Spring in Montrose, Edinburgh's Grisly Past and Pine Tree Fungus

Back in 2020, some of farmer Steve Barron’s cattle fell ill and died. Initially he had no idea what had caused their sudden deaths until lead poisoning was found to be the reason. He tells Mark about what happened and the impact it had on him.

Steve’s cattle died so had no chance of entering the food chain, but Food Standards Scotland take incidents of livestock poisoning very seriously. They are raising awareness of the risks that farmers face as we hear from their head of incidents, Stuart McAdam.

In our latest Scotland Outdoors podcast Helen Needham talks to musician and composer Anne Wood about how her own heritage led her to write music inspired by the mountains of Pakistan and Assynt. We hear an excerpt where they discuss the idea of home.

Earlier this week a film documentary premiered in Edinburgh made by director Tom Opre called The Last Keeper. The film explores the land-use conflicts of Scotland and features interviews with a range of people who live in, work in and manage the countryside. Rachel went to interview Tom and find out what was involved in making the film.

Mark takes a wander round the darker side of Edinburgh’s medical history with a tour guide from the Surgeons’ Hall Museum. He hears about the grizzly business of barber surgeons and the advancements made in medical science in the city.

This weekend the British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity which helps rescue stranded and entangled cetaceans and seals are holding a big training exercise off the Ayrshire coast. We hear live from one of those coordinating the exercise to find out what and who is involved.

An obscure fungus which had until recently been relatively rare in Scotland appears to be at the centre of an outbreak in Scots Pine trees across the country. Dr Sarah Green from Forest Research tells Rachel more about it.

Mark visits an area of woodland in the centre of Haddington that a group are keen to take charge of via a community asset transfer. They tell him about the history of the site and what they hope to happen to it.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been discussing the changing seasons and what feels like the late arrival of spring. While Rachel was visiting the Montrose Basin Reserve, she chatted to Joanna from the Scottish Wildlife Trust about which species are heading off and which are arriving