SCA News: Biodiversity

Let it bloom June!

After No-Mow May comes Let it bloom June! Some tips on how to manage your lawn for nature all year round from Plant Life's Let it Bloom June campaign. Things don’t have to get messy and you can still be in control while maintaining a space for your local wildlife....

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Bats on Skye

Bats are generally smaller than one thinks. Common Pipistrelle bat. Photo: Gilles San Martin  Bats are the only true flying mammal, making up more than quarter of mammal species in the UK. All our native species are insect eaters, beautifully adapted to aerial...

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Coilltean Caillte (Forgotten woodlands) 

This project is being conducted by Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba, the Gaelic place-names partnership. It is mapping all Scottish place-names that indicate a historical woodland presence, resulting in a digital map showing over 15,000 locations. The majority are Gaelic names,...

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Scottish Invasive Species Initiative

Hear a podcast about the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) with Callum Sinclair of NatureScot. Non-native invasive species like Japanese knotweed and American mink are not just persistent nuisances but significant threats to Scotland's ecosystems and...

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Corncrake numbers soar on Canna

Formalised monitoring on Canna recorded at least 12–14 calling corncrake males this year, compared with counts of just 1 or 2 corncrakes over the last few decades. Corncrakes are summer visitors to the UK, and are in long-term decline; the last stronghold of this...

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A Beautiful Killer on Raasay

The purple-flowered Rhododendrum ponticum was introduced by the Victorians to the UK and has since spread far and wide. Though it has beautiful flowers, its presence is a disaster ecologically. The dense canopy and leaf litter stifle plant growth and the soil becomes...

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Slow Worms – have you seen any?

During our recent Indian summer, slow worms may have been on the move. If you have found any in your polytunnel or compost, or anywhere else, please share with the Slow Worms Scotland Facebook group. All information on slow worms helps to increase our knowledge of...

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Invasive non-native species 

It looks beautiful, but this common Rhododendron is an invasive species that is spreading throughout western Scotland and is destroying our native biodiversity.  Read more about invasive species in this issue, which has lots of articles on nature. Photo: James...

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