Did you know that the Findhorn Dunes are home to around 400 species of moths?! These include rare dune specialists such as the Portland and Lyme Grass moths. There are also records for even rarer species, such as Caryocolum blandelloides, new to science as recently as 1981 and with a UK range limited to dune systems in the western Moray Firth. Findhorn Dunes are also the most important site in Scotland for the moth Scythris empetrella, known from only one other place.
There was a very good turn-out for a mothing event last Sunday at Wilkies Wood, Park Ecovillage Findhorn. The event was hosted by local charity the Findhorn Hinterland Trust, who manage around thirty hectares of land adjoining the Ecovillage. Experts from Butterfly Conservation and the Species on the Edge project deployed nine moth traps on […]
Thank you to everyone who donated to the Big Give appeal!
This enables us to go ahead with the first year of dune restoration work, scheduled for this coming winter. This involves the clearance of around half a hectare of carefully selected gorse, to create new bare sand habitats for rare and threatened sand dune species. It will also help to reintroduce the natural process of windblown sand.
Findhorn sand dune ecosystem, once the second largest in Europe, is under imminent threat from rapidly encroaching scrub vegetation. Many species found here – lichens, insects, and fungi – are found at only a handful of places in the UK. FHT is taking urgent action to counter this commencing winter 2024/25.
The Project is moving apace, with a major focus on exploring some potential sources of funding. We are excited to report that the Hinterland Trust is discussing forming a partnership with our neighbour, the Findhorn Dunes Trust, to apply for a grant scheme. We have continued to work on project design, learning from similar […]
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The Findhorn Hinterland Trust (FHT) is a charity (SC045806) set up as a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) in July 2015 and as such is regulated by OSCR (Office of Scottish Charities Register). (more...)
Planning for Nature Recovery – LBAP
Balancing gorse and sandy habitats, dune restoration and protecting the Hinterland’s impressive number of rare species are all part of ecologist Sean Reed’s review of the FHT’s five-year Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP). This year sees me reviewing the FHT’s 2020 five-year Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP), which can be accessed via the Trust’s Ecology […]