The sun came out just in time for the STAND Cupar and Dunfermline Meeting Centres and Katie & Christine from the Climate Wisdom team visit to the Scottish Deer Centre. The afternoon started with feeding the deer who were incredibly happy to see us, especially as we had brown paper bags in our hands which clearly signaled food.

After feeding the deer we moved to the falconry display arena where we were treated to seeing and finding out about the Harris Hawk, the red legged Seriema & the Lanner Falcon. We heard about how climate change is impacting our birds of prey, especially those who live in colder climates, many of whom are declining significantly and are at substantial risk of extinction, including the Snowy Owl.

Over a cuppa and a biscuit, we had a chat with one of the rangers who explained that they are seeing changes in hibernation behaviour of the bears at the park due to the changing climate.

The bears are entering hibernation later and waking earlier which is resulting in an increased risk of starvation or malnutrition as their natural winter foods such as berries and nuts are not available and the spring vegetation is not yet growing meaning food is scarce.

We also learnt that climate change is affecting Reindeer the most in the deer population.  This is due to snow melting, then turning to ice which their hooves are not designed to break through the same way as snow therefore making it more difficult to access the much-needed food.

We also heard about all the great conservation and rewilding work the centre was doing. Everyone agreed it had been an informative afternoon and a fantastic way to spend a Friday.

Thanks to National Lottery players, Outside the Box have received almost £1.5m from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK, to launch ‘Climate Wisdom’. 

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