The National Trust for Scotland is a separate entity from the National Trust (England, Wales and NI) and therefore doesn’t impinge on my consciousness very much. But I was interested to see that it has been carrying out quite a dramatic down-size (see here, here, here). And even more interested to see that it’s Chief Executive states that a merger with Historic Environment Scotland is ‘almost inevitable’ because the two organisations occupy ‘the same space’.
The charitable object of the NTS is:
‘To promote the permanent preservation, for the benefit of the Nation, of Land and Buildings in Scotland (the expression “Land” being held throughout these presents to include Lochs and Rivers) of natural beauty or historic interest; and as regards such Land, to preserve (so far as practicable) its natural aspect and features and animal and plant life.’
The charitable object of the HES is:
‘(1) Historic Environment Scotland has the general function of investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland?s historic environment. (2) In exercising its general function, Historic Environment Scotland has the following particular functions? (a) identifying and recording the historic environment, (b) understanding and interpreting the historic environment, (c) learning about, and educating others about, the historic environment, (d) protecting and managing the historic environment, (e) conserving and enhancing the historic environment. (3) Historic Environment Scotland also has the function of managing its collections as a national resource for reference, study and research. (4) In exercising that function, Historic Environment Scotland has the following particular functions? (a) preserving, conserving and developing its collections, (b) making the collections accessible to the public and to persons wishing to carry out study and research, (c) exhibiting and interpreting objects in the collections.‘
There is certainly overlap – it’s just that NTS says it does nature conservation and HES doesn’t. Maybe the CEO of NTS doesn’t think that matters much.
and I couldn’t help searching the NTS site for Hen Harrier…
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Without going into the detail of the two “objectives” , I have to say the expression “historical environment” where it applies to land is very often a definition of conservation’s biggest problem in Scotland. In the time of Samuel Johnson he observed how much of this country was a treeless desert…and the rolling hills of the Borders, the purple blooming heather etc are still being sold as the main images of bonny Scotland to tourists. To an ecologist these bare hills are an abomination. So, if these organisations do merge I hope they will abandon the emphasis on historic environment in their objectives [apart from castle gardens] and consider a return to the wild woods of pre-history, along with their fauna and flora.
The NTS certainly have hen harriers and eagles and manage some national nature reserves. However the new management are doing an appalling job and loosing members, volunteers and key members of staff. Its as if they are being deliberately run down to make them fit for a merger. The natural environment is certainly being de-prioritised. Heritage Environment Scotland is a new invention… and it was born on the back of a report which looked at the “synergies” across the whole sector. The SNP like merging things.
Didnt have to search to hard….
https://www.facebook.com/ArranRangerService/videos/316690698477411/
Not really different – NT and SNT As a member of the Scottish you gain entry into the English and its cheaper!! I love coming from Yorkshire!
Circus Maxima’s view that NTS are rowing back from wildlife conservation as fast as they can certainly fits with my perception and with comments from NTS insiders.
More worrying because they have some large and very important sites where conserving natural biodiversity is the only rational objective. It will be interesting to see how these are resourced into the future.
Their boss’s recently reported comments about the inevitability of merger with HES smacks of a proposed coup attempt on publicly-owned resources! HES, remember, despite its rebranding/reconstitution remains a public body looking after public property – see http://www.historicenvironment.scot/media/2567/hes-info-pack.pdf
NTS have always been a bit resentful of HES, or Historic Scotland, as it was until recently ( and before that the imaginatively named ‘Ministry of Works’) seeing it as a competitor in the let’s-go-out-and-visit-a-castle market. But HES also incorporates the RCAHMS. How might NTS continue to resource and carry out their distinctly academic responsibilities?
But whatever happens to Scotland’s ‘historic built environment’, in whoever’s care, I think it is NTS’s future performance on nature conservation that will need keeping an eye on.
I cancelled my (English) NT membership a few years ago because they seem to care far more about buildings and paintings then about nature conservation. Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB and organisations like Butterfly conservation seem to be much better candidates to support. It really is a pity – the scale and resources of NT gives them the opportunity to do such much for conservation, an opportunity they seem happy to ignore.