Rural and Environment

  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 13

    11th March 2019 by

    When the place of birth on your birth certificate is recorded as The New Forest, it’s maybe a sign of what is to come. Claire Glaister, FICFor, forestry consultant, member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters’ Professional on what its like to work in the rural economy.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 12

    10th March 2019 by

    Sometimes the lure of the rural economy is too much. Rebecca Dawes, Director at the Rural Youth Project is the latest woman to provide an insight into the diverse and important role women play in Scotland’s rural economy as part of our series of blogs to mark International Women’s Day.

    I have a confession – ever since my early teens I have wanted to be Tom Cruise!! I want to sore through the skies in a fighter jet, doing twists and turns as he did in the film Top Gun. What I didn’t want to be was a women working in the agricultural and rural sector and yet it is was the environment I knew.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 11

    8th March 2019 by

    As we continue to celebrate International Women’s Day, LANTRA Scotland’s Director Dr Liz Barron-Majerik blogs on her career and experience of Scotland’s Rural Economy.

    A ‘princess-ballerina-firefighter-scientist’. That’s what my five-year-old wants to be when she grows up. When I was her age, I wanted to be “Long Distance Clara” from Pigeon Street, probably because she got to drive a lorry and wear trousers.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 10

    8th March 2019 by

    To mark International Women’s Day, Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon blogs about her experience of being a women in politics and the rural economy.

    I was fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by strong-minded and politically active women in my family, so discussion (or ever so slightly heated debate!) was common at home. I went through school and university quite confident, not ever considering that my gender was an issue, I suppose that only really hit me when I was elected as a councillor for the first time during my last year of university.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 9

    7th March 2019 by

    Ailsa Campbell of Campbell’s Bakery in Crieff is the latest to provide an insight into the diverse and important role women play in Scotland’s rural economy as part of our series of blogs to mark International Women’s Day tomorrow.

    Having grown up in Vancouver Canada I never imagined I would end up living in the middle of Scotland running a 190 year old bakery with my husband! In 1970 when I was a baby my family emigrated to Vancouver from the UK. On June 1st 2000 I arrived back in Scotland to start a new life with Iain Campbell a seventh generation baker running his family’s bakery in Crieff – Campbell’s Bakery. I had met Iain in 1999 when I was an exchange student at the Glasgow School of Art.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 8

    7th March 2019 by

    As we continue to celebrate women in the rural economy, Julie Hesketh-Laird, chief executive of Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation blogs about her experience and career to date.

    As I approach my first anniversary in the salmon farming industry, I am struck by how different my initial expectations were compared to the reality of the exciting and diverse industry I now know.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 7

    6th March 2019 by

    Elaine Whyte of Clyde Fisherman’s Association is the latest woman to provide an insight into the diverse and important role women play in Scotland’s rural economy as part of our series of blogs to mark International Women’s Day.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 6

    6th March 2019 by

    As we continue to look at the diverse and important role women play in the rural economy, Katen Betts, CEO of the Scottish Whisky Association gives us an insight into the whisky industry.

    Greek philosophy tells us ‘the only thing that is constant is change’.

    This of course is as true for Scotland’s national drink as anything else, as the industry navigates its way through the changing tastes of consumers, innovation in production, and the changing shape of our global competitors, not least American, Irish and Japanese whiskies.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 5

    5th March 2019 by

    A farmer’s daughter, a farmer, an industry representative, whichever title she chooses to use, it is clear that Alison Milne’s life has been shaped by Scottish agriculture. The next blog in our series on the important and diverse role women play in supporting and driving Scotland’s rural economy.

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  • Women in the Rural Economy: Part 4

    5th March 2019 by

    As we continue our new series looking at the important and diverse role women play in driving and supporting Scotland’s rural economy, QMS Chair Kate Rowell gives us an insight into her career and experience.

    Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a farmer like my Dad, Grandpa and the many generations who came before them. I clearly remember being very put out when an elderly Aunt told my younger brother that he would take over the farm, completely ignoring me! Ever since then I’ve been aware of society’s overwhelming view that it’s only the boys who are destined to be farmers – and I’ve taken quite a while to reach the point where I’m comfortable describing myself proudly as a Farmer (and never with “Female” or “Lady” in front!).

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