Articles

Setting out with the intention of seeing a stoat or a weasel rarely meets with success; but an encounter is wrought all the more thrilling by the element of chance.

Green energy and wild landscapes should not be incompatible. The real obstacle is that the desire for profit is being allowed to overwhelm the interests of the environment.

Should roe deer be culled to protect saplings, or should the hill remain open ground and the deer unmolested?

Cursed and abandoned to advancing sand, the medieval village of Forvie now lies buried at one of Scotland’s finest natural beauty spots.

Drovers, soldiers, thieves, and pilgrims have over thousands of years stomped their way across the eight Mounth passes wending through the Grampian mountains.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and a great believer in fairies, may well have been deceived by the Ghost Moth.

A suitcase owned by E.W. MacPherson, namesake of the new laird of Glen Doll, contains a first hand account of a dispute that started on Jock’s Road, but traversed ultimately to Westminster. Without the Lords’ ruling of 1888 on the Glen Doll case, we would not be free to roam our native land.

The man who brought the countryside right into our living rooms and helped educate generations about the wonders of Scotland’s natural heritage.

Last winter brought quite a fall of snow, inspiring the usual clichés such as ‘arctic’ conditions. It was as if we never saw snow, but we have, every year. And whereas our world might stop because we cannot cope with it, up on the high hills there are animals and plants that could not live without it.

Even in bare, grim country where the higher slopes have long been abandoned as too poor, too hungry or just too damned difficult to yield a worthwhile return, you can still see the dykes, standing as a lasting memorial to the heroes who made the North-East farmlands out of rock-strewn wilderness.

The native wild thistle may be the Scottish emblem, but the tended and productive garden of plants from around the world has been our national obsession

Life is a bug for Hugh Pennington and he would not have it any other way. At an age when most people are taking it easy, he has become the public face of reassurance over the health of the nation.

With an expertise that encompasses field sciences, meteorology, biology, ornithology, zoology, ecology, etymology, skiing, Gaelic, Doric, placenames, philosophy, mountaineering and archaeology, Adam Watson should certainly be considered one of Scotland’s treasures.

Animals and plants are introduced to this country for many reasons – aesthetic, recreational or commercial. Some of these, however, have devastating effects on our own native species.

It was a cat alright, and I gasped when I realised its kind: the great size; the thick, banded tail; the wide face and jaw of the creature that spat at me though hopelessly injured was, I was sure, the Scottish wildcat.

Over recent years the British Bluebell has declined severely and is now an endangered species.

Staring out across Aberdeen beach, the waves crashing on the shore, the sea a mass of grey-green and swirling white foam, it is hard to imagine that there could be much in the way of life lurking beneath those waves. Yet don a mask and snorkel and another world is revealed, overflowing with a wealth of spectacular marine life.

Aberdeen-born David Logie has worked with Greenpeace for 13 years.  Here he shares his experiences of the harsh realities facing an eco-warrior, from our own Scottish shores to the banks of the Amazon.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust – a body for whom I have some admiration – errs, in my view, in opposing the Trump plan on the grounds that the proposal would lead to an unacceptable level of impact. But it is right to flag up the fact that much valuable habitat will be irretrievably lost.

Over the centuries, the settlement grew and prospered and was known as Kilwhang. With ‘Kil’ meaning hill and ‘whang’ the name, or sound of a whip, possibly, the name is derived from the cliffs above the original settlement and the sound of wind whistling around their meagre shelters.

There is something chillingly fascinating about natural disasters. Some Scottish towns have always been liable to floods. Elgin. Jedburgh. Perth. But Inverness is my pick for The One To Watch.

As a researcher on farms near Inverness and Aberdeen, the writer has been invading the private world of the secretive corn bunting. His task sounds simple: find where they build their nests, and how successful they are in rearing their young. But he has only one clue to help him solve these puzzles.

Should we cut down 1,000,000 trees, release huge amounts of carbon by excavating a bog for turbine bases, and ruin a river to save us from global warming?

The technology of the next century will help the world of marine science towards a greater understanding of the marine ecosystem and some of its smallest inhabitants.

For the third year in succession controversy has arisen over estate deer culling. In 2004 it was Glen Feshie, in 2005 it was
Mar Lodge, and this year it is Invercauld. These estates are under separate management: the common denominators are the involvement of
the Deer Commission for Scotland – and the use of helicopters.

As one year ends and a new one begins, one’s thoughts turn philosophical. And what makes a gardener more philosophical than choosing a tree. Our gardens correspondent Gordon Smith gives his selection of the 10 best trees for 2006.

A legend in his field, Ronnie Rose is an inspiration to many young conservationists – and a thorn in the flesh of his adversaries

Animal-lover Lynn Rutter wrapped a badly-injured cat in her sweater and took it to the vet. Imagine her astonishment next day, when the vet told her that this was no pussycat.

The woods of Deeside and Donside are critical areas due to invading grey squirrels. Unfortunately, they were introduced into Aberdeen in the Fifties and are spreading out of the city along the Dee and the Don. Grey squirrels can now be found in Peterculter, Banchory, Tarland and Bennachie.

The beautiful and magnificent native butterflies are very quick to respond to changes to their environment. But you can help.

How hill-walkers helped conserve the pathway to the summit of one of Aberdeenshire’s most striking peaks – the 1,900-foot granite-topped Clachnaben.

Patrick Geddes was an international intellectual giant – scientist, educator, town planner,and cultural champion – but today in Ballater, he is almost forgotten.

Our native wild flora is part of our heritage, but rarely gets the enthusiastic support of other aspects of Scottish-ness. We should be as proud of our wild plants as we are of our built heritage, argues Bob Davis.

Are there really leopards and pumas roaming the North-East? Dr David F. Clark hunts for big game in Aberdeenshire

Andrew Ralton reports on the recent legislation from the Scottish Executive

A wood near Grantown on Spey, planted with Abernethy pines in the 1760s, is up for sale. An ancient wood in Nethybridge may be cleared for second homes and a business site. Should this be allowed to continue?

When the valley of the River Don was selected as the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland’s next large-scale survey area, I felt as though I was returning to home territory.