A recording of Jonathon Louis’s talk on “Opportunities for natural flood management in the Esk River catchments” (21 November 2024) is now available here

Click on the heading to access the talk

Jonathan is a Co-Director of the Forth Rivers Trust and has worked
with the Trust to improve rivers around the Forth for 11 years. His
background is in Sustainable Environmental Management and Countryside
Management. As Co-Director, Jonathan helps lead the Trust’s work
whilst supporting project development, funding and stakeholder
relationships.

His talk explores the opportunities for nature-based solutions
within the Esk catchment, how this could aid biodiversity and make the
catchment and communities more resilient to climate change. He
highlights examples of work carried out elsewhere that could be
delivered within the Esk catchment whilst outlining opportunities to
work in partnership for a more resilient and biodiverse Esk catchment.

A recording of the talk can be seen here.

James Simpson talks about Mavisbank House and the Villas of the Esk

A video recording of James Simpson’s talk to the Esk Valley Trust on 3 October 2024 is now available to see.

James is a very well-known architect who has helped with restoration projects at many of the ‘Villas of the Esk’.

He is a leading advocate for the architectural heritage of the Esk valleys. His talk uses the concept of the ‘Villa’ (as envisaged by Sir John Clerk in ‘The Country Seat’) to reflect on Mavisbank House and other major Villas in the Esk Valleys.

The talk was the opening event of the 2024 Midlothian Outdoor Festival.

To see the talk just click here.

Midlothian’s Outdoor Festival 2024

This year’s Midlothian Outdoor Festival will run from Thursday October 3rd to Monday October 7th. As we have done for a number of years the Esk Valley Trust will host a Festival opening Zoom talk on Thursday evening 3rd October.

The programme of events for the Festival can be found here.

This year’s opening talk will be given (by Zoom) by James Simpson on ‘Mavisbank House and the Villas of the Esk’.

James is a very well known architect who has helped with restoration projects at many of the ‘Villas of the Esk’ .

He is a leading advocate for the architectural heritage of the Esk valleys. His talk will use the concept of the ‘Villa’ (as envisaged by Sir John Clerk in ‘The Country Seat’) to reflect on Mavisbank House and other major Villas in the Esk Valleys.

The talk will start at 7.30pm and is free to all. To register for the talk click here.

Eradicating Giant Hogweed in the Lothians

David Quarendon talked about ‘Eradication of Giant Hogweed from the Lothians’ on June 27th 2024. A video recording of his talk can now be viewed; just click on the title for this item to find the link.

Although Giant Hogweed was introduced to Scotland in the 19th century  as an ornamental plant it soon spread out of control – helped by deliberate planting near to rivers and ponds. Its sap contains a toxic chemical, which sensitises the skin to sunlight and causes severe blisters. Strong advice is, if you encounter Giant Hogweed – DO NOT TOUCH IT.

In  this ESK VALLEY TRUST EVENING TALK David Quarendon discusses ‘’Eradicating Giant Hogweed in the Lothians’’

The talk will be given (by Zoom) on 27 June 2024 and can be viewed here.

David is a trustee of the East Lothian Countryside Volunteers charity, and has worked as a volunteer with the council’s Countryside Service for many years. Now retired he has been closely involved in the eradication of Giant Hogweed from the county since 2015.

In his talk David outlines the volunteer-led programmes established to eradicate Giant Hogweed on the River Esk and River Tyne.  He discusses why eradication is needed, the role of landowners, ‘spotters’ and technology, and highlights the progress achieved so far.

THE STATE OF NATURE IN SCOTLAND – WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

Professor Des Thompson will give his views on this topic in the next Esk Valley Trust evening talk starting at 7.30pm on Friday 17th May 2024. His talk will follow immediately after the 2024 Annual General Meeting of the Trust which will start at 7pm.

For the first time since before the Covid lockdown this meeting will be held IN PERSON at St David’s Hall, 41 Eskbank Rd, Dalkeith EH22 3BH. All are welcome and there is no cost. Only members can vote at the AGM but non-members are very welcome to attend.

Des Thompson was the Principal Adviser on Biodiversity and Science with NatureScot, Scotland’s Nature Agency. He worked closely with the Scottish Government devising the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy 2022-2045, and its Delivery Plan. Now a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow with the UHI North, West and Hebrides his interests include the conservation ecology of north European shorebirds, upland ecosystems, and science-policy biodiversity decision making.

If you are interested in Biodiversity this is not a talk to miss.

The Esk Valley Trust Annual General Meeting for 2024 will be held on Friday 17th May

For the first time since Covid broke out our AGM this year will be held in person at St David’s Hall Dalkeith.

The full address for St David’s Hall is: 41, Eskbank Road, Dalkeith, EH22 3BH. The AGM will start at 7pm. Papers for the meeting can be found by clicking these links:

Agenda

Draft Minutes from AGM 2023

Report and Accounts for 2023

After the AGM and starting at 7.30pm there will be a talk by Professor Des Thompson  about:

“The state of nature in Scotland – what needs to be done?”

Only members of the Trust can vote at the AGM but the talk is open to everyone and non-members are welcome to attend the AGM before the talk begins.

The Hewan Bog has been gifted to the Esk Valley Trust

The Trust is delighted to receive, as a gift, the area of land (around 12 hectares) at the northern end of Roslin Glen known as ‘The Hewan Bog’.

The title belies the natural beauty of this piece of countryside that sits right next to the Hewan Wood by the North Esk River near to Polton in Midlothian.

This most generous gift is from the estate of the late Professor David Baird who, sadly, died in February 2022. David was one of the country’s most eminent figures in the field of obstetrics, gynaecology and reproductive biology. An outstanding researcher and clinician he established Edinburgh as a world centre for the study of reproduction, and was a passionate advocate for the rights and health of women and for women in medicine. He also had a lifelong love of Scottish mountains and the great outdoors and bought the Hewan Bog in 1998, letting it to the University for sheep grazing and also keeping half a dozen pet Herdwick sheep of his own there. Each April he would take them to the family cottage in Strath Tummel and then bring them back to Roslin for the winter.

David’s wife, Professor Anna Glasier, said “David loved spending time at Roslin where he kept some of his own sheep. We often used to take a picnic when we went to check up on the sheep and sit in the sun drinking in the view and counting the variety of birds that inhabited the field. David would be very happy to know that the Esk Valley Trust has taken over the Hewan Bog and his sons and I hope that others will enjoy it as much as he did.”

You can read a fuller account of David’s achievements here.

Both the Hewan Bog and the Hewan Wood form part of the corridor of ancient woodland along Roslin Glen – a place of great natural and historical richness. In line with its broad purpose of stimulating public interest and care for the beauty, history and character of the valleys of the Esk Rivers the Trust will take care to manage this land to sustain and, if possible, to enhance its natural value and keep it for visitors to enjoy.

Angus Miller: ‘Rivers past and present: the geological story of the River Esk’ See the video of the talk presented in March 2024

This talk covers the ancient origins of the Esk rivers, the impact of the ice ages and what may happen next.

Angus Miller discusses ‘Rivers past and present: the geological story of the River Esk’

Angus is a geologist based in Edinburgh and a teaching fellow at the Centre for Open Learning at the University of Edinburgh. He is heavily involved in the Edinburgh Geological Society and the Scottish Geology Trust and has led key initiatives to promote the geology of Scotland, including Scotland’s Geodiversity Charter and the first Scottish Geology Festival. He runs Geowalks, exploring Scotland’s amazing geology and how it has shaped our landscape and human history.

In this talk Angus explores the ‘deep time’ record of flowing water in the area of the Esk valleys, which is responsible for creating many of the rocks of Midlothian including the coal fields. He also considers the course of the current river, and how this has evolved during the current Ice Age, with some thoughts about what might happen next!

To watch the video of this talk click here

If you want to learn more about the geology of the Esk river valleys:

Lothian and Borders GeoConservation leaflets (click here) give information on The Esk Valley, Pentland Rocks, Dalkeith’s Building Stones, The Geology of Dalkeith Park and the two geology walks at Vogrie Country Park.

The British Geological Survey site gives access to a wide range of geological information and data (click here)

If yyo want to join Angus on one of his Geowalks, click here.

Storm Damage in the Hewan Wood – January 2024

Storms Isha and Jocelyn in January 2024 have damaged a number of trees in the Hewan Wood.
PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL CARE WHILST WALKING IN THE WOOD until we are able to clear and make safe the damaged trees.