Golf courses are often criticised for their lack of biodiversity, but at The Plock, near Kyle of Lochalsh, a community project is reclaiming the local golf course and giving it back to the wild. Mark met up with the local ranger, Heather Beaton, to find out more about this rewilding initiative. A new award-winning footbridge has been built at Bracklinn Gorge near Callander. Mark visits the site and meets with advisor and architect Murray McKellar from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National P...
Mar 08, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Stephen hears from Graham Gillie about his extraordinary working life in Antarctica
Mar 05, 2025•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark visits the Montrose Air Station Museum to hear about a new addition to their collection, part of a Halifax Bomber, which crashed in the Angus glens in 1944. Shan Brewis tells us the story behind the plane crash, and how the piece of wreckage came to be discovered exactly 80 years after the tragedy. Red Squirrels in Scotland are often under threat, but Rachel finds out about the newest concern for our native population. Speaking to Meja Vesterlund from Saving Scotland's Squirrels, she hears ...
Mar 01, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast During the Covid lockdown, Tom Kelly decided to stroll along the Water of Leith Walkway every single day and take photographs of the wildlife in the area. The photographer from Edinburgh has always had a keen interest in nature and he wanted to explore what was living in his own neighbourhood. The result is a huge collection of photographs showcasing what lives on and near the river at different times of the year.
Feb 26, 2025•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Winchburgh in West Lothian is expanding rapidly, with several new housing developments underway. At the heart of these new developments is the 85 acre Authcaldie Park, where Mark visits a group of volunteers who are building a new centre piece for the area – a model cathedral made entirely out of willow. RSPB Loch Leven has recently hosted the Convention of Migratory Species, a UN convention with 130 member states involved. Rachel meets up Sarah Scott and Professor Des Thompson to find out about...
Feb 22, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Helen Needham meets seed librarian Rowan Lear
Feb 19, 2025•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Auchnerran Farm is run by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust as a demonstration farm to test and trial conservation and land management strategies. Mark visits the farm to hear about their projects and how they manage these alongside a profitable enterprise of sheep farming. It is the 20th anniversary of the opening of Five Sister’s Zoo this year, and the facility has grown from very small beginnings to now housing over 160 species on site in West Calder. Rachel chats to Brian and Gary Cur...
Feb 15, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 7th February 2025 marks 90 years since the death of Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon, author of Sunset Song. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite novel. In this archive programme, Mark Stephen explores the area it was set in, the Mearns.
Feb 12, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The National Farmers Union of Scotland Conference has been underway this week, and Kevin Keane is there, joined by Professor Colin Campbell from the James Hutton Institute, to hear his advice on how farms can become more resilient in the face of climate change. Muiravonside, Falkirk’s only country park, features several attractions, from a sculpture and poetry trail to the Avon aqueduct. Rachel catches up with the park’s ranger, Claire Martin, to hear about the history and appeal of the estate. ...
Feb 08, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 7th February 2025 marks 90 years since the death of Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon, author of Sunset Song. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite novel. In this archive programme, Mark and Euan explore the area it was set in, the Mearns.
Feb 05, 2025•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Parts of the country are still recovering after last week’s Storm Eowyn including Jupiter Artland. The 100-acre sculpture garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh suffered quite a bit of storm damage as Mark saw when he visited earlier this week. Rachel meets a group of volunteers from a whole variety of backgrounds who have come together to help restore the HMS Unicorn, a 200-year-old ship which is docked in Dundee. Next Friday sees the start of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s annual Big...
Feb 01, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast We celebrate Burns Day on Out of Doors on the 265th anniversary of his birth. Mark chats to Professor Fiona Stafford from University of Oxford who writes about Burns ‘the bard of nature’. They chat about his understanding of ecology and how that comes through in his poetry. Rachel hears the good news story about Goldeneye Ducks in the Cairngorms. Goldeneyes are a protected species that have suffered severe population declines, with only around 200 pairs in the UK. But recent work has seen their ...
Jan 25, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Helen Needham walks up Morven in Aberdeenshire with Morven Stewart
Jan 22, 2025•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel is in Lochaber where one of the biggest nature restoration projects in the country is underway. The Nevis Nature Network Project covers 22 thousand acres which includes fragments of Scottish rainforest and rare montane scrub. She met project manager Ellie Corsie for a walk to hear about their restoration vision. Mark is on Calton Hill in Edinburgh hearing about the challenges of repairing our historical buildings. Many of our famous landmarks were built using stone that is no longer quarr...
Jan 18, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Stephen chooses some Burns favourites including his rendition of Tam O' Shanter
Jan 15, 2025•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast The weather has certainly been a big talking point for a lot of us this week. And it’s also the theme of a new exhibition at the McManus Art Gallery and Museum in Dundee. Rachel went to take a look at A Weather Eye along with curator Kirsty Matheson. We hear from Paul Hetherington of charity Buglife about the impact the mild weather before Christmas, and now the very cold weather, is having on our bees. Sadly, it’s not great news. A second pair of lynx has been captured after being found near Ki...
Jan 11, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel Stewart speaks to photographer and Landward presenter Shahbaz Majeed
Jan 08, 2025•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Helen Needham meets musician and composer Cosmo Sheldrake
Jan 04, 2025•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart spend a day on the island of Jura to get a sense of life on the Ardlussa Estate where the Fletcher family have lived for five generations. Mark also visits Barnhill, the house where George Orwell wrote 1984 which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year
Jan 01, 2025•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Stephen gets a tour of the Palace with Curators Deborah Clarke and Emma Stead
Dec 25, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark and Rachel are joined by the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor Catherine Heymans who can tell us what’s actually happening to earth to make the days so short. Mark finds out whether our garden birds are impacted by the short days, and he also visits the Nature Scot Forvie National Nature Reserve where despite the dark and cold, new life is arriving as seal pups are being born. While we’re experiencing our shortest day, Antarctica will be marking their Summer Solstice. Rachel chats to...
Dec 21, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Stephen follows the route from Balquhidder to Corstorphine in Edinburgh
Dec 18, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark meets builder and artist Becky Little whose work is being displayed as part of an exhibition called A Fragile Correspondence at the V&A in Dundee. Her work involves using soil from different areas in Orkney made into cubes. A WWF Scotland scheme which is aiming to create seagrass meadows and restore oysters to the Forth has reached a major milestone. Rachel visits the Restoration Forth project to hear about what they’ve achieved so far and what their plans are for the future. Mark is in...
Dec 14, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Helen Needham presents some audio gems from BBC Scotland's archive
Dec 11, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week Rachel was in Aberfoyle where the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association was celebrating their 50th anniversary. The organisation brings rangers together to share ideas and highlight potential challenges facing the sector. She chatted to some of those who’ve recently retired, and those who are still working, about the history of the association and the importance of rangers across the country. Mark catches up with photographer Frank McElhinney whose work forms part of an exhibition c...
Dec 07, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark follows the route through Glencoe, Kinlochleven and Rannoch Moor.
Dec 04, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel is in Fife to meet a woman who is leading the charge on making the outdoors accessible to all. Jan Kerr set up a rambling group for those who rely on wheels, particularly mobility scooters. She tells Rachel how it came about. Over the past few years, a group of badger enthusiasts has been surveying the Central Belt to track the number of setts they can find. Having completed the length of the River Clyde, the group are now surveying between Glasgow Green and Arthur’s Seat. Mark went along...
Nov 30, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Helen Needham meets woodworker and author Callum Robinson
Nov 27, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Forth Bridges Trail is a five-mile circular route which brings together various points of interest in North and South Queensferry and crosses the Forth Road Bridge. New stops were added onto the route earlier this year, so Mark took a wander along part of it to hear about the area’s fascinating history. When you think of Beaver reintroduction sites you probably imagine the Cairngorms, Knapdale or rural Tayside but certainly not the heart of London. A few weeks ago, Rachel went to visit The E...
Nov 23, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this section, Mark leaves Mull and crosses over to Morven before heading to the site of the famous Appin Murder and the monument to mark this bloody event near Ballachulish Bridge.
Nov 20, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
