Blog

Farmland waders - Populations in peril

A once common sight across Scottish farmland, breeding waders have declined in recent decades, not only in Scotland but across the UK and North-West Europe. These declines are primarily due to agricultural improvement of their favoured wet grassland habitats,

New protocol underlines good community engagement practice

I’m sure we’d all agree that good relations between land owners, land managers, rural businesses and local communities are in our shared interests. And it’s in this spirit that we welcome the Scottish Land Commission’s (SLC) publication of the first in a

Evidence and emotion: getting the balance right in Scottish land management

I think it would be fair to say that most people love Scotland’s countryside. That’s certainly the case with Scotland’s land owners and managers, who live, work or play in our communities. It’s their passion that drives them to invest in and care for rural

Brexit or not - are you ready?

Apparently 62% of Scottish businesses have done no contingency or scenario planning to help prepare for Brexit. Whether that’s exactly right, the figure doesn’t surprise us here at Scottish Land & Estates, and indeed we’d expect it to be even higher in land

Putting people at the heart of the countryside

Scottish Land & Estates chairman David Johnstone looks ahead to 2019. When you think of rural Scotland, what springs to mind first? Diverse wildlife? Beautiful landscapes? Outdoor pursuits? Whatever it is for you, there’s one thing that I feel is often

Scotland is blazing a trail in mountain bike tourism

Karen Ramoo, who leads on access in our policy team, explains some of the work going on to ensure Scotland’s growth in mountain bike tourism is safe and sustainable. Scotland’s mountain biking sector is very important to our economy and to our vision of a

Life as the Learner of the Year

Today’s guest blog is from Megan Rowland, Assistant Land Manager on Gordonbush estate. Brought up in a farming and crofting community, Megan relocated to the Highlands in 2012 to work within the conservation sector. After becoming increasingly interested in

Land use is now the big question

A few weeks have now passed since the transmission of BBC Scotland’s documentary The Battle for Scotland’s Countryside, and the intervening period has allowed a chance to ponder on what the programme explained – and some of the points it didn’t manage to

Scottish Tourism week – so good they made it a month!

That’s right, the whole of the month of March has been designated ‘Scottish Tourism Month’ this year. It’s a step up from the 8-day-week of previous years and is based on the need for more time to cram in the multitude of events that seek to celebrate tourism