Welcome
Kenneth Fowler Head of Communications Scottish Natural Heritage
In May this year, the minister for tourism and enterprise, Jim Mather, launched a year-long celebration of Scotland's food and drink. The initiative is part of the legacy of 2009's highly successful Year of Homecoming, and it aims to showcase the wealth of quality food and drink that Scotland produces. It also positions Scotland as a food lovers’ destination for visitors and encourages people living in Scotland to enjoy the fantastic produce available on our doorstep. From whisky to seafood, venison to cheese, the quality of the food and drink
that we produce in Scotland is outstanding. But this goes hand-in-hand with the quality of our environment – our produce is wholly dependent on our natural resources, whatever the scale. Our world famous and globally successful whisky industry is worth £2.7 billion
to the Scottish economy. It depends on a small number of natural ingredients, with a local supply of clean, fresh water being critical to the successful operation of any distillery. Similarly, without a healthy marine environment, we wouldn't be able to enjoy the Scottish seafood for which we have such a strong reputation. That’s why, in this edition of the magazine, we celebrate the Year of Food
and Drink and the role that a healthy environment plays in sustaining our quality produce. In Scotland's not so distant past, we grew our own fruit in gardens and
orchards all over the country. Not just apples, but plums and pears too. Over the past few years, the community-led group Scottish Orchards have been encouraging adults and children across Scotland to plant fruit trees and grow their own fruit. This is a great example of work to help restore a type of Scottish- grown food that has, perhaps, been neglected. Elsewhere in this issue there’s an insight into the remarkable world of the
Manx shearwater. It returns over huge distances each year to breed high on the mountains of the national nature reserve on Rum, forming one of Scotland's largest seabird colonies. And our NNR walk for this edition is around the Coire Loch in Glen Affric, a stunning place to experience the beauty of our ancient Caledonian pinewood first hand. Nature photography also features prominently in this issue, with a feature
on the Scottish Nature Photography Fair and some of the inspirational shots that appeared in this annual SNH-hosted event. For the first time, we’re also presenting some of the photographs that have been sent in by Nature of Scotland readers. Please keep them coming. I hope you enjoy this autumn edition of The Nature of Scotland and that it
inspires you to get out there and enjoy the natural world... just remember to take your camera and a Cambusnethan Pippin!
www.snh.gov.uk
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