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Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve
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The Trust’s hill ground is a National Nature Reserve, especially for the arctic-alpine flora, and is also of international importance. We manage it in collaboration with Scottish Natural Heritage, to achieve a wide range of conservation objectives for both organisations. These include the long-term survival of the native species of plant and animal and their habitats, protection of the landscape and the remains of the long history of human activity, ‘for the benefit of the nation’. This implies access for the people, and interpretation of the site and provision of background information.
Conservation of the flora and fauna requires knowledge, and this is collected as an ongoing process of biological survey and monitoring. This has revealed that some of our precious rare species, and some of the habitats, are now so rare and vulnerable that extinction is either imminent or inevitable if we do not act to prevent it. Much of our work is designed to reverse such a process, with ‘species recovery’ and ‘habitat restoration’. For example, you can see the first British attempt to restore montane willow scrub, a rare and declining habitat in Scotland, as part of a continuum also including herb-rich birchwood. The Nature Trail is mostly within an ‘exclosure’ fence, within which the vegetation is recovering from the heavily grazed condition still seen outside the fence. Many of the trees and shrubs have been planted during the 1990s, but some of them, and the herbaceous plants, have regenerated without such intervention.
The reason that most visitors come is to walk the hills, but sadly this causes problems in the form of footpath erosion, scarring the landscape and damaging habitats, sometimes those of European importance. Managing this is one of our biggest and most costly ongoing activities, and will need to continue in perpetuity. To support this the Trust operates an ongoing appeal, ‘Sole Trading’, by which walkers can ‘put something back’. If you walk on the hill you will almost certainly be on a managed path at least some of the way. The work done is often obvious depending on the progress of the erosion and the techniques required to control it, but we are attempting to use more subtle techniques particularly at high altitude. The work itself requires a high level of practical skill, physical fitness and tolerance of foul conditions.
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- Take to the hills with the Trust
Conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland is encouraging Scotland to take to the hills this summer, with a brand new walking section on www.nts.org.uk. more>
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- Changes at Ben Lawers
The National Trust for Scotland’s Ben Lawers Mountain Visitor Centre will not be opening as planned from 1 April. more>
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- Time for teens to get green
Sixteen and seventeen year olds who want to do their bit for the environment over the holidays in 2009 could still find a spot on a National Trust for Scotland’s Trailblazer camp. more>
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