Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre

Protecting wildlife at Spey Bay
13 February 2020

Spey Bay is a coastal wildlife reserve located along the mouth of the river Spey in the north east of Scotland. It has long been recognised as an area of exceptional interest as it comprises a large variety of landscape and wildlife. However, this little haven for wildlife and some rare species needs to be managed to tackle some threats to its biodiversity, particularly the threat of invasive non-native species (INNS). Thanks to my Erasmus + volunteering placement with the…

My internship with the Scottish Wildlife Trust in Ayrshire
03 February 2020

My name is Jen and I graduated from the University of Stirling in 2019 with a degree in Environmental Geography degree. I applied for a Scottish Wildlife Trust internship and was delighted to be offered the placement. Since November, I have been assisting Harry Richards, the Trust’s Ayrshire Community Engagement Officer based in Irvine so far. So far, I have been spending my time working on the Connecting Communities to Nature Project, which is funded by the National Lottery Heritage…

Why action is needed to save Scotland’s seas
21 January 2020

Scotland’s marine environment is vast. It covers an area six times its land mass, over 60% of the UK’s seas, and provides society with a wealth of benefits. A well-grown otter cub about six months old among kelp on sea shore. Shetland Isles. Otter © Chris Gomersall / 2020VISION These benefits include food, jobs, recreation, education, and the ability to lock away an enormous amount of carbon – Scotland’s marine sediments alone can capture the equivalent…

Steep declines in Scottish environment funding must be reversed
14 January 2020

The festive period drew to a close with one big noticeable difference this year. The Scottish Budget was not published in December as we have come to expect. Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has now indicated that the draft budget will be published on 6 February, however this delay has not prevented some frank discussion about public spending on Scotland’s environment. Scottish Environment LINK has highlighted the steep declines in funding for our environment agencies and environmental research over the last…

Volunteering in the North East of Scotland
10 January 2020

My name is Nereida and I am a European Voluntary Service volunteer from Spain. I have been working with the Scottish Wildlife Trust for two months and alongside the other volunteers in Dundee we help manage the Trust’s varied wildlife reserves in North East Scotland. To do this we undertake many different and necessary maintenance tasks. Here are some of the tasks that I have helped with since I started with the Trust. We have put up fences to controls…

How to create a wildlife pond
08 January 2020

In the last century, more than half of all ponds in the UK countryside have been lost. With more than two thirds of freshwater species relying on pond habitats, one of the best things that you can do to add wildlife value to your garden or neighbourhood is to install a wildlife pond. These freshwater havens can be as big or small as you like, even an upturned dustbin lid sunk into the ground and filled with water will soon…