The GoG Blog

By Drew Ainslie, Head Keeper of two moors in the Lammermuir Hills I have been a game keeper all my working life and today – the so-called glorious 12th of August – is a time that has always filled me with feelings of purpose and pride. The heather-clad hills are at their best, a tremendous

Most people won’t be aware of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill discreetly working its way through the Scottish Parliament. It certainly hasn’t attracted the same strident criticism as the deposit return scheme; nor the palpable disquiet that surrounds highly protected marine areas; nor the eviscerating anger over the challenges of providing a satisfactory ferry

By Ross Ewing, Moorland Director at Scottish Land & Estates (Video highlights from the parliamentary session can be viewed at the end of this blog) Stakeholders with an interest in the proposed Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill returned to Holyrood this week for the second evidence session with witnesses. Legal Adviser, Ashley McCann, led

By Ross Ewing, Moorland Director at Scottish Land & Estates (Video highlights from the parliamentary session can be viewed at the end of this blog) After a long build up, the first stakeholder evidence session on the proposed Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill was held at the Scottish Parliament this week. At a meeting

Scotland is home to an astounding number of birds of prey – and grouse moor management is one of the key environments for species to succeed, with high quality habitat and fewer predators than other landholdings. Such has been the success of recent conservation efforts, that of the UK’s 21 bird of prey species, only

By Iain Hepburn, head gamekeeper, Dunmaglass Estate and a retained firefighter with the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service Not many of us will have cause for celebration when hearing last week’s announcement about the proposed licensing of grouse moors but what’s more deeply concerning would be the licensing of muirburn. The true value of muirburn

By Ross Ewing, Moorland Director at Scottish Land & Estates It is often forgotten that red grouse are wild birds living in an uncompromising moorland habitat. Even their Greek trinomial name – Lagopus lagopus scotica – speaks to unique characteristics that allow them to survive in harsh environments. Lago means ‘hare’ or ‘rabbit’; while pous

This year’s Estates that Educate programme is larger than ever before with nearly 800 children taking part in hands-on demonstrations of rural conservation and land management skills across Scotland. Primary and secondary school pupils in the Angus Glens, Grampian, Southern Uplands, Tayside, Strathdearn and Speyside will benefit from five consecutive weeks of moorland education sessions

Ronnie Kippen, retired gamekeeper served over 50 plus years on moorlands, 41 of which as keeper and then head keeper on an estate in Glen Quaich, Perthshire. Ronnie has witnessed considerable change over his time out working on the Scottish moors. Here he reflects on the increasing professionalism of the job and the intense interest

NatureScot’s progress report on its Pollinator Strategy published this week includes details of exciting conservation projects to help boost the number of pollinators in the lowlands and in urban areas of Scotland. In the uplands, traditional moorland management over thousands of acres already provides a superb environment for flowering plants and crucial native pollinators such