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@nickkempe.bsky.social

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nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 4d

If you believe what BrewDog did at Kinrara was bad, don't wait to see what is coming - take the time to understand what Oxygen Conservation stands for and protest parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/04/o...

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 7d

The proof of who causes the greatest amount of destruction by fire in the Cairngorms National Park lies in the data Prof Douglas Macmillan has analysed parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/30/w...

Who lights the fires in the Cairngorms National Park? - parkswatchscotland

[The post first appeared on Prof Douglas MacMillan’s Linked-In feed – ed] Last week Scottish Ministers approved a ban on recreational fires and barbecues in the Cairngorms National Park between 1 Apri...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 7d

The Cairngorms National Park Authority has become a vehicle for sporting estates to divert attention from the destruction they do by blaming outdoor recreation parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/29/f...

Fire and fires - one law for the landowners, another for the rest of us - parkswatchscotland

Scottish Ministers last week approved byelaws (see here for the text) which will make it an offence, with a fine of up to £500, for a person “without lawful authority” to light a fire or barbecue or “...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 9d

Andy Amphlett shows that rather than restoring montane woodland in Coire na Ciste, which was happening naturally anyway. the Cairngorms National Park Authority have ignored the scientific evidence and planted a mix of trees with no precedent in Scotland parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/28/t...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 13d

Before wasting money on tree nurseries and adding to market chaos the Scottish Government should have addressed the fundamental question, should we plant trees or would it be better to create the conditions where nature will do this for free? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/25/s...

Scottish Government funding of tree nurseries - all that's wrong with its approach to forestry in Scotland - parkswatchscotland

Eighteen months ago I wrote a critical post (see here) about how Scottish Forestry is not only funding companies like BrewDog (see here) and Abrdn (see here) to plant trees, they have also been subsi...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 16d

The National Park Authority could call the bluff of the new owner of Auchreoch & publicly call on them to put real conservation measures in place, like removing their sheep, instead of unlawfully trying to undermine access rights. The NPA could but won't parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/20/s...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 17d

I forgot to post my post about the LLTNPA board meeting last Monday, perhaps because it was so forgettable if not for what it says about the usurpation of power by officials parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/17/t...

The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority - how democracy has been destroyed - parkswatchscotland

On Monday morning I watched the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board Meeting online (see here for agenda and papers). It should be essential viewing for anyone who cares ...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 26d

Time to blow a raspberry at the Scottish Government? By looking at what plants grow where abroad the full impact of overgrazing on the natural environment in upland areas & the need for fundamental reform of land management in Scotland becomes obvious parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/11/l...

Lessons from the Italian Alps (4) - wild raspberries - parkswatchscotland

One of the great pleasures of walking in the Alps are the mountain flowers. I have always got particular enjoyment from seeing plants which are rare in Scotland, like the Alpine Sow Thistle, growing ...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · 29d

If the Scottish Government was even half serious about addressing the environmental crisis in Scotland it would be considering how to control livestock grazing , learning from abroad, instead of paying landowners to graze sheep & cattle wherever they wish parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/09/l...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Sep 3

Heat, drought, diseases and pests - considering these issues from a wider perspective is essential if we want to tackle global warming and the collapse of the natural world parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/03/l...

Lessons from the Italian Alps (2) - the environmental crisis continental in scale - parkswatchscotland

For my first few days walking the Grande Traversata dell Alpe (GTA) – I started from the Nufenenpass on 24th July – it was cloudy, windy and periodically wet, the forests were predominantly composed o...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Aug 31

Using the arguments used to approve the mega fish farm at Loch Long, nowhere in Scotland is safe from industrialisation while Ivan McKee is planning minister & he will approve the Flamingo Land development. Time to restore democracy to planning parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/08/31/s...

Scottish Ministers, the Loch Long fish farm planning decision and the implications for National Parks - parkswatchscotland

The timing of the Scottish Government’s announcement on Tuesday that Scottish Ministers, i.e Ivan McKee the Minister for Planning, had decided to overturn the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park A...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Aug 28

This post explains how and why core path planning in Scotland, intended as a means to enable people to enjoy access rights, has become a meaningless bureaucratic exercise and what needs to change parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/08/28/t...

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Aug 25

Back from Italy and once again there is lots that Scotland could learn about how to protect and restore the natural environment, most notably the right of ordinary Italians to hunt on private land parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/08/25/l...

Lessons from the Italian Alps (1) - home from home - parkswatchscotland

I have not blogged for almost a month because I have been away in Italy walking the northern half of the Grande Traversata delle Alpi, the Italian equivalent of the GR5 in France – which I wrote about...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 25

Sporting landowners will remain happy with the Cairngorms National Park so long as it supports projects which make no ecological sense, do little or nothing to further conservation and does nothing to challenge the way they mis-use the land parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/25/t...

The Spey Catchment Initiative, Pitmain and the failure of conservation in the Cairngorms National Park - parkswatchscotland

On 22nd July the Strathy reported (see here) the Spey Catchment Initiative (SCI) is planning to consult the local community before using “ecological engineering” techniques to restore the eroded banks...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 24

How public land and resources are still being abused to support Flamingo Land's proposed development at Balloch. What will it take for Kate Forbes and Mairi Gougeon to intervene? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/24/t...

The National Park and Scottish Enterprise's land deal at the Pierhead - designed to make Flamingo Land happen - parkswatchscotland

Following my post in June (see here) about how about the transfer of land from Scottish Enterprise (SE) to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) appeared to be paving the way ...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 23

Stobo Hope is a test case for much that is wrong with Scottish Forestry and forestry in Scotland. This post critiques the claims being made on the developers new website, claims that are being used across Scotland to justify the unjustifiable parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/23/s...

Stobo Hope, Scottish Forestry & the dubious claims made by commercial forestry interests - parkswatchscotland

It is over six months since I blogged about how the crisis facing commercial forestry interests at Stobo Hope in the Borders (see here). Since then a successful judicial review by the Stobo Residents ...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 21

When Oxygen Conservation bought Glen Lednock with a massive loan from Triodos bank they failed to explain they would need to build a wimdfarm to pay it back. Felicity Martin explains why the proposed planning application is so wrong parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/21/g...

Glen Lednock Wind Farm - parkswatchscotland

[Ed’s note. My apologies to Felicity Martin who wrote this briefing on the Glen Lednock windfarm application for Parkswatch 10 days ago but which I managed to miss while away. (I have added the illust...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 18

When are the Scottish Government & our National Parks going to look at what land speculators - aka investors - are actually doing on the ground as a result of their obsession with tree planting targets and courtesy of the Scottish Forestry grants system? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/18/a...

Abrdn's legacy at Far Ralia as paid for by Scottish Forestry - another environmental liability in the Cairngorms National Park - parkswatchscotland

In December abrdn told the Scotsman that they had made mistakes with their carbon offsetting tree planting scheme at Far Ralia, the land they had bought for £6.5m in 2021 and are now trying to sell. W...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 15

The Lomond and Trossachs National Park's approach to both deer control and control of non-native species is fallow and shallow parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/15/f...

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 10

The recent decision of the Shares Rural Network programme to reduce the number of phone masts in total not spots has been driven by financial interests rather than any concern by government about Scotland's landscape parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/10/u...

Unacceptable telecommunications masts (29) - the new plan for Scotland from the Shared Rural Network - parkswatchscotland

Ten days ago the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme announced (see here) that they were scaling the £500m UK Government funded programme to erect telecommunications masts in Total Not Spots, areas w...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 8

Allowing Flamingo Land to write the legal agreement which is supposed to protect the public interest at Balloch represents complete capitulation to development interests & is like letting private suppliers of goods and services write their own contracts parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/08/f...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jul 1

The management of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service who have no systems in place to monitor muirburn & appear completely unconcerned about its impacts should now explain if it reduces fire risks as claimed why have the fires on Dava Moor been so big? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/07/01/k...

King Charles, the politics of muirburn and wildfires - parkswatchscotland

Following my post on King Charles and the muirburn which took place on his estate at Delnadamph on 27th February, a very windy day (see here), I submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Scot...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jun 29

The power of Scottish Ministers to call-in planning applications should provide a safeguard against failures to protect the public interest but in the case of Flamingo Land is part of the problem, undemocratic, unaccountable & a misuse of power parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/06/29/i...

Ivan McKee's decision to call in Flamingo Land's planning appeal - what needs to change - parkswatchscotland

In my post on the Scottish Government’s decision to call in the Flamingo Land application for a decision by Scottish Ministers (see here), I highlighted the fact that the Planning Minister, Ivan McKee...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jun 27

Time to stop the sales of what should be public land in Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, SE to Flamingo Land, FLS to private forestry interests and RSFS at Cashel - this post argues there is an alternative at Cashel, transfer the land for free to NTS parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/06/27/t...

The Royal Scottish Forestry Society's new plans for Cashel - unworkable and devoid of vision - parkswatchscotland

On 27th May Goldcrest Land and Forestry Group misleadingly announced a new property was for sale, “Beinn Bhreac Hill” (see here). In fact Goldcrest had marketed Beinn Bhreac a year ago as Lot 4 in th...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk

nickkempe.bsky.social @nickkempe.bsky.social · Jun 25

It doesn't appear that anyone in government knows how many sporting estates, like Gkencalvie, burn the land to increase deer numbers or have thought through how they will implement the Scottish Government's commitment to end this damaging practise parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/06/25/m...

Muirburn for deer - an environmentally destructive practise which government needs to stamp out - parkswatchscotland

The Report of the Deer Working Group “The Management of Wild Deer in Scotland” published over five years ago was very clear that the use of muirburn to improve grazing for deer was very damaging and t...

parkswatchscotland.co.uk