Female linnet (Linaria cannabina) on a small branch of a young Scots pine in July.
From a couple of linnets, a ‘zombifying’ fungus and fly that’s been recorded only twice in Scotland so far, there have been some significant biodiversity discoveries in the Hinterland this summer.
As part of my role as the charity’s Land Trustee, I carry out detailed photography and research to identify the biodiversity on the land we have responsibility for. It’s an ongoing process and I’m constantly adding to our knowledge of the range of species that live here. Summer is the season when the greatest number of species are visible and active, so there have been quite a few significant discoveries recently.
In July I was delighted to see a couple of linnets (Linaria cannabina) on some trees out near the wind turbines. As far as I know there have been no records of this small bird in the finch family on the Hinterland before, although it is a widespread and common species – it has almost certainly been present on our site for a long time.
Two dance flies (Hilara scrobiculata) inside the flower of a harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).
On that same day in July, I made an interesting discovery when I was looking at some harebells (Campanula rotundifolia). When I turned some of the downward pointing flowers upright to look at them, I noticed some small black flies inside a couple of them. These were subsequently identified as being a dance fly (Hilara scrobiculata) that is Nationally Scarce. I found more of them inside other harebell flowers in the following weeks, so this may be a notable behaviour for the species that hasn’t been documented before.
Male fly (Pegomya deprimata) on a flower of a sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa).
Another fly I found that day has proved to be even more significant. It was feeding on the flowers of a sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) near the Green Burial Site, and after photographing it, I sent it to Peter Chandler, an expert in flies who helps me with their identification. He said it was a male fly (Pegomya deprimata), and when I checked for that species in the online National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas database, it showed there are only 11 records for it in the whole of Britain, with just two in Scotland, both from near Aviemore.
Calum Maclure from the James Hutton Institute setting a pitfall trap for a beetle survey on the Hinterland in early July.
Over the years we’ve commissioned various biodiversity studies for such groups as spiders, aphids and fungi etc, but one important omission so far has been beetles. I’m very pleased therefore that we have two staff from the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen carrying out a beetle survey for the Hinterland area as part of our Dune Restoration Project. There are some specialist beetles that live in the bare sand habitat that we’re restoring, and we hope the survey may reveal their presence.
Tiny beetle with a fungus (Cordyceps sp.) erupting out of it, on the underside of a leaf of a hazel tree.
It will be some time yet before we receive the results of the beetle survey, but in the meantime I made an interesting beetle-related discovery in August, when I found a tiny beetle on a hazel leaf with a fungus erupting out of it. I suspect this is one of the ‘zombifying’ fungi (Cordyceps sp.) that alter the behaviour of the insects that they parasitise, causing them to climb up trees or other vegetation. There, the fungus fruits, releasing its spores to rain down and infect other insects, which then behave similarly, enabling the fungus to spread to other hosts.
Fox (Vulpes vulpes) near the wind turbines.
Finally, one highlight for me in recent months was photographing a fox (Vulpes vulpes) early one morning near the wind turbines. Although we’ve known foxes are on the site from finding their droppings, this was the first time we’ve had visual proof of their presence.
The Findhorn Hinterland has become one of the country’s first to receive official recognition as a Nature30 site, part of a global movement to ensure that by 2030 a least 30% of the planet is effectively protected or conserved for nature.
The result was an award ceremony that took place at our Conservation Hub and on the new dune created as part of the Dune Restoration Project. It involved a visit from the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Energy, Gillian Martin, and Nick Halfhide, CEO of Nature Scot, the Scottish government nature conservation organisation, along with their 30 by 30 team based in Inverness that had been developing the project.
Additional information followed saying the Nature30 recognition is designed to help Scotland achieve the 30 by 30 target by celebrating and supporting land management that does and will continue to deliver great long-term outcomes for nature and people. It will be achieved through a combination of new and existing Protected Areas as well as this new Nature30 recognition.
Jonathan Caddy
In May the the Hinterland saw the Ecovillage Findhorn community celebrating the Celtic festival of Beltane with a traditional weaving of the Maypole, led by Scottish Greens councillor and FHT member, Draeyk van der Horn.
Opportunities for visitors to get involved in our regular Thursday morning (10am to 12.30pm) bee inspections are just one of the things we will be offering as part of the
Another 
FHT is a great believer in never making a good catastrophe go to waste! That’s what happened when storm Arwen struck on the 25 November 2021, resulting in over one hundred trees in Wilkies Wood being blown down. Our Land Manager, Kajedo, set to work felling the trees and I pulled them out using our wee grey Fergie tractor. They were to be either milled by Ben then stacked and covered by FHT volunteers, or stripped, covered and stored as round construction wood by a merry band of young and old within our community.
By November we were starting to remove the wooden sheds that had become important and well-used offices as the community grew in the 1970s and 80s, and were still in operation before the fires. First to go was the cooks office on 8 November, the computer office on 10 November and finally the Park Campus office on 2 February 2023. The General Office and food shed were finally removed by the site contractor’s machines on 5 October 2023, after many years of faithful service to the community.
Almost instantly we had a shepherd’s hut to be used for FHT long-term volunteers on the land! After installing a wood stove and covered verandah, as well as repainting and re-roofing it back at the Conservation Hub, we moved it into Wilkies Wood on 28 April 2023 and had the grand opening as part of that year’s May Day celebrations.
Another FHT contribution was to remove a large redwood tree that was beginning to threaten Cornelia Featherstone’s house situated on the way up to the Universal Hall. It had been felled by a local tree surgeon, after permission had reluctantly been given, helped by the intention to use the wood as part of the new sanctuary build. The logs that were removed in March 2023 have yet to be converted to furniture, but the remaining stump had a 20cm section cut off and sanded – it is now the centerpiece for candles and flowers in the new sanctuary. It looks and feels so appropriate that the tree is honoured in this way.
A now unseen but significant effort by FHT volunteers was helping to dig the large soakaway for the building. This involved taking up the turf on most of the original garden lawn, stacking it out of the way for the digger to come in and create a huge hole, which was then filled with gravel before the turf was re laid. At this time, a midden of shells and burnt wood was discovered when digging the sanctuary foundations. I informed archaeologist Michael Sharpe – you can 
It wasn’t until 23 April 2024 that the building foundations were dug and the concrete poured on 26 April. In June the selected structural poles, which had been stored in anticipation of the build, were moved down to the FHT Conservation Hub for final preparation, before they were moved to site and and erected in September. We also used the tractor to deliver sarking stored up in Wilkies Wood that was used in the roof.
It was special to go to Greens Nursery in Nairn on 9 April 2025 and take time to select the plants to enhance the building and surroundings. Long-term community member John Willorner and I had asked if we could collect a few of the whisky barrel planters from Cluny Hill Hotel, as a symbolic connection to this place that had housed thousands of guests for the community since it was bought in 1975. We loaded them onto the Findhorn Foundation bus along with the soil. By the time they were looking magnificent with the new plants in them, Cluny had been sold after 50 years of community service – we were glad we had taken time to gather this small memento.
Recently I heard a long-term community member say it was such a pity that people could not get involved in the building of the sanctuary, as had been the case in the 1970s with the Universal Hall. I was wondering where they were when the call for help went out! I am personally satisfied with what the charity has been able to offer our local community and very pleased that we could fulfil one of our charitable purposes, which is to help build local community, in this way.
Findhorn’s sand dunes were once part of the second largest dune system in the whole of Europe, but now only very small fragments of that wild ecosystem remain. Because the Hinterland is such a small fragment of a very scarce ecosystem, we have created a conservation plan to preserve and nourish this special environment and all the species that still survive here. The plan is called a Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP), and for me personally, it helped me appreciate just how many rare and endangered species we have on our doorstep. Do have a look at it on the Trust’s 
Recently I was asked about the climate impacts of green burials compared to cremation. This set me to investigating the emissions of the four main body disposal methods. Given the growing awareness around these issues, it’s interesting to compare how they rank.
Green burial stands out as Scotland’s most environmentally and culturally compelling body disposal method, offering significant benefits over traditional burial, cremation, and emerging options like resomation. With a carbon footprint of just 10-50kg CO₂e – compared to 100-400kg CO₂e for traditional burial and 200-300kg CO₂e for gas-powered cremation – green burial minimises emissions through its chemical-free, low-energy process and biodegradable materials.
News from the land – August 2025
‘Be still, and listen’ – a mantra of sage advice from the co-founder of our community, Eileen Caddy.
Easier said than done, I found out when I tried. Monkey mind, they say. ‘Sit still and don’t move’ were the first instructions of most of my meditation teachers, as well as my instructor during my years of forestry training.
I became a forester because I wanted to spend my days ‘in church’ (temple/mosque/synagoge). Among trees in wilder places I found it easy to connect with the presence of something beyond the physical dimensions we usually perceive with our senses. The presence which whispered of the presence of a G(ame) O(verall) D(irector) – a divine intelligence or organising principle that oversees life as we experience it.
And learning to be still and being willing to truly listen clearly is the cornerstone of building a conscious relationship with that presence.
The late Joanna Macy gave me my favourite interpretation of the word ‘Dharma’: ‘The dharma is that within all things which whispers – come a little closer. Come a little closer.’
Over the years of working with the land I heard that gentle invitation from the ‘still small voice’ increasingly – from the trees connecting Earth and Sky, the flowers, and the many creatures of the land. And as we are part of nature, I tried to apply it to my human relationships as well.
Over the last 10 years as steward of the land in our care I learned more about the many ways in which we can do that.
Investing a thousand pounds a year in surveys of creatures we are sharing the land with is another way. Looking through the eyes of experts I never cease to be amazed about what reveals itself – the wonders of small creatures we usually hardly notice. The sheer numbers are often staggering – over 200 different species of lichens on our small piece of land! Siders, mosses and fungi – the numbers are always impressive. Right now we have a beetle survey going on and I can’t wait to learn of their findings.
As I write this the 10 days of a Vision Quest we’ve been hosting on the land are coming to a close. These 10 questers and three support staff have conducted this ancient rite of passage, practised by many indigenous peoples all over the world. This group from the Eschwege Institute in Germany is offering a modern version of that, but the steps are the same: ‘dying’, ‘passing through’ and ‘being reborn’. After thorough preparations the 10 brave souls spent four days and nights without food under a tarp, alone in hidden corners of the wildest part of our land. They return dirty and hungry – but without exception, with shiny eyes. To tell the stories of their journeys with the mirror of nature and little else. The follow up is as thorough as the preparations.
I felt it an honour to host this ancient rite here. And it served as a reminder of the importance of ‘ being still, and listening’ – to the ‘still, small voice’ of nature that gave rise to our community over 60 years ago, when those who had learned to truly listen started the miraculous Findhorn Garden.
And it reminded me of the spiritual essence underpinning our relationship with the natural world.
My work here is worship. An act of devotion to all that I hold sacred.
To finish this offering to you, the readers of our newsletter, let me share a few lines from a poem by Hermann Hesse:
Sometimes, when a bird cries out,
Or the wind sweeps through a tree…
I hold still and listen a long time…
…My soul turns into a tree,
And an animal, and a cloud bank
Then changed and odd it comes home
And asks me questions. What should I reply ?”
Kajedo Wanderer, August 2025