Peatland scientist to embark on fundraising run across Flow County on World Heritage Site Day
A FAR North scientist is setting off on a fundraising run across the Flow Country on Friday, April 18.
Roxane Andersen, a peatland scientist with the Environmental Research Institute, part of UHI North, West and Hebrides, will be running 110km (68.35 miles) across the Flow Country to raise money for the Flow Country Partnership.
She has chosen to run on Friday because it is World Heritage Site Day, also known as the International Day for Monuments and Sites (IDMS).
The day aims to raise awareness of cultural heritage and the need to protect and conserve it.
Roxane said: “The day serves as a reminder of our stewardship of irreplaceable sites and monuments around the world and a celebration of their extraordinary values.”
The Flow Country is a vast 4000 square kilometre peat bog that covers much of Caithness and Sutherland and stores around 400 million tonnes of carbon.
Some 1900km2 of the Flow Country was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July last year, following an application by the Flow Country Partnership, a collaboration of experts, community representatives and agencies.
Roxane, a trustee of the Flow Country Partnership, lives in Caithness with her husband and two children. All the family love the outdoors. She is an experienced ultra runner but says this will be her longest single run yet and one that will push her “to the limit”.
She said: “I will be attempting a 110km running traverse across part of the Flow Country, using and connecting existing footpaths, roads and tracks. I plan to do it in a single push from west to east, meeting up with family and some friends for support along the way.
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Roxane continued: “With this run I hope to raise awareness of the scale of the Flow Country and raise funds to support the ongoing work of the Flow Country Partnership, including the management of the World Heritage site.”
She is aiming to set out at around 8am from a Flow Country interpretation sign just south of the Crask Inn before heading north east along Loch Choire to Badanloch and then north to Forsinard, before striking west to Altnabreac and then south to the end point at Berriedale. The run could take up to 20 hours.
She has set her fundraising target at £19,000, which she says is just £10 for each km2 inside the boundary. Donations can be made through her JustGiving page.
The Flow Country Partnership is currently recruiting for a project manager and project coordinator. The deadline to apply for these positions is next Friday, April 25. For more information on jobs and the Partnership, visit: theflowcountry.org.uk
