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Heatherlea and the Environment

RSPB Sponsorship

Over the past few years Heatherlea has been working in sponsorship with RSPB Scotland. Already underway, our funding will contribute to two projects of significant importance; 

Restoration and protection of peatlands at Forsinard
‘Peatlands’ are habitats with a naturally accumulated layer of dead plant material (especially mosses) formed under waterlogged conditions. UK peatlands cover 26,000 km2 of land with over 60% in Scotland, including some of the world’s most important and best examples of blanket bogs, found in the Flow Country. Peatlands are extremely important for wildlife, including rare and specialist birds such as Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver, Golden Plover, Dunlin and Greenshank.

As an ecosystem, peatlands are also incredibly important for human and planetary wellbeing, particularly as a long-term carbon store and as a sponge to soak up water, reducing downstream flooding. In undamaged peatlands, the wet conditions slow down decomposition and enable dead plant remains to be laid down as peat. Our peatlands have a major role to play in combating the effects of climate change because carbon removed from the atmosphere by the plants is stored in the peat and remains there for millennia. Peatlands have risen to prominence in recent years because of this role as a carbon store, and as a means of moderating greenhouse gas emissions.

We plan to visit the peatlands at Forsinard several times in 2022, join us to see this fascinating landscape for yourself!

Puffins
Britain and Ireland hold 9% of the world’s Atlantic Puffin population, of which over 80% breeds in Scotland. Puffins are highly colonial when breeding, typically nesting in burrows dug in soil on islands free from ground predators. However, in recent years Puffin numbers have plummeted at some colonies, and experts estimate that without help more than half the global Puffin population will disappear within the next forty years.

Many of Scotland’s Puffins are on islands in the North Sea, however there is a colony which lives on the Firth of Forth, a very short boat trip from Edinburgh! Small islands such as Fidra and the Isle of May have proved to be successful puffin habitat, until about a decade ago, when a plant called Tree Mallow was introduced to the islands of the Forth. Tree Mallow is an invasive plant which grows so vigorously it stops Puffins from reaching their burrows to lay their eggs. Without the safety of these burrows, eggs and chicks become vulnerable to predation, and as Puffins only lay one egg a year, every puffling is precious! Over recent years we have seen benefits from removing the Tree Mallow, though this process is expensive. Our donation means RSPB Scotland can continue with Tree Mallow removal and continue bi-annual puffin monitoring on these islands.

"We are so grateful to Heatherlea for their incredibly generous donation to support both our peatland restoration work in RSPB Scotland’s Forsinard Flows Nature Reserve, and our efforts to protect our puffin population. In 2015 the puffin was upgraded to the UK’s highest level of conservation concern, joining the European Red List and declared “vulnerable to global extinction”. Thanks to the generosity of Heatherlea, we can continue our tree mallow removal in the Firth of Forth and protect their burrows from being destroyed by the roots of this invasive plant. This donation will also support our blanket bog restoration in the North of Scotland; a rare habitat which in total covers just 3% of the world’s land surface but contains nearly 30% of all terrestrial carbon. Half of this kind donation will go towards funding our continued commitment to restoring our threatened and damaged blanket bog and provide a much-needed habitat for an array of wildlife." Seonaid Mason, Senior Development Officer, RSPB Scotland

Capercaillie Land Management in the Heatherlea Private Estate

Guidelines for watching Capercaillie have been agreed by responsible bodies, and you can read a full copy on our website. Heatherlea fully supports these guidelines.

We have unique access into a privately-owned estate, actively managed for the benefit of Capercaillie. The landowner is regenerating the native Caledonian pinewood to create additional habitat, and our arrangement includes the payment of a fee which contributes towards management of this special place. We enter through secure gates, staying inside our ‘mobile hide’ minibuses as we drive around tracks with keen eyes to all sides! In recent times we are still enjoying good views of the birds on many occasions. We are the only birding tour operator authorised to look for Capercaillie inside these lands and will continue our financial support for the benefit of wildlife … and our customers!

Bursary in Environmental Science

We are passionate about supporting the next generation of environmentally conscious students, and every year the Heatherlea Bursary at Lancaster University is awarded to a deserving student by the Department of Environmental Science. Our 2021/22 recipient has recently been confirmed, and this year we have awarded the Bursary on the grounds of student hardship, to a person who otherwise might not have been able to come to university. We are delighted to fund this important initiative, now in its 17th year.

"2019 recipient Ami (pictured at Mountview Hotel) said ‘receiving this prestigious Bursary reduced my barriers to returning to higher education to complete a Masters’ Degree. It greatly boosted my confidence and reassured me I had made the right decision."

 

The Mountview Hotel & The Environment

At the Mountview Hotel we take our impact on the environment very seriously. We have been working hard to reduce our impact as much as possible but there still remains much to do. We are all making a conscience effort to look for new ways to further reduce both our direct and indirect carbon emissions. Read below to hear about just a few things which are already in place at the Hotel.

  • Whenever possible we aim to use local suppliers and produce at our Hotel. Most of our meat comes from the local Balliefurth farm just a few miles from our hotel. Our bar is stocked with local beers, gins and whisky's. Best of all, many of our vegetables and fruits are grown in our own kitchen garden at the Mountview!
  • We compost our food waste, even our coffee granules and shredded paper, and use this in our garden.
  • The Mountview is set in two acres of land featuring native Scots Pine, Silver Birch, wild blaeberries and a wildflower meadow to encourage wildlife. 
  • We use refillable toiletries in our hotel bathrooms to avoid the use of unnecessary plastic waste and guests are encouraged to re-use their towels.
  • The hotel and office has a strict recycling policy 
  • Our hotel is fitted with low energy LED bulbs throughout and we make a point of switching off as many electrical appliances at the end of the day as we can.
  • We only burn wood from local sustainable sources in our hotel fire, keeping our Lounge warm and comfortable while reducing our impact on the planet’s resources. 

 

About Heatherlea Holidays

Contact Information

The Mountview Hotel, Nethybridge,
PH25 3EB Scotland

T: +44(0)1479 821248

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