I wrote this beautiful 28-page brochure for the Cairngorms National Park Authority, designed by Mortonward. It was part of the CNPA’s 10 year celebrations, highlighting some achievements from the past decade.
Armed with a great brief, I interviewed a range of people who live and work in the Park:
- Politicians including John Swinney MSP, Sarah Boyack MSP and Danny Alexander MP
- Rangers e.g. the Head Ranger at Balmoral, and many Conservationists
- Business figures such as Sam Faircliff, MD of the Cairngorm Brewery
- Locals such as the ladies from Boat of Garten
The result was a variety of fascinating stories – all examples of the ‘deep collaboration’ built into the DNA of Scotland’s National Park legislation, unique in the world. This collaboration is vital because the Cairngorms is not just home to wildcats, golden eagles and 25% of all of the UK’s most endangered species. It’s also full of people, businesses and 10.5 million tourists every year. And there are also the impacts of climate change.
The CNPA has to hold together vitally important conservation needs with a variety of potentially conflicting tensions: the needs of communities and the shortage of affordable housing to retain young people… the need for businesses to flourish and provide employment… providing a high quality experience for visitors… adapting to the changing climate…
I wrote about 10 cases where the Park has enabled disparate groups to come together and create some remarkable, strong solutions for the good of all.
Liz MacWhirter 