17 Apr 2025
Image description: A beaver sitting in water. Image by Matej Bizjak / Pexels. An opinion piece by farmer and owner of Argaty Red Kites, Tom Bowser, has called out NatureScot for stalling beaver reintroductions, declaring “something is wrong at the heart of NatureScot”. Tom Bowser questions the Nature Agency’s ongoing blocking of beaver releases, […]
20 Mar 2025
Image description: offshore windfarm captured during sunset. Photo by Greece-China News/ Pexels The Scottish Government and environment agency NatureScot have been urged to step in to protect freshwater pearl mussels before they become extinct, due to the threat posed by wind farm developments. Freshwater pearl mussels are critically endangered, and professor of aquatic systems […]
25 Jan 2025
A new report from NatureScot and SAMS sheds light on the significant changes occurring in Scotland’s rocky intertidal zones. The study, which surveyed 167 sites around Scotland’s coast, reveals how seaweed populations are being affected by climate change. Here are some key findings: 1. Overall Shift Towards Warmer Water Species: The study observed a […]
02 Jul 2024
NatureScot and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) have completed a count of burrows on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve (NNR) in the Firth of Forth, a protected and internationally important habitat for seabirds. Based on their all-island count this summer, scientists estimate there are around 52,000 occupied puffin burrows, compared […]
13 Jun 2023
From NatureScot: A trailblazing marine environment fund – designed to help ensure Scotland’s coasts and seas are healthy, productive and nature-rich – is already having a great impact, after its first two years saw over £3.2m in funding distributed to 45 projects. Examples of the projects funded around Scotland include improving the ability to rescue […]
31 Mar 2022
Scotland’s rivers, lochs and wetlands are being restored back to good health, thanks to support from NatureScot’s Biodiversity Challenge Fund. In the past three years, the Scottish Government has invested £3.7m in 27 freshwater and river restoration projects across the country, using innovative, nature-based solutions to help reverse biodiversity loss and mitigate against the effects […]
17 Aug 2021
The number of beavers has more than doubled in Scotland in the last three years to around 1000 animals, according to a NatureScot survey published today. The new population survey has not only found that beaver numbers have increased, but that the population is in a rapid expansion phase as beavers spread out from Tayside, […]