SNH Area News


Tayside and Clackmannanshire Correspondents: Sue Warbrick, Helen Taylor, Richard Cooper


Teachers’ guide


Loch Leven National Nature Reserve is a terrific place for children to find out about Scotland’s nature and go home with ‘the bug’ for learning more. It’s a jewel in the crown of Scotland’s biodiversity and literally full of life. It’s Scotland’s largest lowland loch


and one of Britain’s most important sites for waterfowl. Up to 1,000 pairs of nesting ducks, as well as tens of thousands of geese and wildfowl, visit every autumn and winter. But it also has harder-to-spot newts and tiny water beetles, rare plants like lesser butterfly orchid and holy grass, as well as night- flying moths and bats. We’ve now launched a new


teaching guide that you can find on our website. It highlights and helps you to plan opportunities for outdoor learning, with examples of projects that local teachers have already done. It shows that outdoor learning doesn’t need specialist equipment, money for transport or expert instructors. The teachers’ guide is part of the


‘Growing up with Loch Leven’ initiative, which involves a partnership of SNH, RSPB and Perth and Kinross Council. It was set up to encourage local schools to pursue outdoor learning on the reserve throughout a pupil’s school career.


Juniper hunt


Could you help safeguard juniper for the future? This summer we’ve been carrying out a survey of native juniper in Perth and Kinross. It was once a common shrub in Scotland but today is one of Britain's most threatened species. It’s also one of Britain’s only three native conifers – along with Scots pine and yew – and has been traditionally valued as firewood, a building material and a medicine. Nowadays, it’s used to flavour food and drink, particularly gin. Juniper can live for over 100 years,


but a lack of young plants is gradually leading to its extinction in Britain's lowlands. This includes the four sites of special scientific interest in Perth and Kinross that are designated for juniper. A whole host of other wildlife, including insects and fungi, also relies on juniper. All our current survey records


appear on the website www.snh.gov. uk/about-snh/snh-in-your-area/ tayside-and-clackmannanshire/ the-great-perthshire-juniper-hunt. However, there may be new areas that we don’t know about, or simply juniper outposts that no-one has ever recorded. If you know of wild juniper growing somewhere in Perth and Kinross, please take a look at our website. For further information, or if you have difficulty downloading the map or instructions, please email juniper@ snh.gov.uk.


www.snh.gov.uk


Weed wipe out


The River South Esk is under threat of invasion! Non-native weeds, including giant hogweed, are taking over river banks and harming the important native wildlife. This large river catchment in Angus is a special area of conservation for Atlantic salmon and freshwater pearl mussels, both of which are indirectly affected by the weeds. The catchment also supports a wide range of economic activity through farming, forestry, fisheries, tourism and recreation. To tackle the problem, the River


South Esk Catchment Partnership are clearing the weeds over a large area in 2010. This will benefit the salmon, mussels and other native wildlife. It will also help the local community by reducing the health risks posed by giant hogweed and improving access opportunities around the river. Raising awareness of non-native invasive species should also limit their spread and improve the variety of wildlife. The partnership are also developing


a ‘river watch’ scheme where the public can report invasive weeds or poaching of freshwater pearl mussels. Wildlife records can be provided too. You can find out more at


www.angusahead.com/southesk or call project coordinator Kelly Ann Dempsey on 01307 473 355.


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