Stevenson Stresses Importance of North East Mosses

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, drew attention to the importance of Reidside Moss in a Scottish Parliament debate on North-East mosses this week.

In the debate which recognised the importance of mosses, also known as raised bogs, to local eco-systems and to communities, Mr Stevenson said:

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“Being next to nature benefits human beings. It improves mental health, provides opportunities for physical exercise and gives us access to a wide range of wildlife.

“I live 400m from Reidside moss, which is substantially bigger than either of the mosses described in the motion (Westhill and Portlethen), approaching 100 hectares. The wildlife which I experience is roe, foxes, weasels, rabbits and a wide range of bird life.

“That goes from the United Kingdom’s smallest bird, the goldcrest, which is a regular visitor, to what is nearly our biggest bird, the golden eagle, which we get for a few weeks a year—we see the adolescents as they leave the eyrie, which is about 20km away. We have barn owls, too, which delight us overnight.”

He added:

“In bogs, there is a rich diversity of natural life and, more important, a rich diversity of plant life. The presence of water and the high acidity level give us a differentiation in bog life that is important to support the diversity on which we should place great value.”