Scotland Outdoors

• The March of the Frogs, Heavy Lifting Stones and Boat Building

  Many landowners across Scotland are engaging with large scale restoration projects. One such project, spanning 80 thousand acres, is Wildland, in the Scottish Highlands. They have a 200 year vision to help the land heal, grow and thrive, and Rachel is there to find out more about the project, and perhaps even spot some of birds of prey who are thriving in this landscape.HippFest, a silent film and live music festival based in Bo’Ness, is back this March, and one of the filmmakers, Moira Salt, has developed a silent film focusing on Scotland’s canals. Mark met up with her alongside the Forth and Clyde Canal to find out what exactly inspires her about these waterways.Bridgend Farmhouse is a community owned organisation in Edinburgh, focusing on a creating a sustainable and welcoming space for learning, eating and exercise. Helen Needham met with John Knox, who is Chair of the Board at Bridgend, to find out more about the philosophy behind the organisation.For villages on the West Coast of Scotland, boats and sailing are often part of the traditional way of life. However, in Plockton, the local high school is playing a key role in keeping this tradition alive, through teaching the heritage craft of boat building. Mark went along and spoke to some of the students about what learning this craft meant to them.Frogs and toads have begun to emerge all across Scotland, coming out of hibernation and entering the breeding season. But how can we tell which is which, and how can we get involved in their conservation? We speak to Nature.Scot Reserve Officer Danny Bean about how we can keep an eye out for our native amphibians.The Braemar Highland Games Centre is home to one of the world’s most famous lifting stones – the Inver Stone. Mark visited to hear the history behind the stone, where the traditions of lifting stones first began.In an excerpt from this week’s podcast, Rachel is joined by Julie Wilson Nimmo and Greg Hemphill, to find out about how their love of wild swimming began, and how that has grown through their BBC TV Series Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim

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• Wild Swimming with Greg and Jules

  The actors have become regular wild swimmers in recent years. In their latest BBC Scotland TV series, they visit some of Scotland's islands and try out a whole host of different dipping spots in remote and rugged locations.

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• Bracklinn Falls, Needle Felting and The Cabrach Distillery

  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 Park Authority, to hear about the innovative design of this new bridge.The remote area of The Cabrach was once a hotbed for illicit whisky production, before falling into decline through the late 1800s. Now a new distillery has been built in the area, aiming to bring the historic whisky trade back, but reimagined through a sustainable and community focused lens. Mark meets up with members of The Cabrach Trust to find out about their efforts, and maybe even taste a wee dram.Rachel is on the West Highland Way, with Ian Alderman and his 10 year old daughter Eve. The pair, who are both autistic, have been walking together to raise money for charity, and have now successfully completed all of Scotland’s Great Trails.We are joined on the programme by Tracey Howe, who is now 1/3 of the way through her walk around the British Coast, to raise money for UK Cancer Charities. We speak to her just as she has reached Land's End, to find out how she is getting on.Fiona Finlayson is a needle felt artist who seeks out her materials across Scotland on her travels, and brings it back to her studio to craft models of pets and other wild animals. Rachel joins her in her studio, to find out how her passion for the craft first came aboutMark met up with Graham Gillie, a conservation carpenter with the Antarctic Heritage Trust, before his 5th visit to Antarctica. He is responsible for maintaining some of the historic sites on the continent, and battling the harsh weather conditions. Mark found out what it is about such a challenging job that appeals for him.

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• Preserving Antarctica's Heritage Buildings with Conservation Carpenter Graham Gillie

  Mark Stephen hears from Graham Gillie about his extraordinary working life in Antarctica

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• Kingfishers, a Gunpowder Mill and a Halifax Bomber Relic

  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 about the threat of squirrel pox.Global celebrations have been taking place this week for World Gaelic Week. Mark spoke to Robyn Ireland, Gaelic Officer with Nature.Scot, about the Forgotten Woodlands project, which mapped Gaelic place names in order to show historically wooded areas across Scotland, demonstrating both the ecological and cultural relevance of the Gaelic language.Roslin Glen Country Park is something of a hidden gem, close by to the well-known Rosslyn Chapel. Mark is shown around by park ranger Alan Krumholds, who divulges the interesting industrial past of the area, and its present day, flourishing flora and fauna.Erected in 2014, the Tom Weir Statue in Balmaha is a fitting tribute to the popular mountaineer, author and broadcaster. Rachel talks to John Urquhart, from the conservation charity ‘Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs’, to reflect on the decade since the statue’s installation and the new campaign to upgrade the signage and information in the area.Professor Catherine Heymans joins us on the programme, reflecting on the Planetary Parade phenomena that has gripped the UK over the past week, and shares her thoughts on the benefits of getting out to gaze up at the night sky.Lossiemouth Community Council has discovered an innovative use for last year’s Christmas trees. Phil visits the beach where these discarded trees are being repurposed as a defence against coastal erosion.Rachel is out on the Water of Leith with wildlife photographer Tom Kelly, to find out about the rich variety of species that he captures on a daily basis at his patch along the river.

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