Scotland's environment blog

In Willie's latest blog, he shares with us his passion for the Scottish landscape and the important role he believes rocks and landforms have played in shaping who we are today.

With over 180 years of geological knowledge and experience, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has combined its extensive subsurface data with modern videogame technologies to create an innovative and engaging new way to explore the ground beneath our feet. Steven Richardson from BGS explains more about this exciting project.

Created by natural processes over the last 3 billion years, Scotland’s rocks and landforms (our geology and geomorphology) not only help us to understand how the Earth evolved, they also play a major role in shaping who we are and how we live; providing the foundation of our biodiversity, scenery, and cultural heritage.

Today sees the start of the Royal Highland Show - the four days in June each year that showcases the best of farming, food and rural life. It'll come as no surprise that many bring their prized livestock to be judged in the hope of winning the accolade of 'Best in Show'. But did you know that it's not just livestock under scrutiny from the judges? Soil is also vying to be top. Ken Loades from the James Hutton Institute tells us more...

Over the next few weeks we’ll be taking a closer look at the topic rocks and landforms; exploring the exciting projects our partners are working on in this area and looking at the maps, data tools and information available on our website to help you find out more about this fascinating topic. And to get things started, in this first blog we’ve asked Hugh Barron from the British Geological Survey (BGS) to explain more about why rocks and landforms are an important part of Scotland’s environment.