Recent blogs

Weekly News

Natural flood management – Scotland

Flooding has been widespread across Scotland in the past few weeks, with a lot of damage caused. The intensity of rainfall has been unprecedented, with many existing assumptions for modelling now looking compromised. It means the authorities will have to carefully consider how to move forwards with flood protection and planning. One key area they might look at is Natural Flood Management, an approach that involves undertaking work in the…
January 7, 2016
Working Week

Montane peatland experiment – latest

Just back from taking down all our experimental equipment from the trial site we helped established in the Monadhliath mountains, before the snow comes. An interesting project, which to date has yielded some really fascinating insights into the hydrology and surface processes at work on a high altitude eroding peat flat. Lots of things going on equipment-wise, including use of a solar powered weather station and groundwater loggers alongside flow…
January 7, 2016
Weekly News

SRDP – Deer management grants – FC Bulletin 128

Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) has developed some new grants under SRDP that should be of considerable interest to woodland owners. The first is a Woodland Improvement Grant (WIG) to create a deer management plan, across multiple properties to ensure the majority of deer range is covered (i.e. landscape scale assessment). The central requirement is for owners to undertake a deer density assessment using dung counts, based on FC Bulletin 128…
January 4, 2016
Weekly News

New drain blocking method – blanket bog

All this rain over the preceding weeks has meant we have had no difficulties in seeing if our new drain damming trial site in Lanarkshire has recharged with water. The whole place is absolutely soaking! The project is a fascinating one, and has involved developing some new, much faster methods for damming drains on bog with in situ material. The new method has meant we can place the dams much…
December 23, 2015