Pete Cairns from SCOTLAND: The Big Picture and author and farmer Patrick Laurie discuss whether bringing back the Lynx will benefit Scotland’s countryside, economy and wildlife.
We discuss the Lynx and the year long conversation SCOTLAND: The Big Picture are having with communities in Cairngorms and Argyll as well as the changing nature of Scotland’s landscape, land ownership, the opportunities rewilding brings and what can be done to ensure its benefits are felt by all.
Our guests:
Peter Cairns has spent over two decades as a photographer, videographer, nature tourism operator and environmental communicator. He is a co-founder of SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, having previously directed major conservation media initiatives such as Tooth & Claw, Wild Wonders of Europe and 2020VISION. A long-time advocate for rewilding, Peter is a serving board member of Trees for Life, and is a Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Patrick Laurie was born and brought up near Dalbeattie – ‘the town of hard granite and warm hearts’. His blog Working for grouse was set up more than a decade ago as a diary of conservation in hill farming; it now attracts around 30,000 visitors each year. As well as writing and farming, he is involved in a number of conservation projects on upland farms across Scotland and the north of England. Unsurprisingly, Patrick lives in Galloway, Scotland. He is the author of “Native: Life in a Vanishing Landscape” which was shortlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize.