Sporting estates and gamekeepers across Scotland are launching an initiative to raise public awareness of controlled burning.
Heather on FireOK! has been drawn up in a bid to demonstrate why “muirburn” the controlled burning of heather is necessary to protect habitat and bird species.
Muirburn largely takes place in the spring and often raises questions over why parts of Scotland’s moorland landscape are ablaze.
Estates and gamekeepers are now stepping up efforts via social media, blogs and videos to raise public awareness of why they set the heather on fire.
They point out that the burning not only helps to keep Scotland’s heather clad hills purple but also ensures the provision of the best possible habitat for a host of different bird species and even prevents the spread of potentially devastating wildfires.
Hans McKenzie Wilson, a head gamekeeper on the Invercauld Estate in Aberdeenshire, said: “It is vital we get the message across to the public that setting the heather on fire is OK. If we don’t use the heather we will lose it and that would be a tragedy for everyone.
“Our purple heather is the landscape that people from all over the world adore. Grouse thrive in this habitat and so do a host of other bird species especially curlew, lapwing and golden plover which are worryingly low in numbers these days.
“As every gardener will know you have to cut your lawn to keep the grass healthy and that’s what we do with heather.”
Meanwhile, Iain Hepburn, head gamekeeper at Dunmaglass Estates, who is a part time fireman, said: “We keep the fires under control and one of the biggest challenges we face in the countryside is combating wildfires.
“Controlled burning helps hugely in preventing the spread of such blazes.”
Tim Baynes, director of the Gift of Grouse campaign, said: “Burning heather is the same as getting your hair cut. It needs to happen for the heather to thrive. It’s important that we do everything we can to inform the public why it is happening and what benefits it delivers.”