PARK rangers had to install a trowel station near the Queen’s house at Balmoral Castle – so that visitors who missed out could bury their No2s.
The National Trust for Scotlands Mar Lodge Estate in Braemar in Aberdeenshire was inundated with day trippers and filthy campers during the pandemic.
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A new ladle box has been set up near the Queen’s Balmoral estate to help dirty campers clean up.Photo credit: Getty
But the higher footfall has also meant that rangers are forced to clean up visitors’ legacies.
Now Head Ranger Paul Bolton is providing trowels to encourage players to dig a hole when they have to go.
He says, “We installed the trowel station in a place called Derry Lodge, which has become an important wilderness campsite.
“We see a lot of human waste that is visible because it is either on the wayside or sometimes on the way itself.
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Mar Lodge’s Head Ranger Paul Bolton installed the ladle box after visitors encountered piles of human waste.
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Paul hopes his idea will help preserve the Mar Lodge, which spans 29,000 hectares of the Cairngorms and is Britain’s largest National Nature Reserve.Credit: National Trust for Scotland
“Human litter can cause health problems, people’s dogs roll around in it, and there’s the visual side because it’s really just awful to see when you’re walking in nature.
“So that’s just a practical solution to the problem.”
The signage on the trowel box encourages users to dig a hole 30 meters from the nearest building, body of water, or where there would be people or animals.
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The ladle box is intended to encourage wild campers to cover up after doing their business.
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The ladle box comes with explicit instructions on how to clean up after yourself.
He then recommends covering the hole with soil when you’re done, packing toilet paper to take home, and cleaning the trowel before returning it to its box.
Paul, 45, says: “There are five ladles in the box that people borrow and then return after their work.
“Last year we saw a huge increase in new visitors with a lot of people who hadn’t been out in the country much before.
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“So you’re new to wild camping and probably haven’t even considered what to do when you have to leave.
“The idea is that the trowels will first help solve the problem and then hopefully educate them and let them know what to do while they are at the campsite.
“So in the future they will bring their own ladles or bags to take away their rubbish.”
THROW THE SCOOP
NTS SCOTLAND TOP TIPS
1. COME PREPARED WITH A PLAN B – Proceed if it’s too crowded or the parking lots are full.
2. CAREFULLY PARKING – Do not damage any hard shoulder or obstruct other vehicles, passageways or field gates.
3. LEAVE NO TRACE – Take your rubbish home with you and never leave rubbish next to a full trash can.
4. STAY ON THE PATH TO PROTECT HABITAT – By avoiding muddy spots, you reduce the risk of erosion spreading.
5. THINK THE WALK ETIQUETTE – Do you have to let someone by? Step aside, then step back onto the path.
6. Do you think you have to “go” while on the go? – Prepare yourself with a bag and sealable container to safely remove human waste and contaminated tissue. Or bring your own trowel.
7. CHOOSE YOUR CAMPSITE CAREFULLY – Give busy areas a break and take as long to clean up as to set up.
8. USE A STOVE INSTEAD OF LIGHTING A FIRE – This will help prevent forest fires, scorched earth, and tree damage.
9. KEEP DOGS UNDER CONTROL OR ON A LEASH – This will ensure your dog does not disturb wildlife or livestock.
10. LEAVE EVEN BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT – Bring a garbage collector and collect rubbish while you’re out and about.
The NTS calls on visitors to “love this place, not leave any traces” in a new campaign.
When lockdown restrictions were relaxed, the Trust’s staff saw a record number of visitors in world-renowned areas such as Glencoe, Ben Lomond and Mar Lodge Estate.
However, they have also seen an increase in antisocial behavior, including fences and trees that have been uprooted and used as firewood, and dogs that have been alarming the livestock.
Paul says: “We also find a lot of garbage. Some people have even given us entire campsites to clear away – including leftover food, sleeping bags and tents. “
Critics believe that more toilets should be made available in popular beauty spots.
But Paul insists that sometimes this just isn’t possible as Mar Lodge spans 29,000 acres of the Cairngorms.
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He says: “This wild campsite, where we stationed the trowel station, is about an hour’s walk from the parking lot, in the middle of nowhere.
“We all want to get out and enjoy our beautiful, special surroundings, so we really have to make sure that nobody spoils this.”
To learn more about the visit, visit “I love this place, I don’t leave a trace”
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