NEWS FLASH!!!!!
NEW NEWS: FREE GUIDED WALKS 2006
MOORLAND EGG-STRAVAGANZA!
Join us for an Easter egg hunt. Come and enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, feel and taste of the moors on this interactive guided walk. Ideal for a family day out.
14th April Balnaboth, 19th April Blairfindy
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
(Family fun) (Easy/mid level walk)
QUIZ THE ’KEEPER
Join us for a special guided walk with the local gamekeeper. Hear about his working day – and get the chance to quiz him. You might meet some of the animals he works with!
12th May Balnaboth, 17th May Blairfindy
9th June Balnaboth, 14th June BlairfindyTime: 10:00 – 12:00(Family fun) (Easy/mid level walk)
Directions and where to meet:
Balnaboth – Event starts at the Kirk car-park, Glen Prosen village. Take the B955 to Dykehead and take left fork to Prosen (6 miles)
Blairfindy – Guided walk starts at Altnaglander car-park off the B9136 Strathavon road. It is marked with a picnic sign, before the Drumin car-park from the south.
NEW NEWS: FREE MOORLAND WORKSHOP EVENTS 2006
1. Promoting moorland management: ways to engage the public
The aim of this workshop is to share and introduce ways of engaging members of the public understanding moorlands, how we manage them and the benefits that management brings to moorland wildlife and people. The workshop will be inside in the morning and outside on a moor in the afternoon
31st May, 2006; 10:30 - 16:00; Crown Estate office, Tomintoul, Morayshire
7th June 2006; 10:30 - 16:00; Glenprosen Village Hall, Glen Prosen, Angus
2. The natural and cultural history of moorland plants
Come and discover about how and why certain plants grow on our moors and the uses that they have been put to, both in the past and present. Outside all day.
19 June, 2006; 10:30 - 16:00; Blairfindy moor, Glenlivet, Morayshire
5 July, 2006; 10:30 - 16:00; Balnaboth moor, Glenprosen, Angus
3. Managing heather moorland - how, why and what is the point?
Would you like to find out more about the management of heather moorland, an internationally important habitat that exists because of people, not in spite of them? Outside half day
19 July 2006; 14:00 - 16:30; Blairfindy moor, Glenlivet, Morayshire
26 July 2006; 14:00 - 16:30; Balnaboth moor, Glenprosen, Angus
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL FOR EACH WORKSHOP AND MORE INFORMATION WILL BE SENT UPON BOOKING. TO BOOK, PLEASE USE THE CONTACT FORM ON THIS WEBSITE
CAIRNGORMS MOORLAND PROJECT NEWSLETTER
December 2005
Issue 7
GUIDED WALKS
Juliet and Andy had a wonderful day out with the Strathspey Strollers on a frosty day in late November. The group of 7 walked courageously around the 5 mile ‘moorland walk’ despite the biting wind and snow, and Juliet and Andy quickly told them about the project in the more sheltered spots.
The group which started over 10 years ago consists of about 25 retired individuals. It is an informal group who like to explore places, especially the Cairngorms, the place in which they live. For example, they have walked the Corrie Cas circular walk to Loch Morlich and on another occasion, up Meall a’ Bhuachaille near Glenmore Lodge. As the group co-ordinator, Muriel Berkeley said, “It is friends who walk together”.
A group of 20 Environmental Science students from Edinburgh University, and their lecturers, joined Andy for a walk around Blairfindy one crisp, sunny, Sunday morning, at the start of November. Moorlands are an excellent habitat to take such students to as they encompass so many environmental, social and economic factors, probably more so than any other Scottish habitat. As a result, the students were reportedly quite stimulated by their morning: to realise the myth of apparently ‘wild land’ in Scotland and that land management is as much about diplomacy as sound ecological thinking.
Andy was rather embarrassed after assuring the students that red deer were not present on Blairfindy, and that roe deer numbers were relatively low. As soon as the words had left his mouth, a red deer stag, with a fine set of antlers, jumped up out of the heather and took off across the moor! Best not to sound too definitive!
JOHN MUIR AWARD PRESENTATION
In September we awarded another class from Grantown Primary with JMAs. The activity was described in the last newsletter and the press release attached provides more information. We hope to do more ‘awards’ with Grantown and other schools, so please let us know if your school/group would like to do a ‘moorland award'!
STAFF TRAINING
JOHN MUIR AWARD LEADER TRAINING
Juliet and Andy took part in JMA training in October. We now feel better prepared to take groups outside in order to use the award in an effective and interesting manner.
This two-day residential course at Glenmore Lodge gave a thorough introduction to the relevant skills, knowledge and approaches needed for delivering the John Muir Award scheme.
The course is for volunteers and John Muir Trust staff who are interested in delivering the John Muir Award. The content is aimed at those already working with groups or organisations, but is also of interest to individuals. Ideally, those attending have at least one year's experience of working with groups.
THE WALKING GROUP LEADER AWARD ASSESSMENT
In October, Juliet completed (and passed!) the assessment part of this award at Glenmore Lodge. It was an intensive 3 days but very worthwhile.
This award is for the leaders of walking groups in non-mountainous hilly terrain, known variously as upland, moor, hill, fell or down. Such areas are often subject to very harsh weather conditions and require an element of self-sufficiency. The scheme seeks to develop the skills necessary to lead walking groups in these areas and in order to attend a training course you should have logged at least 20 day-long hill walks.
WILDLIFE CRIME TRAINING
A one day course in Wildife Crime was held at Mar Lodge Estate at the request of the Scottish Rangers Association. Andy went along and learnt more about the use of traps as well as other issues relevant to the management of moorlands.
WEBSITE STATISTICS
To date, the website has been well received. The statistics below demonstrate how the number of visits has increased. People from a wide variety of interests have commented on its usefulness and we hope to keep the standard high by adding to it from time to time.
Our numbers of Visits (i.e. number of active visits to the site, not just hits) have increased in number since the website went live in August 2005. We have moved from the lowest number of 60 visits per month in September to 312 visits in November, a very pleasing result. This is a 5 times increase in 3 months!
TALKS/PRESENTATIONS/ARTICLES
Andy delivered a talk to the Inverness Botanical Group, on the 1st of November, on the “Natural History of the Cairngorms: from the rocks beneath our feet to the plants that grow upon them”. This was a revised version of the well-received talk that he gave to the CNPA staff in order to raise awareness and enthusiasm for the Cairngorms’ natural features.
Lasting an hour and a half, the talk proceeds at a rate of about 45 000 years per minute, in order to encapsulate the 4.2 million years that have elapsed since the Cairngorm granite was first emplaced. The talk went down very well with even the most hardcore botanists finding interest in the geology and geomorphology that the talk opens with. Further invitations to talk about the Cairngorms, their natural history and their moorlands have arisen, as a result, from Inverness College and other local natural history groups.
In September Gail dealt with a rather different, but equally enthusiastic group. She delivered a presentation to the Tayside Police Ladies Club – the ladies really enjoyed the talks and seemed especially taken with the leaflets and promotional pencils and rulers.
Gail was also invited to visit Banchory WRI in October to deliver a presentation – and again enjoyed a wonderful array of baking after her talk! A lot of the ladies asked for contact details as they said their husbands are members of various other organisations and would have enjoyed the presentation, so hopefully there'll be more bookings forthcoming.
A short article on moorlands in the Cairngorms and the Moorlands Project will be appearing in the next edition of the Scottish Gamekeepers Asssociation magazine, “Scottish Gamekeeper”. Andy feels he has written much better articles but with 48 hours notice in the midst of a rather full week it could have been a lot worse!
MANAGEMENT
We are very pleased to announce that a new keeper, partly-employed by the Project, has been taken on at Balnaboth. Tom Wells has moved to Balnaboth from Glenavon Estate, south of Tomintoul, and he has also worked at Whitehouse and Boreland Estate, Glenshee. We certainly think that he is very suitable and are pleased to have him onboard.
Excellent progress is being made at Balnaboth by the headkeeper, Bruce Cooper, and the rest of the team, to control the deer numbers both on the moor itself and on the lower ground where a deercatcher has been built. The main aim of the deercatcher is to reduce the deer numbers on the farmland areas but there will be obvious benefits to the Project’s aims by reducing deer numbers as a whole in the glen. The deer movements at Balnaboth will also now be reduced, to some extent, by completion of the deer fencing along the western boundary. Hopefully the fencing around Balnaboth Craig will be completed by Spring too … once we get rid of those pesky trees that are holding us up there.
Unfortunately we were too late with the weather to undertake the track repair at Balnaboth but the contractor is ready to move when the weather improves next Spring.
All is relatively quiet at Blairfindy Moor with only some minor caretaking being needed to maintain the moorland walk which was swiped early this summer. Around 70 trees have been removed from the path but unfortunately the plantation is now weakened to the point that further trees are falling across the path each time a strong wind comes from the north-east, which will keep our local handyman, Pat Wraight, busy. Pat has also tidied up the crow trap, putting a new rail around it to prevent sheep pushing into the netting and posts. Signage produced by the SGA and Scottish Police Service has also been put up to explain the role and legalities of the trap to path users.
The interpretive boards were erected at Blairfindy Moor at the start of October at Altnaglander and Castleton car parks. A further board is to be erected where the Speyside Way enters the moor, to the north, but we are stilling waiting on planning permission for this. An original plan to use stone plinths was abandoned for a variety of reasons and the boards are mounted instead on posts with a roof.
The student studying change at Blairfindy Moor, from aerial photographs, is nearing completion of her thesis and we eagerly await the results because it will be very interesting to determine what has happened there since the 1960s.
Preliminary results from the study indicate the usual story of heather retreat (to be replaced by grassland) but surprisingly, that blanket bog has increased in extent. This habitat is aninternationally important component of moorland for its biodiversity and ‘ecosystem services’ such as carbon dioxide and water storage (the former mitigating climate change and the latter reducing flood events). This result is at first rather surprising but research that Andy was involved with on the Cairngorms plateau (Moine Mhor, above Glen Feshie, to be exact) revealed that climatic conditions conducive to the spread of peat have been prevalent for the past two decades. This fits with locals’ anecdotes so maybe he should have just asked them rather than walked all that way with a ton of equipment and peat cores!
Andy’s attendance (as an observer) at Scotland’s Moorland Forum is also proving useful in the management of the two moors by providing a more national context for what we are trying to achieve. A recent document produced by the Forum draws together all the various policy aspects of moorlands and their management. This is quite timely given the public benefits of moorland management seminar and field trip we will be holding at Balnaboth next year to which the Forum, amongst others, will be invited.
MOORLAND SEMINAR AND FIELD TRIP 2006
This is just one of a number of activities planned for next May/June which will include open days for moorland managers to both moors, as well as a training course in interpretation for them too, in association with the Scottish Gamekeepers Association. More on these will follow!
The seminar on the 24th of May 2006 will focus on the public benefits of moorland management and we intend to attract delegates from a range of interests, such as tourism, business and conservation bodies, etc as well as Scotland’s Moorland Forum. The morning will be a seminar with a range of talkers now confirmed followed by a trip onto Balnaboth Moor. The event will be held in the village hall at Glenprosen, given its proximity to the moor and more central location than Tomintoul.
FUTURE OF THE PROJECT
We feel that we have almost exhausted the Park area in terms of schools to take on visits to our demonstration moors and are now starting to cast the net a bit more widely in order to attract fresh moorland converts! To this end, we are contacting as many schools as we can in the area surrounding the park (Aberdeen, Perth, Inverness, etc.). Due to the distance they may have to travel to our demonstration sites other moorlands may be utilised and we have a number of potential sites earmarked for this already, such as Dinnet Moor, in the Dee Valley, where one of us has already led a number of field trips for other purposes. Three private estates have also offered us support in respect of this.
In addition, Juliet is contacting all of the university and college departments in Scotland that may have an interest in land management or conservation issues. A number of universities have already contacted us through informal links that already exist but we would like to formalise these and attract more students. We think that this is a very useful avenue to explore as many of the students will be moving into jobs relevant to moorlands and a trip to one of our demonstration moors will provide a useful background to them in the future, especially as some of them may become the policy makers of tomorrow.
CONTACT DETAILS
For more information on the Cairngorms Moorland Project or to arrange a visit, please contact Juliet Robinson on Tel: 01479 870539 / email: julietrobinson@cairngorms.co.uk or Andy McMullen on Tel: 01479 870534/ email: andymcmullen@cairngorms.co.uk or Gail Renwick on Tel: 01241 828032 / email: gailrenwick@cairngorms.co.uk
CAIRNGORMS MOORLAND PROJECT NEWSLETTER
September 2005
Issue 6
School visits
The summer term is always popular for outdoor trips. As a result, this June we had 4 primary schools visiting Blairfindy, and as usual, the sun shone each day for us!
As part of a John Muir award, the P4 class of Grantown Primary consisting of 26 children performed a role play in costume on the moor. This was videoed and is now edited for those who would like to see it. We all had great fun making the film and it helped the children to understand the complexities of moorland management
As mentioned in the last issue, we took out a group of S3 pupils from Kingussie High as part of their new Rural Skills course. The day was greatly added to by a talk given by Alistair Mitchell, Head Gamekeeper. He explained to the pupils the role of the gamekeeper in a very lively and innovative way, and his pair of ferrets added to the presentation too!
Towards the end of June, we had both Alive and Logie Coldstone Primaries out on the moor. Both days were a great success and it was good to have the whole schools in attendance. The bugs and beasties of Blairfindy moor may be quite relieved to have a break after all of these school visits!
Staff Training
Juliet attended a very worthwhile Butterfly identification workshop in June. It was held in Kincraig and it was organised by Butterfly Conservation, with support from LBAP and Leader +. The workshop complemented the newly produced Identification guide entitled “Butterflies of the Cairngorms”, and the day will help all those attended to identify butterflies common to the area and some less common. This excellent leaflet is available free from the CNPA office or directly from Butterfly Conservation: www.butterfly-conservation.org
Promotional materials
In July, the project benefited from a number of new promotional materials. Eden Consultancy delivered on time two 8 foot banners for use at games, shows and talks. They have so far proved very popular and many have commented on how striking there are
We also produced pencils and rulers using the logo designed by Rhiannon Calder of Inveravon Primary. These proved to be a huge success and have already given out 1,000 of each at the games and shows. We are ordering more so that the schools can benefit from them too!
Website
The site is now live! Please It hopefully offers a good overview of moorlands and the activities that take place there. A more concise ‘children’s section’ is planned for the future
Guided Walks
So far, the success of the guided walks has been limited. As a result, Gail is planning a Sunday date to see if a weekend date suits more people. During July, as requested by the Forestry Commission, Juliet took a French student to see Blairfindy. She is studying agronomy, so consequently she found the trip to the moor interesting as we discussed moorland management in terms of grazing, shooting and recreation
Andy has been out on the moor with a group of young adults undertaking a week-long John Muir Award. Given their keen interest in the natural environment and wild land it was good to demonstrate to them the beneficial effects of moorland management and the place of people in the landscape
Talks and Presentations
The steering group for the Local Biodiversity Action Plan in the Cairngorms was given a presentation on the Cairngorms Moorland Project. This was followed by a trip onto Blairfindy Moor to discuss the management there in the context of conservation and the enhancement of biodiversity. It is hope that we will work more closely with this group into the future to the benefit of moorlands in the Cairngorms
A policy day is also being planned for early in May, 2006 to which we hope to attract a number of MSPs and others involved at the policy level of moorland management. The theme will be “The Public Benefits of Moorland Management” and it is part of a wider initiative within the National Park and Scotland to raise moorland awareness and attract public monies to moorland management. The day will probably be held at Balnaboth due to its proximity to the Central Belt and more details will follow
Interpretation Training
Gail and Juliet are busy preparing some interpretation training aimed at anyone who interacts with the public, schools and youth groups regarding moorlands e.g. gamekeepers, sporting tenants, factors, farmers and land managers. This will begin with a one-day pilot session at Blairfindy in October for Alvie Estates
The programme will include the basic principles and methods of interpretation as well as some practical, 'hands-on' sessions. We hope to make it an enjoyable and informative day for all. Similar days will be organised for Balnaboth and Blairfindy Estates next year, along with a training day on the Ecology of moorlands
Shows/Games
So far this year, the Moorland project has attended the following shows/games: Kirriemuir, Tomintoul, Newtonmore, Grantown, Ballater and Lonach
The promotional pencils and rulers were extremely popular at these gatherings and as a consequence Andy will have to order more. Gail even handed a set out to Billy Connolly at the Lonach Gathering – well, we do try to reach as wide an audience as possible! The Project's leaflets also went down well with the public – it's surprising how the colour purple can catch someone's eye
Management
It has been quite quiet at Blairfindy Moor with the envisioned woodland-edge restructuring being delayed due to personnel changes along the chain. Hopefully, things will be back up and running again, before long, in what is otherwise a lengthy process!
The stock reduction at Blairfindy certainly seems to have taken some effect with the moor having a much better crop of heather. At Altnaglander especially, the heather is very healthy with much new growth providing a fine display of purple. Only one walked up day is planned for this season so it is hoped, that in the absence of ticks, that grouse numbers may begin to rise on this moor. No significant change in numbers is reported for this year though
Delays have occurred to the woodland-edge restructuring at Balnaboth as well as the rabbit-proof fencing and boxes to control their numbers. Once the forestry on and around Balnaboth Craig is thinned we should be ready to storm ahead as tendering has been completed and the contractors are ready to roll … . However, the woodland-edge restructuring will be delayed until the deer numbers are low enough that we won’t be losing trees as they come out of the grow tubes! This may therefore take place in 2006/7
A slight hiccup has also occurred in the continuity of the gamekeeping staff at Balnaboth as the under-keeper partly employed by the project has now left and is in the process of being replaced
The deer fencing along the western edge of Balnaboth Moor is currently being reinstated in partnership with the Forestry Commission and this work looks set to be finished by the end of the year. In conjunction with the new march and cross fences this should make the moor a lot more watertight in terms of livestock and deer and this will contribute to further deer control measures over the next two years
Grouse numbers are down on some parts of the moor and it is evident that tick are probably the largest problem on Balnaboth Moor
Future of the project
This is obviously of interest to us all and the early stages of planning for the future are well under way. It appears that the Park Authority will commit to the project for a further five years (at least) and funding for this being sought, potentially through existing government schemes in order to make the project more replicable
However the case for extra funding has been made, and accepted, in order to enhance the moors further and allow the demonstration of differing techniques that have some financial risk attached. The management steering group members have also pledged their support for the continuation of the project (representatives from BASC, GCT, the Heather Trust, SGA and SNH). So we think the future looks bright!
CAIRNGORMS MOORLAND PROJECT NEWSLETTER
June 2005
Issue 5
Logo Competition
With the winter over, spring arrived and along with it the entries for the Cairngorms Moorland Project Logo Competition! The level of entries was high and the children obviously enjoyed creating their logos. As predicted, the competition created interest and gave Gail and Juliet the opportunity to reach some schools that might otherwise have overlooked the chance to learn more about the Project
Winners were chosen (after much deliberation!) and the results are as follows: -
First Prize - Rhiannon Calder, Inveravon Primary SchoolSecond Prize - Nadia Jamieson, Northmuir Primary SchoolThird Prize - Scott Forsyth, Inveravon Primary School
CNPA Board Member Eleanor Mackintosh presented the first and third prizes at Inveravon Primary School on Wednesday 8th June. Gail presented the second prize at Northmuir Primary School on the 9th. Attached are the winning logos – I think you'll agree that a lot of thought and effort has gone into them.
We now have to present the winning logo to a promotional products company who will include our name and produce pencils, rulers etc to take to schools and shows this year. These will provide a lasting reminder of the Cairngorms Moorland Project but will also serve as promotional material.
Staff Training
Staff training is ongoing to provide the team with the knowledge to carry out their jobs in the best, and safest, way possible. To this end, we were put through a safe driving course – on skidding! The training itself was excellent and all the team learned from the experience, whilst thoroughly enjoying it. We were also subjected to Media training, part of which was to be 'interviewed' for a mock radio programme. This really opened your eyes to the way the press and media work and made you very aware of putting your brain into gear before opening your mouth!
Gail also attended an SNH workshop on the new access legislation in March, which was extremely informative and received some very useful publications. And then, in April, Gail attended a course on interpretation, which has provided the team with lots of new ideas on how best to inform people of all ages about our ‘magical moorlands’. The guided walks on Balnaboth will now include a 'taste' of the moor for those who attend with poetry, stories and role-play, methods that both Juliet and Gail will be using in the future.
Website
All the team have been working on information for the web pages for the Projects upcoming website. This will be accessed via a link on the CNPA's website. The topics covered are many and varied and it is designed to be appealing to all ages and levels of knowledge.
There are areas on Moorland Produce, Farming, Gamekeeping, Land Use and even a children's section with games and activities, to name but a few. The idea is to provide something for everyone and Andy has included some technical pages for those who want more in-depth information about the Project and moorland management. We will let you know when its up and running on the World Wide Web.
Mid-Term Review
The final report, which has been quite favourable about the Project, will soon be available. Depending on the size, we will hopefully be able to send each of you a copy, if you would like one!
Balnaboth Management Seminar
Andy arranged a Management and Policy Seminar at Balnaboth on the 13th April. Members of the steering groups, along with participants from both demonstration moors, attended. There were some extremely interesting, and informative speakers and the day went very well.
It is intended to repeat this day, in a different form, in Spring 2006. In this case, it is planned that the event will run over two days with a morning seminar, afternoon visit to Blairfindy Moor and a trip to representative moorlands in the Cairngorms. The general theme has yet to be confirmed but ‘the public benefits of moorland’ is Andy’s current thinking and it is to be hoped that we can attract more policy makers, especially those unfamiliar with the importance of moorlands!
Leaflet Distribution
Although a lot of Tourist Information Centres were provided with bundles of the Project's leaflets, the team felt that they needed to reach a wider audience. To this effect, Juliet and Gail have been delivering leaflets to various retail outlets, hotels, caravan sites, tearooms and other establishments that either include a TIC distribution point or have a display area for leaflets. Hopefully this will increase the public profile of the CMP, and the personal promotion of the Project has proved useful.
Guided Walks
The 2005 programme of guided walks on the two demonstration moors has just begun. Below are the dates for both moors.
Balnaboth
May 11th June 15th July13th August 17th
Blairfindy
May 18th June 22nd July 20th September 21st
Additionally, we will run an extra guided walk in July to help celebrate National Parks Week (25-29th July 2005). Watch out in the press for more details.
Posters advertising the walks are being displayed in towns nearest to the two moors and hopefully we'll have plenty of participants.
Talks and Presentations
Most of the presentations this quarter were with school children for the logo competition. Because these are full of wonderful pictures and the children learn about the folklore surrounding some of the species, they're greatly enjoyed by both the presenter and the children!
Gail gave presentations on the CMP and the CNPA to Garlogie WRI and to the SWT's North Angus Members Centre Committee during May and both were well received.
Education: Rural Skills
Recently, we have become involved with a pilot of a new High school course to be offered to S3 and S4 pupils. This new course is vocational and is called Rural Skills. The Head teacher of Kingussie High, Eddie Broadley is piloting the course, which will be formally launched by the Scottish Executive in November 2005 in the Cairngorms area
Our project will be involved in the Game keepering option, and Alistair Mitchell, the Head Gamekeeper at Blairfindy has agreed to assist the class in the field. The first field trip to the moor is the 22nd of June. This is a really exciting opportunity to get youngsters excited about a career in the outdoors, to learn about rural skills and for the project to get some more positive publicity. We will keep you posted with progress!
In summary, to gain an award in Rural Skills candidates are required to have gained 6 credits as follows: Estate Maintenance at Intermediate 1 or Countryside Land Use at Intermediate 2plus 4 options from a wide range of rural skills topics (each worth 1 credit) :
Forestry, Horticulture, Agriculture, Equine, Animal Care, Fish Farming or Game Keeping
County Shows/Games
The project team will be attending some of the county shows this year, promoting the project through activities, leaflets, banners and promotional products and the best way of all...talking to people.
Eden Consultancy have been commissioned to produce 2 banners to promote the project. These will be used at show, games, talks and visits to schools/clubs etc
The following shows/games will be attended
Tomintoul Sat 16th July
Newtonmore Sat 6th August
Ballater Thurs 11th August
Grantown Thurs 11th August
Lonach Sat 27th August
Braemar Sat 3rd September
Our new project logo will be on display on pencils, rulers etc., but also on activity and worksheets for the children. We're hoping these will promote the project to adults and groups, and hopefully we'll have more bookings for talks/guided walks.
For further information
Juliet Robinson
Moorland Liaison Officer
Moray Badenoch and Strathspey
Cairngorms National Park Authority
14 The Square
Grantown-on-Spey
Moray PH26 3HG
T: 01479 873539
julietrobinson@cairngorms.co.uk
www.cairngorms.co.uk
CAIRNGORMS MOORLAND PROJECT NEWSLETTER
February 2005
Issue 4
Summary
Winter is always a quiet time for projects such as ours – or so one would think! This winter saw the launch of the Moorland Project's Logo Competition. This aims to provide a separate, specific logo that captures the essence of the project and can be used on promotional materials such as pencils and rulers that we can leave with children and adults as a lasting reminder of the CMP
Logo Competition
Through the use of press releases (see end) and by writing directly to all primary schools within the Park, we've invited children to take part in the competition, and offered to visit schools and talk to them on the topic of the project
We use a colourful PowerPoint presentation to show photos and illustrations of moorlands and the wide variety of plants, animals, birds and insects that thrive there along with interesting 'snippets' of information about each species. This gives the children a flavour of what might be suitable for a project logo. This also affords us a great opportunity to further promote the project. We've already had some wonderful pictures entered and the way the children view these species is amazing – we've even had a peregrine falcon with a slipstream coming off its tail!
As part of our on-going evaluation of the service we provide, we've sent a short presentation evaluation questionnaire to all schools visited. This allows us immediate feedback, and gives us the opportunity of adding or changing where necessary. So far, all returned questionnaires have been extremely positive and complimentary, and some of the children have sent thank you letters - its good to get a positive response from them too!
The deadline is the 1st of May and it will be a very interesting, but difficult, task to pick a winner!
Schools visited to date:
Northmuir Primary – 25th January
Aboyne Primary – 1st February
Glenlivet Primary - 4th February
Alvie Primary - 4th February
Inveravon Primary - 8th February
Talks and Presentations
The beginning of 2005 saw an influx in bookings for presentations on the project to various organisations including SWRI's, Probus Clubs and Walking Clubs. The feedback from these had been tremendous and contact details for the project have been passed on via family and friends who have already attended one of these talks. The project's leaflets are always available and in great demand – many comment on how little they really knew about moorlands before the presentation!
Andy has become more involved in giving talks to more specialist audiences interested in the management side of the project. The talk given by Andy to the Inverness Field Club was very well received and is to be followed up with a visit to Blairfindy moor, later in the year. A moorland event to be held at Balnaboth on the 13th of April will be especially important for raising the profile of the project to those involved in moorland management at a policy and practical level throughout Scotland
Website
At present, all project staff are busy gathering and sorting through information for the project's website. This will provide an opportunity to reach a much wider audience via the Internet. Some of the topics included will be a background to the project, its aims, and general information regarding moorland management – past and present – and details about our two demonstration moors.
There will also be interesting facts about the cultural side – traditions, sports, crafts and produce – all associated with our wonderful moorlands. Also included will be information on people who live and work on a moor – landowners, farmers, and keepers.
A section of the website will be especially for education and will include some worksheets, short films and games for teachers to use within schools. Hopefully, we will also be able to develop a page just for children with simple facts, quizzes, stories and lots of photos – all connected to our Scottish moorlands.
Also provided will be information on access legislation and general knowledge on responsible hillwalking. We anticipate the website to be accessible and interesting to all ages and backgrounds and provide a balanced view of moorlands and how they're managed.
A big THANK YOU to all who are providing us with help and information for this – its greatly appreciated!
Blairfindy Hide Interpretation
In January the weather allowed Juliet and Andy to put up some interpretive boards in the hide at last! Those shown below explain the view from the hide to the visitor. On the back wall of the hide, we put up 5 more boards, which serve to interpret moorlands and their management in a wider context. A condensed version of this information will be appearing in the Scottish Gamekeepers Association magazine.
Mid-Term Review
At present the project is undergoing its mid-term review. This enables our sponsors, stakeholders and staff to look back over the last 18months and compare what has already been achieved with the targets set out in the business and interpretation plans.
It will also highlight new directions for the project to take (within budget restraints!) and help to solidify the arguments for pursuing the project into the future. This is now looking more and more likely and Andy is currently involved in producing and costing a ten-year plan to put before the National Park Authority.
Moorland management
Heather swiping has taken place at Blairfindy over the winter period, and muirburn will be undertaken at both sites depending on the weather over the next month or so. Most works will take place at Balnaboth where a rabbit proof fence will be in place around the woodland at Balnaboth Craig. Rabbit numbers will be reduced using rabbit boxes.
A number of ways of marking the march and cross fences, that were erected last summer at Balnaboth, have been looked at. Corks or metal discs have proven difficult to obtain from the supplier so the orange mesh commonly used to mark deer fences will be used instead. Given the unsightliness of this, the fact that it requires maintenance, and the stress that it can impose on exposed fences, only short lengths shall be erected where bird strikes have been observed. A similar operation will be undertaken at Blairfindy if the need is identified.
Track repair, following last summer’s fencing during a wet period and some bracken control will also be undertaken at Balnaboth.
At Blairfindy it is hoped that more can be done to regenerate the heather damaged by frost and heather beetle at Altnaglander. Given the extent of the problem and the short burning season, this will need to take place over a number of years. (The Heather Trust, amongst other organisations, are attempting to lengthen the burning season so that such remedial fires can be achieved, when appropriate, throughout the year)
We are also lucky to have a good student who is willing to look at the history of Blairfindy Moor from aerial photographs taken in 1964, 1991 and mapping of the current extent of different vegetation types. A good idea of change on the moor over the past 40 years should be achieved and this will feed into management prescriptions
Looking Ahead
The start of the New Year always brings fresh ideas and Andy, Gail and Juliet are constantly looking for new ways to promote the project to a wider audience and to develop new management techniques. Hopefully the project will continue well into the future!
PRESS RELEASE
Date: 25 January 2005
PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS PUT PEN TO PAPER TO DESIGN LOGO FOR MOORLAND PROJECT
Primary school pupils in the Cairngorms National Park are being encouraged to design a logo for the Cairngorms Moorland Project.
Although the initiative has been up and running since July 2003, the Cairngorms Moorland Project has - until now - been lacking a logo! So budding young artists in the Park are being asked to think creatively and come up with a suitable design which they think illustrates what moorlands are all about - whether it’s wildlife, agriculture or recreation, for example.
The Cairngorms Moorland Project aims to raise awareness of the importance of moorlands in and around the Cairngorms National Park, and the part that people play in maintaining these valuable areas. Over the next few years the project will be promoting the importance of moorland management - economically, culturally and for wildlife.
There are two demonstration moors in the Cairngorms National Park - Blairfindy Moor near Tomintoul on the Glenlivet Estate and Balnaboth Moor in Glen Prosen. Both are used to demonstrate best practice in moorland management and are an educational resource where groups of any age can take part in guided walks and other activities to learn more about moorlands.
The Cairngorms Moorland Project is hosted by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) but a variety of other organisations are involved in the project including Scottish Natural Heritage, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, The Heather Trust and the Game Conservancy Trust.
A letter has been sent to all primary schools in the National Park to highlight the competition. And to help inspire potential designers, Moorland Project staff are visiting schools in the area to help children learn more about the initiative and gain a greater understanding of moorlands and the types of wildlife that can be found there.
Andy McMullen, Moorland Project Manager at the CNPA said: “Education is a key focus of the Cairngorms Moorland Project, which is why we want primary school children to help us come up with a new logo.
“Moorland project staff already take groups of school children on visits to the demonstration moors and work closely with teachers to ensure that the trips are relevant to the school curriculum, such as science subjects, art, history or geography.”
The winning logo will be used on all Moorland Project promotional material and the designer of the winning logo will receive a book token worth £30, with two runners-up prizes of £20 and £10 respectively. The closing date for the logo competition is Sunday 1st May.
For more information on the Cairngorms Moorland Project or to arrange a visit, please contact Gail Renwick on tel: 01241 828032 / email: gailrenwick@cairngorms.co.uk or Juliet Robinson on tel: 01479 870539 / email: julietrobinson@cairngorms.co.uk