The Environment
Leave no Trace
Highland Ascent has recently become business partner with Leave no Trace. This organisation is helping to provide information on how to enjoy the wilds and make sure there are no human traces left for other people to be found. So other outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the wilds as much as everyone else.
Leave no Trace bases its findings on scientific research and has many new ideas on improving the outdoor enjoyment for everyone. Highland Ascent is looking forward in passing on this information to all the clients interested in preserving the environment.
Here are some ideas:
- Making an open fire with a fire blanket and soil from a small hole as base instead of a fire ring
- Where to "go" in the wilds
- Choose the right place for camping spot
- Using the right materials for cooking
The Eco System
The Highlands of Scotland has some of the least populated areas in Europe and has therefore large areas of wilderness. Especially at the west coast north of Fort William and more so north of Ullapool. There are huge estates with nothing but hills, heather and deer.
The whole eco system relies on a fine balance to function. History shows that this balance can be disturbed easily by introducing alien wildlife into the environment or even taking out an important part of the eco system.
Here are some examples:
- The introduction of gray squirrels in the UK by the victorians has eradicated the native red squirrels in many parts of the country. Fortunately the Highlands of Scotland have not been invaded by the grays yet but there is danger that they will.
- A classic one and more obvious one is the introduction of rabbits by the normans. There are no natural predictors for them in this country and now estates and landowners have to kill a large amount of rabbits to protect the harvests of farms.
- Wolves have extinct in Scotland over 150 years ago. They were natural predictors for deer and wolves kept the numbers of deer down. Since then the deer population has exploded in Scotland and the naturally grown trees have been removed largely by deer. Re-forestation must now been done in fenced up areas to protect the new trees.
These examples are large scale changes humans made in the past. Understanding this can also make a difference in a smaller scale like when you are out walking to take "all" your rubbish out with you even banana and orange peels. They are also alien to our environment.
At Highland Ascent we have a policy to leave our environment and eco system in tact as naturally as possible and take all rubbish out and if we find some we will try our best to clean it up too.
Highland Wildlife
On a trip with Highland Ascent we will try to point out wildlife without disturbing it too much. Here is a list of wildlife you may see on some of our trips.
- Red deer
- Golden eagles
- Dolphins
- Porpoises
- Basking sharks
- Whales
- All sorts of sea birds
- Otters
- and much more
