There’s something special about ‘out of the way’ places, the ones that are difficult to get to. They take time and effort to visit, so there’s a sense of adventure rolled into the experience.
I’ve definitely felt this on my visits to the Flow Country, that rolling, rugged expanse of precious peatland and mountain scenery that sits across a vast area of north-east Scotland.
Standing at the stunning visitor centre at RSPB Forsinard Flows, you really feel the vast remoteness of this spectacular landscape. There are no nearby towns, and what stretches before you is so very different from any other place I know.
During the last century, long before we knew about the importance of carbon stores, many of these peat bogs were repurposed. These upland areas were too wet for growing crops or building houses, so the land was cheap and there were tax incentives to grow forestry plantations.
Large areas of the Flow Country were drained, ploughed and planted with conifers, with devastating impacts for carbon and for nature.
The journey back to a restored landscape of peat bog has been decades in the making and still continues, but the hard work of the RSPB and many others was rewarded recently with the Flow Country’s recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It’s only the 36th such site in the UK and, alongside the Jurassic Coast, near to where I grew up, is one of only five ‘natural’ UNESCO sites.
‘It’s only by achieving this balance that a long-term, sustainable solution can be found, one that gives nature, people and the land what’s needed for a healthy future’
It never ceases to amaze me that we have the ability and power to restore at scale, but land restoration must be a careful balancing act. One must understand not only what lies beneath our feet but also the varied uses that land is put to and, most importantly, how best to care for it.
It’s only by achieving this balance that a long-term, sustainable solution can be found, one that gives nature, people and the land what’s needed for a healthy future.
This is why we continue to push the UK Government for a strategic land use framework to help make the right decisions as we face into competing needs.
On a smaller scale, but no less special, I think our gardens (when we’re fortunate enough to have them) can and should be a microcosm of these choices, finding a balance between use, practicality and nature, creating a space where we seek solace or grow food and nature can also thrive.
I appreciate that this is not always easy. It takes time, knowledge and experience, but it can be profoundly rewarding, not to mention really good fun.
The changes I’ve made to my garden over the last few years have paid me back many times over – a pond, more berry-bearing trees, wilder edges.
It’s a place where, weather allowing, I can sit and read in the warm sun but am also pulled away from my book by the comings and goings of the denizens of my garden. The Goldfinches and Long-tailed Tits are regular favourites and seem to mostly ignore me as they live their wild lives alongside mine.
With the Big Garden Birdwatch on the horizon, I do hope they choose my allotted hour to show themselves and be recorded in what is such an important piece of citizen science. But whether they do or not, I’ll be taking part, and I hope you’ll join in too.
Take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch
Join the world’s largest garden wildlife survey from 24–26 January 2025. Simply observe your garden for an hour on one of the allotted days and make note of the birds you see. You’ll be providing valuable information to the RSPB that will help us protect and monitor birds in the UK. Get your friends and family involved, too!
A Big Garden Birdwatch participant tallies up the birds they see. Photo: Katie Nethercoat (rspb-images.com)
