SRUC Edinburgh Campus

Are you under 30 and interested in conservation, nature and the outdoors?

Join us at Glen Tanar on Saturday June 27th from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM for a hands-on volunteering day and discover how you can make a real difference to one of Scotland's most beautiful landscapes.

You'll meet Jane, a Ranger on the estate, and take part in practical conservation activities, which may include path maintenance, learning how to repair and maintain paths, and helping to keep them clear and accessible for visitors. You'll also have the opportunity to meet members of the Cairngorms Youth Action Team and find out more about how to get involved.

Taking part is a great way to:

• Explore a stunning Highland landscape
• Meet other young people who share your interests
• Learn practical conservation skills
• Support the maintenance of local paths and habitats
• Make a positive and lasting contribution to the environment

Find out more and sign up today 👉

Volunteer Cairngorms - Under 30's Event - Volunteering for nature in Glen Tanar Welcome to our Under 30's Volunteering Event, at Glen Tanar   Meet Jane, a Ranger on the estate, and try your hand at practical conservation tasks. This might include path maintenance , involving a walk into the landscape surrounding, learning how to repair paths, keeping them clear of scrub, or ot...

Here is Hemaxi. Hemaxi comes from Gujarat, India, and chose the Vertica Farm at King’s Buildings, Edinburgh, for her placement. She worked alongside technicians and students, and acquired experience in the management of vertical frames, organisation and hygiene of work areas, propagation trays and GTL trays, changing filters and calibrating pH and EC levels.

You can find out more about the BSc (Hons) Agriculture programme here: https://buff.ly/QIoWl6h

The next stage of the Frontiers in Environmental Restoration Norwegian field course took students to the heart of Dovrefjell, where history, culture and conservation collide. Staying at the historic Fokstugu Fjellstue, once a refuge for pilgrims crossing the mountains between Oslo and Trondheim, we gained an insight into Norway's deep connections between people, farming and landscape.

At nearby Fokstumyra Nature Reserve, a Ramsar-listed wetland, students encountered an incredible diversity of wildlife, including reindeer, moose, short-eared owl, ruff, bluethroat and cuckoo. We watched cranes calling across the peatlands and even witnessed a spectacular hen harrier food pass.

Highlights didn't stop there. We explored the Hjerkinn restoration project, where a former military training ground is being transformed back into a thriving mountain ecosystem, before hiking in search of one of Norway's most iconic species. The reward? Two musk ox locked in an unforgettable display of dominance straight out of a wildlife documentary.

We also visited the Arctic Fox Captive Breeding Programme near Oppdal, learning how dedicated conservation efforts have helped recover Norway's endangered arctic fox population from just 50 individuals in 2005 to more than 550 today.

From peatlands and tundra to conservation success stories and once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounters, this has been environmental restoration brought vividly to life. Interested in opportunities like this? There is still time to apply for our Environmental Management degree and be part of future international field experiences.

"At SRUC, I can learn to apply theoretical knowledge of plant biology to real-world challenges of growing in the production glasshouse. The curriculum provides opportunities to learn from experienced professionals, gaining practical experience and building skills I need specific to growing on a commercial scale.”

Molly Cave is at SRUC Edinburgh Campus studying an HND in Horticulture with Production Science. Read Molly's story on the SRUC Virtual Experience 👉 https://buff.ly/QxG6WZ2

Our Environmental Management, and Wildlife and Conservation students recently embarked on the inaugural Frontiers in Environmental Restoration international field module, travelling to Norway to experience some of Scandinavia’s most remarkable restoration landscapes firsthand.

The first stage of the two-week expedition took students deep into the uplands of Berdalen and Bjåen, where they trekked through montane woodlands, crossed peatlands, and even hiked across lingering snowfields. Along the way, they encountered habitats and species rarely seen in Scotland, including downy willow and dwarf birch, gaining a unique perspective on how climate, ecology, and land management shape these landscapes.

Students explored real-world examples of environmental restoration, biodiversity conservation, sustainable forestry, wildlife management, and rural land use, comparing Norwegian approaches with those used back home in Scotland. Highlights included an unforgettable evening watching beavers emerge at dusk and a lakeside barbecue surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery.

This is learning beyond the classroom: developing field skills, building international perspectives, and experiencing environmental management in action.

Interested in opportunities like this? There is still time to apply for our Environmental Management degree and be part of future international field experiences.

The SRUC Alumni Farmers Market is back at the Royal Highland Show.

Join us on Saturday 20th June from 10am - 3pm and meet our alumni business owners, and discover the fantastic range of products they have to offer. From berrylicious tart jelly made with hand-picked fruit grown on an Aberdeenshire farm, to beautifully soft mohair yarn produced in Fife.

We can't wait to welcome you to the market and celebrate the success of our alumni community.

Find out more about events at the SRUC stand 👉 https://buff.ly/3aNl6YJ

Here is Ruaraidh looking proud, waiting for the ewes to lamb on his placement. Ruaraidh is a HNC student at SRUC Edinburgh and had very little agricultural experience before joining us.

For his placement he journeyed to Dingwall, Ross-shire. Ruaraidh assisted with a lambing of 300 ewes. He undertook the roles of bedding pens and feeding cobbs and silage to the ewes and nurturing newborn lambs. This year the weather was a bit unpredictable, so some ewes and lambs had to be kept back and when the weather was kind, he took part in turning them out to the fields

Discover more about our Agriculture programmes here: https://buff.ly/MkZ9f3j

This is Harry, a HNC Agriculture student from our Edinburgh campus. Harry is looking proud with a lamb he is fostering on. He comes from a hill farm in the Inner Hebrides. For his placement he journeyed to Gargunnock, Stirling, where he undertook an indoor lambing of 520 Texel and Leyn ewes, as well as calving 30 suckler cows. Harry was involved in all the husbandry requirements. This even meant carting silage from a neighbouring farm. This helped Harry develop different skills from which he has learnt on his farm at home.

If you want to find out more about the agriculture programme at SRUC then join us on June 10th for our open day: https://buff.ly/FYpirrm