Environment

In our new video case study you can hear about the Castlebank Park project which was supported by Lanarkshire LEADER.​

Castlebank Park is a local landmark that has been the subject of several restoration projects in recent years. The Lanark Community Development Trust have been working hard at Castlebank and a Horticultural Centre was unveiled in early 2014, with funding from Lanarkshire LEADER.

A new publication highlights examples of social innovation in mountain regions of Europe.

In the brochure from SIMRA (Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas) you can find out how rural communities are capitalising on the natural and social assets in mountainous areas in terms of community life, living environment and dynamic approaches to governance.

A short film highlights the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere in South West Scotland and the role social enterprise plays within it.

The video, which you can watch below, shows people making the most of the natural assets through a range of adventurous outdoor pursuits such as mountain biking, canyoning and sea kayaking led by ACE Adventure Centre for Education.

Scotland’s west coast seas are a global hotspot for cetaceans and basking sharks, and need better protection, said Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust as it released a new marine atlas capturing key discoveries made over the past 15 years. 

The first Hebridean Marine Mammal Atlas showcases findings by the charity’s scientists and citizen science volunteers during annual research expeditions on its specialized yacht Silurian.

Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland about 400 years ago. In 2009, an official trial reintroduction of beavers, the Scottish Beaver Trial (SBT), took place in mid-Argyll. Since 2006, beavers have also been reported in Tayside as a result of unauthorised releases. The Scottish Government announced in November 2016 that it was minded to retain the Eurasian beaver in Scotland, and for them to be allowed to recolonise naturally.

An innovative Highlands project offering hope for the long-term survival of Scotland’s red squirrels will be stepped up if conservation charity Trees for Life wins an online vote for a major European funding award. 

Chemical pollutants in our seas could lead to the disappearance of half of the world’s killer whales in just decades.

Despite the first moves to ban polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 40 years ago, the chemicals remain a deadly threat to the mammals at the top of the food chain.