The Nature of Scotland

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Credits The Nature of Scotland The Magazine of Scottish Natural Heritage Issue Number 8 — Summer 2010 Published quarterly © SNH 2010 ISSN 1350 309X Editor: John Walters Tel. 01463 725 222 Cover photo: Red, green and brown seaweeds in shallow water off the coast of Coll. Photographer: Sue Scott Inside cover: Sugar kelp Saccharina latissima in sheltered conditions off the west coast. Photographer: Paul Kay Welcome page: Highland darter dragonfly. Photographer: Lorne Gill/SNH Photography – all images by Lorne Gill/SNH other than: Mark Hamblin 6; FLPA 7t; Sam Baumber/Rory Syme/JMT 11; Miranda Morgan/JMT 12; David Pyper/George Watson’s College 13t; Stephen Bly 13b; Laurie Campbell 16; www.toothandclaw.org.uk 19; Andrea Cringean/SNH 22; Lloyd Smith 25t; Dougie Barnett 28, 29, 30; www.angusbremner.com 31, 32, 33; Neil McIntyre 34; Alan Ross 40t; Ewen Cameron 42m, 42r; Juan Brown 44l; Shetland Amenity Trust 44m; Tim Dean 44r; David Bell 45l; Naturepl.com 50, 53, 54; Prof Callum Roberts 52; Kat Jones 61; Paul Kay 62. Map 37: © Ashworth Maps and Interpretation Ltd 2010. Based on Ordnance Survey mapping. © Crown copyright and database right 2010. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number SNH 100017908. We’ve set up the following ‘Flickr’ page www.flickr.com/snh-iyb2010 with a selection of SNH images to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity. You can download the images to use as screensavers or to share with friends. 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. Printed by: J Thomson Colour Printers JTCP35K0610 When you have finished with this magazine, please recycle it. Pass it to another reader or dispose of it at your local waste-collection point. 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 smaller offices 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 and Stirling The Beta Centre, Innovation Park, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4NF Tel. 01786 450 362 Dumfries and Galloway Carmont House, The Crichton, Bankend Road, Dumfries DG1 4ZF Tel. 01387 247 010 Northern Isles Ground Floor, Stewart Building, Alexandra Wharf, Lerwick, Shetland ZE1 0LL Tel. 01595 693 345 East Highland Fodderty Way, Dingwall Business Park, Dingwall IV15 9XB Tel. 01349 865 333 North Highland The Links, Golspie Business Park, Golspie, Sutherland KW10 6UB Tel. 01408 634 063 West Highland The Governor’s House, The Parade, Fort William, Inverness-shire PH33 6BA Tel. 01397 704 716 Strathclyde and Ayrshire Caspian House, Mariner Court, Clydebank Business Park, Clydebank G81 2NR Tel. 0141 951 4488 Tayside and Clackmannanshire Battleby, Redgorton, Perth PH1 3EW Tel. 01738 444 177 Western Isles 32 Francis Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2ND Tel. 01851 705 258 Forth and Borders Silvan House, 3rd Floor East, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 7AT Tel. 0131 316 2600 Grampian Inverdee House, Baxter Street, Torry, Aberdeen AB11 9QA Tel. 01224 266 500 2 The Nature of Scotland
Welcome Simon Pepper Board Member Scottish Natural Heritage Welcome to this summer issue of The Nature of Scotland. After one of the hardest winters on record, there’s the hope of a glorious summer ahead – enough to gladden the heart of anyone heading for the great outdoors. And what a country we have to attract us outdoors! Few places in Europe can match Scotland for the variety and wild quality of our landscapes – our mountains and coasts, woodlands and forests, islands, lochs and rivers. Scotland’s towns and cities also have plenty of natural areas nearby which are open to the public and where wildlife is abundant. In this issue you’ll find articles celebrating the wonderful opportunities that Scotland offers to get out and enjoy these places. If you’ve ever been inspired by an experience of nature, you won’t be surprised to read about research that shows these experiences are good for our mental, as well as physical, health and well-being. And it will come as little surprise either to find that exploring our relationship with the Earth – as promoted by the John Muir Trust – is good for our growth as individuals. The natural environment is, of course, the foundation for much of our economy, especially in rural areas. Providing for visits to the countryside and coast for all kinds of nature-based activities is a valuable part of the rural economy. Those who own the land have an important role here and they’re keen to play their part in raising awareness and understanding among the general public. Climate change is an ever-present issue these days, influencing all kinds of thinking about the future management of our natural environment. It underlines the importance of the pioneering work to harvest Scotland’s outstanding resources of clean renewable energy at sea. Wave, tide and wind energy could well allow us to replace the climate-damaging combustion of coal, oil and gas, the so-called ‘fossil’ fuels. You can read about the research that’s under way to ensure that we benefit from these new energy resources without harming our marine wildlife. This year SNH takes over responsibility for Scotland’s wild deer. These iconic animals are a valuable and much-loved part of our natural heritage. However, they can damage crops and wildlife habitats when their numbers get out of hand. Getting the balance right is a matter of careful judgement. You’ll find all of these topics discussed in this issue of The Nature of Scotland. I hope you enjoy reading the articles and that at least one of them inspires you to get out and enjoy Scotland’s wonderful natural environment.
Page 1: Scottish Natural Heritage Summer 20
Page 6 and 7: Summer Wild calendar Kenny Taylor g
Page 8 and 9: A bunny runs through it Mammal watc
Page 10 and 11: The great big paddle 1 Work has beg
Page 12 and 13: Celebrating 100,000 awards There ha
Page 14 and 15: Journey of discovery The John Muir
Page 16 and 17: 1 14 The Nature of Scotland
Page 18 and 19: NEWS Positive and negative Beaver a
Page 20 and 21: NEWS ‘Operation Caesar’ launche
Page 22 and 23: Dualchas coitcheann Common heritage
Page 24 and 25: Fun in the sun 1 Almost 200 events
Page 26 and 27: Organised by SNH and partners, the
Page 28 and 29: A recent research study looked at p
Page 30 and 31: Welcome to Scotland’s nature 1 1
Page 32 and 33: oakwoods, there was a lot of chat a
Page 34 and 35: Ecofusion was inspired by the ‘Wo
Page 36 and 37: We two are one 34 The Nature of Sco
Page 38 and 39: 36Reserve focus Wetland wonder The
Page 40 and 41: 1 The floodplain naturally floods s
Page 42 and 43: 5 4 Watch out for redstarts and tre
Page 44 and 45: SNH Area News Grampian Corresponden
Page 46 and 47: SNH Area News Northern Isles Corres
Page 48 and 49: Events diary 2010 July Thursday 1 S
Page 50 and 51: Events diary 2010 September Wednesd
Page 52 and 53: Scotland’s sea monster 50 The Nat
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2 Basking sharks were once hunted w
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Survey work Fifty years later, and
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Visit your doctor nowadays and you
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Kids only! Explore A rock pooL and
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Sound judgement A series of researc
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New discoveries Scotland’s coastl
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