Celebrating the first International Day for Biosphere Reserves
Thursday 3rd November 2022 has been designated the very first International Day for Biosphere Reserves, and the GSA Biosphere is joining friends and colleagues around the world in celebrating the recognition this title brings to regions that are so important for conservation, research and sustainable development – and which are so special to the people who live there.
The Man and the Biosphere Programme launched in 1971 and is UNESCO’s oldest intergovernmental scientific programme. UNESCO Biospheres are agents of positive change, pioneering local and international cooperation on the most critical issues of our time including climate change and biodiversity loss.
To mark the International Day for Biosphere Reserves, Galloway and Southern Ayrshire has joined other Biospheres in the UK and Ireland to share some views on ‘Biosphere life’ from local people – those with a passion for our great outdoors, for our history and heritage, for the rich variety of our homegrown food, for protecting our wildlife and habitats, and for helping visitors of all ages explore, discover, and be inspired. Our thanks to everyone who took part from D&G, East and South Ayrshire. Please do click through the links within the page to find out more about where they live, what they do, and the amazing places they want you to see.
Name: Alex Baird, Chair, Ochiltree Community Hub
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? The GSA Biosphere gives the direction and confidence to become involved in promoting my community to be more involved in its natural environment and biodiversity
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? Being more aware of how I as an individual can make a difference to tackle biodiversity decline and climate change.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? Through visiting the communities within the Biosphere and witness the work being carried out, and how that will affect future generations in how they understand the natural environment on their doorstep.
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? The River Lugar walk NW from Ochiltree, where you will be able to see the blue flash of the Kingfisher, the Mallard Ducks gliding past with their chicks, or the Cormorant diving and the Heron standing in the rapids waiting for the fish to go by, the Otter and deer are a bit more difficult to spot but they are there!
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? I would suggest there is not one thing visitors should experience but plan to take time and experience the whole GSA Biosphere and what they and their communities are putting in place to ensure its future.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? How the GSA Biosphere in the last ten years has worked with all communities to improve their understanding of local natural environment, biodiversity, climate change and importantly how we as communities by working together can make a difference.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: Collaboration.
Name: Sarah Blackie, Learning for Sustainability teacher, Girvan Primary School
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? Teaching children about the wonders of the Biosphere allows me to see the true beauty of it with fresh eyes every day. Farming in the Biosphere enables me to enjoy every season and the changes that arise in nature throughout the year first hand. Every day in the Biosphere you can be immersed in something different.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? Being involved in the Biosphere has allowed me to meet likeminded people. In doing so, I have been given super opportunities to co-create some educational materials for our Biosphere schools. I have been encouraged to visit new places and take part in some super events through being a part of the Biosphere.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? I say look up! Look upwards to the sky above our Biosphere! The Dark Sky Park cannot be rivalled for the moon and stargazers! Walk through our woodlands and look up at the tree canopies. Look up at the sunsets and sunrises over sea, moor, or towns. Look up at the mountain tops. Look up and watch the aerial acrobat swallows dancing, the buzzards crying, or the skylarks rise and fall!
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? Having lived in the Stinchar Valley for nearly twenty years, I would have to say it is my favourite place in the Biosphere. It is a truly special place – teeming with wildlife, and exceptionally beautiful.
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? The bogs and marshes in our Biosphere. The vivid, ever-changing colours are extraordinary. The wildlife around them – the dragonflies, damsels, wading birds are a joy to watch. The flora and fauna fascinate me- especially the carnivorous plants such as the sundews and butterworts.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? I would say the Biosphere farmers. The true Guardians of the land. Hardworking and passionate people. Real life superheroes.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: Hope.
Name: Katrina Dick, Business Development Manager, Newton Stewart Initiative
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? It is always inspiring to hear and see the many projects that the Biosphere are engaged in and promote. It brings inspiration and hope to a relatively quiet and forgotten area of Scotland. Being able to choose so many different walking routes to do at the weekend or after work is really encouraging as it inspires me to explore different paths and routes instead of doing a routine dog walk up the park.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? Being involved in and with the Biosphere opens up for new opportunities for me both in a work capacity and as a local resident. It is comforting to know that there are a group of dedicated people like myself who work hard to promote a sustainable and nature-friendly place to live and thus setting an example to other communities in Scotland and further afield.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? We share Biosphere posts and talk inclusively about the Biosphere when involved in meetings with other stakeholders. We also have had the Biosphere involved in our Sub-Committees and planning groups both now and previously and always value the input.
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? I love walking up the Merrick as it gives such a great viewpoint to other hills and lochs in the area.
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? The cakes at Clatteringshaws and a walk along the Murray’s Monument route to look for the stone heads in the sheiling ruins.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? The amount of effort the Biosphere has put into the local area is amazing. The Biosphere highlights loads of various organisations throughout its remit thus creating an informal information point for other organisations to see what is going on in their local region and which will hopefully inspire people and encourage collaborative working.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: Inspiring.
Name: Tayler Kane Ellison-Quinn, Coalfields Regeneration Trust – but I get involved as an individual as much as possible and first became involved with the GSA Biosphere when I was at university and did my final year dissertation on the Biosphere.
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? It inspires me to get involved. The UNESCO Biosphere designation is something special especially for an area that is often overlooked. Get involved and support those who are a part of the GSA Biosphere team to help ensure it creates as many benefits as possible both in terms of environmental protection but development for communities.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? A sense of opportunity. The UNESCO Biosphere designation acknowledges the importance of the area, highlighting the environment, communities and the history of this often overlooked part of the country.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? Get outside, adventure, take a photo and show the world. Publicity and acknowledgment can and will do amazing things for the continued development of the Biosphere and is the simplest way for others to get involved.
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? My favourite natural place within the GSA Biosphere is Ness Glen located on Craigengillan Estate. Ness Glen is an accessible river rock gorge that joins Loch Doon and Craigengillan Estate and is recognised as an SSSI due to the large variety of rare and unusual mosses and ferns that grow. Every time I personally walk through the gorge I always think of Jurassic Park and could very easily imagine a pterodactyl flying above – it really does feel like and look like a piece of the ancient natural world.
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? Visit Ness Glen on Craigengillan Estate.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? The fact that the area has been acknowledged by UNESCO. It really emphasises my beliefs that this part of the country can be something truly special to so many more people.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: Opportunity.
Name: Alan Mc Dowall, Countryside Ranger, Loch Doon
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? Being a native of Dalmellington, on the Northern edge of the Biosphere I grew up taking the natural beauty of the area for granted. In 2019, then aged 55, I returned to Loch Doon as the Countryside Ranger. The general views I remember as a young boy are still there and no matter how often you look, the changing weather, cloud formation or direction of the sun gives you another glorious perspective of the landscape. That’s where I take my inspiration from.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? Being involved in the Biosphere allows me to play my part in protecting, preserving and enhancing what I see as Scotland’s prize possession. It makes it all worthwhile when visitors from all over the world, visiting a UNESCO Biosphere, stand in awe of the views, whether its mountains, waterfalls or looking upwards at the clear night sky.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? Visiting the Biosphere is the best way to encourage others to get involved. They need to see first-hand the ecological importance of the area and the way it can positively influence others. Before you can totally understand the concept, you must explore the reason behind it.
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? My favourite natural place in the Biosphere is the Merrick Kells S.S.S.I. Here you have the impressive end moraine complexes formed by melting glaciers with huge boulders deposited on the landscape like specs of dust. Then below lies the blanket bog of the Silver Flowe.
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? Visitors to the Biosphere should experience the view from the summit of Craiglee (NX470962) which sits on the southwest side of Loch Doon. From here you have a view of the vast changing landscape that encapsulates the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere from the coast to the mountains.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? To see an area that is home to me awarded the same designation as such places as Mount Olympus in Greece or Yellowstone Grand Teton in America makes me proud. As a Countryside Ranger, it also gives me hope when businesses/organisations come together to positively promote conservation and sustainable development.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: The word that sums up the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere for me is “LIFE”. Whether it’s the flora and fauna or the people who live and work in the Biosphere this one word sums up what it represents now and for our future.
Name: Paul Osborne, Director, The Biking Explorers
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? Living in a place where adventure and education are around every corner means that there is never a bad time to live here. When people visit and are amazed by what we have, it makes you even more proud to call this place home.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? Happiness! Ensuring that through guided bike rides we are using a green means of travel to visit some incredible historical landmarks from castles to natural landscapes is a very rewarding experience.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? Sign up for the GSA Biosphere newsletter [you can do this at the foot of this page] and become a Proud Supporter, get to know the various aspects of what makes your Biosphere special and see how you can show support. So we can ensure it is here for future generations to enjoy.
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? The Stinchar Valley: this incredible area starts in the Galloway Forest Park and goes all the way to Ballantrae. With stunning views, incredible roads, miles of gravel tracks and so many historical landmarks, its easy to lose hours or even days here!
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? The Galloway Forest Park is the largest forest park in the UK. Go and explore the many bothies, remote lochs and wild places; reconnect with nature and appreciate how others have lived here before. On a clear night, why not enjoy a hot chocolate while listening to a Dark Sky Ranger explain the constellations, bringing the night skies to life.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? The footprint people of the past have left and the legacy the current people are trying to create through raising awareness and education. Everyone is pulling in the same direction to preserve this wonderful area we all call home, each contributing in their own way.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: Precious.
Name: David Steel, Chairman, Gatehouse Development Initiative
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? It is inspirational to live in a special area recognised by UNESCO. The Biosphere inspires me to get involved in projects to maintain the built and natural heritage of the area.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? There is a sense of well-being from working with others on local environmental projects in the Biosphere. At a time when local authorities have cut back on services such as work on core paths, it is only if volunteers take action that these paths can remain open.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? I would encourage people to take part in groups such as The Fleet Valley National Scenic Area volunteers. This volunteer group provides regular opportunities for people to take part in conservation work in the Biosphere.
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? I like to walk from Isle Mouth at Carrick to the Knockbrex Hill viewpoint. Quite a short walk brings you to the viewpoint where there is an all-round view from the sea and over farmland to the hills beyond. Whatever the season there are striking views, beautiful sunsets, stormy seas, snow-capped hills on cold winter’s days.
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? They should take a walk, whether in the many woodlands, by the sea or in the Galloway hills.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? I am proud to live in such a special place.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: Wellbeing.
Name: Elizabeth Tindal, Biosphere Dark Sky Ranger – Freelance Ranger
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? I am proud to live and work in a UNESCO Biosphere. It inspires me to value the environment around me. the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere has been recognised as a special place by UNESCO. That gives me more reasons to make my business sustainable, to follow an environmental ethos and to keep what we have here in special in the eyes of the world.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? My Biosphere is the place I live and work. I have connections with others here who are also linked to the Biosphere and other Biospheres around the Earth. I have the recognition of being a Proud Supporter and Biosphere Certification Mark Business giving me recognition as a sustainable and environmentally aware business.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? My Biosphere supports both me and my business. It keeps me physically and mentally healthy with its wonderful environment. I am extremely proud of my Biosphere Certification Mark for Freelance Ranger and would advise other businesses to support the Biosphere where they can. I promote my Biosphere where I can, letting people know about the special place that they visit, live and work in.
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? My favourite natural place in the Biosphere is above it all, dark skies dominate our Biosphere. We can be bathed in moonlight or in billions of stars, it makes me feel like I have come home to a special place.
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? Night-time in the Biosphere. My Biosphere is famed for its dark skies and wonderful vistas of stars. When it gets dark it has those and more. Darkness brings a time of renewal and peace, a soft welcoming velvety darkness, a wide open expanse looking out into the universe. It makes you feel at home and part of something so much bigger.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? The people who live and work in my Biosphere preserving the wonderful natural environment and all the different communities. We work together to make sure the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere stays a special place.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: Stars.
Name: Howard Wilkinson, Voluntary Chairperson Ayrshire Food Network, & Trustee of Colmonell Community Association (SCIO).
How does living and working in a UNESCO Biosphere inspire you? Being part of a strategic world class initiative to ensure economic & community developments are held in optimum balance with natural resources via sustainable preservation.
What do you gain from being involved in your Biosphere? Insights into the broadest strategic issues,whilst having the opportunites to engage in localised PLACE related issues and the development of sustainable community initiatives.
How would you encourage others to get involved in the Biosphere? Many different ways according to individual interests , talents & priorities,, but collectively we need to reinforce the message that the Biosphere is a series of multi community initiatives led by people, mainly volunteers, working within their PLACE with its associated opportunities
What’s your favourite natural place in the Biosphere and why? Glentrool…beauty of the landcape, and the array of outdoor activities that can be undertaken from there.
What’s the one thing visitors to the Biosphere should experience and enjoy, and why? Glentrool Hive community regeneration centre which illustrates the power of collaborative funding, very high standards of sustainable initiatives, and community arts and craftworking.
What makes you proud of your Biosphere? It is a very powerful manifestation of long-term goal setting, determination & resilience, and exciting local actions.
Sum up what the GSA Biosphere is or means to you in one word: INSPIRING.