The day at the fruit tree nursery was such an interesting experience for me as they were propagating fruit trees using a technique that I had never encountered before. This has been such a unique experience and everyday brought different aspects of learning into my life in the most creative ways.
In this context, I was particularly interested during my recent visit to Hogskolen I Hedmark, Norway and the associated structured course, to explore how hunting systems and natural wildlife resources were administrated in that country to inform my understanding as to how systems might be improved in the future in Scotland.
Estonian exchange trip August 2014 Kirsty Rosie, Highland Council Ranger Service The project On August 23rd 2014, six Scottish delegates set off on a journey across the north and Baltic seas to visit Estonia. The project was promoted by Arch Network; a Scottish Non-Government Organisation based in Comrie, Perthshire, promoting learning and development in natural […]
“Discussion took place about how this type of activity could be promoted – both in Cyprus and back home in Scotland, if foraging walks or mountain biking trails could be advertised either as written texts, mobile phone applications – or as guided tours, with descriptions of the local environment, plants and wildlife incorporated into them. […]
Encouraging property developers to provide such high quality accommodation is a deliberate policy with the Community Council so as to encourage visitors to stay in the village proper. This formed part of a strategy to create a ‘critical mass’ in terms of population – both transient and resident. At the time of visiting, the village had no local shop and all groceries had to be brought in by personal transport from other locations. Previous attempts had been made to establish a local shop, but the effects of recession and the austerity measures applied to deal with it made it difficult for local people to meet the cost of renting small business premises. Therefore, to ensure the sustainability and growth of the village an effective increase in the population needs to be achieved in order to allow new shops and businesses to be effective and sustainable within the community.
The Nature Exchange provided us with an opportunity to see first hand the management effort applied in various forests to create a diversity of habitats and encourage a wide variety of species. It also demonstrated the variety of access options to the countryside. The species and the evidence of same that we encountered on our […]
At first glance, Latvia is a land of forests and woodlands – some natural, pristine and undisturbed, while others are expertly managed for the benefit of biodiversity, access, recreation and timber production. Interspersed among the forests are many farms and homesteads, managing the land in a welcome low-intensive way and many with their own special […]
It was a great opportunity to be able to spend a week looking at the various types of parks and reserves in the Odra Delta and seeing the benefits and challenges of each. I think we were all blown away by how rich and diverse the wildlife and landscapes are, not just within the protected areas, but in the general landscape of the region as a whole. The main issues facing protected areas and wildlife in general in Poland seems to be a familiar one, lack of funding, staffing and awareness, which is all too familiar a problem in the UK as well. Due to Poland’s history, many people do not feel a connection to the land and so one of the results is that volunteering is nearly non-existant, which is a shame as this could be a rich source of help that is currently unavailable. It will also be interesting to see how the reserves will cope with climate change; increased pressure from predation and invasive species is tied in to this (as seen at Ujscie Warty NP) and subsequently pressure on staff time and funding for projects to deal with this. Hopefully the diversity of the landscapes means […]
A group report covering a range of perspectives and topics from the NET Latvia course 2019. Although a trip focused on understanding the management of nature conservation in Latvia our hosts made sure we received a healthy dose of cultural history to compliment and broaden our understanding of Latvia and its people.
From the wetlands of Kemeri National Park through to the wooded sand stone valley of Gauja National Park the visiting tourist cannot fail to be impressed by the abundance of information signs, play areas, picnic spots, fire pits, boarded walks and walking trails which manage to make you feel welcome without compromising on the natural beauty of the landscape. I think all in the group would agree that we were excited about the accessibility of Latvia to a tourist with return trips already being mapped out.
An account of the history and restoration works undertaken of one of Latvia’s major peat bogs – and the restoration of an adjoining river and associate flood plains.
In terms of organisational structure there are strong similarities to Scotland. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) develops policy. The State Forest Service sits within the MOA and enforces legislation across the industry whilst providing support and issuing licences/permits for all forests regardless of ownership. Finally, the Latvia State Forests Joint Stock Company operates as a commercial entity and manages all state owned forests. However as Normunds went into more detail and as we visited more forests throughout the week it became clear that organisational structure was where any similarities to forestry in Scotland ended. In terms of forest cover, ownership and management Scotland and Latvia could hardly be more different. It was fascinating to spend time in a country with such a different approach, where forestry seems to be winning out over intensive tree farming. Since being back at work I’ve been looking at my sites differently, wondering how much of what I saw could work here and daydreaming of Wolf , Moose, Lynx and Bear…. Paldies Latvia!
In Latvia deer management is administered centrally by the State Forest Service and there is a national register of hunters who require a license to hunt. However management is devolved to the 2074 hunting districts with cull targets and objective agreed locally. This and the requirement of a minimum land area over which to hunt different species means that there is a more collaborative approach to hunting in Latvia. Cull reporting is more rigorous than in Scotland and hunters are required to record where, when and how many deer they harvest.
Given the extent and value of both Norway and Sitka spruce stands in both Scotland and the wider UK, it is vitally important economically and environmentally as described above to minimize and control any outbreaks of dangerous forest pests in coming years. Lessons learned in Latvia as well as other European countries indicate the importance of early detection through annual monitoring and indeed the important relevant intervention to control outbreaks and minimize losses as well as preventing further spread of infestations.
It is an impressive set up, with a (for Latvia) diverse staff of 35, who are highly skilled and experienced in their fields of biology, chemistry, electronics, and others. The umbrella vision for IES and the other 11 companies is an ethos of environmental thinking through medicine, art, beauty, and gastronomy. There is a conscious effort to break the barriers between science based knowledge and the experience of people who have gained a deep understanding of the land through years of working and living with it, blending the two to gain a higher level of understanding. This is done through job swaps, careful recruitment, local projects, and shadowing.
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