Many of our partnerships extend throughout the country, and we are active in trying to influence legislation and policy though input at all levels of the Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament. Click on Our Policies section which gives more detailed information on our activities.

We participate in a range of sectoral partnerships, including the Scottish Coastal Forum, the Scottish Biodiversity Forum, the Deer Commission for Scotland’s Round Table, and the Moorland Forum.

In the voluntary sector, a major focus of our effort is through Scottish Environment Link where we join many other Non-Governmental Organisations to agree policy on subjects ranging from the sea, through agriculture to climate change.

Scottish Seabird Centre
the National Trust for Scotland has some of the most important seabird colonies in the United Kingdom on its properties and views their conservation as a major priority. To promote this, a strategic partnership has been developed with the Scottish Seabird Centre which aims to conserve Scotland's seabirds and the marine environment by:

• increasing public access, enjoyment and understanding of Scotland's seabirds and the marine environment
• raising awareness and generating support for the conservation of seabirds and the marine environment
• advancing scientific knowledge of seabird ecology and conservation
• developing initiatives for the conservation, study and interpretation of seabirds and the marine environment

One of the first activities planned under the partnership concordat is the installation of remote cameras at St Kilda.

Biodiversity Action Plans
Biodiversity action plans represent one of the main measures for honouring our commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity to conserve the nation’s wildlife and habitats. The Trust serves as the Lead Partner to coordinate the national steering groups for three priority species: the woolly willow, the Scottish Beard-moss and another high-altitude lichen, Halecania rhypodiza. All are amongst the national rarities found in the higher altitudes of Ben Lawers and few other sites. We also contribute to the work of many other steering groups for Habitat and Species Action Plans.

The Montane Scrub Action Group
The group is an informal, interdisciplinary partnership of individuals, supported by organisations, actively promoting the benefits and restoration of semi-natural montane scrub and treeline woodland. The group now includes individuals employed by a range of organisations: Highland Birchwoods, Plantlife, Scottish Natural Heritage, the National Trust for Scotland, the Forestry Commission, The Macaulay Institute, the Scottish Agricultural College, Trees for Life, and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

It was formed as a response to the recent recognition of the need for conservation measures focused on montane scrub and treeline woodland habitats at a national scale, and as an output from a one-day seminar staged by Highland Birchwoods in March 1996, with support from Millennium Forest for Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The actions agreed were:

• Establish an action group to :-
  • Promote early action, through an initial set of guidelines;
  • Improve ecological understanding of these habitats;
  • Promote the value of the habitats to the wider public;
  • Produce a more detailed framework for restoration, addressing the range of related issues;
  • Determine conditions and priorities that exist in the Scottish uplands;
  • Engage representatives of groups embarking on action in the field.
• Promote early action, rather than waiting for all the answers, through using active management as a tool for research.
• Initiate an interest group served by a newsletter.

Outputs over the period since 1996 have been:-

A second one-day conference in April, 2001: ‘Montane Scrub: The Challenge above the Treeline’ (reported in Gilbert, 2002).

Scrubbers’ Bulletin. Issues 1- 4. The occasional newsletter with articles on wide-ranging topics relating to montane scrub. Compiled & circulated by David Mardon, NTS, Ben Lawers NNR.

Gilbert, D., Horsfield, D. and Thompson, D.B.A. (Eds.) 1997. The ecology and restoration of montane and subalpine scrub habitats in Scotland. Scottish Natural Heritage Review No. 83, pp.41 - 45.

Gilbert, D. (ed.) (2002) Montane Scrub: The Challenge above the Treeline. Highland Birchwoods, Munlochy.

Gilbert, D. & Di Cosmo, L. (2003). Towards restoration of treeline woodland and montane scrub. Botanical Journal of Scotland (in press).MacKenzie, N.A. (2000). Low Alpine, Subalpine & Coastal Scrub Communities in Scotland, Highland Birchwoods, Munlochy.

Mardon, D. K. 2003. Conserving montane willow scrub on Ben Lawers NNR. Botanical Journal of Scotland (in press)

Scott, M. for the Montane Scrub Action Group. 2000. Montane Scrub. Perth, Scottish Natural Heritage. (Available from SNH Publications, Battleby, Redgorton, PERTH, PH1 3EW, @£3.95)

Guidance for the restoration of montane scrub: A series of five booklets providing practical guidance on restoration issues. Edited by Diana Gilbert, on behalf of the Montane Scrub Action Group. Scrubbers’ Bulletin No. 4, 2002.

• Montane Scrub in Scotland by Neil A MacKenzie
• Restoration Action Planning by Andrew McBride
• Integration with other land uses by Vyv Wood-Gee
• Protection of sites by Vyv Wood-Gee
• Propagation of scrub species by Graham Sullivan

A printed waterproof card for recording details of montane willow populations in the field, available from David Mardon, NTS Office, Lynedoch, Main Street, KILLIN, FK21 8UW.