What does Scottish heritage mean to you asks survey

A view of Edinburgh from Calton Hill. Picture: Steven Taylor

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is calling on Scots to get involved with its project What’s Your Heritage? as part of the 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.

The project will ask members of the public to reveal which of Scotland’s places, buildings and monuments they want to see recognised and celebrated.

HES hopes to uncover some “hidden gem” examples of heritage for future generations to enjoy from theatres and pubs to castles and schools.

An online survey will run for the duration of the campaign and the organisation will run a series of informal workshops across the country to give people a chance to participate in their area.

The Scotsman’s heritage channel: Scotland’s people, places and history >>

The feedback captured in the project will be used to help shape new policies that will assist the organisation in protecting and celebrating historic sites now and in the future.

Elizabeth McCrone, head of designations at HES, said: “This is the first time that we have undertaken such a comprehensive review with the public about the criteria we use to decide whether to designate sites and structures.

“We receive hundreds of requests every year to assess buildings and sites for listing or one of the other designations and we really want to know what the people of Scotland think should be recognised and protected.

“We know that people are increasingly interested in different aspects of our history that designation hasn’t traditionally focussed on, such as the stories and experiences associated with different places.

“Through the What’s Your Heritage? campaign, we’re hoping to reach out to people across the country to find out whether we’re right about that and, if so, how we can take a fresh look at our work.”

People can share their ideas and thoughts at www.historicenvironment.scot/whatsyourheritage or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #MyHeritageIs.