Estate

Atholl Estates Ranger Julia Duncan to inspire new countryside recruits

Blair Castle and Atholl Estates’ ranger, Julia Duncan, has been enlisted to help inspire a new generation to join the profession and help protect Scotland’s countryside.

Taking part in several activities organised by Lantra, which helps to drive skills development in the rural economy, Julia will highlight both her career path to Blair Castle and the diversity of her role on the 145,000-acre Atholl Estate. The aim is to encourage more young people to become countryside rangers at a time when the natural environment, sustainability, and our interaction with wildlife is becoming increasing vital.

Over recent years, 35% of ranger jobs have been lost, yet with a huge upturn in Scots holidaying at home, sustainable land management a priority and the increasing focus on ecotourism, Lantra recognises that a critical element is the need for new role models. It believes that people like Julia, who are passionate about protecting the environment and wildlife, could be key to the industry’s future.

Kevin Patrick of Lantra said: “The need to invest in how we engage people and help them to understand and enjoy the countryside has been highlighted over the past year and the role of the countryside ranger is now being acknowledged as vital to the sustainable development and management of Scotland’s rural estates, country parks, historic and more natural landscapes. To bring more people into the profession, we need role models who can bring diverse skills and fresh ideas to traditional roles and who can highlight how rewarding a career as a ranger actually is. That includes young people, who are the future guardians of Scotland’s natural environment, and who have also been hit badly in employment terms by the pandemic. They need opportunities - and we need them.”

Julia Duncan has been a countryside ranger for eight years, the past three with Blair Castle and Atholl Estates in Highland Perthshire. The role includes visitor management, delivering outdoor activities, maintaining public access, trails and pathways and biological surveys and monitoring. Over the past year, her responsibilities have expanded to meet the demands of more people wanting to understand and learn about the natural environment around them. This ranges from working with schools through to guided walks across the estate and, most recently, she has been involved in developing the new Beaver Tour.

Acknowledging that Perthshire is one of her favourite parts of Scotland, Julia wants to help people understand more about the area and believes that by demonstrating how to care for the environment, others will be encouraged to do so. She said:

She concludes: “Highland Perthshire is one of my favourite parts of Scotland and I feel privileged to live and work on the Atholl Estates. I absolutely love my job and there’s nothing else I would rather be doing.”

Fera launches new land assessment service

A new service to measure, monitor and assess natural capital has been launched by Fera.

Combining data and science, LAND360, accurately measures and maps existing land habitat features and models biodiversity offerings to help farmers, landowners and managers make informed land use decisions.

“With the introduction of the environmental land management scheme (ELMs) and the drive to manage land in a way that recognises ‘public money for public good’, it’s clear that landowners need to understand the extent of the natural capital they have,” explains Guy Thallon, Fera strategic business development manager.

“This baseline understanding will mean opportunities can be identified and realised to help secure businesses that are economically and environmentally sustainable.

“However, to achieve this, sourcing accurate data and using the latest science is fundamental, hence the reason for launching LAND360,” adds Mr Thallon.

Based on three hierarchical levels of service, LAND360 uses the expertise of Fera’s multidisciplinary scientists, alongside the latest software and scientific assessment techniques to map alternative land use scenarios bespoke to each business.

“LAND360 Mapping+ involves the analysis and interpretation of high-resolution satellite imagery to create a detailed baseline of natural capital resources,” says Mr Thallon.

“Scoring+ takes this a step further and uses proven methods to assess the quality of natural capital using the insight gained through Mapping+ combined with more detailed ecological and biodiversity scoring.

“Finally, Ecosystem+ is a bespoke consultancy service where land use proposals are developed in conjunction with land managers, Fera scientists and ecologists to identify opportunities for future land use and revenue streams. These recommendations are based on scientific data gathered on available natural capital, business performance and market options,” he adds.

To find out more about LAND360 visit the website https://www.fera.co.uk/ land360-land-management

Delivering best use of land should be central to Scotland’s fiscal policy

What Scotland wants to deliver from its land needs to be the key factor when considering a huge and costly exercise to assess and include all land on the valuation roll.

Scottish Land & Estates, the rural business organisation, made the comments following the Scottish Land Commission’s (SLC) publication of Advice to Scottish Ministers on Land Reform and Taxation.

The commission makes five recommendations including exploring the role of taxation from future carbon values and investigating the potential for an income tax relief to support letting of agricultural land.

Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said: “Scotland’s land businesses are instrumental in providing food for domestic and international consumption as well as enhancing our environment and capturing carbon, delivering clean energy and supporting economic and employment opportunities in sectors such as tourism.

“Any amendments to taxation systems have to be thought through with great care. Introducing tax measures in order to promote land reform would run the risk of damaging the substantial benefits

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rural businesses already create – not to mention the considerable tax and rates that are already paid by these companies.

“Bringing all land onto the valuation roll for non-domestic rates would be a mammoth exercise to complete. Scotland’s farming businesses would be caught up in a mountain of red tape, not to mention the uncertainty it would foster even if there are no plans for rates to be charged at present.

“As we have witnessed from the valuation exercise for deer forests and sporting rates, businesses which government claim will not be subject to rates are inevitably caught in the ratings valuation process, often with significant time and costs attached.

“We continue to be supportive of investigating the potential for income tax relief to support letting of agricultural land and would encourage the Scottish and UK Governments together to consider what may be achievable. Rural businesses want to let land and want to see more new entrants making their way into farming in Scotland.

“We also note that the commission recommends government considers the role of taxation in the productive balance of public and private benefit from future carbon values. With the Scottish Government setting ambitious forestry and peatland restoration targets, much of which is already being delivered through private landowners, it may be counterproductive to introduce taxation changes which could impinge the pursuit of net-zero by 2045.