Scotland Outdoors

Mark Stephen meets Professor Jonathan Silvertown whose book Nature Magicians is all about leaves and why they matter

Funding is being made available to improve core paths in Aberdeen over the next few years and Rachel joined Chris York from environmental consultancy Walking the Talk to find out what a core path actually is

Mark visits a surf resort and he’s not had to go that far! He’s at Lost Shore in Newbridge just outside Edinburgh to find out what’s available at the inland resort which boast Europe’s largest wavepool

This week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast excerpt features Gabriella Bennett, author of How to Build a City. Helen Needham met up with Gabriella in Glenrothes where she spent part of her childhood to look at some of the New Town’s public art

Pink footed geese have returned to our shores and the Scottish Wildlife Trust are hosting Goosefest to highlight the influx of geese to Montrose Basin. Visitor centre manager Joanna Peaker gives Mark the rundown on the staggering number of geese descending on the Basin

Securing a job as a ranger is a tough task with each post attracting huge numbers of applicants. Rachel talks to apprentice ranger Jenna Ross to find out how she managed to land her dream role working on the diverse habitats surrounding a windfarm in Moray

Refugia – A Celtic Rainforest is the name of new film exploring the temperate rainforests of South West Scotland. Colin Tennant is one of the film makers who spent a year filming the flora and fauna of the area

In the late 1800s, Wallace, a collie-setter became well known as a fire dog who was adopted by Glasgow’s fire service. 104 years after his death, a statue of Wallace has recently been unveiled at Central Station. Mark hears the story of Wallace and some of his heroics

How well do you know your wild plants? Rachel has been testing the knowledge of Amelie Mackrory-Bowden, a seasonal ranger with Cairngorms National park who has been researching this vast topic, uncovering some really interesting stories and facts

In memory of Scottish crime writer Peter May who passed away earlier this week, we go back to 2013 when Mark met Peter at Port of Ness close to the Butt of Lewis, the very place he took direct inspiration for the first of the trilogy, The Blackhouse

Helen Needham meets up with writer Gabriella Bennett to discuss her book 'How to Build a City'. They meet in Glenrothes in Fife where Gabriella spent part of her childhood.

Up until now, access from the top station of the Cairngorm funicular railway onto the mountain was not allowed outside the winter snowsports season, unless visitors were accompanied by a guide. However, as Mark went to find out, a trial is underway to allow visitors carrying GPS handsets to explore an "approved zone" in the mountain's ski area. Mark hears how the system works.

Rachel is on the Newhailes Estate near Musselburgh exploring a rather unusual shell grotto. Diane Martin from the National Trust for Scotland shows her around and tells her about the history of the once elaborately decorated building.

After years of vital conservation work, the historic palm houses at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are just about ready to open their doors to the public. Mark went along to see how the impressive 19th century glasshouses are looking.

During Mark’s visit to Dumfries House in Ayrshire last week he met Heather McPike, the Farming and Rural Skills Manager there. She tells him all about the different programmes they offer which aim to encourage young people from different backgrounds into farming.

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Rachel is in Portsoy on the Banffshire Coast hearing about the village’s fascinating history connected with the quarrying of Portsoy Marble or serpentine. We hear an excerpt where Rachel finds out about a project to save and restore some of the historic listed buildings at the harbour once involved with the marble trade.

Have you noticed a lack of wasps this summer? Is your house being taken over spiders? We chat live to Craig Macadam, Director of Conservation with the charity Buglife about how insects have fared over the summer and what the move into autumn means for them.

Back near Musselburgh, Rachel is exploring another building on the Newhailes Estate. The restored doocot was a little too empty for staff, so some volunteers stepped up to create some rather cute residents.

And Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone get up close and personal with some Highland Cows near Inverness who are proving rather popular with tourists and locals alike.

Rachel Stewart finds out about a major heritage project linked to the distinctive stone.

The Denburn car park in Aberdeen city centre is well known by locals, but not many people might be as familiar with what sits on top of it. Around the derelict health centre, a community group, Upper Denburn Gardens, is working to improve the site and use it to hold events. Laura Guthrie catches up with one of the volunteers, Joe, and hears about their plans.

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark spent time with former marine Jock Hutchison. Jock and his wife Emma run the charity Horseback UK from their Aberdeenshire farm. We hear an excerpt where Jock tells Mark about how the charity first started working with injured servicemen.

Rachel explores the Alva Ice House in Clackmannanshire, which will soon be welcoming visitors as part of Doors Open Day. Susan Mills shows Rachel the restoration work that’s been carried out on the building.

Earlier this week, Mark spent some time at Dumfries House, the headquarters of the charity The King’s Foundation. On Wednesday, some of the leading voices in food production and food security were attending a summit, alongside King Charles, to discuss the future of food production. Mark speaks to the organiser and some of the delegates, including Dr Chris van Tulleken, about what needs to happen to ensure a fair and sustainable future of food.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Millenium Link project which reopened and reconnected Scotland’s lowland canals. As part of the anniversary, the Canal Listening Project has been gathering the rich sounds of the Forth and Clyde and Union canals. Rachel meets some of those involved in the project and hears some of the stories they have collected.

We hear live from Dr Anna McGregor, one of the researchers involved in a University of Glasgow project which has rediscovered long-lost oyster beds on the west coast of Scotland thanks to research involving Gaelic and Scots.

While he was at Dumfries House, Mark met up with a group of school pupils taking part in the King’s Foundation Food for the Future programme. The project starts off with the kids making compost, and eventually they will grow food and take what they’ve learned back to school. Mark hears how the project impacts the pupils involved.

Rachel is on the Aberdeenshire coast hearing about a new food-tourism experience, the Cullen Skink Odyssey, which tells the story of the famous fish soup through a film.

And Mark couldn’t resist stopping for a chat with Rosie the Ayrshire Dairy cow at Dumfries House. Although, as he discovered, she’s a bit quieter than your average cow...

Horseback UK is a charity run by Jock Hutchison and his wife Emma bringing together horses and humans to overcome some of the stresses of everyday life

Mark visits the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen where researchers are carrying out a project to restore, preserve and digitise irreplaceable soil and peat maps, aerial imagery, field notebooks and survey records collected since 1947. Mark hears why Hutton Unearthed: A New National Soils and Peat Map Archive is so important for the future of soil health.

Stirling is busy this weekend as Radio 2 in the Park rolls into town but one of the other popular locations near the city is Dumyat. Rachel visited recently to see the work of the Future Forest Company which has been planting thousands of trees on the estate.

In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Mark spent a morning with wildlife photographer Karen Miller. They spent some time trying to spot voles.

This week, a new path was officially opened at Ben Rinnes in Moray. Rachel went along to test out the new route, which was funded by a local windfarm, alongside Ella Grant from Friends of Ben Rinnes, Marion McDonald from Foundation Scotland and Ewan Watson from the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland.

Becoming a worm farmer is perhaps not an obvious career choice, however Scott Baxter has turned a lifelong fascination with the invertebrates into his job. Mark went to visit his wormery near Balmedie in Aberdeenshire to hear how business is booming.

We hear live about Earth Matters, the exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh which is a multidisciplinary salute to soil.

Phil Sime is on Nairn beach trying out some outdoor cooking alongside influencer Etta May who tells him about moving from Harris to the mainland to launch her social media profile which aims to inspire other young people to get active in the outdoors.

Mark is in Tranent visiting the Heugh Community Garden which is located on the site of an old gas works. He hears how the area has been transformed and meets some of those involved.

And Rachel visits an exhibition at the National Library for Scotland which explores Scotland's relationship with rain. Curator Sarah Mackay shows her around.

Mark Stephen talks to former colleague Karen Miller about swapping her desk for wildlife.

Mark visits NatureScot’s Forvie National Nature Reserve in Aberdeenshire where little egrets have bred in north-east Scotland for the first time. They are a welcome addition to the reserve although as manager Catriona Reid tells him, climate change is thought to be the reason that these once Mediterranean birds have travelled further north.

Rachel meets the fourth finalist in the environmental category of the BBC Scotland Make a Difference Awards. EPIC, Enabling Projects in Clackmannanshire, volunteers are nominated for their efforts in improving biodiversity and access to nature across their area. Rachel catches up with some of them as they carry out work clearing pathways.

With the impact of the Cairngorm wildfires still being felt, attention has turned to how similar scenarios might be tackled in the future. Earlier this week Mark met Wildfire Consultant Michael Bruce at his estate at Glentanar in Deeside. Michael is also Chair of the South Grampian Wildfire Group and was involved in tackling the Glenmore fire. He tells Mark about the different aspects involved in tackling wildfires and what we might have to consider in the future in terms of land management.

Rachel is in Dunfermline meeting some of the famous peacocks of Pittencrieff Park. The avian celebrities are well looked after by a group of volunteers including warden Carlyn Cane who tells Rachel about how they came to call the park their home and what’s involved in looking after a muster of peacocks.

Morven Livingstone visits North Kessock Primary School and meets up with Liaison teacher Laura Dorantt who's joined by JJ Gladwin founder of Go Flourish, a charity whose aim is to reconnect children with nature.

This Saturday is the World Stone Skimming Championships on Easdale Island in the Inner Hebrides. We’re joined live by one of the competitors, Andy Reynolds, who came to stone skimming after suffering a stroke when he was just 44. He chats to Mark and Rachel about what it is about skimming stones that’s helped his recovery.

Artist and outdoor enthusiast Steven Sinclair currently has a collection on display at Dundee Rep titled Landskein. It’s a term that was coined by an artist in the western isles and gained popularity through Robert McFarlane's work to unearth lost words to describe nature. Rachel met him to take a look at his work and hear more about what inspires him.

And in this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast Helen Needham chats to illustrator and artist Jackie Morris about her latest work, The Book of Birds. We hear an excerpt where Jackie tells Helen about her admiration for the cuckoo.