Scotlands Lost Forests Are Returning - here's how
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- čas přidán 22. 07. 2024
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It might be a good idea to support sustainable tourism in Wales as one measure to show people living there an sustainable way other than keeping more and more sheep, cattle etc. More tourists will also help to convince politicians. I think this is the way German fishermen were convinced to support the "Wattenmeer National park" at the German North Sea Coast. I keep my fingers crossed for Ireland, Wales and Scottish landscapes!
Arouchs
Please come to Wales (All Parts) and highlight the same issues that are happening here, overgrazing, every available part of the land being used for farming or forestry. There was a recent professor who said that the bio diversity in the Cambrian Mountains was non existent and likened it to a Cambrian Desert. There so much potential for the rewilding of Wales but it nearly always gets overlooked by other regions. A channel like your would be great to showcase the issues.
Wales is perfect for rewilding - I'll try and connect with some projects happening there. Cheers Paul
@@LeaveCurious Pls do make some videos about Wales rewilding.
George Monbiot has highlighted the problems in Wales due to the proliferation of sheep, when you take into account the deer also, it's no wonder nothing regenerates. 👍
I could say the same thing here about Ireland. There is near hostility to the idea of regenerating landscapes and the government do what forestry and farming lobbyists want
Couldn't agree more. Wales is really behind. And what great potential it has. I also have a channel highlighting these issues Paul. I have supported Mossy Earth who this guy works with by raising over 40k in the past 12-18 months through getting businesses to fund rewilding.
I can remember walking in a fragment of Caledonian Pine Forest on the south side of Loch Rannoch in 1963. It was somehow primeval, and one could imagine any sort of long-extinct monster bursting into view. It was a truly magical place.
Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor, Exmoor are all very similar near me. All have been overgrazed. It depressed me when I visited Scotland and especially the Isle of Skye with the lack of wildlife and trees. It's good that people are starting to wake up now and to reverse the damage we have caused.
When you get your eye in, its hard not to notice the lack of trees across Britain.
@@LeaveCurious The clearances wasn't just people!
Adding trees isn’t always the answer for making a place more bio diverse.
Agree I live near Lynmouth in north exmoor and the few costal valley mature deciduous forests left are just absolute jewels. Absolutely alive with dippers, otters, wood warblers, moss and fungi. Always wondered why the rest of Exmoor was so flat and dull, endless moorland. I then got some facebook spam about 'Shooting days out', £1770 per gun for one day, its all about the money
I would be depressed of eating graze all the time too
I think the Japanese call it forest bathing and it's 'prescribed' by doctors for things like anxiety. On a different note, I also really like your appreciation of nuance and complexity in these issues where traditional use, modern use, human need vs nature need are all in play.
I didn't know that doctors actually prescribe it, makes sense though. Thank you, although passionate about rewilding, there must be a balanced view, but coexistence is possible
It might be bad now, but the situation is unquestionably better than a few decades back. I've travelled between the central belt and the central highlands for over 40 years, and there are huge areas where there are now young trees where previously there were none, or a few old trees at best. And I do mean Scots pine, not the bog brushes (sitka) that still cover too much land.
That’s awesome. Hopefully in another 40 years there’ll be even more improvements. Cheers!
Very happy to read this. Helping the world to breath.
I hope the UK will be more accepting of predators some time in the future. It's the only way to balance an ecosystem. We have the wolf wars going on here in the US but there are lots of wolf advocates. We also have other predators, coyotes, lynx, cougars and bobcats that are helping to keep the deer populations in check. But even with these there are still so many deer. We need to learn to live with large predators. It's a tricky balance but oh so necessary. Thanks for the good work that you are doing!
Yes, the UK is at a major disadvantage was we're an island. So a reintroduction must be very carefully considered, I'm optimistic it will happen, but we have a very long way until wild wolves are in Britain. The Lynx however, might just work sooner than we think.
Wolves need to come back. It will be a gamechanger.
There's an estate owner who is known as the wolf man who wants to reintroduce wolves. He has a pack but they have to be kept in an enclosure. Because of this they are covered by zoo legislation which means he has to feed, water, shelter and provide vet care. They can't be "trained" to hunt live prey because that's illegal under the zoo legislation. He has been fighting for years to get exemption but he keeps loosing.
@@LeaveCurious I am all for the lynx being a "cat person" and good luck to you in that, but wolves in particular scare the big grazers away from the river's edge so that there grazing does not destroy the river edge by eating young trees and stomping river banks into mud. Wolves and beavers restore the water cycle, but you know this. Good luck with the politics.
We need to eat more venison. I’ve hardly seen a young tree growing here in the last twenty years, the deer simply eat everything. The deer are becoming quite tame because idiot tourists are feeding them.
The toffs and their grouse massacring habits are definitely not helping.
Great film my friend, thanks for sharing.
Yeah I think wild venison should be in all UK supermarkets, far more so than other livestock. Cheers man, thanks for taking the time to comment.
@@LeaveCurious It would really help and it’s excellent, lean, meat.
Keep up the good work.
This is ironic considering that where I live (Siberia), specifically the pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) is almost a weed. It is extremely unfussy and grows and propagates extremely fast anywhere as long as there is just enough light. It's entirely different with many other species like the Siberian pine (pinus cembra), which is far more demanding in terms of water, soil and climate requirements, and grows and propagates a lot slower.
In Scotland, the deer are SO plentiful that if a new little tree sprouts, it's eaten immediately. Once the mature forest has returned and the deer are kept in check, the new trees can grow normally.
@@dottiebaker6623 Yeah, it's a vicious circle. One could reintroduce the extinguished predators, but they would start threatening people and livestock. The lynx might be a compromise, though. They are too small and don't gang up to be a serious threat to humans themselves. And unlike bears or wolves, they are still around in parts of Western Europe.
As a German I can tell you how important forests are for us. Starting as a recreational place for sunday walks and bike rides, to the culture of forestry with professions and universities about forestry, and finally the lots of money we make with the timber.
Some of these German forestry experts need taken over to Scotland to help forge a new mindset towards land use. Scotland is an Oceanic maritime climate unlike Germany so challenges are different, but it is the cultural outlook that needs changed in Scotland. Seeing proven success from somewhere else where rural communities are dependent and wealthier with natural resources like well managed natural forestry is critical to forging ahead here and changing the psychology and behaviour rural Scotland has with the landscape. I said this before that Scotland is being held back with rewilding efforts because of human psychology and a Victorian out of date mind set. Our game keepers and other rural workers would probably have better job satisfaction controlling deer numbers for forestry regeneration and the increased bio diversity it brings rather than just keeping deer numbers unaturally high for rich people to shoot. The landscape in Scotland especially our wilder areas should be for everyone to enjoy and have a say in, not just a very small wealthy elite. Scotland's land ownership is highly controversial a sit is.
@@nk53nxg Germany is also struggeling to find an answer to the dying forests due to climate change and the right strategy has not been found yet. But forestry universities like in my neighborhood of Rottenburg are for sure the right place to find new solutions.
Most of the forest have been replaced to conifer plantations not native to Eurasia, We should chop down these forest and revive peatlands and Caledonian forest instead. To restore biodeversity to these landscape we need to bring wolfs and lynx also I think there just really interesting animals.
Agreed! As I said in the video, all these land uses can exists in Scotland, but there must be diversity!
Excellent informative content Shame we haven’t got a Lynx
I'm so interested to know how a Lynx would actually impact woodland regeneration in Scotland... Cheers Alan
I really wish France would put more effort into supporting our very vulnerable lynx population!
Yes, what about reintroducing topdown predators?
Great video Rob, and can't agree more with the sense of peace being in forests like that
You just can't help but feel at ease!
Your content is always so great. I was born in England but have lived in Australia from a very young age.
It is so interesting to see the dramatic changes that rewilding and sustainable land management practices that are being implemented in Ol' Blighty!
Thanks for your awesome channel and for your continued focus on the progress being made.
Much Love from the land down under!
We was so happy to leave the forest a few centuries ago, now we can't wait to go back.
Great job as always communicating the need for trees. Here in the US we have huge land areas that have been left natural and well wooded. Further the various states have islands of forests called Forest Preserves and state parks. I live 20 miles NW of Chicago. The Forest Preserves are popular. Talking of Rewilding, we have isolated spottings of Puma in our area.
The scale of the ecosystems in the US are pretty special. I'd like to visit one day. Thank you Mark!
@@LeaveCurious If you can be spared we'd love to have you! Pick and ecosystem that interests you and go, honestly we have so many. One interesting thing is some people are rewilding our Western river systems with beaver to walk back the drought cycle we seem to be stuck in.
I've seen on other channels that aspen are relatively rare, people are making efforts to reverse this but there is a shortage of aspen saplings. 👍
Aspen is a really important to rewilding scotland and the rest of the UK. Did you see Mossy Earths latest video and their proposal to start a nursery dedicated to Aspen?
@@LeaveCurious
Yes, that's where I picked up that information from, mossy earth.
I didn't realise that aspen were native to britain.
Great videoo Rob! Excited to have you presenting more of our projects soon! - Cheers, Duarte
Thank you Duarte, me too!!
Nice one rob.
Fantastic video. I recently moved to the Lake District and only realised the beautiful red colours of the fells here are just rocks and dried heather. It is shocking to see nothing wild here. And Farmers here will never allow any wilding other than in a few isolated areas.
What an absolutely spot on comment at the start, "Scotland's landscape is falling short of its potential". I totally agree, I commented on another one of your videos as I lived for 20 years on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. I commented that the problems you face in this pursuit of rewilding is purely human psychology and our relationship and perceptions of the land. I love hill Walking, not to bag Monroe's, but to take in the quality of the landscape and relax. Glen Tannar Caledonian Pine Forest is a regular place I visit for the quality of the environment and landscape, just like you it helps me recharge and feel relaxed. But too much of Scotland is shockingly barren and bereft of what should be there, very far as you said from its potential. And to not use profanity too much, "it really grinds my fucking gears to see my country and where I am from in such a disgusting natural state, the potential of what it could be has me dreaming of what a denuded glen would look like if nature was allowed to return even to a semi natural state.How awesome would it be to trek across the lower elevations of the Cairngorms passes and Glens through a mosaic of natural forest for miles and miles. The tops is the highest Cairngorms and Highlands likely were never forested, but up to 600 meters and higher in sheltered gullies it would have been. In Aberdeenshire I see hundreds of square miles of grouse moor, especially when travelling over Cairnamount that would normally be many square miles of birch, Scots pine, oak, Rowan and aspen to name a few, instead I just see a sea of heather with burnt patches. The economic, cultural, biodiversity, and natural beauty a more natural forest brings is far higher than a sea of ling. Heather is an important ecosystem too, but it should never be this abundant, and would be mixed as under story in a Caledonian Pine forest. Serious land reform is needed in Scotland, too much of Scotland is taken up by estates with little interest in the good stewardship of the land, we do have some excellent estates too, but the others need to tap into the potential of eco tourism and sustainable natural forestry use.
Yeah agreed Chris. Fundamentally Scotland needs more natural diversity!
It's wonderful to watch videos where the focus lies in the positive - what's already being done to rewild and what will be done in te future.
And all the lovely shots in the forest are very nice to watch too. I would love to go to Scotland one day ^^
Definitely book a trip! Despite the situation There’s a lot of very nice natural places to see.
Scotland is most beautiful place I’ve been to, so imagine what it could be in the future
Geographically its amazing, that's from a southerns mind who never gets to see mountains... but those Scottish mountains needs a few more trees!
I love how you say that Scotlands potential fills you with hope. You are the type of environmentalist that people would listen to.
Excellent! Love your videos. So cool that people DOING stuff , NOT just flapping their gums. Change nothing!
So happy to hear Scotland is doing this re-wilding. I would love to see the US, where I live, do the same. The Japanese recognize what you're feeling as forest bathing, but western science also acknowledges it as a real thing. It has measured a number of different physical changes that happen (for the better) in your body when you are out in nature. This should come as no surprise - we evolved to live and thrive in nature, not cities. I recently heard that it helps your immune system fight off disease to be outside. So now, when I have a cold or I'm otherwise sick, I go outside for at least 20 - 30 minutes and just leisurely walk a little. Or if I really feel badly, I just sit on the deck. I haven't done it that often, but so far, I can say I always feel noticeably improved by that evening. If weather is really cold, I wrap up in 2 wool blankets over my down jacket and wool hat.
Think it's worth mentioning that there is a lot of new legislation in consultation/enacted coming into effect for Scotland. If the land reform bill, driven grouse licencing, and agricultural bill all deliver then there will be massive change in the next 5-10 years
Let's hope they deliver!
Could you elaborate on what those bills propose. I'd love to know what is being done to put shooting estates and their destructive practices in their place
That stand of pinewood at 1:36 looked pretty extensive! whereabouts was that shot? Trees as far as the eye can see, unusual for Scotland! 🌳 🌲
It's the Black Wood of Rannoch!
@@LeaveCurious excellent stuff! Only been there once, tend to gravitate towards the Cairngorms. Really should go more often
Always happy to see new videos being released!
Thank you! Always good to see you in the comments!
Sweet to see it!
Thanks for making and sharing:)
Please read Braiding Sweetgrass for other perspectives on how to have a relationship with the landscape including hunting and gathering.
Thanks so much for your work. I really enjoy your videos. Excellent commentary.
Amazing video mate! I love hearing more about rewilding the UK but quick question what type of skull was that?.
I think it might have been a deer skull, or sheep.
Spotify now has a new artist - nature. Artist can feature nature on their songs and give a proportion of the profit to conservation of nature!
Very beautiful place💖💖
It really is, nice one Josh
Beautiful video mate, thanks for your work. I got to visit the Caledonian Forest this summer and it was incredible. I know what you mean about the sense of well-being and ease from natural landscapes. Especially when you compare them to the plantations, especially on the isles where there was nothing. It feels kinda creepy and less diverse, less appealing to explore. I also feel the potential of Scotland to rewild and I think the next 100 years could look better there!
Amazing video, well edited and put together, can't wait for the next great upload
Ah cheers Noah, got another Scotland video coming!
Great video, Rob!
Thank you Matt :)
Great short video, thanks so much.
Like you, I’m ultra passionate too on this topic. Great vid. There’s a momentum building for re-wilding. People are cottoning on to it big time. Just watch!
You're spot on Charlie, the power of CZcams, online videos will send the message far and wide!
Wonderful views!
There is a big effort to re wild parts of the Highlands and reintroduce the lynx to help keep the red deer moving so as not to exhaust the natural resources, this is something I would like to see all over the UK.
We need those wild places, I often hike in the Highlands and days can pass without seeing a single person and it's a wonderful spiritual experience to connect with nature.
Those habits sure do need the Lynx, one day soon!
Having a few Wolf running around would solve the problem and be cheaper than fencing
Well that’s one definite benefit! I’m with you Mike!
Great video Rob. As Paul Stott has just suggested.....Wales next. Wales has sooo much potential especially as the majority of it should be temperate rainforest! Bring back the Lynx!
Hmmm I think you're right man, I'll get myself during next year. Cheers mate!
I'm all in favor of bringing back lynx at some stage but there must be no bringing back of lynx until the Scottish wildcat is firmly teestablished.
@@BigJFindAWay they hunt for different prey most of the time and they are both very shy and quiet animals so I don't think they would interact a lot, plus you could be improving the population of wildcats in an area whilst reintroducing lynx in a completely different one
@@Solstice261 I'm concerned most about lynx preying on Scottish wildcat. Lynx surely do prey on other smaller predators such as foxes. Why not wildcats? So I say yes, bring back the lynx by all means. But before we do that, first we must increase the Scottish wildcat population until we don't have to worry that lynx predation will deplete their numbers.
@@BigJFindAWay yes I agree
It is really interesting to hear that low-intensity controlled burns are considered a problem for these pine forests. The Longleaf Pine forest ecosystem that once covered 92 million acres of the United States was created and maintained through low-intensity fire seasons every 1-3 years clearing low brush and competing saplings and allowing the Longleaf to get an advantage over oak, gum, maple, cedar, ash, hollies, and other competing species for sunlight. The resulting ecosystem was a towering high canopy of the pines with a highly biodiverse grassland savannah below it, full of pockets of rare endemic species, upland and lowland ecosystem variations, and a ecological gradient that transitioned between the coastal maritime forests, cypress swamps, and saltmarsh systems along the coasts and major rivers and then inland to the Appalachians that were filled with oak, ash, tulip poplar, hickory, American Chesnut, maple, other hardwoods, and other pine species.
Great to see the return of more 🌲 who would not be pleased
Yes James!
Awesome video dude !!! Enjoyed it ✌️😁
Nice video mate good effort!🤙👌🙏
Cheers man, appreciate it!
Well done video, mate!
Cheers man!
Great video!
I really enjoy watching this and Mossy Earth.
I was wondering would you be interested in doing a video on WILDLIFE CORRIDORS as I believe that it is a great way to help out uk wildlife, yet alone the worlds wildlife.
Thank you and keep up the fantastic work mate
That's a great idea Sam! Corridors are great way to help wildlife, especially in somewhere like the UK with its many land uses.
Thank you very much for replying 😃 best of luck with the next project!
scotch pine is by far the most common pine species in the world because they are great at colonising.
Yes Ralph, it was really cool to the different ages so close to one another in that old forest.
Excellent video
I love the Scots pine i survey a lot of really mature examples in Thetford, Norfolk.
Why do people act like plants just absorb carbon and create oxygen? They cycle the oxygen and carbon that's already in the atmosphere. At night, plants emit carbon dioxide while using up oxygen. It's true that they store a certain amount of carbon dioxide, but they will emit that eventually when they die or burn. The actual benefit of having intact habitats is the preservation of biodiversity, enhancement of soil, soil erosion prevention, and water retention. Those should have always been the focus of conservation, rather than buying into the carbon ponzi scheme that reduces nature to an asset class that can be used to offset carbon credits.
These are very good points. My wet socks and I can confirm that the ground the old pine woods was very saturated, retaining a lot of water.
Forests (and other good carbon storing ecosystem such as peatbogs or other wetlands) are stocks of carbon that are not to be released, not stocks that are to be grown, indeed. However turning a grassland into a forest do store more carbon, but yes, once the climax ecosystem is reached, carbon sequestration and emissions are balanced.
@@Hobbit_libertaire The problem with focusing on carbon is that local or national authorities can just plant a plot of monoculture Sitka Spruce and call it good. No care needs to be taken if the goal is meeting regulatory obligations or having good PR. Another example is the plan to artificially sequester carbon and just burry it underground. Carbon credits are already treated as an asset class, and there's talk from those sorts of circles of treating ecosystems the same way. Call me cynical, but I don't see any good coming from that.
I believe in conserving nature for the sake of conserving nature, as well as encouraging all stakeholders to have a healthy role to play be it from hunters to farmers to hikers to campers. I think the more the average person has a connection to nature the easier the fight for conservation will be, vs. people and corporations thinking they can just offset their carbon emissions and call it a day.
@@LaughingMan44 Then we think the same !
Lovely video, really appreciate these. Do you have any tips op how to get involved in rewilding projects? It's something I love but unsure where to start.
Google rewilding projects in your area/region, you might have to do some digging. But any conservation work, especially the really small scale stuff is always great to be part of.
Loving the videos as always
Yo! Thank you :)
You need to re-introduce wolves from Alaska or the former soviet union countries.
Fascinating, will sub!
Love your videos and also love the idea of reintroducing apex predators. One question: could the idea of building/letting grow living fences help with the cost and feasability of deer fencing in larger areas?
Great video
Cheers Rich! Glad you enjoyed it
It's great that rewilding is restoring these forests, but there is another source that could restore them. Creating managed forests for timber could also do a lot to restore the ecosystem, while also being economically viable. If we could shift towards a more timber-based construction industry, that would be great for the environment, and Caledonia is the perfect location for managed forests.
Forestry is good when done correctly, clear-cutting plantations of Sitka pines, which is what is currently done in Scotland, is very destructive as it not only introduces non-native trees but they are also planted very close to each other, with no deadwood or clearings and in nice straight rows to maximize production. A mixed forest which is continuously harvested every so often ( meaning every couple of years taking a couple of trees but not clearing the whole area) as well as leaving some deads wood and some older trees, that could work, it isn't as productive as intensive forestry but it is very good for nature as you are not designing the forest to be harvested and since it isn't going to disappear every few years species can use it as a reliable habitat. But be cautious as forestry companies will usually try to sell themselves as good for the environment because the plant trees and a lot of the time the place ends up worse than how it was before
I can understand why you can feel at ease and calm, no major predators,, no bears no cougars no wolves.. no threats..
Even with predators one can usually feel at is, bears and wolves avoid humans as a natural instinct so as long as you make your presence known they will run away before you even see them. There are very few human deaths at the hands of a large predator and when it happens, it's usually either rabies or someone has been feeding it and making it accustomed to humans or it is literally starving to death. If you are walking in a forest with wolves or bears just make sure that they can see/ hear you to avoid a surprise encounter which may lead to them attacking as defense and you can feel at ease
I study nature management and enhancing in the natural region of Margeride, in the south of the central mountain range of France, from 900 to 1500m in altitude, and we have the exact same forests as these for what I can see. Pinus sylvestris, Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium myrtillus and vitis-idaea, Betula pendula, Populus tremula, similar ferns... So why do you say that Caleidonian forests are unique in the world ? Is it because you ignored the existence of Margeride, or because there are foundamental differences between Margeride and Scotland forests ? Maybe the scottish version is the climax ecosystem there, whereas in Margeride it is Beech or sometimes Oak forests, so Scots pines (that we obviously don't call "scots" here) never live very old before being replaced ? (you have shown some wonderful individuals, our Scots pine never go over a meter in diametre) That's the only explanation I can think of, I would be glad to read yours if you have some others.
Well I don't know too much about the Margeride, but as you say, the scots pine shown in the video are the climax vegetation - the intact remnant areas have been that way for 9000 years. Then another difference would have to be the flowers which are found in Caledonian Forest, the twinflower being one, a beautiful plant that's worth a google!
Caledonian forests are characterised by being mainly Scot's pine( which is a unique variety of pine more common to northern areas) as well aspen, meanwhile the forests you described sound more like alpine forest. Caledonian forests are the weird combination of an oceanic climate along with scot's pine, aspen, ferns the flowers which have been mentioned. Its the combination of all those characteristics which make it unique even though scot's pine is virtually everywhere as it spread during the last ice age but there is a reason why Caledonian pine forest literally means Scottish pine forest
Good content, love your channel
my dream is to retire to scotland from the US, and to spend time volunteering in rewilding efforts. of course that requires money, visas etc. but we can all wish. nice video. thanks
Excellent video!
I'm a forester in the Highlands with an eye on woodland creation. My boss and I regularly push a native Scots pine scheme before anything else!
Keep up the good work!
Forestry companies that actually care about the woodland they manage are great, please do keep up the good work, having an industry behind reforestation helps the cause immensely
Does anyone know where the waterfall at 6.12 is?
Great video Rob, how were the midgies?
Cheers Philip, non-existent and we stayed out until after dark some evenings!
The fields behind my house are very sadly being destroyed and made into Handforth garden village. 😢it’s very sad is there anything you would advise to do?
Great video. I hope the trees allowed you to feel relaxed after the stress caused by the amethyst deceiver 😊 There seems to a number of good projects in Scotland such as Trees for Life and Glen Affric. There’s so much to do there because it’s so vast.
Haha, I actually found one while in Scotland, but it had lost its colour sadly. Yes two brilliant projects! Cheers Simon
@@LeaveCurious another subject that might be of interest to you and others is the Dam Removal Europe project and the Amber app to allow citizens to record river barriers. Many unused barriers are being removed to the benefit of river wildlife, including in the UK. They have an Instagram channel. Rewilding the rivers! There are very few rivers in Europe with no man made barriers. I know of one in Albania, and they are trying to keep it that way.
A good video would be on who owns Scotlands land and how did they get it?
Thrilled to see this! Thank you for your work!! You're a hero!!!
Ahh thank you very much Louis, I try and do my part!
Many yrs ago when I was there in england whales irland I noticed they needed clumps of trees n bushes lots more places
Hey...
The Forest Cat is smiling.
Aye
Skull
LG
J
🦂😸🦂
Read the Treeline by Raulence
Is the habitat for scots pine gone now ?
Very few people who visit realise just how much grazing by sheep and deer has shaped the whole nation, my pal from Canada described Scotland as "one big golf course" due to how cultered the land was.
Our new national targets are 75,000 hectares a year, roughly eqates to around 10 million trees, in the last 20 years, we have planted over 240 million trees, still, its a drop in the ocean compared to whats needed.
excellent!
Oh great video, read The Treeline by Ben Rawlence 👍🏼
You need merchandise, leave curious is a very good logo
Alpine tree lines vary greatly across the world, especially in areas north of 30 degrees north or south of 20 degrees south in latitude. In Colorado, tree line is around 11,500 feet. In contrast, tree line in the Swiss Alps is around 7,200 feet. Has anyone thought to say kickstarter wild areas .... owned by members .. deer hunting estates are nothing but a tax con I worked in the city // its easy money as land increases in value as arable land doesnt attract capital gains ... minimum work ....prestigous and can be moved via offshore trusts to avoid tax ... as for local work native timber production employs far more people and can be used for something useful such as norway sweden does whwre even factories are wood ... treading on toes I dont care eeek ... uuum kickstarter a million pounds buys a huge area of land at auction and if its an investment at fifty pounds a share ... I own an estate a big one ... well me and some mates / producing natural timber / no fishing no hunting no fox hounds - managed correctly - and employs 100 local people ... job done !!!!
Thanks
thank you!!!!
Makes me remember that the places that look like this and lacks biodiversity is just a great opportunity to rewild and do restore
I love that place
Scotland losing it's forest is my fear for all of Earth's forests... and how we're not doing anything but exacerbating the problem in many places.
If it's fenced, how do the other animals get in or out?
Great question! I'm not entirely sure how much it restricts smaller mammals. I can see how this might be a problem, but allowing the trees to establish is priority number one. I'll look into this more next time I get a chance!
Aren't Caledonian pine forests a type of temperate rain forest?
Well its Scotland's equivalent yes :)
fences are surprisingly costly. i wonder which is more, fence or just paying farmers for the losses incurred by reintroduction of keystone predators.
Great initiative. We need legislation with teeth. Without fines and enforcement, humans seldom learn new behavior.
How come you haven't made a video on the lake District?
That’ll be on the list, I just got to find some projects there!
In Germany, on third of land is covered with Forest. We do not have so many sheeps.
No and there's predators too!
What happened to your main blog channel?
Another quality video, they need to bring back the lynx 💪🏻
@MossyEarth I would die to see a partnership between you guys!
I've presented a few videos on their channel already and there's going to be many, many more.
💚
Love to see it ! Congratulations on your hard work Scotland 👏
Cheers Caleb!!!
So far very little of the rewilding of the UK movement is based on ecology or good forestry practices or wildlife management.
The whole movement is to try to get emotional buy in to change the landscape.
Properly prepared, venison is quite tasty. Many hunters soak it in salt water or vinegar & water or milk or buttermilk. Then, they rinse it thoroughly before cooking it. Venison pairs perfectly with stronger seasonings. Cooking it with wine and herbs is quite a traditional method of preparing it. It is, also, great in chilis and curries. With the fondness for Indian food in the United Kingdom, the latter would be ideal. So, just having more people eat venison would help curb the deer population. Furthermore, hunters will not be tearing apart farmers' sheep and cattle in the way that introduced predators such as wolves and bears will.
I like what you're saying Ron. I think there's a huge opportunity for businesses to do as you say!
It helps but one must be careful with giving hunters too much power, look at the situation of large predators in Scandinavia, hunters have wolves on the verge of extinction. And just hunting isn't the solution sooner or later the UK will have to introduce predators to control the deer populations and hunters can be a real headache when they start thinking they are competing with a wolve or a bear over prey. I disagree with the belief that hunting can substitute actual predators. But for the time being it might help and venison is a more ecologically positive meat than beef and with a better flavour at that.
Forestry is one of the more complex things to fix because we need wood but we also need forests and tree farms are not really the solution because trees take years to grow and that land they are on is being wasted while they grow
Continuous forestry in large and I mean large forests may help as it doesn't destroy the forest and allows you to harvest the older growth continuously, the problem is that it only becomes industrially effective if you are doing it over an enormous area
@@Solstice261 If you’re talking about in terms of Britain that would only really be possible in the Scottish highlands and at the same time you got to think about the wildlife.
@@jammiedodger7040 yeah that is why I said it when you don't clear-cut, wildlife can use the forest for habitat since it isn't a plantation that will disappear and the process of harvesting would crate clearings, I agree it is a complex and difficult situation and you would probably have to do it across all europe so it isn't really achievable but neither is cutting down every tree on earth and then wait for them to grow again. I just remember seeing that methot of forestry somewhere and thought it might be useful
You should do Ted Talks
Do you think reintroducing wolves to certain areas of Scotland to reduce deer population would be a good or bad idea?
That's the question Nathan - I think it be a good idea, but it will take a lot of bending/work/compromise to locals who have done things a certain way for a very, very long time.
We have a similar problem in parts of Spain. People have sort of forgotten how to protect their cattle with predators around even though for a long time food was produced and predators were kept away mainly by not leaving cattle alone. The system needs to look back to see how to survive with predators as it was possible. Eventually, hopefully, the rural towns will see enough benefits to allow their reintroduction as well as starting a system to repay farmers for any cattle lost to something like a lynx, which isn't really that much when compared to stuff like bovine tuberculosis which is generally controlled better if predators take out weak deer that spread it