Nature Journaling, Ferries on the River Tay and The Art of Crookmaking

Mark visits Greenhead Moss Community Nature Park in Wishaw. The 100-hectare site contains many different habitats including ponds, wildflower meadows and woodlands. He takes a tour with countryside ranger Derek.

Deveron Wildland is a newly established rewilding estate in Aberdeenshire. Rachel went for a visit to hear about what the plans are for the site as well as to try her hand at nature journalling.

When Mark visited Maud Railway Museum earlier in the summer, he was surprised to find that one of their exhibits is a fully restored Peterhead Prison convict carriage. He takes a look inside and hears about the interesting history of the prison wagon.

The Scottish National Sheepdog Trials are being held in Perthshire at the moment. These trials are a precursor to the World Sheepdog Trials coming to the Scottish Borders next month. Rachel went along to Glenfarg to chat to some of those involved and watch the impressive dogs at work. And with sheepdogs and shepherds in mind, Stuart McFarlane recently went along to a workshop run by the Scottish Crookmakers Association in Durisdeer Village Hall. The association is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and Stuart hears about the history and traditions of crook making.

Rachel meets another of the finalists in the Environmental category of BBC Scotland’s Make a Difference awards. Alex Watson is a litter picker and social media filmmaker based in Dundee, and he tells Rachel about why he got involved in clearing up his local community.

And as the Tay Road Bridge celebrates its 60th anniversary this week, Mark hears about the ferries which linked Dundee and Fife before the bridge was opened in 1966. He meets Mairi Shiels from the Newport History Group who tells him about the various boats that ran the different routes across the Tay.

And in this week’s Scotland Outdoors podcast, Helen Needham digs into the BBC Archive back to the 1960s to explore Snowy Owls on Fetlar, Thatching in Aberdeenshire and a Tree Loving Tramp in the Highlands. We hear an excerpt.