The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-09777, in the name of John Wilson, on the 50th anniversary of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament congratulates the Scottish Wildlife Trust on celebrating its 50th anniversary; thanks the trust’s current and former volunteers and staff for their contribution toward protecting, restoring and enhancing the country’s wildlife and habitats and for inspiring people to engage with nature; understands that the trust is involved in many conservation activities, which include managing its network of 120 wildlife reserves, policy work that aims to influence decision makers to take biodiversity into account when developing plans and policies, natural capital work that tries to encourage businesses to lessen their impacts on the natural world, and work that seeks to inspire people of all ages through education, events, visitor centres and a Scotland-wide network of wildlife watch groups for children; notes what it sees as the important role that the trust has played in the Scottish Beaver Trial and the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrel project; considers that it has been innovative in developing a landscape-scale approach to conservation through its living landscape projects in Coigach–Assynt, Cumbernauld and Edinburgh, and applauds the Scottish Wildlife Trust on its continued hard work and its commitment to protecting the wildlife of Scotland.
17:01
I thank the members across the political parties who signed my motion and particularly those who are staying on tonight to speak in the debate. I declare an interest in that I have been a member of the Scottish Wildlife Trust for almost 20 years. I will explain later some of the reasons why I joined the SWT.
This is an important debate in a number of ways, because it emphasises the contribution of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and celebrates its 50th anniversary, especially by acknowledging the important role that the SWT has played in sustaining the vital ecology of Scotland’s ecosystem. The scale and scope of the SWT speaks for itself, given that the trust manages a network of 120 wildlife reserves across Scotland, with 12 located in the Central Scotland area that I represent. The trust now has in excess of 35,000 members, of whom I am one.
The trust’s achievements have been vast in number, and since April 2012 it has raised more than £4.2 million to protect Scotland’s precious wildlife and wild places. It has also successfully hosted an international conference on national ecological networks and has played a significant role in projects such as the saving Scotland’s red squirrels project and the Scottish beaver trial.
The SWT displays a great deal of energy in making a meaningful contribution to supporting and promoting Scotland’s natural heritage. Equally, it is critical that people realise that, although the trust puts a lot of effort into aspects of conservation, it is not purely involved in conserving the past. Protecting living landscapes is an issue that the trust quite rightly takes satisfaction from, and it is of some interest to me.
For example, I am aware that the trust has now established planning volunteers in Glasgow and South Lanarkshire, thereby extending coverage to 28 of the 32 local authorities in Scotland, and that it has played a significant role in 20 major planning applications. I also know from my role in the Local Government and Regeneration Committee that the trust has provided useful contributions to the development of national planning framework 3 and that it continues to campaign in the Scottish Parliament on a wide range of issues affecting Scotland’s ecological environment and wildlife.
The development and protection of Scotland’s natural environment is down to the part played by organisations such as the SWT. That highlights the role of charitable organisations in developments at local and national levels.
In many ways, I come to this debate from the background that I mentioned earlier, as a member of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and I have witnessed at first hand the work that the organisation does in Central Scotland. I have been a member of the trust for almost 20 years. Part of my reason for joining related to activities for my daughter at the weekends, and I will mention two places that we used to visit quite regularly.
The Falls of Clyde are not in my regional area, but I have some stories to tell about our experiences there, including the peregrine falcons and the pigeon fanciers who did not like them. We also used to visit the Jupiter urban wildlife centre in Grangemouth, which is on reclaimed land that was formerly an industrial chemical plant. I remember my daughter’s enjoyment in going pond dipping and being handed a net to fish out whatever she could find in the water, from pond skaters to the various other creepy crawlies and beasties that were reinhabiting the area.
I also made informative visits to one of the sites in the SWT’s Cumbernauld living landscape programme not long ago, and I was impressed by the progress that has been made so far. As part of the programme, the SWT will work alongside North Lanarkshire Council on a forthcoming project to celebrate the return of pine martens to the town. That is a unique project. The SWT could not believe its ears when it heard that a pine marten was raiding a local resident’s chicken coops, but when it did DNA testing it found that it was definitely a pine marten. We can see wildlife reinhabiting areas over which the SWT has stewardship, and other wildlife is coming in as well. Programmes such as that, which look to restore the Scottish landscape and preserve wildlife, are of real value to current and future generations.
One of the trust’s real achievements is that it gets out into local communities and makes people aware of their wildlife surroundings and how they can contribute. Members and volunteers throughout Central Scotland have contributed a huge amount to conservation in the area through activities from tree planting to the building of boardwalks to improve access, and I am sure that that is replicated by members and volunteers throughout Scotland.
By reaching out to schools and local groups, the SWT is particularly sparking an interest in wildlife among young people, and communities are being given tools to explore and cultivate their local areas. I note that, since 2012, the trust has established eight new wildlife watch groups, and a total of 28 groups are now engaging young people throughout the country.
Scotland has been blessed with some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, and the role that the SWT has played in the past 50 years has been crucial to its protection and development. I look forward to the on-going success of projects including the Cumbernauld living landscape programme and the saving Scotland’s red squirrel project.
This debate is important as it highlights that the efforts of the staff—some of whom are in the public gallery today—the members and the volunteers who work alongside the Scottish Wildlife Trust do not go unnoticed. Their success over the past 50 years is a testament to the time and energy that all those who are involved put in to make Scotland’s wildlife and landscape the best that they can be.
I wish the Scottish Wildlife Trust every success in the future in its campaigns and its work with other agencies to ensure that the hard work that has been done continues to be done. I look forward to hearing the Government’s response.
That brings us to the open debate. I ask for speeches of four minutes, please.
17:08
As MSPs, we are approached or lobbied—if that is not a tainted word—by a wide variety of organisations that seek to influence our thinking, and they adopt a wide variety of approaches.
Some organisations send us large glossy brochures or extended emails the middle of which, never mind the end, we will never actually get to. Others secure face-to-face meetings that are unlikely to be repeated.
Then there is that group of organisations that understand how, through advancing well-constructed, considered argument, they can make their case and how, by their actions, they can command respect. The Scottish Wildlife Trust is very much in that category, and I genuinely offer it my warmest congratulations on celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Perhaps I should declare an interest. Unlike John Wilson, I am not a member of the SWT, but I am something of a fan of the organisation. Indeed, as it knows, I do not just welcome its contributions to issues that the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee may be considering; I have on many occasions found myself proactively seeking its opinions on topics, such is the trust that I have in its knowledge and indeed integrity. As the turnout of MSPs who plan to contribute to the debate indicates, it is clear that I am not alone in holding the SWT in such high regard.
It is quite funny to look back at the comment of the SWT’s founder, Sir Charles Connell, when the SWT set out. He said:
“some thought the Trust might not obtain adequate support or find work to do which would justify their existence.”
O ye of little faith.
From fairly humble beginnings, the trust’s membership has grown to 36,500 people. It manages 120 wildlife reserves and has three visitor centres, including at Montrose Basin in Angus. At long last, wider society has started to waken up to the importance of its purpose to
“advance the conservation of Scotland’s biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generations”.
Only one of the trust’s reserves is located in my constituency. Eighteen months ago, I had the great pleasure of visiting Seaton cliffs in the company of SWT’s former chief executive officer, Simon Milne, and seeing the wide range of seabirds nesting there. Less enjoyable but just as important was getting a close-up look at the impact of coastal erosion on one side and the negative impact of agricultural practices on the other.
Elsewhere in Angus, there is the aforementioned Montrose Basin and the front line of the red squirrel project on the Southesk estate. Last year, I was delighted to join the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, and my fellow Angus parliamentarian Nigel Don in visiting the estate and meeting Lord Southesk and trust officials to see for ourselves how that hugely important project is being implemented.
I was struck by the genuine partnership working that the project involves. Scottish Natural Heritage and the Forestry Commission Scotland are involved along with the trust, not to mention the landowning interests all along the battle front who seek to halt the advance of grey squirrels, with all the negative consequences that their presence brings for the iconic red squirrel. Almost as pleasing was hearing of the work that the trust was doing in educating primary school youngsters on the project and the need for it.
That visit confirmed something that I had picked up through other dealings with the likes of Simon Milne, Jonny Hughes and Maggie Keegan: that the real strength of the SWT is in the people who work for it, with their passion, commitment and, at times, pragmatism.
I am aware of the number of colleagues who wish to contribute to the debate, so I will conclude. I congratulate John Wilson on securing for us the opportunity to pay tribute to the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Contrary to the fears that were raised 50 years ago, it has undoubtedly gone on to justify its existence, and I am sure that it will continue to do so for many decades to come.
17:12
I, too, thank John Wilson for lodging the motion. The wide range of members who have signed the motion, which congratulates the Scottish Wildlife Trust on celebrating its 50th birthday, is testament to the geographical reach and the robust range of the trust’s work.
In my region of South Scotland alone, the trust boasts almost 6,000 members, 33 reserves, four watch groups and two conservation teams.
I first encountered the SWT over two decades ago, when I was a community activist in Clydesdale, for two reasons. First, the local community council saw a small piece of woodland—Ponfeigh glen—as being inappropriately threatened by opencast mining. An SWT ranger, David Wilson, advised on how our concerns fitted with planning policy, about which I did not have a clue, frankly. That enabled us to submit an objection to South Lanarkshire Council. As we heard from John Wilson, the SWT’s input into the planning process has come on in leaps and bounds, and there is support across much of Scotland for volunteers who want to look at the planning process.
Secondly, SWT advice from the falls of Clyde ranger, John Darbyshire, helped us to change a dreadful fly-tipping site at Loudon pond on Douglas Water into a community nature reserve of some significance.
Such SWT advice for conservation volunteers over the years is one of the reasons why there are 1,153 local biodiversity sites across the south today.
One of the 33 South Scotland SWT reserves is, of course, the Falls of Clyde, which stretches along both sides of the dangerous Clyde gorge. The boardwalk that I opened this year has done much to help to make that safer. I have had the delight of visiting the reserve with my family over many years. When my children were small, we experienced the thrill of seeing badgers snuffling out of their setts at dusk. As the children became old enough to hold binoculars, we caught a glimpse of the peregrines nesting in the crevices across the Clyde, which are well protected round the clock by the peregrine watch volunteers. Alternatively, we simply absorbed the tranquil atmosphere along the walkway in the dappled sunlight and left the reserve refreshed. Since I had the honour of opening the new visitor centre earlier this year, there have been 20,000 visits to it; a further 50,000 people have visited the reserve itself.
The importance of SWT species projects also cannot be overestimated. Last summer, I visited the Laidlaw family’s woodland, where they are helping to protect the red squirrel as part of the saving Scotland’s red squirrels project.
At the recent Scottish Parliament reception we welcomed SWT volunteers from all over Scotland. Scott Bland, aged 20, started volunteering at the Falls of Clyde at the age of 6. The East Lothian wildlife watch group’s helpers and young wildlife detectives have worked tirelessly and won a UK award. The trust could not operate without the contribution of volunteers and it is right that we thank them again today, as part of the 50-year celebrations.
At a strategic level, Europe-wide and Scottish biodiversity targets have been missed, and I know that the minister will agree with me that that must not be found to have happened again in 2020. The SWT makes a significant contribution to Scotland’s biodiversity. I was especially pleased to see the conservation progress made by the SWT in all its sites, with 99 per cent of SWT sites of special scientific interest being in “favourable” or “unfavourable but recovering” condition, which is much better than what is being achieved across the SSSI range.
I hope that we can count on continued financial support for the SWT. Looking to the next 25 years in “Natural connections: A vision for re-building Scotland’s wildlife” the SWT calls for
“Government to provide sufficient financial support for landscape-scale action for wildlife and a real recognition of the economic and social value of our environment
Full delivery of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy through an innovative and ambitious programme of actions
A strategic approach to tackling the key threats to ecosystem health”.
I am sure that the minister will agree that those calls are worthy of support. I wish good luck to the SWT for the next 25 years—indeed, the next 50 years.
17:16
I congratulate John Wilson on bringing the debate to the chamber this evening. Fifty years of the Scottish Wildlife Trust is well worth celebrating, by the volunteers who work in it and by the wider public, because of the fantastic work that the trust has done.
I will mention a couple of items in particular. I have been involved in SWT’s bringing to our attention the policy problems that exist in our landscape. In my constituency, there are three reserves. I will mention two in particular; I hope that I will visit the third one this summer, although I pass through it often.
The first is Handa island, which belongs to the Scourie estate and is managed by the SWT. It was like a Robinson Crusoe island on the day that I and my colleague George Farlow visited it with Maggie Keegan. We could see the great skuas sitting about 10m away in the heather—and all the other birds—on a beautiful summer day.
It is important to ensure that people can visit and study in that area, which means that there is expense in making sure that the facilities are up to scratch: there must be modern toilets, meeting places and so on so that the summer residents can make sure that visitors get the best experience. The trust is interested in the biodiversity argument, as well as in ensuring that people get the chance to experience the island and benefit from it.
I was interested in the discussions about the national planning framework. One of the points that the SWT made in its briefing at that time was about getting children who have severe attention deficit disorder involved in nature. It gave us a quote from Richard Louv, the author of “Last Child in the Woods”, who said:
“Time in nature is not leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our children’s health”
and also, by the way, in our own. The hallmark of the SWT’s activities is precious indeed.
Biodiversity issues have been mentioned, particularly by Claudia Beamish. As my previous example shows, the trust has thought about the human aspects of the landscape.
The second area that I want to talk about is the Coigach-Assynt living landscape—CALL—project, which is a landscape-scale project with a 50-year time horizon. It allows us to think about not only the regeneration of biodiversity but the place that humans have in that, in the hope that we can have more people living in those areas, and that they can live sustainably.
At the Achiltibuie end, in Coigach, in the largest area of land that the trust owns, it has been able to support the local community. The community sought to use wind power to support local activities, and the trust saw no difficulty in supporting that, because it realised that, if there is to be a means to look after the whole area and its natural beauty and biodiversity, the local population must be able to sustain itself. That recognition of the symbiotic relationship between nature and people is one of the highlights of the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
I thank Allan Bantick for being the chair in a momentous period and the officers who support him, and I wish Robin Harper, the incoming chair, all the best for many years to come.
17:21
On such occasions, it is conventional to thank the sponsor of the motion, but this time I genuinely thank John Wilson for bringing the debate to the Parliament and for moving seamlessly from his speech in the previous debate to his speech in this one—I suspect that that rarely happens.
I note the wide range of Scottish Wildlife Trust sites, and I endorse everything that Graeme Dey said about its ability to influence us and its professionalism. The fact that the trust is sought out for its views says a lot about the organisation and the people who work for it and is indeed rare.
Talking about rare things, just down the road from where I live and in my constituency is Montrose Basin, which is one square mile of mud that twice a day gets extremely wet. It is an absolutely fabulous and iconic bird sanctuary. Of course, its importance is because of not just the birds but everything else that lives round the basin—a point to which I will return. When I visited the basin, the top brass turned up and the manager was there, so I got to see it the way that they wanted me to see it. However, the people who really make the SWT work are the volunteers. I want to point out that, without them, it just would not happen. They are the ones who are there when nobody else is and who ensure that the 12,000 or so visitors each year to Montrose Basin get a welcome and the information that they need. I notice that there are 2,500 educational visits each year, which adds up to pretty much every local school being engaged and getting there pretty often.
The programme tells me that one activity at the basin is called “Mud Glorious Mud!” but then boringly it tells me that that is for children, which I think is pretty unreasonable, really. Apparently, there is also a half-mile walk out to the middle of the basin—I have not done it, but I guess that people need Stewart Stevenson’s aforementioned wellies and that they must remember to come back before the water does, because it is a respecter of no man.
I guess that the highlight is in late September or early October, when some 60,000 pink-footed geese decide to take off at about half-past six in the morning to look for breakfast in the local fields. For those who are there, it is a spectacular sight—I have to say that I have not yet seen it, although I know just how noisy it is from living close by.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust has a good working relationship with GlaxoSmithKline, or GSK as it is known locally. That is an important indicator of how such things can be made to work. If organisations engage with the local community and local industry, there are ways and means of extracting significant sums of money not only to get a visitor centre built but to have it refurbished. That is an important part of what the SWT does. I note in passing that, as well as all the pink-footed geese and many other species, we have ospreys in the area, which are rarer in Scotland even than golden eagles. That is maybe something that we will develop.
I will close by going back to the issue that Claudia Beamish and Rob Gibson mentioned, which is biodiversity, because I would like to reiterate a hugely important point on that.
We can try to measure biodiversity. A report from the Scottish Wildlife Trust makes the point that it is easier to measure the bigger species, rather more difficult to measure the smaller ones and extremely difficult to count the bugs and beetles. However, I suggest that it is impossible to count the even smaller beasties. The wee ones are a struggle and the micro ones are impossible.
Therefore, although we will try to measure what we can measure—and I am sure that we should—I suggest that, when we are thinking about biodiversity, we should simply look after the landscapes. If we look after the habitats, we will be looking after the species that the habitats support without knowing how to measure them. Therefore, if we look after the habitat—the environment—the bugs and beetles will look after themselves.
17:25
I stand here as a substitute and bring the apologies of my colleague Alex Fergusson. He was a signatory to the motion, a supporter of the motion and had hoped to be here to speak to it, but he has been called away on other parliamentary business and, as a consequence, asked me to step in at the last minute. What a pleasure it is to do so and express my personal support for the motion, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and its work over 50 years.
My local connection—the nearest reserve that the trust manages, which a number of speakers have mentioned—is, of course, Montrose Basin and I am a regular visitor. It is one of the unique habitats that we have in Scotland and it requires to be protected, which the Scottish Wildlife Trust does perfectly well. However, as I did some research into the trust’s activities, I was delighted to see that it is heavily involved in protecting the site at the Loch of the Lowes, where ospreys regularly nest. The trust also needs to be commended for the work that it is doing with a number of extremely rare species in Scotland, including the Scottish wildcat and the increasingly rare red squirrel, which is under threat from the grey squirrel.
My research caused me to discover that the Scottish Wildlife Trust is no stranger to controversy, having taken the lead in criticising Donald Trump for his activities in creating a golf course north of Aberdeen. It was also interesting to see that some people have criticised the trust for changing its position on wind farms. Perhaps Donald Trump had more to do with that than he realises. Sometimes, our enemy’s enemy should be our friend.
I note from my research that the trust is involved in the work with the Scottish beaver. That is topical, because there has been some television coverage this week of the Scottish beaver’s activities. The Government has done a great deal to support the public sector reintroduction in Argyll. The beavers have branched out far more independently in Tayside and far more interesting things are happening there. It is good that our wildlife is prepared to make an effort to preserve itself.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s work is vital. Sometimes, the RSPB has been criticised for being a bit too bird focused and that argument can be made, but the work that the Scottish Wildlife Trust has done over 50 years has demonstrated that it is an effective, very functional organisation that protects some of Scotland’s rarest species. It deserves full congratulation for the 50 years of hard work, the effort that has gone in and the good work that I am sure it will continue to do in the future.
17:29
I am pleased to be able to contribute to the debate and to join other members in highlighting the good will that the organisation enjoys. I thank John Wilson for ensuring that the 50th anniversary of the Scottish Wildlife Trust is recognised in the chamber. It is undoubtedly an important milestone.
I note that John Wilson’s motion makes reference to fantastic initiatives by the Scottish Wildlife Trust around the country, as other members who have spoken in the debate have done. I am pleased to say that there have been some exciting initiatives in my constituency of Falkirk East, all thanks to the Scottish Wildlife Trust. We have the unique Jupiter urban wildlife centre in Grangemouth, which John Wilson referred to. We also have the Carron dam local nature reserve, which I was pleased to open along with pupils from Larbert high school a year ago, and the exciting development of the Kinneil foreshore local nature reserve in Bo’ness, which was once home to Kinneil colliery.
Jupiter urban wildlife centre, the first good news story that I mentioned, was opened in 1992 by Magnus Magnusson. It sits cheek by jowl with the agri-chemical industry in Grangemouth and continues to attract a great deal of good will from the multinational companies that operate in the town. For example, the owners of the land—CalaChem, previously KemFine—rent it to the Scottish Wildlife Trust for the nominal rent of £1 a year.
Last summer, the Jupiter centre was the venue for the minister’s launch of the 2020 challenge for Scotland’s biodiversity, and it attracts a large number of local school pupils. Four Grangemouth primaries—Moray, Bowhouse, Beancross and Sacred Heart—are within walking distance and pay regular visits. In addition, primary and secondary schools from all across the Falkirk Council area come for formal education sessions, with an estimated 18,000 local schoolchildren having visited the centre over the past 22 years. In addition, students from the Falkirk and the Alloa campuses of the local Forth Valley College spend a lot of time there over the winter. Further, to have wildlife such as kingfishers, barn owls, greater spotted woodpeckers, sparrowhawks, willow warblers, eight species of dragonfly, 10 species of butterfly, toads, frogs, palmate newts and pipistrelle bats—to name just a few—only metres from firms manufacturing agri-chemicals is simply amazing.
The Jupiter centre has attracted funding from major firms such as Cala Chem and Syngenta and from Falkirk Environment Trust, and has recently secured funding of £36,000 from Veolia Environmental Trust for the wildlife garden redesign and of almost £10,000 from the communities and families fund to run a forest school programme for the local schools. Tremendous work is going on there, and I am sure that we all wish the centre decades more success and continued support from local industry—I continually remind local industry of the need to continue its support.
The Carron dam local nature reserve is another great wee success story that we have in the constituency, thanks to the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Through close working with Larbert high school, it delivers enhanced learning experiences and skills development for the young people and staff of the school, enhanced transition opportunities, enhanced outdoor learning and sustainable education experiences and enhanced community involvement and enterprise activities, which overwhelmingly fit the core ethos of curriculum for excellence.
Larbert high school has developed a very strong relationship with the reserve. The pupils are part of its management group, which was formed in 2013 and consists of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, representatives of pupils and staff at Larbert high school, members of the local community, Falkirk Council, the communities along the Carron association and the Larbert and Stenhousemuir environmental response group. There is a real sense of ownership by the community.
I see that I am out of time again, unfortunately. The projects that I have referred to all owe thanks to major input from the Scottish Wildlife Trust. In fact, without the Scottish Wildlife Trust, they simply would not have happened. Therefore, on behalf of the people of Falkirk East, I thank the Scottish Wildlife Trust and I wish it another successful half century.
17:34
As other members have done, I thank John Wilson for providing us with the opportunity to have this debate, which is—of course—about thanking the Scottish Wildlife Trust for the work that it has done over the past 50 years. I am sure that the current Minister for Environment and Climate Change will value—as I did, as a minister—the sage words that come from many of the forums that ministers find themselves chairing. I always found it useful to listen to what was being said.
One of the core things that the Scottish Wildlife Trust promotes is ecological diversity. When he was in office, my predecessor Mike Russell—our first Scottish National Party environment minister—introduced the beavers at Knapdale. As a minister, I visited the beavers, and was it not impressive? Those little chappies had done a huge job. The dam was twice my height and more than an acre of forest had disappeared under the loch that was thus formed. The evidence of the beavers chewing the trees could be seen all around. More fundamentally, the biological diversity that came from that reintroduction was substantial. The effect of that tiny number of beavers was quite large, which illustrates the need for care, monitoring and looking after the effects in the long term. It is grossly irresponsible to release new animals without supervision and management.
In this country, as in many other countries, we have experienced introductions that are not down to nature—starting, perhaps, with the brown hare. There has been a long debate about whether the Normans brought it here. However, an archaeological dig in Essex has found that the Romans brought it, so that is thought to have resolved the debate. The brown hare has, therefore, been here a couple of thousand years. The Romans brought the rabbits, too, though I wish that they hadnae, because they chew things in my garden that I would prefer they did not chew. On the other hand, the existence of the rabbit means that the buzzards are doing incredibly well; they are having a very good season. A month ago, they were still flying around with twigs in their beaks, building this year’s nests. They are now avidly hunting the rabbits, and I hope that they continue to do so.
Some introductions are hugely damaging. One such example is the American signal crayfish, which—to be blunt—we do not know how to get rid of. It is possible to get rid of such things, though. We seem to be on the verge of getting rid of the mink from the Western Isles. We know that the Australians managed to eliminate the rabbit in 1973, so it can be done. However, Australia still has the dingo, which is a dog that was introduced to the continent.
The grey squirrel came here from North America and continues to threaten the red squirrel. In the north-east of Scotland, Steve Willis of the SWT is the saving Scotland’s red squirrel project officer. We are making some progress there, and we are isolated from the main body of grey squirrels, which is helpful. I worry about some of the squirrels, though. I was driving up a country road last year and a grey squirrel was standing in the middle of the road. It would not move and I had to stop and wait for it to get off the road.
Nigel Don referred to ospreys. In 1971, the Loch Garten reserve saw the arrival of the first ospreys in Scotland. Since then, they have moved further south and are now breeding in Rutland. If we make a start, we can do well.
The SWT has made a huge contribution to biological and ecological diversity and is of significant importance for the climate change agenda. Its tentacles spread wide. Let us hope that they continue to do so.
17:38
I, too, thank John Wilson for securing the debate, and I thank other members for their contributions to it. I join them in commending the Scottish Wildlife Trust for the excellent work that it does for Scotland’s wildlife and for reaching its 50th anniversary. I see that Maggie Keegan, Allan Bantick and Jonny Hughes are here.
My colleague Richard Lochhead was pleased to attend a reception in the Scottish Parliament recently to mark the 50th anniversary of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and I readily acknowledge the conservation work that has been carried out by the trust over the past half century and, in particular, the contribution that has been made over the years by volunteers. A number of members, including John Wilson, Claudia Beamish and Nigel Don, talked about the important role that volunteers play.
Others have talked about the membership numbers and the number of reserves; John Wilson started with that. I want to pick out some of the reserves that were mentioned. Loch of the Lowes was where I had one of my first ministerial engagements. I enjoyed the visit there to see the satellite data for ospreys, the red squirrels and, through the picture window in the main visitor centre, the birds that were feeding avidly. A number of members, including Graeme Dey, Nigel Don and Alex Johnstone, mentioned the Montrose basin, which is clearly important for communities in Angus and the north-east of Scotland. Claudia Beamish and John Wilson mentioned that the Falls of Clyde are important to them.
My first engagement with the Scottish Wildlife Trust was when I undertook some tree seeding at the wonderful Pease Dean nature reserve in the Scottish Borders, as part of a group of Cockburnspath and Cove community councillors. It was hard work, but it was hugely satisfying, and I commend the activity to others.
John Wilson mentioned the Jupiter urban wildlife centre, and Angus MacDonald talked about how it is an inspirational location for local schoolchildren to visit. When I visited there, I too thought that it is hugely inspirational, and a fitting location—as Angus MacDonald said—for launching the revised biodiversity strategy.
Rob Gibson spoke about reserves in the Scourie area before talking about landscape-scale projects; I will come back to the latter. Angus MacDonald mentioned the Carron dams and the Kinneil foreshore, which are great examples of the local work that the SWT is doing the length and breadth of Scotland.
The trust has also been at the forefront of helping to conserve Scotland’s red squirrels. A number of members mentioned that important work. I would like to take this opportunity to record my thanks for the work that has been done to date by the trust and its partners, who are now on the front line of red squirrel conservation. A special mention should, again, go to the very many volunteers who undertake that work.
As Graeme Dey said, last year I was fortunate to visit Kinnaird castle in Angus, which I did at his invitation. Nigel Don and I went to see the excellent red squirrel conservation work that is being carried out by Kinnaird Estates and the Scottish Wildlife Trust as part of the saving Scotland’s red squirrel project. It was clear from the informative discussion on the visit that the public-private-voluntary partnership approach is the best way—the only way, really—to tackle the landscape-wide conservation effort that is required to ensure the continued presence of red squirrels in our countryside. Stewart Stevenson also referred to the project. I was very heartened to hear the positive view that is being taken by those who work on the front line: while the battle to contain squirrel pox virus goes on in the south, where greys are dominant, we seem to have a realistic prospect of safeguarding red squirrels and pushing back the non-native greys from parts of Scotland north of the central belt.
I am keen to mention the Scottish beaver trial at Knapdale, which Alex Johnstone and others mentioned. The SWT is a partner in the trial, along with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and Forestry Commission Scotland. The project has been impressive and the trial has been very professionally run, and is supported by a lot of good work from a large number of volunteers. I was pleased to visit the trial last year on my way back from Mull, when I was fortunate to see a young beaver kit swimming in the twilight. It was a magic moment.
I was pleased to mark the achievement of the conclusion of the five-year field trial phase at a reception in Parliament earlier this month, when I addressed and thanked many of those who had been involved. I even met the project mascot, Bruce the Beaver. It is possible that there is a photographic record of the event and no doubt a caption competition is accompanying it.
Rather more seriously, the Scottish beaver trial has won awards for its work, including the BBC “Countryfile” project of the year award. It deserves our congratulations on that.
The pressures on Scotland’s landscapes need to be tackled at appropriate scale and they need commitment and ambition, as a number of members observed. The Scottish Wildlife Trust demonstrates all those things and can be proud of the outstanding living landscapes projects at Cumbernauld and Coigach-Assynt, which Rob Gibson mentioned. The projects demonstrate the trust’s expert knowledge and its commitment to integrated land management. The Coigach-Assynt living landscape project is one of Europe’s largest ecosystem regeneration projects, as Rob Gibson said, and is a testament to the trust’s ability to tackle issues on a landscape scale. Nigel Don spoke about the importance of looking after the landscape and letting nature take care of itself. As well as excellent environmental work, the projects also provide local training and employment opportunities, and they strengthen the local cultural heritage links with the land in Coigach-Assynt.
Equally, the living landscape project at Cumbernauld will address a wide range of land use issues and provide many benefits for local people, as well as encouraging wildlife. Both projects represent the very best in partnership working and integrated land management, and they ensure that local people are involved in the important issues in their area and are able to drive land-use choices. That is vital if we are to address the many challenges of land management, such as responding to climate change and managing our natural resources now and in the future.
Rebuilding Scotland’s natural capital is a key priority for both the new Scottish biodiversity strategy natural capital group and the Scottish forum on natural capital. The SWT will make an important contribution to the valuation and future monitoring of Scotland’s natural capital through its membership of both groups.
The biodiversity strategy natural capital group was set up last year to take forward the Scottish biodiversity strategy 2020 challenge, and is looking at a broad range of issues on valuation and use of the environment. Jonny Hughes and his colleagues at SWT have championed this area of debate and were the driving force behind last year’s world natural capital forum gathering in Edinburgh. SWT has a superb track record of promoting greater understanding of ecosystem goods and services, and its membership of both groups will be a tremendous asset, so I thank it for its contribution. The trust is at the forefront of that debate. Aside from its role in the world forum, SWT is one of the five founding partners of the Scottish forum on natural capital.
I turn finally to environmental volunteering, which a number of members mentioned. The conservation work of the SWT, including its volunteers, helps to support the Scottish Government in achieving its conservation objectives. We are very grateful to all those who demonstrate dedication to protecting our environment. Graeme Dey spoke about how he trusts SWT’s advice; I very much agree. Certainly Stewart Stevenson knows it from personal experience, as he mentioned in his speech. I record my gratitude and that of my officials for SWT’s advice. I absolutely agree with Stewart Stevenson about how valuable its role is.
SWT has more than 800 registered volunteers. It has supported the Scottish beaver trial, which Alex Johnstone mentioned, and other projects. It is helping in numerous practical conservation-based projects, including conservation of the Scottish wildcat, which was also mentioned.
We should be very grateful for the contribution that SWT makes and I am glad to hear that everyone across the chamber is. I close by reiterating my very high regard for the work of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. I wish it well in its continued work in the future on behalf of Scotland’s environment and wildlife. I hope that it continues not just for 50 years, but for many years thereafter. Thank you very much from all of us in the chamber today.
Meeting closed at 17:46.Previous
Decision Time