Scotland Outdoors

Mark Stephen speaks to Professor Will Cresswell about the welcome rise in corn buntings.

Rachel meets Director Robbie Synge to learn about a new film featuring young people at work and play in the landscapes of the Cairngorms. ‘Tha Sinn an Seo’ (We Are Here), made throughout 2025, explores habitat restoration work of Cairngorms Connect.
The National Trust for Scotland has purchased new land around the Drum Estate, near Banchory, Aberdeenshire to help expand the ancient tree population. Mark takes a wander with Gardens and Designed Landscape Manager, Chris Wardle.
Scientists at Aberdeen University and the James Hutton Institute are examining whether a compound found in part of the potato plant could be used in the cosmetics industry. Near Montrose, Rachel joins Grampian Growers Project Manager Sofia Alexiou and Managing Director Kirsty Spink in a tattie shed.
A stakeholder discussion on the potential reintroduction of lynx is being launched this month. Mark meets Lisa Chilton, CEO of Scotland the Big Picture, in Aviemore to find out how events across Highland and Moray will gather local views.
Rachel chats to Professor Pete Iannetta from the James Hutton Institute who explains what a large part of our diet would have consisted of in days of old.
Mark joins Aberdeen City Council Countryside Ranger Service and volunteers keeping an area of land on the outskirts of Aberdeen free of gorse.
Rare seagrass "fairy circles" have been discovered in the Sound of Barra. Rachel and Mark are joined by Sarah Cunningham of NatureScot to discuss the seagrass doughnuts.
Helen Needham meets interdisciplinary plant Researcher Em Merrin May Armstrong in Glasgow to explore Queer Ecology.
Mother and daughter Mhairi and Maisie Watson volunteer as lifeboat crew for RNLI Anstruther. Mark catches up with the pair to discover what lifeboat training involves.

Mark Stephen meets the countryside rangers and volunteers keeping a large area of land on the outskirts of Aberdeen free of gorse

This week we’re live from Cairngorm Mountain and joined by a myriad of guests connected by the adventures of the slopes.
Snowboarder, mountain biker and climate activist Lauren MacCallum joins Mark and Rachel to talk about Cairngorm 2030, the groundbreaking programme aiming to make the Cairngorms the UK’s first net-zero national park.
Rachel takes to the slopes with Cairngorm ski-patrol to hear about how they keep skiers safe on the mountain.
Mark catches up with Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team as they enter their busiest season and discovers how rescues have changed with advances in technology.
Cairngorm Mountain CEO Mike Gifford joins Mark and Rachel to talk about the challenges of running one of Scotland’s leading ski-resorts and his vision to transform Cairngorm Mountain into a thriving, year-round destination.
Retired geography teacher Helen Rennie chats to Mark and Rachel about the record she set in 2019 by skiing on Scottish snow every year for 120 consecutive months.
Rachel meets Director Robbie Synge to learn about a new film which features young people at work and play in the landscapes of the Cairngorms. ‘Tha Sinn an Seo’ (We Are Here) was made throughout 2025 and explores how the next generation participate in the habitat restoration work of Cairngorms Connect.
Montane woodland is set to return to the slopes of Cairngorm Mountain through the Coire na Ciste Montane Woodland Project, an initiative that has recently planted thousands of native trees and shrubs. Mark meets David Hetherington of the Cairngorms National Park Authority to find out more about the first high-altitude woodland restoration project of this scale on the mountain.
Helen Needham takes to the slopes at Glenshee to experience a very Scottish winter’s ski.

Helen Needham meets interdisciplinary plant resercher Em Merrin May Armstrong in Glasgow