Nominee Summary
Loch of Clunie Preservation Group is a charity run entirely by local volunteers who love and care for the loch and surrounding area in Perthshire, “working together to protect our natural environment, ancient monuments and local community”. Loch of Clunie is a beautiful, tranquil freshwater loch, one of a series of Kettle Lochs in the Lunan Valley which form part of the River Tay Catchment. It is as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) recognising the important species and ecosystems this supports alongside its important history.
What makes your nominee stand out?
The primary goal of the group is to educate, and to encourage respect for the loch and surroundings. The residents will try to clear up litter, and often vile detritus. The group believe that key to solving this challenge is education and working with their own local school used some of the children’s artwork in the initial series of signage posted around the loch. The group have been supported by local Councillor Ian James who understood the challenges being faced in Clunie and across other Perthshire landmarks and beauty spots. Following a meeting of the group in the summer of 2022, Cllr James drafted a motion to be tabled by Perth & Kinross Council asking that the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, the vehicle which supports public access to Scotland’s land, be reviewed. The council carried the motion which was presented to Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Mairi McAllan MSP. However, in a cross boundary conversation with Angus Council which faced similar experiences of disruptive and destructive visitor access, this led to Angus Council following suit and tabling their own similar motion to Scottish Government, resulting in a first round table meeting in Holyrood in November 2022 chaired by Edward Mountain MSP with a strong consensus across all invited stakeholders that approaching its 20th year since implementation SOAC did require review. A resounding example of local democracy and the power of committed people to drive forward change at governmental level.
Changes that have been implemented
The local community acted positively to undertake visitor management, where necessary with their own resources and at their own cost. Support and funding from the local council helped create limited parking suitable to the capacity for the area, the provision of toilets and bins along with the necessary enforcement services provided through community policing and a county wide ranger service implemented to work with the public. The group also secured Community Investment Funding to design and erect professional, all weather signage to support their aims to inform, educate and hopefully influence visitors to the importance of the environment of the Loch and the group formalised as a registered charity to help with future funding and have built a social media platform through a new webpage and Facebook. Five years on and the loch remains a great draw for visitors, many still sadly bringing a lack of respect for the area they have come to enjoy. The vision is a future where people will come to watch wildlife and enjoy the environment in a sensitive way and to get there the group are now applying further pressure on NatureScot on the implementation of byelaws. This has been a herculean effort from a small group of local residents faced with unprecedented challenges which have included instances of real threat to life and property but is also an example of the incredible bond of people to their place and its nature and the willingness to stand and fight to protect home.
Overcoming challenges
The Steering group was initially formed in 2020 when in the midst of the Cornovirus pandemic the loch became a hotspot for visitors with numbers far exceeding the SSSI capacity to cope without impact, plus the further significant challenges faced by the community created through anti-social behaviour. Local residents were witness to vandalism and criminal damage to property and nature with their own lives upended by excessive visitor numbers blocking roads and access with their cars and disrupting rural tranquillity with fires, noise and general chaos which came to a shocking head when one group set upon and stabbed an estate worker. In response the local community rallied and initially a WhatsApp group helped inform and coordinate communication between residents and the local authority and police. A local steering group helped work with the council to introduce Clearways and manage parking. More direct action by local landowners ensured sites naturally attracting overflow parking were made inaccessible and as well as clearing up the mess, signage was also deployed, some of which organised with the local school by way of engagement and education. “Unfortunately, not everyone in Scotland understands how to respect natural beauty, and for many years the lochside has been abused by ill-informed individuals and groups who seem to think the Scottish countryside is there to be trashed. They have come to the loch due to the stunning landscape, yet decline to leave the place as tidy as they found it.” Stated the steering group.
