(To Watch films in this article, in full screen, click on the arrow on the picture, then the square symbol)
It’s 2 weeks since GWCT Scottish Game Fair.
Seems like 2 years ago.
On the Friday at Scone we were delighted to see members of the SGA family turn up for our 2022 Awards (more awards to follow at Moy Country Fair on August 5th/6th).
Chairman Alex Hogg took the opportunity to thank YOU, our members, for making the SGA what it is, 25 years on from its establishment.
In the video (centre), you can hear what Alex had to say.
After that, it was onto the awards and the presentation of the Ronnie Rose trophy to Ian Coghill, author of ‘Moorland Matters’. Ian was complementary about the SGA, passionate about gamekeepers/ land managers - and placed local knowledge at the foreground in the battle to preserve our precious upland moors.
Watch the interview with Ian here.
Chris Macrae, stalker/gamekeeper/ghillie on Eishken Estate, Isle of Lewis, was next up, receiving his Long Service medal for over 40 years on Eishken.
Chris’ award has been warmly received and, in this short video, he tells the rare and compelling story of how his family have been at Eishken for 147 years! Chris’ Great Grandfather started the Macrae legacy but there’s a new generation coming through, too - an incredible story.
After TEAM SGA packed up at Scone, it was back to normal business, responding to members' queries and championing YOUR knowledge and skills- and what this offers to Scotland, it's landscapes and its cultural heritage.
Research Lead Helen Ferguson has been working on this aspect, exploring the many ways gamekeepers, deer managers, ghillies and wildlife rangers are hitting (or working towards) Government targets - every single day.
So, with the help of some fantastic imagery by professional photographers Neil McIntyre, Laurie Campbell, Steven Rennie and members of the SGA Committee, we put together a pictorial film celebrating YOU and YOUR work.
You can watch it, here.
Our gamekeeper members have been helping Eagle conservation in Strathbraan, Perthshire, and working with Tayside and Central Scotland Moorland Group and South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project.
We found time in our schedule to chart the work of a Strathbraan grouse estate which has donated a 6.5 week old male eaglet to the award winning project which aims to bolster the fragmented populations of eagles in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway
Have a look here.
We hope you have enjoyed this short video catch-up of a fortnight in the life of the SGA.
Did you know? The consumption of video by the general public, online, has almost DOUBLED since 2018.
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Thank you for being SGA members. In Chairman Alex Hogg’s words: ‘without you, there is no SGA’.