The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
£2m RSPB project to manage habitats and protect key species
Invisible fencing, remote controlled flail mowers and Konik ponies are some of the measures being used by RSPB Scotland to help protect the land it owns and manages.
The conservat ion charity has launched a £2 mi l lion project supported by the EU Life fund to help boost special species and habitats at its 12 nature reserves.
Imp o r t a n t wetland, forest and montane willow habitats will benefit from the “100% for Nature” projects along with key species including capercaillie, wintering geese , chough and breeding waders.
Remote controlled flail mowers can also c ut heather in the ancient pine forest to increase the amount of blaeberry and improve conditions for capercaillie. Grazing by Konik ponies will help
restore Insh Marshes near Kingussie, the largest floodplain fen in the UK, while invisible fencing can manage dune systems on the Solway Coast.
Duncan O r r - Ew i n g , RSPB Scotland head of spec ies and land management , sa id : “Improving key habitats for nature is at the heart of the RSPB’s work.
“Many of our sites are p ro tec ted na tu re
conservation areas, which we regard as an accolade.
“We are delighted to be able to use such a wide range of innovative techniques to make our reserves the very best they can be for wildlife.
“We hope this work will also allow all those who manage land and other protected nature sites to benefit from the evidence we build over the lifetime of the project.”