usual, we r
Page 28 and 29: In our third article to mark the 20
Page 30 and 31: 3 Floating homes Office workers wel
Page 32 and 33: Dualchas coitcheann Common heritage
Page 34 and 35: Supporting sporting interests 32 Th
Page 36 and 37: 2 Bad press Promoting country sport
Page 38 and 39: Reserve focus Visit the Clyde Valle
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Page 42 and 43: 7 7 There are good numbers of badge
Page 44 and 45: SNH Area News Northern Isles and No
Page 46 and 47: SNH Area News Strathclyde and Ayrsh
Page 48 and 49: Events diary 2011 October Friday 7
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Lorne Gill Lorne is the full-time p
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Sandra Bartocha Sandra is a German
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1 interested to learn about some of
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1 Red kites are good for business.
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www.snh.gov.uk
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The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13