A proposal is afoot to make some part of Galloway – as yet undefined — a national park also to include, perhaps, South Ayrshire. This proposal has sparked increasing debate, with strong resistance emerging within the local community. If the placards that have gone up around the region are a reliable indication, the farming community seem mostly to be opposed. Farmers are inclined to present themselves as the guardians of the land and so are no doubt fearful of a blizzard of petty regulation in the wake of a park designation. There is plenty of evidence however that many modern farming practices — overuse of fertilisers, pesticides and more, have been the destroyers of the land and are depleting the soil. But even writer and broadcaster, Tom Heap, a proponent of “regenerative agriculture,” is sceptical. When interviewed at the Wigtown Book Festival recently about his book Landsmart, he said national parks are “a bit of a red herring” and that “Unlike US national parks, they are not very good for nature as the land is still in private ownership.”
Amongst those supporting a park are a subset who imagine the designation would halt the march of wind farms. Many clearly believe wind turbines are a blot on the landscape with pylons on the way to add to the eyesore of it all. This reasoning is fanciful. More wind farms and pylons are on the way, like them or not.
My principal experience of a national park is the Lake District. It was established “to protect the landscape by restricting unwelcome change by industry or commerce.” I haven’t been there for a few years now. It was always a lovely place to visit, unspoiled by economic forestry and the litter and mess of industrial farming that is widespread in Galloway, where little traditional farm steadings are so often surrounded by huge and indisputably ugly sheds. Regiments of Sitka spruce occupy the hillsides.
This said, all is not lost in Galloway. Despite these blots, much that is to be treasured remains. It is a beautiful region, its hills and largely unspoilt coastline, its salt marshes and tidal extremes. There is no shortage of places to walk. Whatever I may think of industrial farming and the ecological damage it has done, there are still small and unspoilt farms to be seen, mostly in the hills. In addition to the dairy herds corralled in sprawling sheds, there are belted galloways in the fields, year round. Less common and less showy are rigget Galloway cattle, an older breed, small and hardy with a white strip along their back.
In the Lake District I’ve stayed in bed and breakfasts, I’ve stood in queues to climb Great Gable in the snow, I’ve enjoyed the outdoors ambience on the streets of Keswick, and walked the margins of the lakes. The Lake District was established as a National Park over seventy years ago. Its cultural heritage was already widely celebrated, from Wordsworth and John Ruskin, to Beatrix Potter — who gifted land to help establish the park. There were, from the outset of park status, unspoilt, working traditional hill farms. The contribution of the landscape was equally clear, the immutability and grandeur of the mountains, valleys and lakes.
But our understanding of what may be important in a landscape and the environment has changed. The hills and uplands of Galloway, which were once thought to be as immutable as the mountains of the Lake District, are now recognised as ecosystems: complex, fragile, already damaged—perhaps beyond repair. I was talking with a friend recently and we were lamenting the disappearance of field mushrooms from our landscape, something we were both familiar with in years gone by. That is just anecdotal evidence of species decline in this area but I also read Patrick Laurie’s blog and he paints a very grim picture detailing the decline of ground nesting birds in heathland areas of Galloway. Another friend, more authoritative on such matters than I, assures me that “national parks, in particular, have lower biodiversity indices than non-park areas.” I would accept that this is not conclusive evidence of the failure of national parks to protect nature. The matter requires further research.
It is suggested that a Galloway National Park designation could be the foundation for an economic regeneration of the region. Given the nature of the proposal, any economic dividend is surely going to be based on tourism. In 2022, the Lake District National Park received 18.14 million tourist visitors. Those are impressive figures, but I feel I must ask a challenging question at this point. Is it possible to increase tourism in a manner that is consistent with the regeneration and restoration of our environmental heritage? Is doubling the number of camper vans on our roads and increasing the foot fall in the wild places of the region really going to support fragile ecosystems. And then there will be all those toilets we have to put in. And the signs. Signs for every damn thing you can imagine.
The concept of National Park was first developed in the United States. Huge areas of land were set aside. Access to these areas is, as I understand it, highly regulated. It really is all about the wildlife, the bears, the wolves, the coyotes, the eagles and the myriad other species less well known which contribute to the viability of such an ecosystem. Such a model depends on the existence of unpopulated wide open spaces, on a grand scale.
We are a small and rather populous island. Dumfries and Galloway’s status as a relatively quiet backwater is unlikely to be secured by a commitment to a project intended to increase visitor footfall.
And another thing. Yes, more tourism would bring jobs, and in particular shops, restaurants and hotels could hope to see some increase in their business. But tourist jobs, for the most part, are seasonal and poorly paid. Tourism will never be the basis of serious prosperity in the region.
Of course I believe a national park could be designed in such a way as to genuinely protect the environment, but so many competing interests are crowding in to try and shape the outcome. I’d like to suggest a citizens assembly as the best and fairest way to decide the matter; a genuine cross section of the local population facilitated by a capable team who would bring the expertise required to answer questions and provide a full spectrum of opinion for those selected to make the adjudication.
I might not agree with the recommendations that came out of such an assembly, but I would live with them. Is it likely to happen? I doubt it, but I haven’t given up hope yet!
The Lake District Known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region and national park in Cumbria, North West England.” Wikipedia Lake District National Park
Patrick Laurie, Bog Myrtle and PeatThis single post is just a sample of Patrick Laurie’s often challenging thoughts on the matter of conservation.
A Citizens’ Assembly is a representative group of citizens who are selected at random from the population to learn about, deliberate upon, and make recommendations in relation to a particular issue or set of issues. It is still up to elected politicians whether or not to follow the assembly’s recommendations.Citizens Assembly
How national parks failed nature – and how to fix themThis Guardian article lends support to the point that national parks do not score well for biodiversity.
I am a retired College lecturer, having worked originally in supported programmes but latterly having taught social science subjects, Psychology and Politics, though my degree was in Sociology. I am from Newry in Northern Ireland, but now live in Dumfries in South West Scotland. https://carruchan.wordpress.com/about/
Carruchan
A National Park for Galloway…
A Chance for Revival or a Risky Gamble?
A proposal is afoot to make some part of Galloway – as yet undefined — a national park also to include, perhaps, South Ayrshire. This proposal has sparked increasing debate, with strong resistance emerging within the local community. If the placards that have gone up around the region are a reliable indication, the farming community seem mostly to be opposed. Farmers are inclined to present themselves as the guardians of the land and so are no doubt fearful of a blizzard of petty regulation in the wake of a park designation. There is plenty of evidence however that many modern farming practices — overuse of fertilisers, pesticides and more, have been the destroyers of the land and are depleting the soil. But even writer and broadcaster, Tom Heap, a proponent of “regenerative agriculture,” is sceptical. When interviewed at the Wigtown Book Festival recently about his book Landsmart, he said national parks are “a bit of a red herring” and that “Unlike US national parks, they are not very good for nature as the land is still in private ownership.”
Amongst those supporting a park are a subset who imagine the designation would halt the march of wind farms. Many clearly believe wind turbines are a blot on the landscape with pylons on the way to add to the eyesore of it all. This reasoning is fanciful. More wind farms and pylons are on the way, like them or not.
My principal experience of a national park is the Lake District. It was established “to protect the landscape by restricting unwelcome change by industry or commerce.” I haven’t been there for a few years now. It was always a lovely place to visit, unspoiled by economic forestry and the litter and mess of industrial farming that is widespread in Galloway, where little traditional farm steadings are so often surrounded by huge and indisputably ugly sheds. Regiments of Sitka spruce occupy the hillsides.
This said, all is not lost in Galloway. Despite these blots, much that is to be treasured remains. It is a beautiful region, its hills and largely unspoilt coastline, its salt marshes and tidal extremes. There is no shortage of places to walk. Whatever I may think of industrial farming and the ecological damage it has done, there are still small and unspoilt farms to be seen, mostly in the hills. In addition to the dairy herds corralled in sprawling sheds, there are belted galloways in the fields, year round. Less common and less showy are rigget Galloway cattle, an older breed, small and hardy with a white strip along their back.
In the Lake District I’ve stayed in bed and breakfasts, I’ve stood in queues to climb Great Gable in the snow, I’ve enjoyed the outdoors ambience on the streets of Keswick, and walked the margins of the lakes. The Lake District was established as a National Park over seventy years ago. Its cultural heritage was already widely celebrated, from Wordsworth and John Ruskin, to Beatrix Potter — who gifted land to help establish the park. There were, from the outset of park status, unspoilt, working traditional hill farms. The contribution of the landscape was equally clear, the immutability and grandeur of the mountains, valleys and lakes.
But our understanding of what may be important in a landscape and the environment has changed. The hills and uplands of Galloway, which were once thought to be as immutable as the mountains of the Lake District, are now recognised as ecosystems: complex, fragile, already damaged—perhaps beyond repair. I was talking with a friend recently and we were lamenting the disappearance of field mushrooms from our landscape, something we were both familiar with in years gone by. That is just anecdotal evidence of species decline in this area but I also read Patrick Laurie’s blog and he paints a very grim picture detailing the decline of ground nesting birds in heathland areas of Galloway. Another friend, more authoritative on such matters than I, assures me that “national parks, in particular, have lower biodiversity indices than non-park areas.” I would accept that this is not conclusive evidence of the failure of national parks to protect nature. The matter requires further research.
It is suggested that a Galloway National Park designation could be the foundation for an economic regeneration of the region. Given the nature of the proposal, any economic dividend is surely going to be based on tourism. In 2022, the Lake District National Park received 18.14 million tourist visitors. Those are impressive figures, but I feel I must ask a challenging question at this point. Is it possible to increase tourism in a manner that is consistent with the regeneration and restoration of our environmental heritage? Is doubling the number of camper vans on our roads and increasing the foot fall in the wild places of the region really going to support fragile ecosystems. And then there will be all those toilets we have to put in. And the signs. Signs for every damn thing you can imagine.
The concept of National Park was first developed in the United States. Huge areas of land were set aside. Access to these areas is, as I understand it, highly regulated. It really is all about the wildlife, the bears, the wolves, the coyotes, the eagles and the myriad other species less well known which contribute to the viability of such an ecosystem. Such a model depends on the existence of unpopulated wide open spaces, on a grand scale.
We are a small and rather populous island. Dumfries and Galloway’s status as a relatively quiet backwater is unlikely to be secured by a commitment to a project intended to increase visitor footfall.
And another thing. Yes, more tourism would bring jobs, and in particular shops, restaurants and hotels could hope to see some increase in their business. But tourist jobs, for the most part, are seasonal and poorly paid. Tourism will never be the basis of serious prosperity in the region.
Of course I believe a national park could be designed in such a way as to genuinely protect the environment, but so many competing interests are crowding in to try and shape the outcome. I’d like to suggest a citizens assembly as the best and fairest way to decide the matter; a genuine cross section of the local population facilitated by a capable team who would bring the expertise required to answer questions and provide a full spectrum of opinion for those selected to make the adjudication.
I might not agree with the recommendations that came out of such an assembly, but I would live with them. Is it likely to happen? I doubt it, but I haven’t given up hope yet!
End Notes and References
Tom Heap — Land Smart: How to Give People and Nature the Space to Thrive I mention Tom Heap’s visit to Wigtown Book Festival in another post, where he also comments on windfarms and one or two other things which may be of interest.
Information from NatureScot Information Hub – A proposal for a National Park in Galloway
The Lake District Known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region and national park in Cumbria, North West England.” Wikipedia Lake District National Park
Patrick Laurie, Bog Myrtle and Peat This single post is just a sample of Patrick Laurie’s often challenging thoughts on the matter of conservation.
A Citizens’ Assembly is a representative group of citizens who are selected at random from the population to learn about, deliberate upon, and make recommendations in relation to a particular issue or set of issues. It is still up to elected politicians whether or not to follow the assembly’s recommendations.Citizens Assembly
How national parks failed nature – and how to fix them This Guardian article lends support to the point that national parks do not score well for biodiversity.
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About Stephen Shellard
I am a retired College lecturer, having worked originally in supported programmes but latterly having taught social science subjects, Psychology and Politics, though my degree was in Sociology. I am from Newry in Northern Ireland, but now live in Dumfries in South West Scotland. https://carruchan.wordpress.com/about/