In general, how do you think this place copes with hazardous weather events?
Quite well. Drainage is good and it is fairly sheltered, but we have had some fierce winds, cold snaps, hot dry periods, etc.
What features (physical, economic, social) make this place vulnerable or resilient to hazardous weather conditions?
I am most concerned with wildlife. For example, a couple of years ago mining bees emerged in a warm February after a chilly early winter. Of course it was not spring, there were no flowers to provide food, these individuals would have died. Very changeable weather makes life difficult or impossible for the small creatures at the base of the food chain
Is it possible and/or comfortable to move around this place in different weather conditions (rain, snow, wind, heat, etc.)?
Not easy in icy conditions. Need spikes, but can't use them if not enough snow.
Are there delays or cancellations due to the weather? What do people do?
Sorry - was thinking of wildlife and domestic animals, not people.
Could more natural space be available or could existing natural space be better supported?
Just that climate change, with extreme weather conditions and weather inappropriate for the season makes life very difficult for wild animals (e.g. mining bees) or domestic stock (e.g horses - rugs on, rugs off, rugs on again...)
Have you noticed the species of plants and/or animals have changed here over time?
We have only lived here for 5 years so it's not possible to tell; but where we lived before, many of the trees came in to blossom a few weeks earlier than they used to. This can affect insects as they can be organising their lives by seasonal day length rather than temperature which affects at least some of their target plants.
How could people better support each other during extreme weather events?
People are very neighbourly, look after older people or those living alone. Closure of Nethy Shop hasn't helped, though.
Weather events and climate change happening somewhere else could impact your place. Has this happened before?
Of course. Have you noticed the lack of fresh vegetables in the shops - partly climate change and climate purturbation.
Do you know how the climate will change in this place in the future?
Weather will be generally warmer, wetter and windier, but there may be cold or dry spells, often rather "out of season". As you say, more frequesnt and extreme disruptive weather.
Can the critical systems and infrastructure (drainage, cooling, electric) cope with more frequent and extreme disruptive weather?
It is said that national grid can't cope if all vehicles become electric. It is also difficult to change heating type in Highland, virtually no gas, a lot of oil, not sure how truly green biomass is (and the technology is not up to it with this).
How do you think this place can be made more resilient?
We need method of encouraging people to give up travel, fossil fuel heating, and insulate their homes. Methods of insulating traditional houses (e.g. 1 1/2 storey late 1800s cottages) need to be worked out (Historic Scotland has some interesting work on this which is not publicised enough). Local building firms need to be trained in the methods, and some sort of incentive given to home owners to change. How can an oil-fired heating system best be adapted to either electric or air-source heat-pumps? Who has been trained to do this? Are there incentives? Short journeys by bike/walking fine, but middle-length journeys (e.g. shopping in centre a few miles away) needs to be tackled. Lots more encouragement for visitors to come by public transport, and facilities to move them around when they arrive? Growing more food locally - glut in autumn, none in spring. What can we do?
We need a complete change of life-style and expectations, but people can't do this alone, need leadership to come from the top (local authority and parks authority included).
Climate change is real, damaging, and there is just time to do something about it (see latest IPCC report), but we must act radically NOW.
Do you know what climate adaptation measures could be implemented at this place and who is responsible for implementing them?
See above.
Do you have a vision for what you would like this place to look like in the future? Does it include how it might adapt to climate change?
Well insulated houses, good local public transport, local foods, tourism also planet-friendly (no snow-making up Cairngorm! maybe artificial slopes lower down). For everything a pull-together attitude from the top down, and DO IT NOW. Then we might have a forest habitat as full of wildlife as it is today.
*Originally submitted to the Highland Weather & Climate Story Map Commonplace Platform on 28 March 2023.
