Summer 2009 - Scottish Natural Heritage

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SNH Area News Strathclyde and Ayrshire Correspondents: Geoff Atkins, Dorothy Simpson, Martin Twiss Estate in better state Ten years ago the beautiful woodlands and ancient buildings of Dalzell Estate, near Motherwell in Lanarkshire, were in a sorry state. A recent restoration project has turned their fortunes around. With the help of Heritage Lottery funding, it has been possible to reconstruct and replant the Japanese garden, create new paths and improve the ponds for wildlife. In addition, the funding allowed the historic buildings to be restored, including the Hamilton family mausoleum, bridges and follies. The estate lies on the edge of Motherwell, sitting on the banks of the River Clyde, and includes the Baron’s Haugh Nature Reserve. The Haugh would have provided summer grazing for the estate in the past, but is now managed for wetland birds. The project team, led by North Lanarkshire Council staff, included the specialist expertise of RSPB and support from SNH. Local people have also been involved from the start. “It was a big project that worked well because of all the people involved,” commented Geoff Atkins, SNH’s local area access offi cer. “Dalzell Estate and the neighbouring RSPB Baron’s Haugh Reserve have fi nally become the visitor attraction that they deserve to be.” You can fi nd out more from the website: www.dalzellandbaronshaugh.co.uk Saltcoats solution The Clyde coast holiday town of Saltcoats recently sought to reduce the impact of climate change by improving the town’s fl ood defences. Engineers came up with the idea of building sea defence structures, such as breakwaters. However, the Saltcoats beach contains fossilised trees dating from around 300 million years ago (pictured above) and these were in danger of being destroyed by the building of breakwaters. The ‘trees’ are within the Ardossan to Saltcoats Coast Site of Special Scientifi c Interest (SSSI). The rocks of this site formed when a volcano was active in the area and at a time when the land and climate were very different from today. Fortunately, the engineers and SNH staff were able to come up with a solution to protect the trees, by reducing the size of the breakwaters and positioning them away from the key rocks. The option also helped to avoid spoiling the views from the town. As for the trees, the design of the fl ood defences has meant that it’s been possible to leave a gap in the breakwaters around the fossilised stumps. They’ll now be left undisturbed in their 300-million-year-old location to remind us that nothing stays the same, not even the climate. Gorge trail opens You can now access an improved trail through two of the gorge woods in the Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserve (NNR). The trail follows the course of the gorge for about four miles through Cleghorn Glen and Cartland Craigs, and there’s a new leafl et to guide you. A local sculptor, Alan Kain, has designed eight posts to physically mark the line of the trail through the gorge. The designs he used on the waymarker posts were based on wildlife drawings that children from the local Robert Owen Memorial Primary School provided. The posts were installed in May and the children have now visited the woods to see for themselves how their drawings are helping to raise awareness of these outstanding and dramatic woodlands. The Clyde Valley Woodlands NNR is unusual in that it’s a mosaic of rich wildlife habitats among living, working landscapes. People’s homes and workplaces are interwoven with the woodlands. This project is part of our ongoing effort, along with our NNR partners (South Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish Wildlife Trust), to re-engage local communities with these special woodlands. 44 The Nature of Scotland
Print out SNH have set out a vision of what Scotland could be like based on sustainable use of the natural heritage. Natural Heritage Futures guides the management of Scotland's nature and landscapes towards 2025. It’s made up of six national prospectuses covering farmland, coasts and seas, hills and moors, settlements, fresh waters, and forests and woodlands. There are also local prospectuses for 21 different parts of Scotland that each have a distinctive character. The vision is not a blueprint or some sort of impossible ideal but gives an impression of what Scotland could be like with the natural heritage contributing as fully as possible to the social and economic well-being of Scotland into the future. First published in 2002, the prospectuses have just been updated in consultation with stakeholders to refl ect changes in issues that infl uence the natural heritage, such as farming policy, conservation law and climate change. These updates act as supplements and should be read along with the original documents. The documents and updates are available from the SNH website at www.snh.gov.uk/publications We’ve published a joint statement called ‘Action on Climate Change’ with our partner agencies Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and Historic Scotland. The booklet outlines the role that each of these four government organisations expects to play in taking early action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and in helping Scotland adapt to a changing climate. It refl ects the individual action plans already published or being prepared by each of the organisations. The North American signal crayfi sh poses a real risk to our wildlife, rivers and lochs. It’s a powerful predator that damages riverbanks and spawning beds, as well as presenting a big threat to several freshwater species. We’ve produced a poster-leafl et that explains the nature of the problem. The leafl et tells you what to do if you come across this pest, and there are contact details and a set of handy hints for canoeists, boaters and anglers. Thanks to all those who entered the ‘Can you name it’ competition in the last issue. The correct answer was minke whale. The four lucky winners of the Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises booklet are: Angus Smith, Bo’ness; Ranald Coyne, Arisaig; Karen Munro, Scrabster; and Cornelia Oekekoven, St Andrews. www.snh.org.uk 45
Page 1: Scottish Natural Heritage Summer 20
Page 4 and 5: Credits The Nature of Scotland The
Page 6 and 7: Wild calendar Long days and bright
Page 8 and 9: Brown-eyed twirl Warm summer days,
Page 10 and 11: Unearthing nature’s wonders What
Page 12 and 13: Just what the doctor ordered Scotla
Page 14 and 15: 2 Nature is good for you - that’s
Page 16 and 17: 4 Outdoor activity offers everyone
Page 18 and 19: 1 16 The Nature of Scotland
Page 20 and 21: Dragonfl ies are sensitive to tempe
Page 22 and 23: Dualchas coitcheann Common heritage
Page 24 and 25: City sights The most popular visito
Page 26 and 27: Inspiring children During the week,
Page 28 and 29: NEWS Searching beneath the surface
Page 30 and 31: NEWS Wildcat stronghold project A n
Page 32 and 33: Join the club! Ewen Cameron and Pet
Page 34 and 35: The featured naturalists include th
Page 36 and 37: Events diary 2009 July Saturday 4 O
Page 38 and 39: Island of the cowled women Loch Lom
Page 40 and 41: 2 Walk on for about 10 minutes and
Page 42 and 43: 6 From Port Bawn take the low path
Page 44 and 45: SNH Area News East Highland Corresp
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Page 50 and 51: You’ll come across national parks
Page 52 and 53: For instance, Loch Lomond & The Tro
Page 54 and 55: Learning from the past Scotland has
Page 56 and 57: Living with change Over the last hu
Page 58 and 59: National Trust for Scotland ranger
Page 60 and 61: Kids only! You will need: 4 pipe cl
Page 62 and 63: 1 “It was the bestest day in scho
Page 64 and 65: 3 Experience the wild The fi rst pr
Page 66: Join our mailing list The Nature of

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