Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart with stories from the great outdoors.
Drones can have a lot of potential for wildlife researchers, and one person who has found them incredibly useful is Claire Stainfield, a PhD student at Scotland’s Rural College. She is using drones to monitor the numbers and behaviour of seal colonies on Newburgh Seal Beach, and Rachel met with her to find out what her research is all about.
Dendrochronology is a niche field of study, used to work out the age of trees, forests and wooden objects. However, it is not only useful for looking at the past, but also for considering how to manage wooded areas in the future. Mark met with expert dendrochronologist Dr Coralie Mills and Borders Forest Trust project officer, Catriona Patience, to find out more about these scientific methods and how they have informed forest management.
Climate change and environmental pollution has a significant impact all over the globe, something that Professor Alice Ma, an environmental studies lecturer at the University of Glasgow, knows very acutely. When visiting her ancestral village in China in 2018, she was struck not only by the issues of pollution, but also the ways in which regional traditions and folklore interact and are disrupted by the climate crisis. Rachel met her in Glasgow to hear more about these revelations and the book they have since inspired her to write.
Tucked away along the River Ness is the UK’s most northerly botanic gardens, in Inverness. As well as caring for colourful tropical plants in their glasshouses, the garden is also taking part in a project to distribute thousands of hanging baskets to various towns and villages across the Highlands. Phil Sime met with garden manager Ewan Mackintosh to find out more.
Amy Dakin Harris is a professional dancer turned flower and herb farmer. She combines her two ions on her hilltop farm near Dunlop in East Ayrshire, offering specialist movement classes alongside her flower arranging and foraging courses. Rachel ed her on site to hear more about her background and how natural it feels for her to unite dance and nature.
The government have announced this week that they have rejected the proposal to establish a national park in Galloway. Kevin Keane s us live on the programme to tell us more about where this decision has come from, and what it means for the future of Scotland’s national parks.
