Regeneration

Written by the ecologist at Mar Lodge, this book described what has been done to restore nature on the National Trust for Scotland estate. I found it a compelling read that gave me a fuller and more up-to-date picture of how flora and fauna are regenerating through careful management.

One of the largest charity-owned properties in Britain, Mar Lodge encompasses a large portion of Cairngorms National Park, from just outside Braemar in the southeast to high mountain summits, including Ben Macdui and Braeriach, in the northwest. The land includes a wide range of habitats, from the River Dee and its tributaries, through pine forest and moorland to the sub-Arctic mountain plateau.

Andrew Painting tells the story of how management of the estate has changed from practices of the previous two centuries, when its chief purpose was to provide a venue sport shooting. The legacy of this is the Ballroom, with its hundreds of sets of stag’s antlers arranged all around the walls and roof. Now the aim is to restore missing or nearly extinct species that have been suppressed through the focus on maximising the numbers of red deer and grouse.

In each chapter he focuses on the work of individual colleagues—all specialists in their own fields—and what they have been doing to improve the prospects of a particular species, ranging from nearly-extinct capercaillie, the large grouse of pinewoods, to even rarer Alpine sow thistle, a tall wildflower that had become confined to a few inaccessible mountain ledges. We become invested emotionally in these stories, as he shows us the day-to-day struggles of these scientists, rangers, stalkers and gamekeepers with midges, weather and the challenging landscape.

Not all the species examined are so threatened, but many, such as Scots pine and sphagnum moss, had been reduced to fragments of their original extent due to past management practices. A change to those practices is reaping benefits for the wild (and carbon sequestration) as self-seeded pines creep up the hillsides from stands of old trees and bogs are being rewetted by blocking up drains, allowing squelchy sphagnum to thrive and again start building layers of peat.

Mar Lodge Estate is a particularly interesting example of ‘rewilding’ as a condition of purchase was that traditional game sports should continue to be practised. To achieve this while still restoring habitats, the estate has been divided into two parts, with shooting interests and conservation taking priority on each half. In the conservation zone deer have been heavily culled to allow trees and other vegetation to regenerate. On the sporting part deer numbers have also been reduced to improve the size and health of the red deer population, so that even better trophies can be offered to rich stalking clients.

Red grouse are still shot for sport too, but in smaller numbers through ‘walked up’ shooting, rather than the birds being driven en masse to waiting guns by a line of beaters. The practice of muirburn was abandoned completely in 2017. This involves setting fire to the heather in patches so new shoots grow for grouse to eat, but also kills all tree and shrub regeneration where it is carried out. Also the persecution of birds of prey, particularly golden eagles and hen harriers has ceased; the successful breeding of these raptors is monitored and celebrated as a success. These changes mean that there are no longer artificially high numbers or red grouse, but a more natural level of population.

Andrew Painting doesn’t baulk at addressing the negative responses the National Trust for Scotland and their staff received when they started adopting new conservation-minded practices. The Victorian approach to managing a shooting estate had become so ingrained in local culture that they came under attack from locals, especially colleagues on neighbouring estates whose livelihoods are still emeshed in the ‘traditional’ way on doing things. Sadly, the financial value of an estate is still closely related to the number of stags that can be shot on it.

I found Andrew’s writing clearly explained the issues and activities undertaken. He doesn’t assume a high level of knowledge about wildlife, but treats his readers as intelligent adults. He covers the basics in a straightforward fashion then builds on this foundation so we are well informed about the topics he examines and engaged in their outcomes.

I thought I knew Mar Lodge, as I have walked in different parts of the estate many times in the past 30 years, but this book opened my eyes to many aspects of it that I was unaware of. It has made me realise how much the land has changed in the time I have known it. Now I think about it, there were many more young pines in Glen Lui, the last place where I walked. I feel inspired to revisit other parts to see how they’ve changed—and maybe I’ll see some of the more elusive species Andrew writes about.