MEDIA INVITE AND PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Launch of the Flow Country exhibition

What: The official launch of the Flow Country exhibition.

The exhibition will be on tour for two years visiting various venues in England and Scotland, starting at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The event will take place at the John Hope Gateway and will be hosted by Professor Stuart Gibb, chair of the Peatlands Partnership and Director of the Environmental Research Institute.

Professor Des Thompson will provide a short celebratory introduction to the peatlands and their importance. Des is Principal Adviser on Biodiversity in Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), an author and internationally-known expert on upland ecology.

DATE AND TIME
Wed 14 June 2017
18:30 – 20:30 BST

LOCATION
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Arboretum Place
Edinburgh
EH3 5NZ

Background Info

A major exhibition opens this week (June 15) at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh focussing on the Flow Country, one of Europe’s last wild places.

The Flow Country is a vast open landscape in the far north of Scotland, dominated by blanket bog, a rare type of peatland. It is the biggest blanket bog in Europe.

Not only is the area important for all sorts of specialist wildlife, but the bog also acts as a massive carbon store, trapping carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change.

As well as stunning imagery, the exhibition includes a film, artefacts and hands-on children’s activities. There is also a virtual reality landscape model that allows you to fly over the bog as well as taking a virtual walk through the pools and unusual plants.

The exhibition will be on display daily from 10am until 6pm from 15 June until 25 September when it will move to the Glasgow Science Centre. You can find out more at http://www.theflowcountry.org.uk.

The exhibition is part of the Heritage Lottery Fund supported Flows to the Future project, which is restoring seven square miles of blanket bog habitat by removing forestry and blocking drains on RSPB Scotland’s Forsinard Flows National Nature Reserve.

The project is also connecting people with this precious and important habitat. The Flows Lookout, an award winning viewing tower, has been constructed to allow visitors to view the characteristic landscape from above, and new exhibitions are now in place in Forsinard, Thurso and Strathnaver.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Peatlands Partnership includes Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission (Scotland), Highland Council, RSPB Scotland, Plantlife Scotland, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, The Highland Third Sector Interface, The Flow Country Rivers Trust, The Northern Deer Management Group and The Environmental Research Institute.
RSPB Scotland is the lead partner in The Flows to the Future project, a Peatlands Partnership project, which gratefully acknowledges funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and from the following funders and supporters; Environmental Research Institute, European Regional Development Fund, Forestry Commission (Scotland), Peatland Action, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, The Highland Council, RSPB, WREN, Scotland Rural Development Programme, Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage and The Tubney Trust.

CONTACT DETAILS

Alan Tissiman RSPB Public Affairs Manager can be contacted on 01463 228810 or 07775 227614 or alan.tissiman@rspb.org.uk

Caroline Eccles Project Manager - Flows to the Future Project, working on behalf of The Peatlands Partnership, c/o North Scotland Regional Office, Inverness. 01463 715000, Mobile 07590 441475 or caroline.eccles@rspb.org.uk

Ian Mitchell, Secretary, The Peatlands Partnership, c/o Scottish Natural Heritage: Tel 0300 0676841 or peatlands_partnership@snh.gov.uk