The Festival of Imbolc, World Wetlands Day and the Big Farmland Bird Count

Feb 1, 2025

Guest

Harley Matheson

Guest

Anna Neubert-Wood

Guest

Keri Tomlin

Guests include Keri Tomlin, an author and celebrant illuminating the roots of the Imbolc festival, and Anna Neubert-Wood from Wander Women, who shares her personal connections to this celebration. Harley Matheson, a conservation volunteer, takes listeners on a journey through Frankfield Loch, discussing the importance of wetland ecosystems. The conversation highlights community efforts like the Big Farmland Bird Count, emphasizing the changing seasons and wildlife conservation, while also touching on personal growth through nature.

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ADVICE

Big Farmland Bird Count

Participate in the Big Farmland Bird Count to monitor bird populations on your land.
Use supplementary feeding and agri-environment schemes to support birdlife during winter's hungry gap.

ANECDOTE

HMS Unicorn Restoration

The HMS Unicorn, a 200-year-old ship in Dundee, faces complex, costly restoration.
Volunteers from diverse backgrounds are crucial for maintenance, tours, and community engagement.

ANECDOTE

Storm Damage at Jupiter Artland

Storm Eowyn damaged Jupiter Artland, a sculpture garden near Edinburgh, toppling a 200-year-old beech tree onto an artwork.
The garden views the landscape as integral to the art, rebuilding both and accepting nature's dynamic influence.

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Parts of the country are still recovering after last week’s Storm Eowyn including Jupiter Artland. The 100-acre sculpture garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh suffered quite a bit of storm damage as Mark saw when he visited earlier this week.

Rachel meets a group of volunteers from a whole variety of backgrounds who have come together to help restore the HMS Unicorn, a 200-year-old ship which is docked in Dundee.

Next Friday sees the start of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s annual Big Farmland Bird Count. Mark headed to their demonstration Farm on Deeside to find out why the Trust wants farmers and land managers to take part in the count, and what they do with the data that’s gathered.

We celebrate World Wetlands Day on Out of Doors as Mark visits Frankfield Loch on the outskirts of Glasgow. The site is part of the Seven Lochs Wetland Park and Mark explores an area he hadn’t visited before.

At 11am on 31st January people in Stranraer gather to mark the sinking of the car ferry, The Princess Victoria. This year marks 72 years since the disaster and Rachel heard the story from historian Elaine Barton as they met up at the site of the memorial to the sinking.

This weekend is also Imbolc or Saint Brigid's Day, the Gaelic traditional festival which marks the beginning of spring. We chat live to author and celebrant Keri Tomlin about the origins of Imbolc and its significance.

And Rachel also recently spent time with Anna Neubert-Wood of Edinburgh based Wander Women to find out what Imbolc means to her and how she’ll be marking it this weekend.

Earlier this week a film celebrating the globally vital landscape of The Flow Country being recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was shown in Scotland for the first time. When Fish Begin to Crawl features specially shot footage with archive and new film by Flow Country residents. It also features an award-winning musical score. We’re joined live by its co-creators, composer Jim Sutherland and film maker Morag McKinnon.