Stephanie Evans, 22, from Banchory has just completed her LLB at Aberdeen University, where she obtained first class honours.

She has now been awarded the inaugural Colin Donald Environmental Law Prize which the conservation charity ran in conjunction with leading law firm McGrigors LLP and the University of Glasgow.

The prize is given in honour of the lawyer, the late Colin Donald, who had a distinguished association with the Trust, McGrigors LLP and the University, spanning a period of four decades.

As part of her prize, Stephanie will take up summer placements with both the National Trust for Scotland and McGrigors LLP in summer 2009.

She attended the National Trust for Scotland’s Annual General Meeting in Aberdeen on 27 September 2008, where she was presented with an engraved jug by Mrs Theresa Donald, wife of the late Colin Donald.

Entrants were asked to write an essay on an issue of environmental law. In her entry, Stephanie examined the relationship between renewable energy development and the wider aim of sustainable development in Scotland. The young lawyer impressed judges with her strong and well-articulated ideas.

Trust chairman Shonaig Macpherson said:

“Stephanie is a worthy recipient for our first ever Colin Donald Environmental Law Prize. She is an impressive young woman with a clear commitment to the law.

“Her entry demonstrated a real understanding of the complex areas of environmental law, as well as a passion for the wider issue of the environment – something that is obviously important to a conservation charity like ours and characteristics that Colin Donald himself would have very much appreciated.

“We are very much looking forward to welcoming her to the Trust next summer, where she will undoubtedly make a big impact. We already have an important project on the Trust’s compliance with environmental legislation in mind for Stephanie.”

Stephanie said:

“I am honoured to be the first winner of the Colin Donald Environmental Law Prize. This is an important area of law which the wider public need to be alerted to. The relationship between sustainable development and the renewable energy drive in Scotland is a complex matter. Failure to adequately address these concerns could have detrimental implications for the environment.”

Mrs Donald said:

“I was delighted to learn that a prize in environmental law had been launched in honour of my late husband. The prizes neatly combines his three greatest interests, namely the law, the Trust and last but by no means least the University of Glasgow.

“It has been a great pleasure to be a lay member of the judging panel. All of the submissions were interesting and instructive and I have learned a great deal myself about environmental law!

“Stephanie wrote an excellent, Scottish-based essay on renewable energy and I had no hesitation in agreeing with the rest of the panel that she as a worthy winner.”

Jennifer Ballantyne, a partner with McGrigors LLP said:

"Congratulations to Stephanie. I look forward to welcoming her into my Environmental Law team at McGrigors for her work placement and I am so pleased the Colin Donald Memorial Prize in Environmental Law has had such a successful inaugural year."

Professor Tom Mullen from Glasgow University said:

"Stephanie Evans wrote an excellent essay. The judges were impressed by the quality of her research, her grasp of both the policy and legal issues, and her ability to make complex issues of law and policy understandable for the reader. We were pleased that the first year of the prize produced such a distinguished contribution to the debate on environmental issues."

Eager applicants for next year’s award can contact Professor Tom Mullen, School of Law, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ or by email to t.mullen@law.gla.ac.uk for more information.

 

The conservation charity recently installed the composting toilet and revamped the car park at Linn of Dee in Aberdeenshire as part of a programme of work to improve facilities for Mar Lodge Estate’s 120,000 annual visitors.

Judges for the Aberdeenshire Design Awards said the design was well thought out and worthy of commendation.

The toilet was built with as many locally sourced and environmentally friendly materials as possible, including non-toxic linseed paints for the exterior and larch shingles for the roof.

National Trust for Scotland Property Manager for Mar Lodge Estate Chris Hewitt and project architect Dave Chouman collected the award earlier this month at a ceremony in Aberdeen.

Chris said:

“We are so pleased that our careful planning has been recognised. Thousands of people use Linn of Dee as their gateway to the Cairngorms and we knew that our facilities had to be high quality, so that visitors would come back again and again.

“We also had to ensure that the car park and toilet were modern, sustainable and appropriate for the surroundings. Obviously, plumbing is an issue in this location, so we decided that a compost toilet was an environmentally sound and safe option. We are pleased with how the project has turned out and how it is already improving the visitor experience at Mar Lodge Estate.”
 

The grand 17th century house, which boasts an impressive library built by Sir David Dalrymple has been confirmed again as a five star tourist attraction by Visit Scotland.

Newhailes was first awarded the five star rating in 1997 and has undergone assessments every two years since then. The latest evaluation took place in August 2008.

The property has already welcomed more than 6000 visitors since March this year.

Newhailes is linked to the Scottish enlightenment and has an impressive collection of early 18th century decorative Rococo interiors and decorative art. The grounds are extensive and include 18th century designed landscape woodland walks, open parkland, remains of water gardens and a shell grotto and summer-house.

Property manager Karen Caldwell said:

“Newhailes is a fantastic destination for visitors from near and far and we are pleased to have that confirmed again by Visit Scotland. We are lucky to care for some of the most wonderful 18th century interiors, artworks, gardens and woodlands in Scotland and we know that visitors get a great deal out of trip here.

“The dedicated team of staff and volunteers work very hard to ensure that our visitors have the best possible experience and it is great to have that recognised.”
 

Billy the Belgium Ardennes is working with owner Jim Johnstone and National Trust for Scotland Ranger, Karl Munday to fell trees and remove them from the sensitive woodland area.

Meikle Wood is the site of a scheduled ancient monument - a prehistoric crop mark enclosure that is thought to be a high status farmstead of Iron Age date. That meant that the Trust had to satisfy Historic Scotland that the work would not impact on the site and obtain a permit before commencing in August.

The Trust’s Dumfries and Galloway Countryside team realised that horsepower was the most effective way of ensuring that this work could take place with minimum impact on the land.

Karl Munday, Senior Ranger for the National Trust for Scotland said:

“Regular tree-felling is an important part of good forestry management and we are undertaking this work to ensure that Meikle Wood thrives in the future. There are sensitivities around our work here though. The wood is important both as a site of a scheduled ancient monument and as a habitat for a wide range of wildlife too.

“We decided that using horses was the best approach. This traditional technique has been used in forest management for centuries. Horses can extract timber effectively and safely through the trees without causing any damage, which is ideal for our circumstances here. We were lucky to find the expertise we needed nearby and it is great to learn more about the techniques and traditions of this vibrant profession.

“As well as the archaeological issues, we also carefully considered the potential impact upon wildlife in the area. We had to apply for a license to work near a badger set and conduct bat and bird surveys prior to and during the works. We have also timed our work around minimising disturbance to the wildfowl reserve. Using Billy is helping us to keep any disruption to a minimum, as he is a lot quieter and easy to manoeuvre than heavy machinery.”