Scotland Outdoors

Mark is in Aberdeen where hair from a grey squirrel has been in found in feeder boxes. That might not sound very unusual, but the city was close to eradicating the non-native species which spread disease which kills the native red squirrels. James Kennedy from Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels shows Mark the area the greys are thought to be. Anne McAlpine is in the village of Tomatin in the Highlands to find out about a development which is aiming to tackle issues around rural housing. She hears how local groups have worked together with the Scottish Go...

Mark Stephen visits Stobs Military Camp near Hawick to discover the importance of this site from a training camp in the early 1900s to a resettlement camp after the second world war. Andrew Jepson of Archaeology Scotland is his guide

The Arbroath Signal Tower Museum is set to benefit from more than £300,000 of funding to develop its outdoor space. Mark went for a visit to hear about their plans to transform the garden into an accessible, multi-functional public space for education, community activities and events.Rachel Bell and her family try their hand at orienteering in Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen. They see if they can follow the map to complete the course and have fun at the same time.Ardestie Earth House is a souterrain, an ancient underground structure, near Monifieth. Mark goes along to e...

Rachel Stewart meets poet and story teller, Tony Bonning. Tony, known as the Man with the Horse, undertakes treks across the country with his horse Chief to collect folklore and tales along the way

It’s the time of year when we celebrate leaves as Autumn unfolds. Mark meets up with leaf expert Professor Jonathan Silvertown who’s written a book about them called Nature’s Magicians. Did you know that way back when there were no leaves on trees at all? Rachel’s been to the Carse of Gowrie to find out about the ancient pear orchards of the area, and the attempt to bring back Scottish pear varieties that have largely been forgotten. Neil Clapperton of Buglife is her guideMark meets some of those taking part in a rec...

Mark Stephen meets Professor Jonathan Silvertown whose book Nature Magicians is all about leaves and why they matter

Funding is being made available to improve core paths in Aberdeen over the next few years and Rachel joined Chris York from environmental consultancy Walking the Talk to find out what a core path actually isMark visits a surf resort and he’s not had to go that far! He’s at Lost Shore in Newbridge just outside Edinburgh to find out what’s available at the inland resort which boast Europe’s largest wavepoolThis week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast excerpt features Gabriella Bennett, author of How to Build a City. Helen Needham met up wit...

Helen Needham meets up with writer Gabriella Bennett to discuss her book 'How to Build a City'. They meet in Glenrothes in Fife where Gabriella spent part of her childhood.

Up until now, access from the top station of the Cairngorm funicular railway onto the mountain was not allowed outside the winter snowsports season, unless visitors were accompanied by a guide. However, as Mark went to find out, a trial is underway to allow visitors carrying GPS handsets to explore an "approved zone" in the mountain's ski area. Mark hears how the system works.Rachel is on the Newhailes Estate near Musselburgh exploring a rather unusual shell grotto. Diane Martin from the National Trust for Scotland shows her around and tells her about the history of the...

Rachel Stewart finds out about a major heritage project linked to the distinctive stone.

The Denburn car park in Aberdeen city centre is well known by locals, but not many people might be as familiar with what sits on top of it. Around the derelict health centre, a community group, Upper Denburn Gardens, is working to improve the site and use it to hold events. Laura Guthrie catches up with one of the volunteers, Joe, and hears about their plans.In this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Mark spent time with former marine Jock Hutchison. Jock and his wife Emma run the charity Horseback UK from their Aberdeenshire farm. We hear an...

Horseback UK is a charity run by Jock Hutchison and his wife Emma bringing together horses and humans to overcome some of the stresses of everyday life

Mark visits the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen where researchers are carrying out a project to restore, preserve and digitise irreplaceable soil and peat maps, aerial imagery, field notebooks and survey records collected since 1947. Mark hears why Hutton Unearthed: A New National Soils and Peat Map Archive is so important for the future of soil health.Stirling is busy this weekend as Radio 2 in the Park rolls into town but one of the other popular locations near the city is Dumyat. Rachel visited recently to see the work of the Future Forest Company which has been planting...

Mark Stephen talks to former colleague Karen Miller about swapping her desk for wildlife.

Mark visits NatureScot’s Forvie National Nature Reserve in Aberdeenshire where little egrets have bred in north-east Scotland for the first time. They are a welcome addition to the reserve although as manager Catriona Reid tells him, climate change is thought to be the reason that these once Mediterranean birds have travelled further north.Rachel meets the fourth finalist in the environmental category of the BBC Scotland Make a Difference Awards. EPIC, Enabling Projects in Clackmannanshire, volunteers are nominated for their efforts in improving biodiversity and access to nature across their area. Rachel catches up with some of...

Helen Needham discusses The Book of Birds with illustrator and artist Jackie Morris

Mark catches up with another of the finalists in BBC Scotland’s Make a Difference Award environmental category. Midlothian Wildflowers started as a small group of people from the Bonnyrigg and Rosewell community carrying out some guerilla gardening. Julia Pennycuik from the group tells Mark how it grew from there and why it’s been nominated for the award.This weekend Grantown on Spey in the Cairngorm National Park becomes Greentown on Spey as an environmental awareness festival is held in the town. Rachel spends some time with one of the groups involved, Wild Tribe Highlands who take...

Mark Stephen climbs inside the Tay Road Bridge to mark its 60th Birthday

Mark visits Greenhead Moss Community Nature Park in Wishaw. The 100-hectare site contains many different habitats including ponds, wildflower meadows and woodlands. He takes a tour with countryside ranger Derek. Deveron Wildland is a newly established rewilding estate in Aberdeenshire. Rachel went for a visit to hear about what the plans are for the site as well as to try her hand at nature journalling. When Mark visited Maud Railway Museum earlier in the summer, he was surprised to find that one of their exhibits is a fully restored Peterhead Prison convict carriage. He takes...

Helen Needham digs into the BBC Archive to share some audio gems from the past