Autumn 2014
Clean up
Aberdeen
Environment
Competition
0
Recycle for
Aberdeen
Green Flag
Awards
Red Squirrel
Sightings
Countryside
Ranger Events
Next
issue...
Energy
Saving
Ideas!
Aberdeen’s Environmental
News and Events
Green Apple Award
Work on a project to halve the Granite City’s
carbon emissions has led to Aberdeen City
Council being honoured as an International
Green World Ambassador.
citizens the chance to join the public and
private sectors in identifying ways to make
changes for the better.”
This recognition comes as a result of the
environmental success of the authority’s
EU-funded MUSIC (Mitigation in Urban
Areas: Solutions for Innovative Cities)
Project, which won a Scottish Green Apple
Environment Award this month.
The long-term goal of the project is a
sustainable city in 2050. Shorter-term
benefits include: an Energy City educational
game for primary 5-7 pupils; a sustainable
living video for teenagers in education; an
annual event promoting street life and low
carbon transport; and this month pupils
will start to monitor energy use at home.
The council’s winning paper will be published
in The Green Book, the world’s only annual
work of reference on environmental best
practice. It is distributed to environment
professionals, universities and libraries
around the world by The Green Organisation.
The winning paper now goes forward for
further judging and could be selected to
represent the UK in the Brussels-led European
Business Awards for the Environment.
Councillor Barney Crockett said: “Aberdeen
City Council is making good progress on
tackling carbon emissions, through a range of
initiatives and I am very pleased to see that
being recognised at an international level.
“The MUSIC project is a particularly
interesting one because it has given
The Green Apple Awards are one of the few
environmental schemes in Britain that have
official status to act as an automatic feeder
scheme into the European campaign.
The council will be honoured as
International Green World Ambassadors
at a special ceremony at the Houses of
Parliament in November.
Get behind Scotland’s favourite park
Environment charity Keep Scotland
Beautiful is calling on people all over
Scotland have a say on their favourite
award winning park or local green space.
Earlier this year the charity announced
that a record-breaking 59 parks in Scotland
had been awarded the coveted Green Flag.
The park award is a national standard and
recognises well managed, high quality sites
with community involvement.
Now the public get a chance to have their
say on the nation’s favourite – in a contest
open to award parks from all across the UK.
To take part visit www.keepscotlandbeautiful.
org/parks and follow the instructions.
The vote will close on 30 September and
the winner of the 2014 People’s Choice will
be announced on 16 October.
East Tullos Burn a
Blooming Success
More than 160,000 plants have come
into bloom providing a splash of
colour at the East Tullos Burn.
Thousands of plants have injected
colour and helped enhance biodiversity
in the area after the burn re-opened to
the public in May, following a £300,000
improvement programme.
Councillor Angela Taylor, vice-convener
of the Council’s Enterprise, Strategic
Planning and Infrastructure Committee,
said: “The East Tullos Burn restoration
project has completely transformed the
St. Fitticks Park area from a neglected,
polluted wasteland to a beautiful oasis.
“This is an outstanding example of what
can be achieved through partnership
working and by involving the community
in making the best of their area.
“£300,000 has been invested in this very
worthwhile project, which has seen the
creation of several new wetland areas
and a larger pond at the upstream end
of the site, paths and bridges being
built to ensure the area can be enjoyed
by all, whatever the weather; and more
than 160,000 plants bedded in.
“As they come into bloom it is
immediately obvious that a huge
difference has been made to St.
Fitticks Park, and I am certain
residents will be delighted.”
In recent years the burn, which runs
through the industrial estate and
enters the park, had become polluted.
The burn was also a hotspot for litter
and fly-tipping in the past. The new
design includes a meandering course
for the burn as well as the creation of
a pond and wetland areas.
Clean up Aberdeen
Aberdeen City Council’s, Clean Up Aberdeen
campaign, is off to a great start, with 49
clean ups so far this year, involving 2730
participants.
Committed volunteers from businesses,
primary schools, Aberdeen City Council
services, parent councils, residents
associations, churches and community
councils have tidied their
local areas, filling over 984
bags with rubbish from
sites throughout the city.
Clean Up Aberdeen is
part of Keep Scotland
Beautiful’s national massengagement campaign
Clean Up Scotland, which
aims to involve one million people
in action against litter and mess.
About Green Times
Green Times is produced in
March, June, September and
December each year and
includes information on local
transport, energy, waste, Eco
Schools and biodiversity
events and initiatives.
Previous editions are available
on the Aberdeen City Council
website www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
Clean Ups are great fun and make a
noticeable difference to areas.
You can help Clean Up Aberdeen by
committing to the following in 2014:
• Pledge your support to the campaign via
www.cleanupscotland.com/pledge
• Organise a community Clean Up
Environmental Services
can lend you litter picking
tongs, high vis vests,
gloves and black bags
and will uplift the
collected rubbish. All you
have to do is pick and
bag the litter.
For more details, or to get help organising
an event call 01224 219281, or email
[email protected]
To make sure you receive a copy of this
publication when it is released or if you
would like to contribute to future
editions contact:
email: thegreentimes@
aberdeencity.gov.uk
telephone: 01224 522792
or write to the editor:
Business Hub 4,
Ground Floor North,
Marischal College,
Broad Street,
Aberdeen AB10 1AB
Our Environment Competition
Winners of a competition encouraging
young people to come up with original
and creative ideas for improving their local
environment were presented with their
prizes at a ceremony at Dynamic Earth.
It was a day of fun and prizes for 200
young people during the awards ceremony
for the competition held by Scotland’s
Environment Web. The competition was
open to young people between the ages
of 5-18. Over 130 entries were received
varying from posters, newspaper articles
to videos and blogs.
Prizes for each category were awarded to
winning school groups and individuals
from across Scotland. The top prizes were
presented by the Minister for Environment
and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse MSP,
to St.Thomas’ Primary School, Arbroath for
overall Best Group entry and Connel Laing
from Rothes for the overall Best
Individual entry.
The competition was run by the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency (SEPA),
Keep Scotland Beautiful, Education
Scotland, Young Scot and supported
by Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group.
The initiative was part of Scotland’s
Environment Web which is part funded by
the European LIFE+ programme.
To see all the submissions go to
www.youngreporters.org.uk/
Find out how you can take
part for this year
On 24 September this year’s
competition will be launched. It will
ask the question: “How can you
improve your local environment?”
Details will be available from
Scotland.environment.gov.uk/yd
from 24 September.
In town without my
car day 2014
In town without my car day, is an EU
initiative, where a street is closed to traffic
and the space filled with a series of events
designed to promote walking, cycling,
public and low carbon transport.
A range of fun, free activities will be on
offer in the city centre on 21 September to
promote sustainable transport.
For the fifth year, Aberdeen City Council
is taking part in “In town without my car
day” with a traffic free zone taking place
in Belmont Street and Schoolhill, between
Back Wynd and Blackfriars Street between
10am and 4pm.
To celebrate the day a host of free
activities will be available including:
• the Getabout Cycle Roadshow, which •
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•
allows adults and children to try a
range of different bikes
a climbing wall
street dancing, organised by
Citymoves Dance Agency
a pedal powered cinema
Find out about a range of different sustainable
transport modes or just to sit in one of the
pavement café areas and enjoy a trafficfree environment. Pedestrians and cyclists
will still be able to pass through the area.
The event is part of European Mobility
Week. To get the most up to date list of
exhibitors and events, go to www.facebook.
com/getabout.transport
Order recycling containers online
Aberdeen residents can now order new,
extra or replacement recycling containers
online for free.
To order online, visit www.aberdeencity.
gov.uk/wasteaware and select ‘Request
a recycling container or liners’. You can
then choose the type of container you
need including:
• a kitchen caddy for food recycling
• a black box or a white bag for
kerbside recycling
• a brown bin for food and garden
waste recycling
New recycling
bins for Powis
Residents of six streets in Powis are the
first in Aberdeen to get a single bin for
all their recycling. The new communal
mixed recycling bins were installed in July
and mean that residents now have the
facilities to recycle paper and card, glass,
plastics and metals on their doorstep.
The Powis Residents Group has taken
an active role in helping to spread the
word about the new recycling service
including delivering leaflets, organising
a community clean up day and posting
regular updates on their Facebook page to
The online form can also be used to order
replacement kitchen caddy liners for food
recycling. The free kitchen caddy liners
can be collected from local libraries, most
community learning centres, and Aberdeen
City Council customer access points at
Marischal College, Kincorth, Mastrick and
Woodside.
Check the map on the website to find
your nearest place to collect kitchen
caddy liners.
encourage residents to make use of the
bins and report any problems that come
up. As a result of the group’s involvement,
the service is being well-used by residents
with almost one tonne of recycling
collected in the first week.
Councillor Jean Morrison, Chair of Aberdeen
City Council’s Zero Waste Sub-Committee
said: “Aberdeen City Council is proactively
working towards becoming a zero waste
city as we move towards a situation where
we recycle more than we throw away. The
mixed recycling service will play a major
role in that by making the recycling process
easier for residents which in turn will lead
to an increase in recycling rates.”
Mixed recycling bins are due to be
installed across the city over the next
few years. For more information about
the mixed recycling service, visit www.
aberdeencity.gov.uk/wasteaware
Choose reuse and pass it on!
Visitors to a recent event in Torry have
championed reuse, donating a total of 76
kilos of items which were passed on for
use elsewhere.
The ‘Pass It On Day’ was organised by
the Recycling Team at Aberdeen City
Council. The event gathered donations
of unwanted items, including clothes,
toys, and household items, that could be
passed on for someone else to use.
Recycling coordinator Martina Klubal said:
"Every year in Scotland, many potentially
reusable items, including textiles, furniture
and electrical items are thrown away and
end up in landfill.
“We want to encourage people to pass
on their unwanted items so they can be
used again by someone else. Re-use is
environmentally friendly and supports the
local community by allowing people to get
hold of items in good condition at little or
no cost.”
For more information about reuse options
in Aberdeen, visit www.aberdeencity.gov.
uk/wasteaware or call the Recycling Team
on 08456 08 09 19.
You can also contact the National Reuse
Phoneline on 0800 0665 820 to arrange a
free collection of any unwanted furniture
or household items still in good condition.
EcoTown arrives
in Aberdeen
Over 100 people visited an EcoTown exhibit
when it made a 2 day visit to Marischal
College foyer in August.
The interactive exhibit showcased what
people can do to save money and benefit
the environment, through efficiency
measures in areas including food, waste,
energy use and transport.
An EcoDriving simulator was on display to
show people how to optimise their fuel
savings and drive more efficiently.
The exhibit which was sponsored by
Scottish Business in the Community, with
representatives on hand from Resource
Efficient Scotland and the Energy Savings
Trust.
Those attending had the opportunity to be
entered into a prize competition to win a
goodie bag of sustainability related prizes.
Hazlehead
Celebrates
Green Flag
Awards
Hazlehead Primary School pupils are
proudly flying their First Green Flag. The
achievement demonstrates the commitment
and hard work of the school to an extensive
programme of environmental activities.
Following an environmental review by the
school Eco Committee a programme of
activities were developed around three
Eco School themes of litter, sustaining our
world and school grounds.
The approach has enabled pupils to develop
an environmentally friendly attitude and
approach to the world around them. Over
a two year period the pupils actively
participated in whole school litter picks at
the school and in Hazlehead Park, raised
money for The Budge Trust and enjoyed
hearing how their efforts have helped those
around the world.
A Fair Trade Coffee morning was held and it
was so successful there are plans to make
the event even bigger next year!
A partnership with the Friends of Hazlehead
Charity has enabled many children to
make presentations to local businesses to
encourage involvement. This has helped
with improvements and regeneration of
Hazlehead Park.
A particular favourite of the pupils is
gardening and the school has grown
their own apples which made a delicious
sponge, beetroot which was used to make
muffins and an abundance of vegetables
to create a heart warming broth. Gardening
is enjoyed so much that some of the
pupils have been involved in planting
trees and daffodils in the local community.
The Green Flag Award is an international
standard of excellence, assessed by the
Keep Scotland Beautiful Eco Schools team.
Striving towards a greener school
Written by Sandra
Sunny S4
Hazlehead Academy
has recently been
honoured with its fifth
renewal of green flag
status.
It comes as a result
of the initiatives
taken by the pupils
and staff of the
school. For years the
school has promoted
an environmentally
friendly attitude which
has been integrated
into the Curriculum for
Excellence.
Hazlehead Academy works closely with the
Friends of Hazlehead Park to make sure
that the school's grounds, surroundings
and nearby suburban area is kept clean.
This has been achieved by conducting
several litter picks and planting saplings
for the regeneration of the park.
The school also has
a very active EcoCommittee which
regularly meet to
discuss any issues and
to produce possible
solutions to counter
them. Recently, they’ve
written to many local
supermarkets about
the output of plastic
carrier bags; and visited
Grove Nursery Recycling
Centre.
Within the school,
events such as the
Earth Hour, Bike-ToSchool Week, Rag-Bag
Collection, Battery
Recycling and SwitchOff Fortnight are run in an effort to reduce
negative impacts upon the environment
and to raise awareness.
All of this compliments the academy's eco
code which is ‘Our Uniforms are Green for
a Reason!'
87% of Local Authority schools in the
Aberdeen are registered for the Eco
Schools Programme, an international
initiative designed to encourage wholeschool action for the environment.
Eco Schools awards achieved by these
schools include:
42 39
Bronze
Silver
16
Green Flag
Aberdeen City Local Authority Schools
Recent EcoSchool Awards achievements!
Hazlehead Primary
Green Flag Award
Hazlehead Academy
Green Flag Award renewal.
Find out about Eco Schools Scotland at
www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org
Allotment
Market Stall
Games area transforms city park
Work is well underway to transform a city
park with landscaping and installation of a
multi-use games area.
The work at Eric Hendrie Park in Mastrick,
is benefiting the local community and
giving local children a safe environment
to play sport. It upgrades an space left
following the move of a local play park,
Applications for the EcoCity
Awards 2014 will soon be
open, with the award
scheme launched in
September.
The awards are
designed to recognise
and celebrate the
green initiatives of
local people doing their
bit to look after the
environment in Aberdeen,
no matter how big or small
the project.
where surfacing and remnants of old play
equipment remained.
The transformation was made possible
thanks to a donation from oil and gas
operator Nexen and funding granted
through a partnership between Aberdeen
Greenspace, Aberdeen City Council and local
community group SPRING.
Community ‘Growing
Smarter’ Award
Look out
for EcoCity
Awards
2014
From litter picking to greenspace
improvements; from carbon cutting to
waste reduction these awards make
sure local people are recognised for their
contribution to green initiatives which
enhance the environment and help make a
difference to the quality of life in the city.
This year there are four new categories plus
the two original categories below:
Eco Learning Award
For work to protect the environment or for
environmental education.
Community Award
Open to local community groups, charities
or the voluntary sector making a difference
to the local environment.
Junior in Bloom Award
Recognising schools and groups working
with children to design and enhance their
green space.
Recognising an inspired
green project idea.
Clean Up Aberdeen
Champions
Recognising the work
of individuals or
groups to remove litter
and clean up areas of
the city.
Community Champion
Recognising the work of an
individual who drives and inspires
change and improvement to their local
space and community.
The awards are easy to enter, simply
complete the EcoCity Awards application
form and send with a few pictures of your
project to the Aberdeen EcoCity Team. To
be eligible for an award, the environmental
project needs to have taken place during
August 2013 to July 2014.
Further information and applications
forms are available by visiting the Your
Environment section of the Aberdeen City
Council website www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
You can also get in touch by email:
[email protected] or telephone
01224 523378. The closing date for entries
will be 24 October 2014.
Fresh, home grown food from local
allotments has been on offer from a
new market stall at Duthie Park.
The stall opened on 1 August,
operating every Friday and Saturday
between 10.30 – 15.00 until the end of
the growing season
Produce comes fresh and direct from
the allotments in Aberdeen City. All
the proceeds from the stall go back to
the gardeners to help them maintain
and improve their allotment sites.
You can find the market
stall in the park by the café.
For more information go:
[email protected]
Launch of Marine
Litter Watch App
A new mobile phone
app has being
launched to help track
marine litter.
'Marine Litter Watch’ has been
launched by the European
Environment Agency to support
volunteers cleaning up beaches.
Huge amounts of plastic and other
debris are increasingly found in the
sea, harming marine wildlife and
potentially threatening human health.
However, the type, movement and
origins of rubbish ending up in the
sea and on beaches are still not
widely understood.
The app allows users to record the
amount of different types of litter
that they find on the beach. The data
will be collected in a single European
data set, documenting the extent of
the problem.
The app is now available for Apple
and Android devices, and there
is also a web interface to support
communities in setting-up and
managing their events and data.
To find out more go to www.eea.
europa.eu/themes/coast_sea/
marine-litterwatch
Fun at the first
Environment Day
Over 500 people came along to take
part in a range of free family friendly
activities for the Duthie Park Ranger
Service’s first ‘Environment Day’.
As well as the Ranger Service and the
Butterfly Conservation Society, there
was fun with Satrosphere and expert
advice from the RHSA.
Aberdeen and District Beekeepers
Association and the Allotment Market
Stall were on hand with information and
the public had a chance to take a closer
look at owls. Aberdeen Play Forum
brought a variety of play equipment.
Aberdeen City Council’s Duthie Park
Ranger Service organised the event,
which aimed to increase people’s
awareness of the environment and
would like to thank all who attended.
Education in
the Park
Schools and nurseries from across the
City and Shire have taken part in a
range of educational activities with the
Ranger Service at Duthie Park, based
on the Curriculum for Excellence.
School term activities included:
making rainforests in bottles, planting
seedlings, investigating what plants
need to grow, examining the world of
minibeasts and searching for underwater creatures in the wildlife pond.
Several primary schools planted
sunflower seeds which were then
moved to the Community Garden by
the Park Force volunteers. This created
a mini field of sunflowers, producing a
display for Britain in Bloom.
To find out more about the Duthie
Park Ranger Service educational
activities contact 01224 580165 or
email: DuthieParkRangerService@
aberdeencity.gov.uk
The story of “Lightning” the crow helped the children of Kittybrewster Primary School win
one of the top prizes in the recent North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership competition.
Schools Camera Trap Competition
Over a dozen schools across North East
Scotland recently turned detective to find
out about the wildlife in and around their
school grounds.
Children from Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire
and Moray took part in a Citizen Science
project using remote cameras, or camera
traps/ trailcams, as they are widely known.
The schools project is part of the ongoing
work of the North East Scotland Biodiversity
Partnership to gather information on some
of the under-recorded species in the region.
It helped to spread the benefits of outdoor
learning and gave an opportunity for
children to discover more about the animals
that make their home in the areas around
local schools.
Partners in the project including; local
Rangers Services, The Conservation
Volunteers, National Trust for Scotland and
representatives from the environmental
education sector – all helped the children to
get to grips with using the technology.
The children then operated the cameras
themselves and recorded the secret
life of the animals in and around their
schools. Using the images and video
footage collected, each school submitted a
compilation of highlights, telling the story
of the wildlife in the area.
The two winning entries were produced
by Kittybrewster Primary School and
Rothienorman Primary School. The pupils
from Kittybrewster, with the help of their
teacher, produced a video telling the story
of the birds that live and feed within the
grounds of their school.
To view videos submitted for the
competition and more camera trap footage
from the North East Scotland Biodiversity
Partnership and friends, view the North East
Scotland Camera Trapping Facebook page
www.facebook.com/northeastscotlandcamera
trapping?ref=hl
Summer Fun at Duthie Park
It was a fun filled summer at Duthie Park,
with the Ranger Service hosting a variety
of children’s activities over the school
holidays.
The 8 to 12 years discovered underwater
creatures, planted in the Education
Glasshouse and developed their tracking
skills.
The popular sessions for age 7 and under,
were booked up within three weeks. The
children investigated the minibeasts of
Duthie Park, met some ‘treemendous’
trees, built spectacular dens and created a
selection of beautiful, natural crowns.
For more information on the Duthie Park
Ranger Service or to be added to the
mailing list for future events please email:
DuthieParkRangerService@aberdeencity.
gov.uk
Nature of Scotland
Awards 2014
A city project has been shortlisted in the
‘Species Champion’ category of the RSPB
Nature of Scotland Awards 2014.
Aberdeen City Council Countryside Ranger
Service, in partnership with the Saving
Scotland’s Red Squirrel Project, was selected
as finalist for a successful project to attract
red squirrels back into parts of Aberdeen.
Core Path
Upgrades
Work to improve and upgrade some of
the core paths around Aberdeen is set
to take place in coming months.
Severely eroded paths on Kincorth
Hill and Brimmond Hill are to be
repaired. This erosion was caused by
the heavy rainfall and storms over
the last few years making some of
the paths almost impassable. The
paths will be repaired to a higher
specification and drainage installed to
reduce the risk of this scale of erosion
occurring again and to climate change
proof these paths.
Work to improve the drainage and
path networks in Hazlehead Park and
woods is to be implemented over
several years. One of the options being
looked at is to create wetland areas
or ponds as habitat features to help
moderate the flow of water through
the area at times of high rainfall. This
will help reduce the flooding risks in
the park and further down stream.
Some of the waymarking along the
Deeside Line is starting to show its
age and will be replaced. Upgrading of
the signage will include the increased
use of the Deeside Way branding that
is being rolled out along the length of
the route in the City and Shire. As a
part of this branding a new website
has been set up at www.deesideway.
org and will continue to be developed
in the coming months.
Funding has been made available for
core path improvements from the Bus
Lane Enforcement.
The winners of the Awards will be
announced in November 2014.
Look out for an update in the
next edition of Green Times.
A project aiming to
safeguard the native red
squirrel from extinction in
Scotland is calling on the
people of Aberdeen for
assistance in discovering
new areas where these muchloved creatures are found.
Call for
Aberdonians
to report
red squirrel
sightings
The Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project
has confirmed that red squirrels are popping
up in parts of Aberdeen where they have been
absent for many years and wants to hear of
any other sites that are not yet on record.
Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels Northeast
Project Officer, Steve Willis, said: “Since
early June, the project has received reports
of red squirrels in the middle of Bridge of
Don, at Kincorth Hill, Craigiebuckler, and
even dashing across North Anderson Drive.
Sightings of red and grey squirrels can be
Woodlands Community
Ranger, Stephen Bly, has
been busy with a number of
different projects & groups.
A programme to increase
local numbers of red squirrels
has received funding from Aberdeen
Greenspace, Biffa and the Red Squirrel
Survival Trust.
Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife
Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry
Commission Scotland, Scottish Land and
Estates, and the Red Squirrel Survival Trust.
To learn more about the work in Aberdeen
or to volunteer contact Steve Willis, email:
[email protected] or
call 01224 266526.
Volunteers in
the woods
Practical project work for the Granite
City Forest Woodlands was completed in
August, with the invaluable aid of the
Volunteer Ranger Team.
Work included removing the tree shelters
that were no longer needed at:
Westfield Park with TCV Scotland and
Healthy Minds Environmental Group
Seaton, with a local group of volunteers
Abbotswells
Inverdee, with Healthy Minds
Environmental Group
St Fitticks Park, with Healthy Minds
Environmental Group, Aberdeen Greenspace and a corporate session with the
Council’s Environmental Services Team
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made by visiting the
Saving Scotland’s Red
Squirrels website at www.
scottishsquirrels.org.uk
and clicking on “Report
a Sighting”.
On Tullos Hill work
included the removal of
some tree protection and
the installation of four
benches, made by the
Volunteer Ranger Team. The tree protection
removal was assisted by AMEC and Shell.
Healthy Minds Environmental Group has
been out with the Ranger developing
bushcraft skills in Den Wood.
Pupils from P2 and 3 at Skene Square
Primary came out to Lochinch for a full day
of activities, including mapping, habitats
and a minibeast hunt tailored to meet
strands of the Curriculum for Excellence.
Danestone Primary School P1’s received
a visit from the Woodlands Community
Ranger for an afternoon of minibeasting
around the school grounds.
October
Saturday 22 | 10am-3pm
Saturday 4 | 10am-3pm
Squirrel Woodland
Management
What’s On
Countryside Ranger
Service Walks & Events
Booking is essential for all events. To book
a place or find out more call:
01224 897400
The autumn and winter Countryside
Ranger Service Events leaflet will soon
be available from local libraries and
community centres and on line at
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/rangerservice
September
Saturday 27 | 7am-9am
Silent Squirrel
Spotting Safari
Hazlehead Woods
The red squirrel is the
UK’s only native squirrel
species, and was once a
common sight across mainland Britain.
Today, red squirrels are sadly absent
from most of England and Scotland’s
central belt.
Come on a journey to try and find signs of
the woods’ red squirrel population.
Meet at the far end of the West Chapel
Hazlehead Crematorium car park.
Please dress warmly, wear wellies and
bring a hot drink if you wish.
Hazlehead Woods
Red squirrels have once again
been seen in the woods of
Hazlehead! This is partly due to
removal of many of the grey squirrels
but also encouraging the regeneration of
Scots pines, the squirrel’s favourite food.
Come and help the Rangers get rid of
spruce saplings and increase the chance of
seeing red squirrels in this part of the city.
Gloves, tools and hot drinks will be
provided but please dress warmly, wear
sturdy footwear and bring a packed lunch.
Meet at the far end of the Hazlehead
Crematorium West Chapel car park.
Saturday 18 | 2pm-4pm
Autumn Adventure
Seaton Park
Find out how the wildlife
near River Don is preparing
for winter, on a stroll around
the park with Countryside
Ranger Rob Rowe. See what treasures you
can find in autumnal activities.
Wrap up warmly. Under 16s to be
accompanied by an adult. Meet at the
Seaton Park car park.
November
Saturday 8 | 10am-3pm
Pond Dredging
Kingswells Pond
Come along and
help the Countryside
Rangers make more
space for ducks,
amphibians and other animals of the
pond. Gloves, tools and hot drinks will
be provided. Please dress warmly, wear
wellies or sturdy foot wear and bring a
packed lunch.
Meet at the Kingswells shops car park off
Kingswells Drive.
Pond Dredging
Kincorth Hill Local Nature Reserve Pond
Help the Countryside Rangers make
more space for newts and other
freshwater animals and plants.
Gloves, tools and hot drinks will
be provided. Please dress warmly,
wear wellies or sturdy foot wear and
bring a packed lunch.
Meet at the Reserve car park at Abbotswell
Crescent.
December
Saturday 6 | 2pm-4pm
Winter Cheer
for Birds
Lochinch Farm
Interpretation Centre
Make and take home
bird feeders to help
Aberdeen’s feathered inhabitants
survive the winter and nest boxes so
they have a cosy, dry home to nest in
once spring arrives.
This event takes place at Lochinch Farm
Interpretation Centre, Redmoss Road, Nigg.
Hot drinks and biscuits will be provided.
There will be a charge of £4 to cover the
cost of materials used.
To book a place or find out more:
01224 897400
NB All out door events will require warm
clothes sturdy footwear and waterproofs.
Young people under the age of 16 must
be accompanied by a responsible adult.
If, after you have booked, you are not
able to attend, please phone to cancel
your booking as there may be others on a
waiting list.
For information on which
buses are best to reach
our sites please contact
Firstbus on 01224 650000,
or visit their website.