Show that nobody wants to see - L in the Park

Published on Friday 2 February 2007 01:47

AMID the party-political claim and counter-claim about the state of Scotland, there is one signal achievement of devolution on which all parties can unite: the creation of Scotland's national parks, and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in particular.

A "Pride in the Park" reception at the Scottish Parliament last week drew some 220 people, one of the largest such gatherings at Holyrood and, to judge by the buzz created, one of the most successful.

Yet the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park is now wrestling with a problem that should shame its three-million-a-year visitors.

The Loch Lomond and Trossachs area is among the top destinations for tourism worldwide. There are few places on the planet where the simple mention of Scotland does not evoke images of Loch Lomond and Rob Roy country. Here is our unique and stunning signature on this earth.

Yet, while we celebrate the work of the park, we continue to treat this natural icon of Scotland as one vast rubbish dump with lochs. And for all the work the park authority has done to conserve and protect the area as a global beauty spot, its greatest problem is not those earnest sections in the Park Plan given over to sustainable development and biodiversity. It is litter.

Tackling this has been the priority since the new convener, Mike Cantlay, took over last year. And a new anti-litter action programme featured at one of the most prominent stalls in the Holyrood reception last week.

It hardly seemed to be the "big issue" when the park was established in 2002, and scarcely featured in the ambitious 320-page draft park plan. Lavishly illustrated chapters went into minute detail on objectives ranging from habitat conservation to sustainable development and biodiversity.

It is a much slimmer National Park plan that now sits on the desk of Sarah Boyack, the sponsoring minister, for approval. And the basic need to keep the loch sides and picnic bays clear of litter is being given much greater prominence in the park's work.

Such a return to basics should hardly seem necessary for a part of Scotland revered by millions the world over. We don't, after all, expect to guard the statue of our national heroes with large posters declaiming: "Don't Dump near William Wallace." But that is just what the Loch Lomond National Park is having to do.

Teams of clean-up crews, augmented by voluntary organisations ranging from schools, scouts and guide groups to community councils, are now being sent out across the banks of our most famous lochs to clear rubbish - cans and canisters, oil drums and broken glass, abandoned camping equipment and clothing, discarded food, and so on. Other detritus, including condoms, syringes and human waste, requires council intervention.

"Don't be a Tosser" is the bold stencil heading on one new leaflet that will be handed out this summer. An even less subtle "Have You Dropped One?" is another.

It is little short of a national shame that the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park should be reduced to this. Sadly, it does seem that basic instincts of some of the visitors to our bonniest banks and braes leave no choice. Why do we take such pride in our natural heritage and yet behave so carelessly with it when we visit? Have we really lost our pride in our country - and ourselves - so much?

ONE solution would be to blanket the banks of Loch Lomond and the 19 other magnificent lochs in the park with litter bins and latrines. But that would be to ruin the unspoilt natural beauty that is the key attraction. Instead, the park is urging visitors to take their rubbish home, supplying village shops from Balloch in the south to Killin in the north with plastic bags for this very purpose.

Critical though all this is, it should not obscure the excellent work of the park in other areas. Setting it up was the easy part. Striking the right balance between conservation and development, wildlife protection and amenity support, the interests of residents and those of visitors, has proved altogether more difficult.

Under the initial stewardship of Councillor Gillie Thomson, the park's first convener, whose services were recognised when he was made an OBE in the New Year Honours List, the National Park Authority has not only done outstanding work in raising awareness of the area as a home for diverse wildlife and flora and fauna, but in balancing these tricky issues.

A 1.8 million Early Actions Programme secured 400 directional and destination signs leading to and around the park, welcome panels and plinths and information displays in the 11 tourist information centres. Perhaps the biggest achievement is the exceptional sense of partnership within the park, which the event at Holyrood celebrated.

What more might be done? I noted just over a year ago that the park needed to generate a sense of ownership among more regular visitors. This, I believe, would encourage a large following both here and internationally, spread understanding and awareness of the park's work and tap into an enormous latent loyalty.

It could take the form of a Friends of the Park organisation, to which people could subscribe. I believe such a concept is now under discussion.

It might also help if the entry points to the park were more clearly and boldly designated. People need to feel they are entering a special place, one supported not only by a park authority but by thousands of volunteer workers drawn from a wide range of civic groups.

Creating a sense of "special place" would, I believe, enhance the status of the park area and - hopefully - encourage the more responsible behaviour it so richly deserves. It is truly a great national asset for Scotland. Let's treat it as such.