Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre

A summer internship in Ayrshire
15 October 2019

Throughout my internship I’ve gradually settled into the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s routine, even though we tend to do different things every week. Planting wildflowers at Barmill © Daniel McLaughlin I have a new found appreciation on the amount of preparation and work behind the scenes that is necessary to set up each volunteering activity. From reading through action plans to see what needs done, compiling risk assessments and getting equipment looked out in advance, a lot…

Challenges of managing nature
15 October 2019

I have now spent six months as a European Voluntary Service volunteer with the Scottish Wildlife Trust working on different reserves around Scotland.  I’ve worked most recently at Rahoy Hills with Steve Hardy the reserve ranger, which inspired me to write this blog on the complexity of managing this special reserve. Rahoy Hills form a beautiful reserve on west coast next to Lochaline. The woodlands, grasslands, lochans and hills that make up the reserve provide incredible diversity and a stunning…

Bee-education
11 October 2019

On a crisp and sunny morning, myself Nick and Catherine of the Scottish Wildlife Trust People and Wildlife Team headed out of Edinburgh to Fife to visit Burntisland Primary School to deliver a pollinator workshop. I was really excited to to be able to take part and transmit my passion for protecting wildlife, particularly of our black and yellow striped friends. The school grounds were swarming with children, many accompanied by their parents. The children were visibly excited and the…

Wellbeing and walking: finding new routes
10 October 2019

It’s widely accepted that interacting with nature can improve your mental health. In this guest article, Graham Morgan describes his personal experiences of this to mark World Mental Health Day 2019. Do you experience sadness, or that white panic when your thoughts will not stay still? I was at my loneliest, saddest and most frantic about ten years ago, after I left my wife, when my son decided he no longer wanted contact with me. I remember those years with…

Let’s Walk! A Guide to the Montrose Basin Reserve Walks
06 October 2019

Are you longing to see a kingfisher? Would you like to see basking seals? Or, do you like to challenge yourself to identify wading birds? Well, at Montrose Basin there are 5 main walks that will allow you take in the sights and sounds of the different areas of the wildlife reserve. They all offer a unique perspective of this fantastic reserve and the wildlife you’re likely to see in each area changes with the seasons. This handy guide will…

Now is the time for a Marine Stewardship Fund
06 October 2019

The 2019 State of Nature report and the IPCC’s : ‘The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate’ add to the growing amount of evidence on the concerning state of our environment, and the subsequent impact on society. The message is stark and if we are to reverse the observed decline in environmental health, it is clear fundamental changes in how we use and manage the environment are required. Our concerns over environmental health extend into our oceans, where decades of intensive…