Scotland Outdoors

Mark Stephen meets Amy Buckley and her Raven called Fable

The impact of cruise ship light pollution on bird species is the focus of research presented at Scotland’s Nature Student Conference at Stirling University. Rachel chats to Adam Woodward who explored the issue as part of his master’s degree.
Cromarty is home to one of the world’s longest running bottlenose dolphin research programmes. Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone join Research Fellow Dr Barbara Cheney from Aberdeen University to discover how AI is helping to uncover new insights into the dolphin population.
In Milngavie, Mark talks to Dr Davide Dominoni of Glasgow University about how wildlife copes with and adapts to urban environments.
Back at Scotland’s Nature Student Conference, Rachel talks to whale scientist Dr Penny Clarke about studying mass stranding from space.
Mark is at Abernethy Forest Lodge with RSPB Residential Volunteer Catriona MacIntosh to find out how beetle surveys are contributing to a habitat disturbance and restoration project designed to improve capercaillie habitat and wider biodiversity.
In this week’s podcast excerpt, Rachel speaks to poet Anne Wiseman about Crovie’s past and its fragile future.
Queen bees are emerging from their hibernation into the spring sun. Rachel and Mark are joined by Paul Hetherington of BugLife to find out what bees are up to at this time of year and how we can support them in our own gardens.
Dr Désirée Coral’s exhibition ‘Essays on Salt – The First Harvest’ incorporates salt alongside glass, clay, video, photography, and ready-made objects tied to salt harvesting and trade. Mark meets Désirée at the Worm Gallery in Aberdeen to find out how she harvested seawater and evaporated it herself in St Andrews and Aberdeen to create the exhibition.

Rachel Stewart talks to poet Anne Wiseman about Crovie's past and its fragile future.

Cyclist Mark Wedgwood has completed some enormous challenges, including a journey from America to Scotland. Rachel meets him in Aberdeenshire to find out more about his adventures.
People across the UK are being invited to celebrate the unsung heroes in their communities as the BBC launches the 2026 Make a Difference Awards. Last year, New Start Highland Garden in Inverness won the BBC Radio Scotland Green award. Mark visits the garden with James Dunbar and Marion Cordiner.
New research from Stirling University suggests that walkers are increasing the popularity of Park Run events. Rachel takes a wander with parkwalkers Lynne Zabek and Andrew Aird and Dr Andre Gilburn who explains more about his research.
In this week’s podcast excerpt, Mark’s in Glasgow to chat to cyclist and content creator Somhairle Johnston about his new BBC Alba series 'Somhairle Spins'.
Phil Sime and Morven Livingstone join survival instructor Zeki Basan on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park to observe the delicate process of harvesting birch sap.
Trees for Life Heritage and Gaelic Development Officer Eilidh Sykes joins Mark and Rachel to talk about the links between the Gaelic language and the landscape.
A new children’s book, ‘Heather Munro's Race Against the Flames’, aims to raise wildfire safety awareness. Mark meets author and Director of The Heather Trust, Katrina Candy.
Rachel meets Rosie Beetschen of Cairngorms Connect who has created a soundscape of her explorations of the Cairngorms landscape.
One of the UK’s most experienced mountain rescue experts, David “Heavy” Whalley, has been remembered in a new book charting his life. Mark visits Strathblane to meet Bob Sharp who helped compile Heavy’s story in ‘A Heavy Affair with the Mountains’.

Mark Stephen meets cyclist and content creator Somhairle Johnston to discuss his new series on BBC Alba 'Somhairle Spins' in which he undertakes five different bikepacking adventures in Scotland.