Posts for May, 2023

Join us in the Cairngorms Connect Tree Nursery in the heart of the RSPB Abernethy reserve to help us in growing a future forest

Tasks will include
watering trees
weeding beds
pricking out seedlings Into root trainers
other tasks that will Involve hand tools

The Tree Nursery is a truly special place to work where you will get a real hands-on opportunity to learn about growing trees, develop practical knowledge and skills and help us care for the next generations of woodland. And of course, to meet likeminded folk with a passion for nature and the outdoors.

Cairngorms Connect Is a landscape scale project with a vision to restore habitats and natural processes across a contiguous area of 600 square kilometres.

Working at the Tree Nursery offers a unique opportunity to play your part in helping us to deliver this ambitious restoration project for the benefit of all of us.

Outside of the Cairngorms Nature Festival, our weekend volunteering days will run on the last Saturday of the month from April through to September 2023. If you are Interested In more regular volunteering opportunities, we currently run weekly sessions on Thursdays and Fridays.
This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Come and join the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland and see how hill paths are made and maintained.
Bring your sturdy boots and outdoor clothing and see what it is like to be a path worker for the day. Attendees will help with a drainage run of the path; we will clear features along the path helping to preserve the path surface and reduce damage to the surrounding upland environment. Tools will be provided and no experience is needed- just some enthusiasm to get stuck in. If you have spent time walking in the hills, these events can be a great way to give back. The work is vital to minimise damage by hill users and the varied highland weather experienced in the Cairngorms!
This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Join the Atholl Estates Ranger for a very gentle introduction to birds by sight and sound. Ideal for total beginners, we will seek to become familiar with some of the more common birds we find in our parks, woodland and gardens. Best for adults and children aged 9 and up. Children must be accompanied. Bring binoculars and any identification guides you have. This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Join estate staff on this stunning Strathspey estate for a behind the scenes insight into how the estate runs, from the people on the ground. Travel through ancient Caledonian pine forest, moorland and farmland to discover how integrated land management benefits habitat, wildlife and people. This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Spend a couple of hours in the company of the King’s Head Stalker and journey into this magnificent highland estate, discover how red deer are managed. Meet the ponies who bring the deer down off the hill, visit the larder and learn how the meat is processed. Target demonstrations & seeing how stalkers are trained is finished with a visit to the stunning ballroom.This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Join us, the Balmoral Estate Rangers, for the day as we undertake a range of tasks to create more habitat for capercaillie in the Woods of Garmaddie. Learn more about capercaillie, how to manage their habitat, the threats they face and what we are trying to do to support them.
The tasks include:
– Ring barking spruce trees and creating habitat piles from their branches; to create standing dead wood so there are plenty of insects.
– Blocking ditches to restore boggy areas and increase biodiversity and important food supplies.
– Supplementary planting of mix native broadleaf trees
There are now only 532 capercaillie left in the UK. Over 85% of them live in the Cairngorms National Park. Action in the National Park is therefore critical to prevent extinction in the UK and build a long-term future for the species.
There are several fundamental issues facing capercaillie, not least available habitat, predator management and human disturbance. Your help to create more habitat for capercaillie on Balmoral Estate is part of an ongoing effort to improve and create over 10,000 hectares of habitat for capercaillie across the National Park as part of the Cairngorms Capercaillie Project.
This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Head over to the Glenmore Forest Park Visitor Centre to create some beautiful artwork using natural forest materials, and take part in our self-led activity trails to explore our pinewood and meet the creatures who call it home!This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Join the River Dee Team for an informative morning walk and talk along the Muick.

We will meet at 10am in the Car Park behind Glenmuick Church in the centre of Ballater, after a short welcome then we will go in car convoy up to Loch Muick, stopping en route to look at some of the key features of our landscape scale restoration work on the Muick.

We will explain about the life cycle of our precious Wild Atlantic Salmon and how our work is helping them and all wildlife to mitigate the damaging effects of climate change. Learn about leaky dams, large woody structures and our “One Million Trees” campaign as we have a short walk down to the edge of the Loch.

Coffee and snacks are provided afterwards with the Q&A.
This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

For Cairngorms Nature Festival 2023, join Annie Ives from Bumblebee Conservation Trust for this online talk, introducing bumblebees in the Cairngorms. We will take a closer look at the bumblebee species you are most likely to find in the Cairngorms National Park. Find out more about bumblebees, why they are so important to our lives and environment, how they support our farms and countryside and how we can all help them in return. Learn about the work Bumblebee Conservation Trust is doing in the Cairngorms National Park to look out for and look after bumblebees and how you can get involved.No prior bumblebee experience needed. This online talk is suitable for bumblebee beginners!This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/

Come and help National Trust for Scotland Rangers on Britain?s largest National Nature Reserve.

We?ll be removing young non-native spruce trees from Mar Lodge Estate?s Ruigh nan Clach woodland. Learn why we need to remove them and how it will improve the habitats in and around the woodland.

Join us to learn some new skills, get active and meet friendly like-minded people.

Removal of spruce saplings by hand and handsaws. Transport provided to site as in remote location.

This event is part of the Cairngorms Nature Festival which runs from 12 – 21 May 2023. It’s a ten day festival with over 80 exciting events across the Cairngorms National Park celebrating the incredible landscapes and nature found here.

To see full event details and book events please visit: https://www.cairngormsnaturefestival.co.uk/