Workshop - Tollishill Estate, Carfraemill - 7th February 2017

Some of the delegates on Tollishill Estate

My thanks go to our hosts, Northumberland Estates,  represented by Craig Dickman, the headkeeper, and to all who attended the workshop.  Carfraemill Hotel provided an excellent meeting room and kept us fed and watered beautifully.

In total, there were 23 of us at the workshop.  Anne and I were joined by Tim Baynes (Scottish Moorland Group) and Merlin Becker (GWCT) to represent the Steering Group.  This is the breakdown of delegates:

Gamekeeper	13
Research	2
Farmer	2
Agency	2
Steering Group	4

The aim of this workshop, and those that follow, is to gather the views of delegates about the revised Code.  We had a wide-ranging discussion in the meeting room and then on the Tollishill Estate, overlooking The Hopes Estate to the north.

Looking north onto The Hopes Estate

We covered a lot of ground during the discussion, but key points to take forward for further discussion include:

• How to use the Code to encourage collaborative working across different land holdings so that coordinated management and burning plans are developed at a landscape scale.
• Review the guidance in the Code that the minimum number of people in a burning team should be three - local experience in the Lammermuirs is that burning can take place safely with two people.
• The guidance about the size of fire should be considered further - the limit of 50m width is not appropriate in all circumstances.
• The practicality and benefits of buffer zones against watercourses.
• There is support for the concept of publishing a small Guidance Card to cover checklist items.
• There is an appetite for more technical information being made available.
• It is accepted that there might be advantages from the development of some formal training & certification for muirburn, led by the industry.
• Liaison with the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service was patchy.  Delegates were asked to follow the guidance in the Code but to provide examples of occasions where the guidance was not working to the Lammermuirs Moorland Group or to the Moorland Forum.
• It will be useful to include details of burning & cutting equipment through the Code's website.
• The 'cool burn' concept is understood, liked and applied by gamekeepers.

The next workshops take place on the Sleat peninsula on Skye on 16th February, and at Edinglassie, Huntly on 21st February.  The final workshop will be held at Battleby on 14th March, and this will aim to consider all the feedback from the previous workshops.

See the draft revised version of the Muirburn Code at: www.muirburncode.org.uk