Biodiversity – what has it got to do with us?

This year is International Year of Biodiversity. In this guest blog Liz Auty, Biodiversity Officer for the John Muir Trust shares information about biodiversity and climate change in time for Scottish biodiversity week.

Many people would agree that conserving our wildlife is important for its own sake, but we often do not realise the essential services it provides for our quality of life. For instance, our biodiversity provides services like clean air, clean water and food.

It is now recognized that it is not just the number of species we have, but how they interact together in ecosystems that it is important. For example conserving a species of pine tree in a garden may save the species, but will not provide the flood alleviation ‘service’ that these trees thriving on a mountainside might. Or species conserved just in a zoo will no longer be part of the ecosystems they were once part of contributing as a whole to a healthy functioning planet.

Do we need to worry about our biodiversity?

Yes! Species are being lost and habitats degraded, and our climate is changing. Whilst species extinction is a natural part of Earth's history, over the past 100 years, humans have increased the extinction rate by at least 100 times compared to the natural rate. The current extinction rate is much greater than the rate at which new species arise, resulting in a net loss of biodiversity.
Some species of our higher mountains may be lost. This could include birds like the snow bunting, which occur on our Nevis Estate. According to a report from the RSPB and Durham University, the average range of British birds will move 550 kilometres (340 miles) to the north by 2100 as the climate heats up.

On our Nevis estate, a site condition monitoring report from SNH showed that the Arctic-alpine plants were declining. The report concluded that ‘the most likely long term threat is climate change, particularly as this has an effect on the distribution and duration of areas of late lying snow. Some of our rarer species will be outcompeted as the temperature warms.
Other mountain specialists like the Mountain Ringlet butterfly, found on Ben Nevis and Schiehallion are facing the same threats from changing climate.

You might also find this 2004 report by SNH interesting: Climate Change Impacts on Habitat and Species.

What is the John Muir Trust doing?

Through biodiversity management and monitoring we aim in the short term to:
• Maintain any features of protected areas that we manage in favourable condition
• Reduce the damaging impacts (grazing and trampling) on vegetation of browsing animals
• Observe and record responses in vegetation condition as a result of changes in management

Our longer term aims (beyond the next five years) are to:

• Encourage more natural processes,
• Improve the condition of habitats, species diversity and natural altitudinal gradients, from sea or glen to summit (e.g. natural tree lines),
• Expand and improve the quality of native woodlands,
• Gather data to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach to others

We hope that the land management strategy being pursued will lead to an improvement in the quality of habitats over time, despite any potential detrimental effects caused by climate change. "

What can you do for biodiversity?
Lots! One way to encourage biodiversity is to grow trees and plants which are native to your area and which will be the ones most likely to provide the best food and shelter for native animals rather than rushing off to buy anything labeled "butterfly home" or "food for native birds".

You can also get involved in recording the wildlife you see, to help keep a track of how things might be changing. For example the Woodland Trust Natures Calendar, or the British Trust for Ornithology's Garden Bird Survey .

Many communities are already taking steps that make a difference from growing food more locally in Knoydart to growing trees on Eigg, North Harris and on Skye.

It would be great to hear about anything you are doing to support biodiversity.

Community Garden takes off in Knoydart

Cuba, faced with a food crisis as a result of blockades, turned inward to self-reliance. Sustainable agriculture, organic farming, urban gardens, smaller farms, animal traction, and biological pest control all became part of the new Cuban agriculture . In some cities, up to 80% of the food requirements are grown within the confines of the city through organic production from community plots. On a smaller scale communities around Scotland are looking to more sustainable food practices.
In this guest blog, Gwen Barrell, the Project Officer for Knoydart's Powerdown project reports on plans for their their Community Garden project funded throug the Climate Challenge Fund.





The costs of bringing fresh food into the area is expensive both in terms of haulage costs and “food miles”. The project will enable the community to reduce its carbon footprint by up to 9 tonnes of carbon dioxide saved in the reduction of food transport miles.

The funding will be used to employ a community gardener for a year to work with local residents to create a community garden on the site of the former market garden, and to provide training and advice in growing produce.

Sam Gardener has been appointed as the community gardener and is looking forward to the challenges and rewards ahead. “I am excited about the prospect of bringing this area of land back into use for community benefit.”

Deer fencing, tools, equipment, seeds and training events will also be covered from the grant. Twelve community members have already signed up to have their own little veg patch with the community garden and many others are keen to come and help out with communal tasks.




One of our ideas is to have a carbon neutral community Burns Supper in 2011. We’ll grow all our own neeps and tatties in the garden this year.

“It’s crazy to be importing fruit and vegetables when we could grow them closer to home,” said Aaran Watson, Community Director of Knoydart Foundation and local school teacher. “As an Eco School we will also be interested in joining in with the project and learning more about gardening.”

In order to reduce our carbon footprint even further, the funding will also enable the community to pilot an electric quad bike and trailer for moving things like compost and vegetables around. As Knoydart already has its own renewable electricity the quad bike will be recharged on green electricity.

A few volunteer events have already been held in the garden, to clear rubbish, remove old fencing, and repair a polytunnel. Community members have attended three volunteer sessions, and we benefited over the Easter holidays from John Muir Trust volunteers who cleared a stretch of fencing from debris, enabling trees to be pruned and new ones planted to create a windbreak.

This week, potatoes, herbs, onions and a variety of green vegetables and herbs have been planted out of doors, under cloches and within the polytunnel. Compost bins have been arriving on the ferry, and gardeners have been eying up the horse manure from the Foundation’s stalking ponies!

There will be a few opportunities for others to find out what’s going on – we hope to have a presence at the Road to the Isles Agricultural Show on 12th June, there is a guided walk taking in the Knoydart Community Garden on 28th July and there is a fantastic Crafts and Produce Day being planned for Saturday 28th August.

Knoydart Foundation’s Community Powerdown Project is working within the community on a range of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions – as well as the garden and electric quad project, we have a number of other initiatives “in the pipeline” and other events coming up, which we will report on shortly. More info: gwen@knoydart.org www.knoydart-foundation.com

Within the UK it has been estimated that we import more than 90% of our fruit and 38% of our vegetables and that food accounts for around 19% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions - though most of the emisssions come from use of chemicals rather than 'food miles'.

Would growing more locally make a difference? Do you have examples of what might work or is working in your area?

Sparking a debate about transport

As air transport grinds to a halt over the UK today, following volcanic activity in Iceland, my thoughts turned to a recent link sent by Stevan Lockhart, project officer for Assynt Renewables. One of the challenges they face there, along with other rural communities, is that of transport on the ground.

In rural and remote areas public transport on its own is rarely a realistic option. I know. I have tried to get to various places and usually it has required a car for part of the journey - either lift sharing or taking - and then leaving a car somewhere en route. Otherwise it would take me two days to get to most John Muir Trust properties.

Transport as a sector accounts for over a quarter of the total energy consumed in Scotland. Approximately 99% of the energy consumed in the transport sector comes directly from oil-based fuels, such as petrol and diesel, with the remaining 1% from electricity. As Stevan points out in his article, there were battery powered buses operating in Brazil in 1883! Yet, progress on this front has been very slow.

It would seem the huge stake that the oil industry has in the continued use of fossil fuels provides part of the explanation along with the stake that the current car industry has in the status quo. Interesting to note that the main manufacturers of electric cars today are new companies rather than traditional car manufacturing companies.

The big question is can the alternatives deliver for rural areas?

The range that electric cars can cover before needing to be recharged is probably the key limiting factor for rural areas alongside the cost. They are fine for small islands like Eigg who have an electric bus or places like Knoydart where they are piloting an electric quad bike and trailer for their community garden project but not for long distances.

Hydrogen fuel cells also have some way to go - cost again being a major factor - though work is under way on the Western Isles.

Bio-fuel can be problematic as it is not efficient to use land this way - though as a previous article from North Harris Trust showed, waste vegetable oil can provide a solution on a small local scale.

The Scottish Government's recently released Low Carbon Plan proposes that there are key opportunities to improve Scotland's transport infrastructure, including vehicle charging points, planning in favour of public transport and increased choice of public transport options. All solutions that target urban areas more effectively, yet 95% of Scotland's land mass is rural with some 18% of the population living in rural areas.

Meantime, as they argue in the plan, changing patterns of travel, including reducing travel will be needed. Easier said than done in rural communities so, perhaps as a minimum, we can follow the Energy Savings Trust top 10 ten tips to smarter driving.

Alternatively, a liftshare scheme may work. Comrie in rural Perthshire has established a liftshare scheme exclusively for the local community. This makes it more likely people will take part and share transport. You don't need to own a car to take part.

Do you have thoughts or experiences to share of moving towards a lower carbon transport system in rural areas?

The challenge of heating our homes

I listened to David Mackenzie, who chairs the microrenewables working group, speak the other day about the challenges faced by the Scottish Government in trying to meet the targets set of generating 11% of heat from renewable sources by 2020.

Renewable Heat is simply heat (rather than electricity) produced from renewable sources such as biomass( usually wood), ground source heat pumps, air source heat pumps, water source heat pumps, solar heating, wind to heat, geothermal, heat from waste biomass, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas.

Domestic use accounts for around fifty percent of the total heat energy required in Scotland. In order for Scotland to meet its renewable heat targets there need to be around 25,000 households adopting renewable heat per annum between now and 2020. Only 1000 households installed renewable heat into their homes last year. So that leaves something of a gap....

One of the barriers emerging - surprise, surprise is accreditation.

The current system requires that you use an accredited installer, if you are to receive a grant or be able to tap into the renewable heat incentives when they come on stream next year. Seems reasonable. Quality control for public money. However, like the accreditation scheme for insulation, the demands of the scheme operated from London are such that it is an expensive affair to become accredited.

We have been investigating putting in a log boiler into the properties on Skye held by the Trust. One person I spoke to serving the islands reckoned that it had cost him around £20,000 to become accredited, between the the cost of the training itself, the days of lost work and travel etc. So, it is little surprise that when it comes to installing, those who are accredited need to recoup their costs.

Not surprisngly there is a dearth of accredited installers and yet most of the skills required are basic plumbing skills. A survey by the Energy Savings Trust found that 90% of those surveyed go to a local plumnber when they required work done. Imagine the difference if most local plumbers were accredited. Not only is the work kept local but the local skill set is enhanced and best of all the knowledge and enthusiasim for alternative systems is locally available. I would be much more likely to think about a system recommended by a local tradesperson I trust rather than a stranger. As a result of this accredited process, installers charge considerably more to install renewable heat plant than those who are not accredited so any grant from the government is effectively ‘lost’ as it costs more than the grant available to use an accredited installers – thus adding to the barriers.

The solution seems straight forward. Find a way to accredit our local plumbers. Not so hard as it may seem as, according to Mr Mackenzie, the standards set in Scotland for training our plumbers are high and surpass much of the standards set through the London based MCS(Microgeneration Certification Scheme). Renewable heat is a devolved matter so this can be tackled in Scotland.

The picture of the log stove is taken from the website 'Biomass - all you need to know' with permission from the from Woodfuel Wales

Insulation makes an instant difference

With the winter conditions returning again - those in poorly insulated properties will have been reminded of the impact of heat loss.

In the last blog I spoke of finally sorting out the insulation problem for a property on Skye.

These infra-red pictures show what the property looked like before any insulation was put in. We have still to take the 'after' pictures. The more white/yellow the pictures have in them - the more heat that is being leaked. You can see this is a very leaky place - with the walls even worse than the loft!

I've asked Drew - who lives in the property and fitted the insulation - to describe his experience of doing this.

"One of the problems with older houses, especially stone-built houses, is their failure to conform to modern standards of efficiency. In a quest to improve this we are currently engaged in a number of improvements which should see us warm and cosy through next winter as well as costing us much less and reducing our carbon footprint considerably.

The first and easiest task took us to the roof space to improve the loft insulation. The old loft insulation was very threadbare and rather patchy, indeed, there were some parts of the loft with no cover at all. What existing insulation there was consisted of ancient rockwool type which was beginning to de-nature and was nowhere deeper than 50mm. This was covered with a layer of dust and vermin droppings.

The loose fibres and dust make a good quality respirator essential. Other essentials for putting new loft insulation in an old house: a pair of big, sharp scissors, overalls and illumination (I found a head torch to be the most useful). A few boards are also very useful and knee pads make the job much more comfortable. If you don’t like cobwebs in your hair, wear a hat!

Tip of the day – put a large dust sheet under your ladder – the amount of mess which falls from the hatch is remarkable!

When installing, apart from it being a pretty unpleasant job, there are very few pitfalls. The two main things to watch out for are the electrics and airflow.

To make sure your electrics stay safe all cables must be put on top of the insulation and that you must cut around light fittings to allow any heat to escape. If the cable is too tight to get the roll of insulation under simply cut the roll at the cable and start rolling out again.

Airflow is critical in an older house so that you don’t get a build up of moisture. Make sure your insulation roll end does NOT butt up to the roof. Always leave a gap to allow air from the walls to circulate. If you don’t, extreme cases can lead to dry rot.

It’s not complicated, even if it is hard on the knees and it makes an instant difference to your comfort levels and fuel bills. Insulate your loft today, there are a number of grant schemes running and some very good offers at the major DIY stores."

DIY is not for everyone. For many older people ( over 70) it is free to get insulation put in through the Energy Savings Trust check first though and call 0800 512 012. Communities who organise to have insulation installed across an area can usually get a better deal. Energy conservation is the most effective way to reduce our carbon footprint so save yourself some money and make your heat go further if you have not already done so.