Citizen Esk – Tackling River Problems with Community Solutions.

The next Esk Valley Trust evening Zoom talk will be given by Ross Hughes of the Forth Rivers Trust on Thursday 21 September at 19.30.

Ross is the Environment and Community Development Officer supporting and developing community understanding and engagement with the rivers of the Esk catchments. Ross has been driving the Citizen Esk project over the last 18 months.

To register for this talk go to the Esk Valley Trust News and Events page (Esk Valley Trust – News & Events) and click on the link for the talk or simply click on this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtduypqz8uEtG28gfPlBZ2yob8qHaFbxKb

Midlothian Outdoor Festival 2023

This year’s Festival takes place on 12-16 October.

Once again the Esk Valley Trust is delighted to be helping with the Festival which is organised by the Midlothian Ranger Service and supported by a wide range of volunteer organisations.

This year’s Festival takes place on 12-16 October.

Once again the Esk Valley Trust is delighted to be helping with the Festival which is organised by the Midlothian Ranger Service and supported by a wide range of volunteer organisations. If you enjoy the outdoors have a look at the programme which contains a range of walking and other events.

You can find the programme of events by clicking here.

Gladhouse from Top to Bottom

As a relaxing starter to this year’s Midlothian Outdoor Festival listen to Elspeth Smith talk about the Gladhouse Reservoir in the comfort of your own home.

Elspeth is a resident Midlothian Ranger working in partnership with Scottish Water with specific responsibilities arounf Gladhouse Reservoir.

This ranger posting is part of a larger project to ‘Enable Responsible Access’ to reservoirs in Scotland (in response to the issues highlighted by the mass visitation during the 2020 lockdown).

Elspeth will cover her journey from November 2022 to the present with elements of hiustory, nature, recreation and many visitors along the way.

To register for the talk click here.

Newbattle Abbey and its Ancient Woodlands

You can watch a video of Caroline Freeman’s talk about Newbattle Abbey and its Ancient Woodlands

Caroline Freeman talks about the Abbey and College but mainly the ancient woodlands, the features that make them important, some of the issues that need to be dealt with, the objectives for the future of the woodland and how the woods are and will be managed to achieve them.

Caroline is the Community Woodland Ranger at Newbattle Abbey with an extensive background in environmental engagement and research.

You can watch her talk here

Craig Statham’s AGM talk can be seen on video

After the 2023 AGM Craig Statham gave a talk on “Maps Relating to the Esk Valley in the National Library of Scotland”.

Craig hails from Dalkeith, is a graduate of both Edinburgh and St Andrew’s Universities and has worked in heritage since 2001. He has a wide spread of interests and talents having been a Councillor in Midlothian, written several books (including biographies of Bruce Springsteen and Galashiels’ Jimmy Curran), worked in the National Library of Scotland and now manages the Local History Centre at Perth’s AK Bell Library.

To see the video click on this link: https://youtu.be/p9Lm5DTDU9s

Papers from the 2023 AGM were:

The Agenda and draft Minutes of the 2022 AGM: click here.

The Annual Report and Accounts for 2022: click here.

Spring Newsletter

Spring Newsletter 2023

The Spring Newsletter is now available here

Riverfly on the Esk: How Community Science can expand our understanding of river health

Rebecca Lewis, Laura Goble and Sally York will talk about:
Riverfly on the Esk: How Community Science can expand our understanding of river health at 19.30.
on Thursday 30 March 2023

Rebecca Lewis, Laura Goble and Sally York have been the driving forces behind the Riverfly on the Esk project since they set it up in 2019. Since then, Riverfly on the Esk has grown significantly and now monitors water quality at 15 locations along the North and South Esk rivers.

The project goes from strength to strength and, with a number of years of baseline data, is becoming increasingly useful. It differs from other monitoring schemes by using community engagement to collect data – an excellent example of citizen science in action. Volunteers carry out monthly surveys of aquatic invertebrates; from this they can determine how clean the water is and highlight any pollution events to SEPA.

Pollution along the Esks remains a big concern for local communities. This project empowers them to get involved and make a difference. To hear how the Riverfly project on the rivers Esk was set up, how it has established survey sites and involved community volunteers, developed partnerships and is planning for future developments listen to Laura and Rebecca when they present the next Esk Valley Trust Zoom talk in the evening of 30 March. You need to register for the talk which is free.

To register for this talk click here

Esk Valley Trust evening talks programme 2023

As winter fades into spring we can all look forward to warmer times – and the Esk Valley Trust 2023 season of evening talks has already started.

Ed Clerk’s talk in January about his plans for the Penicuik Estate was the first in this year’s programme and proved hugely popular with more than 200 people listening in on the night. We are still completing the programme for the rest of the year. It will include talks on the work of the Riverfly on the Esk team (March 30th), Maps of the Lothians (May 26, alongside the AGM), the work of the Forth Rivers Trust (September 21) and the purpose and heritage of the Northern Lighthouse Board.

Full details of the talks and how to register for them will be given here and through our own and local community Facebook pages.

What next for the Penicuik Estate?

The next Esk Valley Trust Zoom talk will be given by Edward Clerk who is the latest member of the Clerk family to manage the estate. He will talk about future plans for the Penicuik Estate on Thursday January 26th 2022 starting at 19.30

The next Esk Valley Trust Zoom talk will be given by Edward Clerk who is the latest member of the Clerk family to manage the estate. He will talk about future plans for the Penicuik Estate on Thursday January 26th starting at 19.30

To register for the talk click on:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcOGhqDkoE9fpIFqco5K0NKeccNHtgVby

Known and loved by its many visitors the Penicuik Estate has been owned by the Clerk family since 1654 when John Clerk, a merchant with an emporium in Paris specialising in fine art, bought Penicuik Estate with the original Newbiggin House.

Since then there have been many developments with the house (including, of course, the disastrous fire of 1899 which reduced the new Penicuik House to a shell) and the estate with its Designed Landscape.

The impact of the Clerk family on Scotland’s intellectual, cultural and scientific history, has been immense and today Edward Clerk manages the Estate, is overseeing the next stages in its development and, in partnership with Penicuik House Preservation Trust, oversees the running of the conserved ruin of Penicuik House and the restoration of the Designed Landscape for the benefit of the local community and numerous visitors every year.

Plans for the Estate never stand still and Edward Clerk’s talk will outline the plans for the next stage in the development of this significant part of Scotland’s heritage.

The talk is free to all.

William Fergusson, surgeon extraordinaire. A video of the talk presented in November 2022 can be seen.

William Fergusson, who established his formidable reputation as a surgeon before the advent of anaesthesia, was born in 1808 in Prestonpans.

William Fergusson, who established his formidable reputation as a surgeon before the advent of anaesthesia, was born in 1808 in Prestonpans. He rapidly gained a strong reputation as a surgeon and, in 1840, accepted an invitation to become Professor of Surgery at King’s College London and Surgeon to King’s College Hospital. His many achievements made him perhaps the most celebrated surgeon of his time. He died in London in 1877 and is buried at West Linton.

Peter Raine, himself a paediatric surgeon, presented a talk about William Fergusson’s life and work to the Esk Valley Trust Zoom talk on  November 10^th 2022.

A video recording of this talk can be seen here.