Merlindale Nature Festival

On the 19th of August, from 2pm onwards, Merlindale will welcome a collection of local and regional groups involved in wildlife conservation and nature restoration to join us at this year’s Merlindale Nature Festival (with free admission).

Buglife’s Charlotte Rankin, Conservation Officer for Pollinators Along the Tweed, will be in attendance alongside many other fascinating groups – join us if you can!

Individuals and groups attending include:

• Billy Anderson from Fingerpost Farms. Billy with his magnificent Clydesdale Horses proved to be the star of the show last year, being prominently featured in the local press in articles on the festival.
• Working alongside Billy to mow the meadow will be Rob Brodie, following up on last year’s successful scything workshop at which more than forty people had a go at scything under his instruction. It has been widely reported that an experienced scyther can mow grass at a comparable rate to a strimmer, but with none of the disturbing noise – why don’t you have a go this year?
• Once again we are pleased to welcome our friends at the Tweed Forum who will be attending with information on a range of projects including an update on their nationally significant Destination Tweed project. 
• Why not take part in an organised electrofishing event with the Tweed Foundation who will take people fishing in the Tweed at Merlindale and display the results in a special tank at the festival.
• Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (“SSRS”) will join us with information on their important project which is at the centre of the resurgence of red squirrels in the Borders.
• Merlindale is pleased to welcome the Southern Upland Partnership to this year’s event, we fully support the important projects which they are managing such as the reintroduction of golden eagles to the southern uplands – indeed we have seen some of these eagles flying over Merlindale itself.
• The Scottish Wildlife Trust will return to Merlindale this year alongside the Borders Forest Trust (“BFT”).
• Also present will be the Borders Organic Gardeners, who alongside a whole community of local landowners,  have been working with Merlindale Nature on our project to extend a series of haymeadows down the Tweed catchment.
• Alongside local groups such as the Peebles Bee Group who will return with their open hive, this year we are proud to welcome Buglife, who have been central to our understanding of the sheer scale of our loss of insect biomass over recent decades and who are central to attempts to reverse this trend.
• Humane Wildlife Solutions will be joining us with their harvest mice display.
• The Wildlife Information Center will also be present allowing visitors to further develop their understanding and interest in the natural world, they will also take part in this year’s bioblitz.
• and more!
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