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Written by Tim Ransom

Category: Leaflets

Published: 16 September 2011

We have produced a new leaflet on Groundhoppers of Badenoch and Strathspey (v2 revised March 2013).

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Written by Tessa Jones

Category: Meetings

Published: 22 June 2011

Illustrated Talk by Cat Robinson, Scottish Mink Initiative & Andy Holtby, Highland Council, non-native plants and current action in the Spey.

Wednesday 29th June 2011 at the Active Cafaidh, Grampian Road, Aviemore. PH22 1PT, 6.30pm for 7.00pm

Wholesome food and refreshments will be available.

BSCG’s next meeting will be an illustrated talk about invasive species in the Cairngorms with Cat Robinson who is working on mink in the Cairngorms area and Andy Holtby of  Highland Council  who will talk about non-native plants and current action in the Spey.

We are particularly grateful to the Active Cafaidh who have made their premises available free of charge. We are starting the meeting early to take advantage of the refreshments the café has to offer.

The Scottish Mink Initiative which is a community based initiative covering the whole of north east Scotland and the western Highlands.  Cat Robinson covers the Cairngorms and Moray area.

The Scottish Mink Initiative is working to eradicate breeding mink from north east Scotland to protect nationally important populations of declining wildlife including the water vole and ground nesting birds such as lapwing and curlew.  They are recruiting local volunteers to monitor mink rafts which involves taking ownership of a raft and visiting it once a fortnight to check for mink footprints.  It is a great opportunity to see what wildlife there is on local lochs, burns and rivers as footprints often found include otters, and where they are still found, water voles.  They are also going to be running water vole surveys and non-native plant surveys in the Badenoch and Strathspey area so that their distribution can be monitored, and are looking for volunteers to help with this.

Please download and display poster.

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Written by Gus Jones

Category: Meetings

Published: 21 June 2011

The Scottish Mink Initiative (SMI) is looking for people to join over 200 volunteers in the monitoring and removal of breeding American mink.  The SMI covers over 20,000 hectares of north Scotland and the Highlands, and incorporates the previous water vole conservation projects.

As the new work area is much larger than before, new volunteers are being sought to monitor mink rafts every fortnight and report on any footprints found.  Equipment, training and support are provided by the Initiative through local Officers.

The Initiative is being carried out in partnership by the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS), Scottish Wildlife Trust, the University of Aberdeen, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and more than 16 other organisations.  

The £920,000 funding has been awarded in recognition of the huge impact American mink have on native wildlife.  Species which are particularly at risk are those which mink find easiest to catch; populations of water voles have been found be disappear from areas which mink have colonised and birds such as curlew and oyster catchers are vulnerable as mink catch adults as they sit on the nest and raid nests to eat the eggs.

If you would like to find out more about the Initiative and how you can get involved, please contact Cat Robinson at either This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 07825 185178.

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Written by Tessa Jones

Category: Meetings

Published: 20 March 2011

Illustrated talk  by Dave Genney, 7.30pm on 31 March, Nethybridge Church Hall.  Everyone Welcome.

The next meeting of the Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group is an illustrated talk on ‘Discovering Lichens of the Highlands’ by Dr Dave Genney. This will take place on Thursday March 31 at 7.30 in Nethy Bridge Church Hall. Scotland has a remarkable 1,500 species of lichen and their abundance and variety makes them internationally important. They grow in an enormous range of habitats from the seashore to the high tops, including in extreme environments hostile to many other forms of life.

Dave Genney is Scottish Natural Heritage’s lichen specialist. He made the exciting find of a new lichen for Scotland when he came across the black beaded lichen in the west highlands.

Lichens are sensitive indicators of pollution, food for reindeer and nesting material for  birds. They were once commercially important for traditional dyeing in Scotland, giving rise to the proverb ‘Cattle on the hills, Gold on the rocks’.

The meeting is open to everyone and non members are welcome.

Please print and display Event Poster.

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Written by Administrator

Category: Meetings

Published: 21 February 2011

Open Public Meeting, Illustrated Talks By Claire Dunn: Guassa Geladas and Roy Brown: Bwindi Mountin Gorillas.

Wednesday 23rd February 7.30 pm, Nethybridge Church Hall.

Admission Free.  All Welcome.

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Written by Administrator

Category: Press Releases

Published: 11 January 2011

Plans for massive new housing inside the Cairngorms national park could be sunk by legal action being brought by three Scottish-based environment groups in the Court of Session.

The groups are challenging the Cairngoms national park authority's housing plans which provides for over 2,000 new homes, including 1,500 at An Camas Mor, near Aviemore, which, it is claimed, would be the largest housing development in any UK national park.

The Cairngorms Campaign, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks, and the Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group are also challenging developments at Grantown-on-Spey, Nethy Bridge, Carrbridge and Kingussie.

The park authority has shared responsibility for planning, and the three are arguing that the authority's housing allocations are so large and environmentally damaging that the authority is failing in its legal duty to "conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the area".

Bill McDermott, the groups' spokesman who is also chairman of the Scottish Campaign for National Parks, said: "The park authority has been acting as the developers' friend. It should be a conservation agency not a development agency.

"There was a public local enquiry into the park authority's Plan, and we felt natural justice was ignored when the park authority failed to follow the Reporter's recommendations.

"We're fully aware of the need to house local people, and have well-balanced communities with homes for young people who couldn't otherwise afford to live in the park. But the authority will trash the park the way they're going. Theirs is a recipe for masses of holiday homes, and social incohesion."

ENDS

NOTES:

More info -
Bill McDermott  01456 450397 or 07754 990325
or Robert Maund 01505 682447

Scottish Campaign for National Parks www.scnp.org.uk

Cairngorms Campaign www.cairngormscampaign.org

Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group www.bscg.org.uk